Britain is living in a “post-punctuation world”, academics have warned, with the Bank of England named as the latest major institution to ignore the correct use of the English language.
学术界近日告诫英国正处在“后标点时代”，指英格兰银行又是一个不顾英文正确使用规则的重要机构。
The Bank has been accused of “dumbing down” after choosing to remove punctuation from a quote by Sir Winston Churchill printed on its new ￡5 notes.新5英镑钞票上印有一句丘吉尔的名言，英格兰银行去掉了其中的标点符号，这一做法被指责“肤浅”。In its concept image for the new polymer ￡5 notes the Bank correctly included double quotation marks around the former prime minister’s famous saying: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”新版5英镑钞票采用塑料材质。初期的设计稿上还严谨地以双引号引用了丘吉尔的名言：“我没有别的东西奉献，唯有辛劳、泪水和血汗。”However, it has emerged that it quietly dropped them from the final design, something it is understood has attracted complaints from keen-eyed members of the public.然而，最终英格兰银行悄然去掉了双引号，引起了眼尖群众的不满。The National Literacy Trust has backed their cause advising that the quote is grammatically incorrect in its current state appearing without a full stop or quotation marks.英国国家读写能力信托指责现在这句名言既没有句号也没有双引号，是严重的语法错误。It is likely to further fuel a national debate over whether proper use of grammar and punctuation is being devalued by society and follows a number of local councils sparking public outrage by banning apostrophes from road signs, after national guidelines warned punctuation could “confuse” emergency services.这一事件或许会引起一轮全国范围的新争论，即如今的社会是否在轻视语法和标点符号的正确使用。之前，因国家规定，路标上有标点符号会误导应急服务机构，一些地方政府换掉了使用了所有格符号（撇号）的路标，这种做法引起了公愤。Some reversed the decision after members of the public resorted to using marker pens to fill in apostrophes missing from signs.这种情况下，民众用马克笔把不见了的撇号补了回来，有些地方政府于是作罢。Prof Alan Smithers, head of the centre for education and employment research at the University of Buckingham, said: "We are living in a post-punctuation world created by big institutions. Some people may dismiss omissions as pedantry, but they have lost sight of the fact that precision of expression reflects precision of thought."伯明翰大学教育和就业研究中心的艾伦?史密瑟斯教授表示：“在大型机构的影响下，我们生活在一个‘后标点’时代。有些人或许会不以为然，认为这有卖弄学问之嫌，可是他们忽略了一个事实：表达反映了我们的思维，精确的表达代表了缜密的思维。”The Bank had originally included double quotation marks in its concept image for the new polymer ￡5 notes but quietly dropped them from the final design.英格兰银行在最初设计新的5英镑钞票之时使用了引号，最终又将其悄然去掉。Critics suggested the note's designers had sacrificed "correct" punctuation for the sake of creating an aesthetically pleasing design. A spokesman at the Bank declined to comment.批评者称货币设计师为成就设计的美感而牺牲了“正确的”标点。英格兰银行发言人拒绝置评。New polymer ￡5 notes were introduced in October last year and there are now around 400 million in circulation.新版5英镑去年十月发行，如今流通量已达四亿。Dr Tara Stubbs, an English lecturer at the University of Oxford, said such omissions were "condescending" and accused the Bank of trying to dumb down grammar.牛津大学英文讲师塔拉?斯塔布斯博士称这种标点缺失“自降品格”，指责英格兰银行在试图简化英文语法。She said: "It is a bit peculiar because it looks like it’s the Five Pounds that's speaking and not Winston Churchill. There should be quotation marks and full stop, definitely. It also doesn't have the Oxford comma after 'tears'. To take that stuff out is condescending and I find efforts to dumb down like this just irritating."塔拉?斯塔布斯博士称：“现在这样看起来有些怪异，好像这句话是5英镑说的，而不是丘吉尔的名言。双引号和句号必不可缺，tears后也没有牛津逗号。标点缺失自降了品格，我对这种试图简化语法的行为很火大。”Prof Smithers also suggested the Bank's designers "had a poor grasp of grammar", adding that they were "more concerned about shapes and patterns".
史密瑟斯教授也指责银行的设计人员“不懂语法”，说这些人“更关心形状和图案”。But the Bank's scant use of punctuation divided academics and literary experts, with some choosing to defend its decision.然而学术界和文学界在这一事件上产生了分歧，一些文学界人士选择为银行的决定辩护。Lisa Appignanesi, chair of the Royal Society of Literature, suggested that the absence of quote marks and a full stop would not have bothered Winston Churchill, were he still alive.英国皇家文学院主席丽莎?阿璧娜妮西称丘吉尔若尚在，不会介意对其名言是否使用双引号和句号。She said: "The eminent Winston Churchill might have wondered why he was on a mere five pound note and not something a little weightier. I don’t know, orator that he was, whether he would have noticed the missing punctuation."丽莎?阿璧娜妮称：“伟大的丘吉尔或许只想知道为什么自己的头像只是出现在区区5英镑上，而不是出现在一些意义更重大的地方。我不知道，像他这样激情澎湃的演说家，会不会注意到标点不见了。”