Anne Curzan: What makes a word "real"?

翻译人员: Yuanqing Edberg 校对人员: Jing Peng

I need to start by telling you a little bit

首先我需要告诉你

about my social life,

一些关于我的社交生活。

which I know may not seem relevant,

我知道这看起来也许没什么关联，

but it is.

但的确是有关系的。

When people meet me at parties

当人们在聚会的时候碰上我

and they find out that I'm an English professor

并且发现我是一个

who specializes in language,

专攻语言学的英文教授的时候，

they generally have one of two reactions.

他们通常有两种反应:

One set of people look frightened. (Laughter)

一种人表现出很害怕。（笑声）

They often say something like,

他们通常这样说，

"Oh, I'd better be careful what I say.

“喔，我得小心说话了。

I'm sure you'll hear every mistake I make."

我敢肯定你能听出我说的每个错误。”

And then they stop talking. (Laughter)

然后他们就不再说话了。（笑声）

And they wait for me to go away

然后他们等着我走开

and talk to someone else.

再去跟其他人说话。

The other set of people,

另外一种人呢，

their eyes light up,

他们的眼睛亮了起来，

and they say,

他们说，

"You are just the person I want to talk to."

“你正好是我想交谈的人。”

And then they tell me about whatever it is

然后他们会告诉我他们认为

they think is going wrong with the English language.

什么用法在英文里是错误的。

(Laughter)

笑声

A couple of weeks ago, I was at a dinner party

几个星期以前，在一个晚餐聚会上，

and the man to my right

坐在我右边的男人

started telling me about all the ways

开始告诉我英特网

that the Internet is degrading the English language.

正在以各种方式简化着英语。

He brought up Facebook, and he said,

他提起脸书，并且说，

"To defriend? I mean, is that even a real word?"

“To defriend? 我的意思是，有这么个单词吗？”

I want to pause on that question:

我想在这个问题上打住：

What makes a word real?

到底是什么让一个单词”变真“的？

My dinner companion and I both know

我和这位先生都知道

what the verb "defriend" means,

动词“defriend"（取消作为朋友）是什么意思，

so when does a new word like "defriend"

那么一个像”defriend"这样的新单词何时

become real?

能变成真的单词？

Who has the authority to make those kinds

究竟是谁有这种权力来

of official decisions about words, anyway?

为这些单词做出官方的认定呢？

Those are the questions I want to talk about today.

这些就是我今天想谈论的。

I think most people, when they say a word isn't real,

我认为大部分人，当他们在说一个并不真实的单词时

what they mean is, it doesn't appear

他们的意思是，它还没有出现

in a standard dictionary.

在一本标准的字典里。

That, of course, raises a host of other questions,

那当然还引出了许多其它的问题，

including, who writes dictionaries?

包括，是哪些人编纂了字典？

Before I go any further,

在我进一步阐述之前，

let me clarify my role in all of this.

让我声明一下我工作的范畴。

I do not write dictionaries.

我没有编过字典，

I do, however, collect new words

但我的确收集过新的单词

much the way dictionary editors do,

跟字典的编辑做的差不多，

and the great thing about being a historian

作为

of the English language

一个英文语言历史学家的最佳之处

is that I get to call this "research."

就是我可以把这叫做“研究”。

When I teach the history of the English language,

当我教英文语言历史这门课的时候

I require that students teach me

我要求学生们在我开讲之前教我

two new slang words before I will begin class.

两个新的俚语单词。

Over the years, I have learned

多年以来，我已经通过

some great new slang this way,

这种方法学到了很多新的俚语。

including "hangry," which --

包括“饥饿“ ，”这个－

(Applause) —

鼓掌－

which is when you are cranky or angry

这个是说

because you are hungry,

因为你饿了，你就会感到愤怒而且蛮不讲理，

and "adorkable,"

还有“adorkable，”

which is when you are adorable

是说当你

in kind of a dorky way,

因为某种蠢笨而显得可爱的时候，

clearly, terrific words that fill

很清楚，精彩的词汇

important gaps in the English language.

