Meaning of a Chinese Phrase: 别当了主持人，就不是人了

[Woodford]

I often appreciate it when people make posts in this forum about needing help with translation from a book, because I learn a lot from it! I thought I'd give it a try here.

Right now I'm reading a book entitled "看见“ by the author 柴静. Her style of writing has been way more difficult than the average book I've read, and I can't exactly articulate why. The phrase below, which plays an important role in the book overall (she keeps coming back to it), is an example of that difficulty. I have boldened and underlined the relevant part, and included the rest for context.

 

二〇〇〇年，我还是湖南卫视“新青年”主持人，进了央视后，这个头发很快被剪短了，穿上了套装，坐在主播台上，想着自己脸上的表情、语言、化妆、衣服。这一场下来什么都得想，不知道怎么才能忘掉自己。陈虻说：“回家问你妈、你妹，她们对新闻的欲望是什么，别当了主持人，就不是人了。”

 

So Chai is talking about the beginning of her career in TV and journalism, and she speaks of the extra attention she needs to give to her expressions, language, makeup, and clothing. Working in front of the studio cameras is really difficult and requires a lot of self-awareness, and she finds it hard to just forget about herself and focus (不知道怎么才能忘掉自己). 

 

So then it's the advice of her colleague, Chen Meng, that's confusing me. It almost seems like: "Go back home and ask your mom and your sister what their desire is for the news; (if you're) not a TV host, then you're not a person."

 

Huh??? Google translate renders the same result, and I'm just at a loss.

[EnergyReaper]

On 2/3/2024 at 8:06 AM, Woodford said:

(if you're) not a TV host, then you're not a person.

I think 陈虻 means, "柴静, you're just a TV news host, neither a talk show host nor a super star. So you should pay less attention on how you look in front of cameras, and play a role of a person who likes watching TV news while you are hosting. You just need to think about what questions a normal person, like you mom, will probably ask. "

[Ruiyan]

别当了主持人，就不是人了

 

I read that as “don’t be a host at the expense of being a person” but I could be wrong there.

 

[sanchuan]

If I'm not mistaken, 别 refers to the whole sentence here, rather than just to the TV host bit, as in:

 

"(you) don't (want to) be like, 'I'm on TV now, I'm not a [normal] person any more'."

 

Bit less common in writing, but still well formed, I believe. Perhaps that's what threw you off initially. 

[杰娃娃]

I think Ruiyan has got it right. I read the book last year and always thought of it like this.

 

（不要）（在你）当了主持人（之后），（你）就不是人了

'Once you become a presenter, you still need to remember to be human"

 

I think that the author uses it with multiple meanings.

On 2/3/2024 at 12:06 AM, Woodford said:

想着自己脸上的表情、语言、化妆、衣服。这一场下来什么都得想，不知道怎么才能忘掉自己

Having read the above paragraph again. It seems like the meaning might be "just be yourself".

 

My memory of the book might be a bit foggy, but I remember that later in the book, the author talks about how she got closer to her subjects than other journalists did at the time, and she used some reporting techniques that received criticism from peers (broadcasting a child crying). When she uses the phrase here, it makes me think that she is trying to justify her actions by "being human".

 

[Woodford]

On 2/3/2024 at 3:58 PM, sanchuan said:

If I'm not mistaken, 别 refers to the whole sentence here, rather than just to the TV host bit

@sanchuan, I think your explanation really clicked with me here; I thought that 别 was only negating "当了主持人," when it was really negating the entire sentence ("be a TV host, and not a human being"). 

[lordsuso]

Not the same exact structure, but this type of issue has happened to me multiple times. I tend to be very wary of punctuation now (particularly comas) because they seem to trick my western brain. If I don't understand a sentence that involves comas, I usually ignore them and it becomes more clear.

[cncorrect]

On 2/3/2024 at 8:06 AM, Woodford said:

Her style of writing has been way more difficult than the average book I've read, and I can't exactly articulate why.

It's a style of oral language. It sounds like she is speaking to you in real life.