La vie en société, les problèmes de discrimination

I.Le vocabulaire

La vie en société les problèmes de discrimination3

Les rapports aux autres

• kind : gentil ; kindness : la gentillesse
• sympathetic : compatissant
• thoughtful : attentionné
• friendly : amical
• understanding : compréhensif
• to help someone : aider quelqu’un
• to support someone : soutenir quelqu’un.

Ex. : Her family supported her through that painful time. Sa famille l’a soutenue pendant cette période douloureuse.

• to respect one’s point of view : respecter le point de vue de.

Ex. : I respect your point of view although I disagree with it. Je respecte ton point de vue bien que je ne sois pas d’accord.

• mean : méchant ; meanness : la méchanceté
• to do someone harm : faire du mal à.

Ex. : She did him harm by telling him the truth. Elle lui fit du mal en lui disant la vérité.

• out of spite : par méchanceté ; out of jealousy : par jalousie
• La discrimination
• racial discrimination : la discrimination raciale ; discrimination at work : la discrimination au travail
• to be discriminated against : être l’objet de

Ex. : Women are discriminated against at work when they dont get equal pay. Les femmes sont l’objet de discrimination lorsqu’elles n’obtiennent pas l’égalité des salaires.

• to be prejudiced against : avoir des préjugés

Ex. : Her employer denied being prejudiced against her. Son employeur nia avoir des préjugés à son égard.

• a prejudiced society : une société raciste
• to segregate : séparer
• to live under apartheid : vivre sous un régime d’apartheid

La violence raciale

• hatred : la haine
• verbal abuse : des insultes verbales
• racist slurs : des insultes racistes ; racist taunts : des provocations racistes
• to threaten : menacer
• to carry out a threat : porter une menace à exécution
• to beat up :

Ex. : Black people were often beaten up under apartheid. Les Noirs étaient souvent passés à tabac sous l’apartheid.

• a riot : une émeute
• a flare-up : une flambée de violence
• La lutte contre la discrimination
• civil rights : les droits civiques ; equal rights : l’égalité des droits
• to get equal pay : obtenir l’égalité des salaires
• to outlaw racial discrimination : proscrire la discrimination raciale
• to fight for one’s rights : se battre pour ses

Ex. : Black people fought for their rights and to outlaw racial discrimination. Les Noirs se sont battus pour leurs droits et pour proscrire la dscrimination raciale.

• affirmative action : action en faveur des minorités/ discrimination

Ex. : Affirmative action means employing people who are usually treated unfairly because of the color of their skin, or their sex. La discrimination positive consiste à embaucher des personnes qui reçoivent d’habitude un traitement injuste en raison de la couleur de leur peau, ou leur sexe.

• to march against : défiler contre
• civil desobedience : la désobéissance

Ex. : Martin Luther King advocated civil desobedience. Martin Luther King prônait la désobéissance civile.

II.Les questions d'expression types

Can a woman be as successful in life as a man today?

• Men and women don’t have the same strengths and weaknesses. Women tend to be more understanding and patient than men while men are often more ambitious and opportunistic than
• I think a woman can be as successful as a man today but she has to work harder to achieve
• I don’t think a woman can be as successful as a man in terms of salary : a woman chief executive won’t get the same salary as a man for the same job/ the same
• Women still have to prove what they are
• It is harder for women to become as successful as men since they also have to deal with pregnancies and maternity leaves, whereas men can focus/ concentrate more on work.

Are cultural and racial differences an adventure or an obstacle in a marriage?

• Cultural and racial differences in a marriage are, in my opinion, more an adventure than an
• I can only see advantages to marrying someone from another
• Multiracial couples have the opportunity of discovering new ways of life, of sharing other cultures and
• Nevertheless I guess that if the differences are too important –religious differences in particular – they may become an obstacle.

• But I’m sure that the key to a successful multiracial marriage is to accept those differences, and to give the other enough room to live according to his/her beliefs and culture.