填补着英文语言的空缺。

(Laughter)

笑声。

But how real are they

然而，这些词汇有多少真实

if we use them primarily as slang

如果我们只是把它们作为俚语

and they don't yet appear in a dictionary?

而它们还没有出现在字典里？

With that, let's turn to dictionaries.

带着这个疑问，让我们来看看字典。

I'm going to do this as a show of hands:

请现场观众举手， 让我来看看

How many of you still regularly

你们中间有多少人依然

refer to a dictionary, either print or online?

查字典，不管是印刷版还是网上的？

Okay, so that looks like most of you.

嗯，看起来大多数人都还这样做。

Now, a second question. Again, a show of hands:

现在第二个问题，再次举手：

How many of you have ever looked to see

你们中间有多少人曾经查看

who edited the dictionary you are using?

是谁编辑了你用的字典？

Okay, many fewer.

好的，这不太多。

At some level, we know that there are human hands

在某种程度上，我们都知道

behind dictionaries,

字典是人编的，

but we're really not sure who those hands belong to.

但我们并不知道他们是谁。

I'm actually fascinated by this.

事实上我对此很感兴趣。

Even the most critical people out there

即使是重要人物

tend not to be very critical about dictionaries,

也不会对字典很挑剔，

not distinguishing among them

不会去分辨它们

and not asking a whole lot of questions

不会去问很多有关

about who edited them.

谁编辑了那些字典的问题。

Just think about the phrase

想想这个短句

"Look it up in the dictionary,"

“到字典里去找，”

which suggests that all dictionaries

那是在说所有的字典

are exactly the same.

是一模一样的。

Consider the library here on campus,

想想校园里的图书馆

where you go into the reading room,

你去了阅读室，

and there is a large, unabridged dictionary

那儿有一本巨大的，没有删节的字典

up on a pedestal in this place of honor and respect

在一个有着荣誉和令人尊敬的台座上

lying open so we can go stand before it

摊开放着，那么我们可以站在它的面前翻阅，

to get answers.

得到答案。

Now, don't get me wrong,

现在，别把我想错了，

dictionaries are fantastic resources,

字典是奇妙的源泉，

but they are human

但它们来自人类，

and they are not timeless.

它们不是永恒的。

I'm struck as a teacher

我作为一个老师

that we tell students to critically question

经常告诉学生要批判性

every text they read, every website they visit,

地对待他们读到的每段文字，浏览的每个网站，

except dictionaries,

但字典除外，

which we tend to treat as un-authored,

我们好像把它作为没有作者的，

as if they came from nowhere to give us answers

好像它们自然而然地给了我们

about what words really mean.

关于所有单字的意思的答案。

Here's the thing: If you ask dictionary editors,

其实：如果你询问字典的编辑，

what they'll tell you

他们会跟你说的

is they're just trying to keep up with us

是他们正在努力跟上我们的脚步

as we change the language.

当我们改变语言的时候。

They're watching what we say and what we write

他们看我们怎么说和写的

and trying to figure out what's going to stick

并且努力弄清楚什么会一直继续，

and what's not going to stick.

而什么是不会继续的。

They have to gamble,

他们不得不赌一下，

because they want to appear cutting edge

因为他们想展示其跟上了时代，

and catch the words that are going to make it,

并且抓住那些能够成功的词

such as LOL,

比如说 LOL，

but they don't want to appear faddish

但是他们并不想显得赶时髦

and include the words that aren't going to make it,

包括那些不能成功的单词，

and I think a word that they're watching right now

我想他们现在正在关注的一个单词是

is YOLO, you only live once.

YOLO，意思是你只活一次。

Now I get to hang out with dictionary editors,

现在我得跟字典编辑常在一起，

and you might be surprised

你也许会惊讶

by one of the places where we hang out.

于一个我们去过的地方。

Every January, we go

每年一月，我们都去

to the American Dialect Society annual meeting,

美国地方语言社的年会，

where among other things,

除了其他事情，

we vote on the word of the year.

