先把名分正了

你看今天的通知了吗？公司说要做组织调整。

Did you see today's notice? The company says it's doing an organizational adjustment.

看了。调整两个字说得很好听，但是我觉得他们的意思其实是，很多人要离开公司了，对不对？

I saw it. "Adjustment" sounds very nice, but I think what they actually mean is that a lot of people are going to have to leave the company, right?

可能是这个意思。但是调整也没有骗人，大家一听就懂，没有人真的以为公司只是换了张桌子。你为什么这么在意这两个字？

Maybe that is what it means. But "adjustment" isn't deceiving anyone either. Everyone hears it and understands, nobody actually thinks the company is just moving a desk around. Why do you care so much about these two words?

因为我最近看到一句话，是孔子说的。他说，把一个国家管理好，先要把名分定对：一件事该叫什么，就叫什么，不能乱叫。

Because I recently came across something Confucius said. He said that governing a country well starts with getting the naming right: whatever something should be called, you call it that, you can't just call it whatever you like.

名分叫错了，能有什么关系？

What difference does it make if the naming is wrong?

孔子说，名分叫错了，说的话就没有道理；说的话没有道理，事情就做不成；事情做不成，老百姓就不知道该怎么做了。他的意思是，一个领导，如果把一件事的名分定错了，大家就搞不清楚该有什么反应，该做什么。

Confucius said if the naming is wrong, what you say won't make sense; if what you say doesn't make sense, things can't get done; and when things can't get done, ordinary people won't know what they should do. His point was that if a leader gets the naming of something wrong, everyone becomes unclear about what response is right, what they should do.

可是这次大家都很清楚调整是什么意思，没有人搞不清楚啊。是不是每一次用委婉的说法，都是在掩盖真的情况？

But this time everyone is completely clear on what "adjustment" means, nobody is unclear about it. Does every euphemistic way of putting something count as covering up what's actually happening?

不一定。有时候委婉是因为不想让人难受，这是好意，不是掩盖。但是这次不一样：如果每个公司都用调整代替很多人要失业了，以后大家听到调整，就不会有该有的反应了，慢慢地，大家会觉得这不是一件大事，这才是真的掩盖。

Not necessarily. Sometimes a euphemism is because you don't want to make someone feel bad, and that's kind, not covering up. But this time it's different. If every company uses "adjustment" instead of "a lot of people are about to lose their jobs," then eventually when people hear "adjustment" they won't have the reaction they should have. Slowly, people will start to feel it isn't a big deal at all, and that is the real cover-up.

老师说有进步空间，其实就是没考好，这个是不是也一样？

A teacher saying "there's room for improvement" really just means someone did poorly on a test. Is that the same thing?

有点像，但是不完全一样。老师说有进步空间，是希望学生别灰心，也希望学生真的能进步；老师和公司用委婉的说法，目的不一样。

A bit similar, but not completely the same. A teacher says "there's room for improvement" hoping the student won't lose heart, and hoping the student really will improve. The teacher and the company use a euphemism for different purposes.

那你自己呢？你说话的时候，从来没有用过委婉的说法吗？

What about you, then? Have you never used a euphemism yourself when you speak?

有，我承认，我也用过。上个星期，朋友做的菜不好吃，我没有直接说，我说味道很特别。她听懂了，我也没有骗她，但是我确实换了一个说法，让这件事听起来没有那么难受。

Yes, I admit it, I have too. Last week a friend's cooking wasn't good, and I didn't say it directly. I said the flavor was very distinctive. She understood what I meant, and I wasn't lying to her either, but I really did use a different way of putting it, to make it sound less harsh.

那这和公司说的调整有什么不一样？

So how is that different from the company saying "adjustment"?

不一样的地方是，我说味道很特别，不会影响她以后怎么过日子；但是公司说调整，会让一些人以为事情没有那么严重，可能不会好好准备，这个名分叫错了，影响是真的大。

The difference is that when I say the flavor was very distinctive, it doesn't affect how she lives her life afterward. But when the company says "adjustment," it can make some people think the situation isn't that serious, and they might not prepare properly. Getting that naming wrong really does have a big effect.

我懂了。委婉本身没有错，但是要看这句话，会不会让人做出错误的反应。

I get it. Being euphemistic isn't wrong in itself, but it depends on whether it leads people to react the wrong way.

对，所以先把名分正了，不是为了说话好听，是为了让大家知道，接下来该怎么办。

Right. So getting the naming right first isn't about making the words sound nice, it's about making sure everyone knows what to do next.