Erin McKean: The joy of lexicography

譯者: Joan Liu 審譯者: Wang-Ju Tsai

Now, have any of y'all ever looked up this word?

現在，在座哪一位查過這個字呢?

You know, in a dictionary? (Laughter) Yeah, that's what I thought.

就是那種拿起字典來查?（笑聲）沒錯，我也是這麼想的。

How about this word?

那這個字呢?

Here, I'll show it to you.

現在我來告訴各位它們的字義

Lexicography: the practice of compiling dictionaries.

字典編纂：匯編字典的過程

Notice -- we're very specific -- that word "compile."

注意--我們用精確的字義，使用這個字「匯編」。

The dictionary is not carved out of a piece of granite,

字典並不是刻在一片岩石上或是大石頭上，

out of a lump of rock. It's made up of lots of little bits.

字典是由許多小部份累積而成的。

It's little discrete --

這概念是離散的--

that's spelled D-I-S-C-R-E-T-E -- bits.

ㄌㄧˊ ㄙㄢˋ 的小片段。

And those bits are words.

而這些小片段就是字。

Now one of the perks of being a lexicographer --

作為一個辭典編纂者令人振奮的一點是--

besides getting to come to TED -- is that you get to say really fun words,

除了能夠參加TED之外--就是你可以說出一些有趣的單字，

like lexicographical.

譬如「辭典編纂的」。

Lexicographical has this great pattern:

「辭典編纂的」這個字有很特別的模式--

it's called a double dactyl. And just by saying double dactyl,

叫做雙重抑楊格（一重音節後兩輕音節）。就在我說「雙重抑揚格」的同時，

I've sent the geek needle all the way into the red. (Laughter) (Applause)

我已經把怪人指數推到極限了。

But "lexicographical" is the same pattern as "higgledy-piggledy."

但「辭典編纂的」這個字跟「亂七八糟」這個辭是同樣形式的。

Right? It's a fun word to say,

對吧?這真是一個說起來很有趣的字，

and I get to say it a lot.

且我常有機會說這個字。

Now, one of the non-perks of being a lexicographer

身為辭典編纂者的缺點之一是

is that people don't usually have a kind of warm, fuzzy, snuggly image of the dictionary.

人們普遍對字典的沒有那種親切、舒適、溫暖的感覺。

Right? Nobody hugs their dictionaries.

是吧?誰會去擁抱字典呢？

But what people really often think about the dictionary is, they think more like this.

但是一說到字典人們往往會這樣想。

Just to let you know, I do not have a lexicographical whistle.

跟你們說，我並沒有辭典編纂者口哨。

But people think that my job is to let the good words

但是一般人認為我的工作就是讓那些好的字彙

make that difficult left-hand turn into the dictionary,

能夠順利編進辭典中，

and keep the bad words out.

然後剔除那些糟糕的字。

But the thing is, I don't want to be a traffic cop.

然而事實是，我並不想當個交通警察。

For one thing, I just do not do uniforms.

其中一個原因是我不喜歡制服。

And for another, deciding what words are good

另一個原因是決定哪些字是優良的

and what words are bad is actually not very easy.

哪些字是劣質的很不容易，

And it's not very fun. And when parts of your job are not easy or fun,

而且不有趣。而且當你工作的某部份既不簡單也不有趣時，

you kind of look for an excuse not to do them.

你似乎會去找個理由不要去處理它。

So if I had to think of some kind of occupation

所以如果我必須要找到一種職業，

as a metaphor for my work, I would much rather be a fisherman.

可以用來比喻我這份工作，我想漁夫應該更恰當。

I want to throw my big net into the deep, blue ocean of English

我想要把我的大網撒進這個充斥英語詞彙的蔚藍大海，

and see what marvelous creatures I can drag up from the bottom.

然後看看我能從海底捕到什麼了不起的生物。

But why do people want me to direct traffic, when I would much rather go fishing?

但是爲什麼當人們期待我去指揮交通，而我卻更喜歡去捕魚呢?

Well, I blame the Queen.

我想這要怪「皇后」。

Why do I blame the Queen?

為什麼我怪「皇后」呢？

Well, first of all, I blame the Queen because it's funny.

第一，因為怪罪皇后很搞笑。

But secondly, I blame the Queen because

但更重要的，我怪皇后因為

dictionaries have really not changed.