我们还选出当年的”热词“。

There are about 200 or 300 people who come,

大约有200 到300 人参加，

some of the best known linguists in the United States.

有一些是最知名的 美国的语言专家。

To give you a sense of the flavor of the meeting,

告诉你这个会议的一点儿有味道的小料吧，

it occurs right before happy hour.

它总是在“快乐小时”之前开始。

Anyone who comes can vote.

任何来者都可以投票。

The most important rule is

最重要的规则是

that you can vote with only one hand.

你只能用一只手表决。

In the past, some of the winners have been

过去，有些通过的单词有

"tweet" in 2009

2009年的“tweet”

and "hashtag" in 2012.

2012年的“hashtag”，

"Chad" was the word of the year in the year 2000,

“chad"是200年获选的单词。

because who knew what a chad was before 2000,

因为Chad是在2000年前就知道的是什么意思的，

and "WMD" in 2002.

2002年有”WMD",

Now, we have other categories in which we vote too,

现在，我们有其它的分类可以评选，

and my favorite category

我最喜欢的分类

is most creative word of the year.

是这一年最有创造性的单词。

Past winners in this category have included

这一类里获选的的单词包括

"recombobulation area,"

“recombobulation area,”

which is at the Milwaukee Airport after security,

意思是在米尔瓦奇机场安全检查后，

where you can recombobulate.

你可以重新整理自己的行装。

(Laughter)

笑声

You can put your belt back on,

你可以系上你的皮带，

put your computer back in your bag.

把电脑放回自己的包里。

And then my all-time favorite word at this vote,

这次评选中我最爱的单词

which is "multi-slacking."

就是“multi-slacking."

(Laughter)

笑声

And multi-slacking is the act

multi-slacking 是一种行为

of having multiple windows up on your screen

在你的荧幕上有几个窗口同时开着

so it looks like you're working

这看起来好像你在工作

when you're actually goofing around on the web.

而实际上你在网站上到处漫游。

(Laughter) (Applause)

笑声，鼓掌

Will all of these words stick? Absolutely not.

所有这些单词都会一直使用吗？绝对不可能。

And we have made some questionable choices,

我们给出了一些有争议的选择，

for example in 2006

比如在2006年

when the word of the year was "Plutoed,"

当那年的单词是“plutoed，”

to mean demoted.

意思是降级，贬低。

(Laughter)

笑声

But some of the past winners

但有些过去的获选单词’

now seem completely unremarkable,

现在看起来完全不起眼了，

such as "app"

比如“app”

and "e" as a prefix,

和“e"作为前缀，

and "google" as a verb.

还有”Google“作为动词。

Now, a few weeks before our vote,

现在在我们评选之前的几星期，

Lake Superior State University

州立高湖大学

issues its list of banished words for the year.

给出了一些今年要取消的单词。

What is striking about this

比较烦人的是

is that there's actually often quite a lot of overlap

事实上

between their list and the list that we are considering

在他们的列表和我们正在考虑的

for words of the year,

新词当中，总是有很多”撞车“的地方。

and this is because we're noticing the same thing.

这是因为我们总在注意同样的事情，

We're noticing words that are coming into prominence.

我们总注意那些能造成影响的词汇。

It's really a question of attitude.

这的确是一个态度问题。

Are you bothered by language fads and language change,

你是注意时髦的语言和语言的变化

or do you find it fun, interesting,

还是发现它有趣或是

something worthy of study

作为一种活的语言，

as part of a living language?

它有值得研究的东西？

The list by Lake Superior State University

州立高湖大学的列表

continues a fairly long tradition in English

继续着英语中一个相当长时间的

of complaints about new words.

抱怨新词汇的传统

So here is Dean Henry Alford in 1875,

这儿是1875年亨利阿尔福德校长

who was very concerned that "desirability"

非常关注“desirability” 这个词

is really a terrible word.

