off-putting/ rhetoric

イングランドにおける入国規制に関する記事です。またイングランド人以外の優秀な人材がイングランドで働く機会が減りそうです。

赤字で示したoff-puttingはイギリス英語「人を当惑させる」「不快にさせる」という意味です。さらにpolitical rhetoricについてですが、こちらは、そのまま「政治的なレトリック」という意味です。名詞rhetoricについては、「修辞」「修辞法」などの意味が一般的です――カタカナでレトリックの方がわかりやすいかもしれません――が、ここでは「大げさな言葉」「特別な効果を狙った表現」という意味です。Collins English Dictionaryですと“speech or discourse that pretends to significance but lacks true meaning”とあります。つまりここで言うpolitical rhetoricとは「言葉が持つ本来の意味合いが隠され、誇張された建前の政治的発言」という意味を含んでいます。（Othello）

A harder road | The Economist
The government’s policy on students and skilled migrants threatens to do long-term damage to the economy
(中略)
The curb on skilled migrants is also troublesome for service industries whose international success is based on London’s position as a global hub. Finance is the biggest earner, with a trade surplus of £39 billion last year, equivalent to 2.5% of GDP. The City’s status is under threat. Migration rules are off-putting and the political rhetoric unwelcoming. Competition for footloose finance is fiercer than politicians think, according to Chris Cummings of TheCityUK, a lobby group. Other capitals are friendlier: “The attitude in Singapore is: ‘How can we help you to move here?’”

(中略)

The world’s brightest talents have plenty of options. Other countries are courting them. Australia has relaxed its rules on student visas. Canada gives three-year work visas to its graduates with master’s degrees. America’s appeal rarely dims. Its politicians may yet agree to allow more foreign-born science graduates to stay and work. Meanwhile Britain is at risk of scaring them off.