英语不熟练 女子被剥夺竞选市议员资格

A woman who was barred from running for a city council seat in Arizona because she doesn't speak English proficiently has appealed the judge's ruling to the state's highest court.

美国亚利桑那州的一位女士因为英语不够熟练而被剥夺了竞选市议员的资格，她已经向美国最高法院提起上诉。

The case has brought national and international attention to the southern Arizona city of San Luis after the Mayor filed a court action asking for a determination on whether Alejandrina Cabrera has the English skills necessary to serve a four-year term on the council.

此前，圣路易斯市市长要求法庭确认市议员候选人Alejandrina Cabrera的英语能力是否能够让她胜任为期4年的议会工作，这让美国和世界其他国家的目光都聚焦到了亚利桑那州这个南部城市之上。

State law requires elected officials to know English, but Ms Cabrera's attorneys claim the law doesn't define proficiency in the language.

亚利桑那州法律规定，民选官员要有英语能力，但是Cabrera女士的律师指出，法律并没有定义何为英语熟练。

Ms Cabrera told the local newspaper that she needs to improve her command of English but said her language skills are adequate for serving the border city of San Luis, where Spanish is used as often as English.

Cabrera女士对当地报纸说，她确实需要提升自己的英语能力，但以她目前的水平，足以胜任圣路易斯市议员工作。因为在这座边境城市，西班牙语和英语一样常用。

Sociolinguistics expert William Eggington presented the court with results of three different tests he administered to Ms Cabrera. His report said Ms Cabrera's English skills did not meet the level of language proficiency needed to serve on the council.

社会语言学专家William Eggington对Cabrera女士做了三项不同测试，并向法院展示了测试结果。他的报告显示，Cabrera女士的英语水平无法达到胜任议会工作所需要的熟练程度。

Ms Cabrera's lawyers said the action against their client was politically motivated because of her previous efforts to remove the city's mayor Juan Carlos Escamilla from his seat.

而Cabrera女士的律师则表示，他们的行为有着政治动机，因为Cabrera女士此前曾想把市长Juan Carlos Escamilla推翻下去。

Interestingly, the mayor even admits that his mastery of the English language isn't perfect yet he still thinks that Ms Cabrera should be banned from the city council position.

有趣的是，市长本人承认他自己的英语能力也不是很好，但他却坚持认为应该取消Cabrera女士竞选市议员的资格。

'I feel I don't dominate 100%, but I can still get by. I can write, read and understand it very well. But that's why I am not the expert and that's why I directed staff to look into it,' Mr Escamilla has previously said.

Escamilla市长曾说：“我感觉自己没有百分百掌握英语，但还勉强过得去。读写方面我都会，也能很好地理解。所以说我不是专家，所以我让其他专业人员来研究此事。”

City Attorney Glenn Gimbut said it's not only required by law, but by the nature of the work and council activities.

市法律顾问Glenn Gimbut认为，官员需要英语过关不仅仅是因为法律上如此要求，更重要是出于他们工作和会议活动的性质。

'We are not a little ranch, we are a large community. We represent a lot and need to be prepared,' he told the Yuma Sun newspaper.

他对当地媒体《尤马县太阳报》说：“这里不是一个小牧场而是一个大社区，我们在很多方面都起着代表作用，必须做好充分准备。”

Lawyers for Ms Cabrera said they want the matter settled by Wednesday because election ballots will start being printed Thursday, but because of the Court's schedule, it may not happen until early next week.

Cabrera女士的律师表示，他们希望在周三（2月1日）前解决这事，因为周四（2月2日）就要开始印选票了。但是根据法院的日程安排，最早得等到下周初才有希望得到结果。