认为这是一个可怕的单词。

In 1760, Benjamin Franklin

1760年，本杰明.富兰克林

wrote a letter to David Hume

给戴维.胡米写的一封信

giving up the word "colonize" as bad.

要放弃“colonize”这个坏单词。

Over the years, we've also seen worries

许多年来，我们也看到

about new pronunciations.

关于新发音的担心。

Here is Samuel Rogers in 1855

这是1855年山米尔.罗杰斯

who is concerned about some fashionable pronunciations

关注一些时尚的发音

that he finds offensive,

他觉得那很令人反感，

and he says "as if contemplate were not bad enough,

他说“如果只是想想还不够坏的话，

balcony makes me sick."

那么“balcony”就让我感到噁心。”

(Laughter)

笑声

The word is borrowed in from Italian

这个词是借用了意大利语

and it was pronounced bal-COE-nee.

它实际上发音做Bal－COE－nee。

These complaints now strike us as quaint,

这些抱怨作为一种趣闻让我们发笑，

if not downright adorkable -- (Laughter) --

如果不是彻头彻尾的adorkble--(笑声）

but here's the thing:

但事情是这样的：

we still get quite worked up about language change.

我们会因为语言的变化而感到不安。

I have an entire file in my office

在我的办公室里，我有一个

of newspaper articles

新闻报纸的归档，

which express concern about illegitimate words

全是对单词的合法性的质疑，

that should not have been included in the dictionary,

声称哪些单词不该放在字典里面，

including "LOL"

包括“LOL”，

when it got into the Oxford English Dictionary

当它进入了牛津英语字典时

and "defriend"

还有”defriend“

when it got into the Oxford American Dictionary.

进入牛津美语字典的时候。

I also have articles expressing concern

我还有文章表达对

about "invite" as a noun,

“invite”（邀请）作为名词的关注，

"impact" as a verb,

“impact”（碰撞）作为动词

because only teeth can be impacted,

因为只有牙齿能够impact（碰撞）

and "incentivize" is described

“incentivize“是描述

as "boorish, bureaucratic misspeak."

“粗野，官僚的发音错误。”

Now, it's not that dictionary editors

并不是字典的编辑们

ignore these kinds of attitudes about language.

忽略了他们的这种态度；

They try to provide us some guidance about words

他们努力给我们提供关于

that are considered slang or informal

那些被认作俚语或非正式词汇的

or offensive, often through usage labels,

或者那些令人反感的词条的一些指导， 常常通过附录的形式

but they're in something of a bind,

但他们有时也左右为难，

because they're trying to describe what we do,

因为他们尝试着描述我们的所作所为，

and they know that we often go to dictionaries

他们知道我们常借助字典

to get information about how we should use a word

来得到如何

well or appropriately.

正确或者合适地使用一个词汇的信息

In response, the American Heritage Dictionaries

因此，美国遗产字典

include usage notes.

包括了用法注释

Usage notes tend to occur with words

用法注释多出现

that are troublesome in one way,

在某个方面有问题的单词，

and one of the ways that they can be troublesome

其中一种可能成为麻烦

is that they're changing meaning.

的问题是它们在改变词义

Now usage notes involve very human decisions,

新的用法注释包括了很人性的决定，

and I think, as dictionary users,

我想，作为字典的使用者，

we're often not as aware of those human decisions

我们不会太注意是谁的决定

as we should be.

虽然我们应该注意

To show you what I mean,

为了让你明白我的意思，

we'll look at an example, but before we do,

让我们来看一个例子，但在此之前，

I want to explain what the dictionary editors

我想解释字典的编辑们

are trying to deal with in this usage note.

在用法注释上是如何处理的

Think about the word "peruse"

想想单词“peruse”（细读）

and how you use that word.

你是怎样使用的

I would guess many of you are thinking

我猜你们很多人想着

of skim, scan, reading quickly.

浏览，细看，快读等等。

Some of you may even have some walking involved,

你们一些人甚至还包括了走路，

because you're perusing grocery store shelves,

因为你在浏览杂货店的货物架，

or something like that.