辭典本身其實沒有改變。

Our idea of what a dictionary is has not changed since her reign.

自皇后的統治下,辭典這個概念就沒改變過。

The only thing that Queen Victoria would not be amused by in modern dictionaries

維多利亞皇后在現代人的辭典中唯一不會感到有趣的，

is our inclusion of the F-word, which has happened

就是那些F開頭的髒話了，這些髒字

in American dictionaries since 1965.

自1965年出現在美國的辭典中。

So, there's this guy, right? Victorian era.

維多利亞時代有個人對吧？

James Murray, first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.

叫做詹姆士莫瑞，第一位牛津英文辭典的編纂者。

I do not have that hat. I wish I had that hat.

我沒有那頂帽子，我希望我有。

So he's really responsible for a lot of

所以說他必須要為

what we consider modern in dictionaries today.

現今辭典中被認為是現代的東西負責。

When a guy who looks like that, in that hat,

當一個戴著這樣的帽子的人

is the face of modernity, you have a problem.

代表現代化，你就有點問題了。

And so, James Murray could get a job on any dictionary today.

所以,詹姆士莫瑞可以編纂現代的任何一部辭典。

There'd be virtually no learning curve.

看起來是毫無學習曲線可言。

And of course, a few of us are saying: okay, computers!

當然有一些人會說「電腦」呀！

Computers! What about computers?

電腦! 那電腦呢?

The thing about computers is, I love computers.

關於電腦這部分是這樣的 - 我熱愛電腦。

I mean, I'm a huge geek, I love computers.

我的意思是，我是電腦狂，我熱愛電腦。

I would go on a hunger strike before I let them take away Google Book Search from me.

如果有人要把Google書籍搜尋功能從我這拿走的話我會絕食罷工。

But computers don't do much else other than

但是電腦

speed up the process of compiling dictionaries.

除了加快字典編纂速度以外別無功能。

They don't change the end result.

電腦不能改變最後的結果。

Because what a dictionary is,

因為辭典本身就是

is it's Victorian design merged with a little bit of modern propulsion.

維多利亞時代和一些些現代化概念的融合。

It's steampunk. What we have is an electric velocipede.

如同蒸汽機龐克,我們有的就只是一部電子雛型

You know, we have Victorian design with an engine on it. That's all!

維多利亞時代的設計然後裡面有部引擎罷了。

The design has not changed.

這個設計還沒有改變過。

And OK, what about online dictionaries, right?

那麼網路字典呢？

Online dictionaries must be different.

網路字典肯定不同了。

This is the Oxford English Dictionary Online, one of the best online dictionaries.

這是牛津英文線上字典,線上最好的字典之一。

This is my favorite word, by the way.

順道一提，這個是我最喜歡的一個字：

Erinaceous: pertaining to the hedgehog family; of the nature of a hedgehog.

刺蝟的:指涉刺猬因子遺傳基因;也就是刺猬因子的本質。

Very useful word. So, look at that.

很好用的字。現在看看。

Online dictionaries right now are paper thrown up on a screen.

網路字典就像把紙本內容丟到螢幕上。

This is flat. Look how many links there are in the actual entry: two!

是平面的。看看有多少真的可以點擊的連結，兩個！

Right? Those little buttons,

對吧？這些小按鈕--

I had them all expanded except for the date chart.

除了日期表以外我已經全部展開了。

So there's not very much going on here.

所以事實上並沒有很多。

There's not a lot of clickiness.

沒有很多可點擊的東西。

And in fact, online dictionaries replicate

事實上，線上字典

almost all the problems of print, except for searchability.

除了容易搜尋外，跟紙本字典有完全相同的問題。

And when you improve searchability,

當你增加搜尋效率時，

you actually take away the one advantage of print, which is serendipity.

你事實上拿走另一個好處：意外收穫。

Serendipity is when you find things you weren't looking for,

意外收穫是指你找到一些你原本不是要找的東西，

because finding what you are looking for is so damned difficult.

因為要找到你原本想找的東西實在太難了。

So -- (Laughter) (Applause) -- now, when you think about this,

所以（笑聲）現在，當你想想這個，

what we have here is a ham butt problem.

我們有個「火腿末端」問題。

Does everyone know the ham butt problem?

大家知道「火腿末端」問題嗎？

Woman's making a ham for a big, family dinner.

