Mysteries of vernacular: Yankee - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

未解之谜的白话: 洋基 - 杰西卡·欧瑞克和拉斐尔·特尔

翻译人员: Zheng Zhai 校对人员: Bighead Ge

Mysteries of vernacular:

未解之谜的白话：

Yankee,

洋基，

a New England resident

一个新英格兰的居民

or, more generally, a person who lives in

或更一般地说，一个生活在

or is from the United States.

或者是来自美国的人。

Though the origin of Yankee is uncertain,

虽然洋基的起源不确定，

this all-American word most likely descended

这个很美国的词最有可能来源于

from the Dutch moniker Janke,

荷兰语中的绰号詹克，

a diminutive meaning little Jan,

一个意思是小詹

or little John.

或小约翰的爱称。

In the 17th century,

在 17 世纪，

Janke was the common nickname of Dutch sailors,

詹克是荷兰水手的常见昵称，

pirates in particular.

特别是海盗。

A Dutch pirate ship operating in the West Indies

在西印度经营的一艘荷兰海盗船

was even called the Yankee.

甚至还被称为洋基。

Over the years, Yankee transformed

多年来，洋基从一个

from a pirate's nickname

海盗的昵称

into a general term of contempt.

转变为一种表示蔑视的一般用语。

In 1758, British general James Wolfe

1758 年，英国将军詹姆斯 · 沃尔夫

used Yankee as a pejorative term

把洋基用作一个贬义的词

for the colonists under his supervision.

指在他管理下的殖民者。

But the insult wasn't limited to soldiers.

但这种侮辱并不限于士兵。

Yankee quickly came to mean New Englander,

洋基很快指代新英格兰地区的人，

and by the 1780s,

并且从1780年开始，

it was used to look down

它被使用来歧视

upon any American.

任何美国人。

During the Revolution,

大革命期间，

colonists co-opted Yankee

殖民者新增了扬基一词

and transformed it into a mark of national honor.

并把它转变为一种国家荣誉的标志。

The Civil War, however,

然而，美国内战

intensified the derisive definition

增强了它嘲弄的意思

when it was used by Southerners

被南方人用作

to mock members of the Union.

嘲笑联军的成员。

Today, it carries much less emotion,

今天，它所蕴含的感情色彩少了，

unless, of course,

当然，除非

we're talking about baseball.

是我们在谈论棒球。