或者类似的事。

You might be surprised to learn

你也许很吃惊地得知

that if you look in most standard dictionaries,

如果你在最标准的字典上查找

the first definition will be to read carefully,

首条定义是仔细地读

or pore over.

或者是伏案的意思

American Heritage has that as the first definition.

美国遗产字典的第一个定义也是那个意思，

They then have, as the second definition, skim,

然后浏览是第二个意思，

and next to that, they say "usage problem."

再下面就是他们所说的“用法问题。”

(Laughter)

笑声

And then they include a usage note,

然后他们包括了一个用法注释，

which is worth looking at.

值得一看。

So here's the usage note:

这儿就是这个用法注释：

"Peruse has long meant 'to read thoroughly'...

“peruse 很长时期都被认为是‘精读’。。。

But the word is often used more loosely,

但它的词义更多时候是比较宽松的，

to mean simply 'to read.'...

只是意味着‘阅读’。。。

Further extension of the word to mean 'to glance over, skim,'

更多词义的延伸是 “看一眼，浏览，”

has traditionally been considered an error,

这些在传统上被认为是错的，

but our ballot results suggest that it is becoming

但我们的表决结果建议它的这些意思

somewhat more acceptable.

更容易接受。

When asked about the sentence,

当问到关于这句话的时候，

'I only had a moment to peruse the manual quickly,'

“我只有一点儿时间，就只看了手册一眼，”

66 percent of the [Usage] Panel

1988年，百分之六十六的用法委员会成员

found it unacceptable in 1988,

觉得这不能接受，

58 percent in 1999,

到1999年，只有百分之五十八，

and 48 percent in 2011."

在2011年是百分之四十八。“

Ah, the Usage Panel,

啊，用法委员会，

that trusted body of language authorities

那个被充分信任的语言权威

who is getting more lenient about this.

对这是越来越宽容了。

Now, what I hope you're thinking right now is,

现在，我希望你们在想的是，

"Wait, who's on the Usage Panel?

“等等，谁是用法委员会？

And what should I do with their pronouncements?"

对于他们的通告我们该做些什么？

If you look in the front matter

如果你看看

of American Heritage Dictionaries,

美国遗产字典的前页，

you can actually find the names

事实上你可以找到

of the people on the Usage Panel.

用法委员会成员名单。

But who looks at the front matter of dictionaries?

但是谁去注意字典的前页呢？

There are about 200 people on the Usage Panel.

大约有200个人在用法委员会名单上。

They include academicians,

包括学者们，

journalists, creative writers.

记者们，创作型作家们。

There's a Supreme Court justice on it

还有高级法院的法官，

and a few linguists.

和不多的语言学家。

As of 2005, the list includes me.

2005年开始，我也在名单里。

(Applause)

鼓掌

Here's what we can do for you.

这儿是我们能为你做的。

We can give you a sense

我们能给你

of the range of opinions about contested usage.

有争议的用法的一些不同的意见。

That is and should be the extent of our authority.

那就应该是我们权力范畴

We are not a language academy.

我们并不是语言学院。

About once a year, I get a ballot

大概是一年一次，我得到一张投票单，

that asks me about whether new uses,

要求我看看是否有新的用法，

new pronunciations, new meanings, are acceptable.

新的发音，新的词义可以接受。

Now here's what I do to fill out the ballot.

而这就是我收到邀请后所做的。

I listen to what other people are saying and writing.

我听取其他人说的和写的。

I do not listen to my own likes

我并不听从我自己

and dislikes about the English language.

是否喜欢那个英文词汇。

I will be honest with you:

我坦诚地告诉你们：

I do not like the word "impactful,"

我不喜欢这个词“impactful，”（有影响力的）

but that is neither here nor there

但这并不是

in terms of whether "impactful" is becoming common usage

决定“impactful“是否成为普遍使用

and becoming more acceptable in written prose.

或在写作上更多地被接受的关键。

So to be responsible,

那么为了负责任，

what I do is go look at usage,

我所做的就是参考使用情况

which often involves going to look

通常是包括

at online databases such as Google Books.