一個女人為了一個家庭聚餐準備火腿。

She goes to cut the butt off the ham and throw it away,

她把火腿末端切掉然後丟掉。

and she looks at this piece of ham and she's like,

然後她看著那塊火腿想：

"This is a perfectly good piece of ham. Why am I throwing this away?"

這是一塊完全沒有問題的火腿，為什麼要丟掉呢？

She thought, "Well, my mom always did this."

她想：喔，媽媽總是把它丟掉。

So she calls up mom, and she says,

所以她打電話給媽媽，問道：

"Mom, why'd you cut the butt off the ham, when you're making a ham?"

「媽，為什麼要把火腿末端切掉呢？」

She says, "I don't know, my mom always did it!"

媽媽說：「我不知道，我媽媽一直都這麼做！」

So they call grandma, and grandma says,

所以她們打給奶奶，奶奶說：

"My pan was too small!" (Laughter)

「我的鍋子太小了！」（笑聲）

So, it's not that we have good words and bad words.

所以不是我們有優質或劣質的字--

We have a pan that's too small!

而是因爲我們的鍋子太小了！

You know, that ham butt is delicious! There's no reason to throw it away.

你知道的，火腿末端很好吃的！實在沒有必要把它丟掉。

The bad words -- see, when people think about a place

劣質的字--你想，當有人想要找一個地方

and they don't find a place on the map,

而那個地方沒有在地圖上，

they think, "This map sucks!"

他們會想「這地圖爛透了！」

When they find a nightspot or a bar, and it's not in the guidebook,

當他們找到一個不在旅遊手冊上的夜總會，

they're like, "Ooh, this place must be cool! It's not in the guidebook."

他們會想「喔，這地方一定很酷！它沒有在旅遊書上。」

When they find a word that's not in the dictionary, they think,

當他們在字典上找不到一個字時，他們會想

"This must be a bad word." Why? It's more likely to be a bad dictionary.

「這一定是個不好的字。」為什麼？那更有可能是一本爛字典。

Why are you blaming the ham for being too big for the pan?

為什麼要怪火腿太大呢？

So, you can't get a smaller ham.

所以你不可能有塊小火腿。

The English language is as big as it is.

英文這個語言就是這麼大。

So, if you have a ham butt problem,

所以如果你有個火腿末端問題，

and you're thinking about the ham butt problem,

且你正在想這個問題，

the conclusion that it leads you to is inexorable and counterintuitive:

結論是無情且反直覺的：

paper is the enemy of words.

紙是文字的敵人。

How can this be? I mean, I love books. I really love books.

這怎麼可能？我的意思是，我愛書。我很愛書。

Some of my best friends are books.

我一些最要好的朋友都是書。

But the book is not the best shape for the dictionary.

但書不是字典最好的形式。

Now they're going to think "Oh, boy.

現在他們會想「喔不，

People are going to take away my beautiful, paper dictionaries?"

不要把我美麗的紙本字典拿走？」

No. There will still be paper dictionaries.

不是的。紙本字典還是會存在。

When we had cars -- when cars became the dominant mode of transportation,

當我們有車子的時候，當車子成為主要的交通工具時，

we didn't round up all the horses and shoot them.

我們沒有把所有的馬抓起來殺掉。

You know, there're still going to be paper dictionaries,

你懂的，還是會有紙本字典，

but it's not going to be the dominant dictionary.

只是不會是主要的形式。

The book-shaped dictionary is not going to be the only shape

紙本字典不會是字典的唯一形式。

dictionaries come in. And it's not going to be

而且字典不會有一個

the prototype for the shapes dictionaries come in.

很制式的形式。

So, think about it this way: if you've got an artificial constraint,

這樣想吧！就像是你有一個人為限制，

artificial constraints lead to

這個限制造成

arbitrary distinctions and a skewed worldview.

無理曲解和扭曲的世界觀。

What if biologists could only study animals

如果生物學家只能研究

that made people go, "Aww." Right?

讓人們看了會覺得可愛的動物？

What if we made aesthetic judgments about animals,

如果我們對動物的審美標準是

and only the ones we thought were cute were the ones that we could study?

只能研究那些讓我們覺得可愛的？

We'd know a whole lot about charismatic megafauna,

我們會瞭解很多關於有魅力的巨型動物的事情，

and not very much about much else.

但其他的幾乎一無所知。

And I think this is a problem.

