Tianjin42 Posted March 18, 2015 at 10:01 AM Report Posted March 18, 2015 at 10:01 AM Whilst discussing 'Under the Dome' I wanted to explain that some of the attacks on 柴静 herself didn't address the argument she was making. In English I would typically refer to ad hominem - playing the man, not the ball (attacking the individual but not the argument itself). I wasn't sure what was the best way (and most 地道 way) to communicate this in Chinese. Any ideas? Quote
roddy Posted March 18, 2015 at 10:08 AM Report Posted March 18, 2015 at 10:08 AM Off the top of my head (and how do you say that in Chinese?) you can describe an argument as being 对人 rather than 对事. 1 Quote
Tianjin42 Posted March 18, 2015 at 10:17 AM Author Report Posted March 18, 2015 at 10:17 AM Okay, 对人 and 对事 sound logical. "Off the top of my head" - no idea! Quote
Tianjin42 Posted March 18, 2015 at 01:15 PM Author Report Posted March 18, 2015 at 01:15 PM Thanks - looks good. I did notice that when checking but the reason I ask is because for a number of terms like this the Chinese equivalent may not be widely used. Any natives who can confirm that they would understand if that came up? Quote
coolnicholas Posted March 18, 2015 at 02:33 PM Report Posted March 18, 2015 at 02:33 PM 对人不对事 3 Quote
Tianjin42 Posted March 18, 2015 at 02:58 PM Author Report Posted March 18, 2015 at 02:58 PM Okay - confirmed. Thanks kindly. Quote
Demonic_Duck Posted March 19, 2015 at 02:50 PM Report Posted March 19, 2015 at 02:50 PM Wiki also gives “诉诸人身谬误” and “以人废言”. I'm gonna go ahead and assume the former is too specialised for the average 老百姓, but I rather like the latter (from a line in the Analects). Its meaning is a subtle shade different, but largely overlapping. 1 Quote
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