到网上比如说Google图书里去查找。

Well, if you look for "impactful" in Google Books,

那么，如果你到那里去找“impactful”这个词，

here is what you find.

你就会发现，

Well, it sure looks like "impactful"

“impactful”这个词

is proving useful

的确很有实用价值，

for a certain number of writers,

被一些作家们使用，

and has become more and more useful

而且

over the last 20 years.

经过近20年来，越来越流行

Now, there are going to be changes

现在，将会有一些

that all of us don't like in the language.

我们所有人都不太喜欢的语言上的变化。

There are going to be changes where you think,

也会有些变化让你这么想，

"Really?

“真的？

Does the language have to change that way?"

语言一定要那样改变吗？”

What I'm saying is,

我要说的是，

we should be less quick

我们应该比较缓慢

to decide that that change is terrible,

地决定这种变化是可怕的。

we should be less quick to impose

我们应该比较缓慢地把我们

our likes and dislikes about words on other people,

的喜欢或者不喜欢的词汇强加给别人，

and we should be entirely reluctant

我们不应该完全厌恶地

to think that the English language is in trouble.

想英语有了麻烦

It's not. It is rich and vibrant and filled

不是这样的。它是丰富的， 充满活力

with the creativity of the speakers who speak it.

被那些具有想象力的人创造出来

In retrospect, we think it's fascinating

我们回想起来会觉得它是迷人的

that the word "nice" used to mean silly,

“nice（好）”这个词过去被用作“傻”，

and that the word "decimate"

“dicimate（消灭）这个词

used to mean to kill one in every 10.

的意思可以用来作为每十个里面消灭一个。

(Laughter)

笑声

我们认为本.富兰克林傻傻地

We think that Ben Franklin was being silly

to worry about "notice" as a verb.

担心把“notice（注意）”作为动词。

Well, you know what?

那么，你知道吗？

We're going to look pretty silly in a hundred years

在一百年以后我们也会被认为很傻

for worrying about "impact" as a verb

因为担心“impact（撞击）”作为一个动词

and "invite" as a noun.

而“invite”作为名词。

The language is not going to change so fast

语言本身不会发生那些

that we can't keep up.

我们跟不上的变化。

Language just doesn't work that way.

语言本身不会那样运作。

I hope that what you can do

而我希望你能做的

is find language change not worrisome

是发现了语言的变化却不要去担心

but fun and fascinating,

而是感到有趣和迷人，

just the way dictionary editors do.

就像字典的编辑们所做的一样。

I hope you can enjoy being part

我希望你能享受成为

of the creativity that is continually remaking

创造力的一部分，一直重新

our language and keeping it robust.

塑造我们的语言并且让它生机勃勃

So how does a word get into a dictionary?

所以一个词汇是怎样走进字典的？

It gets in because we use it

那是因为我们使用它

and we keep using it,

并且我们一直使用它，

and dictionary editors are paying attention to us.

然后字典的编辑就对我们注意了

If you're thinking, "But that lets all of us decide

如果你在想，“那样就是让我们大家

what words mean,"

来决定单词的意思了，”

I would say, "Yes it does,

我会说，“是的，就是这样，

and it always has."

而且一直都是这样。”

Dictionaries are a wonderful guide and resource,

字典是奇妙的指导和资源

but there is no objective dictionary authority out there

但绝不是真正的 字典权威，

that is the final arbiter about what words mean.

成为词汇意思的最后仲裁者。

If a community of speakers is using a word

如果人们都在使用一个单词

and knows what it means, it's real.

并且知道它的意思，它就是真的

That word might be slangy,

那个单词可能是俚语，

that word might be informal,

那个单词可能不正规，

that word might be a word that you think

那个单词可能是你认为

is illogical or unnecessary,

不合逻辑或者不必要的，

but that word that we're using,

但那个单词是我们正在使用的，

that word is real.

那个单词就是真的。

Thank you.

谢谢你们

(Applause)

鼓掌