且我覺得這是個問題。

I think we should study all the words,

我覺得我們應該學習所有的字，

because when you think about words, you can make beautiful expressions

因為當你想文字時，你可以用簡單的字

from very humble parts.

拼湊成美妙的語句。

Lexicography is really more about material science.

辭典編纂事實上是比較材料科學的。

We are studying the tolerances of the materials

我們正在研究人們

that you use to build the structure of your expression:

用來組織文章的材料的極限，

your speeches and your writing. And then, often people say to me,

包括口頭和紙筆。人們常常這麼跟我說：

"Well, OK, how do I know that this word is real?"

「好，我怎麼知道這個字是不是真的？」

They think, "OK, if we think words are the tools

他們想：「好，如果我們把文字當作

that we use to build the expressions of our thoughts,

我們組織語句的工具，

how can you say that screwdrivers are better than hammers?

那我們怎麼知道螺絲起子會比榔頭好呢？」

How can you say that a sledgehammer is better than a ball-peen hammer?"

你又怎麼會知道大錘子比小槌子好呢？

They're just the right tools for the job.

那是因工作所需而定的。

And so people say to me, "How do I know if a word is real?"

所以有人問我：「我怎麼知道一個字是不是真的？」

You know, anybody who's read a children's book

事實上，任何一個看過童話故事書的人

knows that love makes things real.

都知道愛會讓事情成真。

If you love a word, use it. That makes it real.

如果你很喜歡一個單字，多用它，這樣就會讓它變成一個真的單字了。

Being in the dictionary is an artificial distinction.

被放在字典裡面只是人為的區別罷了。

It doesn't make a word any more real than any other way.

不會讓一個字更真實。

If you love a word, it becomes real.

如果你愛一個字，這就讓它變成真的。

So if we're not worrying about directing traffic,

所以當我們不是在煩惱如何指揮交通時，

if we've transcended paper, if we are worrying less

如果我們超越紙張，如果我們少煩惱一些

about control and more about description,

關於駕馭的事而多想一些描述，

then we can think of the English language

那麼我們就可以把英文語言

as being this beautiful mobile.

想成一部美麗的轎車。

And any time one of those little parts of the mobile changes,

且每一次轎車中的任一小部份改變時，

is touched, any time you touch a word,

每一次你使用一個字，

you use it in a new context, you give it a new connotation,

你以一個新的方式使用它，你賦予它新的意義，

you verb it, you make the mobile move.

你把它當作動詞，你讓轎車移動。

You didn't break it. It's just in a new position,

你不會把它弄壞，只是擺放到不同的地方，

and that new position can be just as beautiful.

且那新的地方有可能也一樣美麗。

Now, if you're no longer a traffic cop --

現在，你不再是個交通警察。

the problem with being a traffic cop is

交通警察的問題是，

there can only be so many traffic cops in any one intersection,

在每個交叉路口上只能有固定數量的交警，

or the cars get confused. Right?

不然車子會更混亂。對吧？

But if your goal is no longer to direct the traffic,

但如果你的目的不是在指揮交通，

but maybe to count the cars that go by, then more eyeballs are better.

而是在數有多少輛車子經過，那麽更多人或許是更好的。

You can ask for help!

你可以請求協助！

If you ask for help, you get more done. And we really need help.

如果你請求協助，你將可以完成更多的事情。我們真的很需要幫忙。

Library of Congress: 17 million books,

國會圖書館有一千七百萬本書。

of which half are in English.

其中有一半是英文書。

If only one out of every 10 of those books

如果每十本中

had a word that's not in the dictionary in it,

有一個不在字典中的字，

that would be equivalent to more than two unabridged dictionaries.

那會比兩本未經刪節的字典還多。

And I find an un-dictionaried word --

且我幾乎在每本書中都可以找到一個「沒有在字典中」的字--

a word like "un-dictionaried," for example --

像是「沒有在字典中」就是一個。

in almost every book I read. What about newspapers?

報紙呢？

Newspaper archive goes back to 1759,

從1759年到現在的報紙，

58.1 million newspaper pages. If only one in 100

五千八百一十萬頁。如果每一百頁

of those pages had an un-dictionaried word on it,

有個沒有在字典裡的單字，

it would be an entire other OED.

那就會是另一本牛津英文字典了。

That's 500,000 more words. So that's a lot.

