Mysteries of vernacular: Yankee - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel

字源探秘：Yankee - Jessica Oreck 與 Rachael Teel

譯者: Geoff Chen 審譯者: Regina Chu

Mysteries of vernacular:

字源探秘：

Yankee,

Yankee

a New England resident

新英格蘭居民

or, more generally, a person who lives in

或者更一般地說來，它是指

or is from the United States.

居住，或來自美國的人

Though the origin of Yankee is uncertain,

雖然我們無法確定美國佬 (Yankee) 的起源

this all-American word most likely descended

這個專屬於美國的字最有可能

from the Dutch moniker Janke,

來自於荷語綽號 Janke

a diminutive meaning little Jan,

意指一個身材矮小的小揚 (little Jan)

or little John.

或小約翰 (little John)

In the 17th century,

在 17 世紀時

Janke was the common nickname of Dutch sailors,

Janke 是荷蘭水手的常見暱稱

pirates in particular.

特別是指海盜

A Dutch pirate ship operating in the West Indies

Yankee 甚至也被用來

was even called the Yankee.

指稱在西印度經營海盜船的荷蘭人

Over the years, Yankee transformed

多年來，Yankee 已從

from a pirate's nickname

海盜的暱稱

into a general term of contempt.

轉變為一個輕蔑的用語

In 1758, British general James Wolfe

在 1758 年時，英國的將軍 詹姆斯 · 沃爾夫 (James Wolfe)

used Yankee as a pejorative term

把 Yankee 拿來作為一個貶義詞使用

for the colonists under his supervision.

用它來叫喚那些在他監督下的殖民者

But the insult wasn't limited to soldiers.

但這個侮辱字眼並不限於士兵

Yankee quickly came to mean New Englander,

Yankee 後來很快地被用來指稱新英格蘭居民

and by the 1780s,

到了 1780 年間

it was used to look down

它被用來貶低

upon any American.

任何美國人

During the Revolution,

在獨立戰爭期間

colonists co-opted Yankee

殖民者收編了 Yankee

and transformed it into a mark of national honor.

把它變為一種國家榮譽的標誌

The Civil War, however,

然而南北內戰

intensified the derisive definition

卻增強了那嘲弄的字義

when it was used by Southerners

當南方人拿它來

to mock members of the Union.

嘲笑北方聯邦的成員

Today, it carries much less emotion,

今天，它承載了比以前

unless, of course,

少得多的情感元素

we're talking about baseball.

當然，除了我們談論棒球的時刻