那是多了五十萬個字。那是很多的。

And I'm not even talking about magazines. I'm not talking about blogs --

而且我還沒有討論到雜誌，也沒有談部落格--

and I find more new words on BoingBoing in a given week

且我每個禮拜在BoingBoing(網站)上看到的新單字

than I do Newsweek or Time.

比在Newsweek或時代雜誌多。

There's a lot going on there.

那邊真的有很多新事件在發生。

And I'm not even talking about polysemy,

且我也還沒討論到一字多意，

which is the greedy habit some words have of taking

就是一個貪心的

more than one meaning for themselves.

有不只一個意思的字。

So if you think of the word "set," a set can be a badger's burrow,

如果想想英文單字「set」，可以是狗的洞穴，

a set can be one of the pleats in an Elizabethan ruff,

也可以是伊利莎白式袖口的褶子，

and there's one numbered definition in the OED.

而且在牛津英文字典中還有其他的解釋。

The OED has 33 different numbered definitions for set.

牛津英文字典對「set」這個字有33種解釋。

Tiny, little word, 33 numbered definitions.

這麼簡單的一個字，33種意思。

One of them is just labeled "miscellaneous technical senses."

其中一個寫到「雜項技術用語」。

Do you know what that says to me?

你知道他們跟我說什麼嗎？

That says to me, it was Friday afternoon and somebody wanted to go down the pub. (Laughter)

他們說，已經是禮拜五下午了且有人想要（下班）去酒吧了。

That's a lexicographical cop out,

那是辭典編纂人員的偷懶，

to say, "miscellaneous technical senses."

寫說「雜項技術用語」。

So, we have all these words, and we really need help!

所以我們有這些字，且我們真的需要幫忙！

And the thing is, we could ask for help --

而且我們可以請人幫忙，

asking for help's not that hard.

事實上沒有那麼難。

I mean, lexicography is not rocket science.

我的意思是，辭典編纂不是很難的科學。

See, I just gave you a lot of words and a lot of numbers,

你看，我才剛給你們一堆字和一堆數字，

and this is more of a visual explanation.

這是個圖像的解釋。

If we think of the dictionary as being the map of the English language,

如果我們把字典想成英語語言的地圖，

these bright spots are what we know about,

這些亮點是我們已經知道的，

and the dark spots are where we are in the dark.

暗點是我們還不知道的。

If that was the map of all the words in American English, we don't know very much.

如果我們看這個美式英語的地圖，我們知道不多。

And we don't even know the shape of the language.

我們不知道這個語言的形狀。

If this was the dictionary -- if this was the map of American English --

如果這是字典，如果這是美式英語的地圖，

look, we have a kind of lumpy idea of Florida,

看，我們有個怪異形狀的佛羅里達，

but there's no California!

但沒有加州！

We're missing California from American English.

我們在美式英語中忽略了加州。

We just don't know enough, and we don't even know that we're missing California.

我們真的知道的太少，而且我們根本不知道我們忽略了加州。

We don't even see that there's a gap on the map.

我們根本看不出來地圖上有空隙。

So again, lexicography is not rocket science.

所以再說一次，辭典編纂不是什麼很難的科學。

But even if it were, rocket science is being done

但就算它是，現在的前衛科學

by dedicated amateurs these days. You know?

往往是需要業餘者的參與。你知道嗎？

It can't be that hard to find some words!

找一些單字不難的！

So, enough scientists in other disciplines

所以，很多在其他領域的科學家

are really asking people to help, and they're doing a good job of it.

正在請人們幫忙，且他們做得非常好。

For instance, there's eBird, where amateur birdwatchers

舉例來說：eBird是業餘觀鳥者

can upload information about their bird sightings.

可以上傳他們看到鳥類的狀況。

And then, ornithologists can go

然後鳥類學家可由此

and help track populations, migrations, etc.

瞭解鳥類數目、遷移等資料。

And there's this guy, Mike Oates. Mike Oates lives in the U.K.

還有一個住在英國名叫麥可奧斯的人。

He's a director of an electroplating company.

他是一家電鍍公司的老闆。

He's found more than 140 comets.

他發現了超過140個彗星。

He's found so many comets, they named a comet after him.

為了感謝他在尋找彗星領域的貢獻，有個彗星是用他的名字命名的。

It's kind of out past Mars. It's a hike.

那些彗星比火星遠--需要一些氣力才過得去。

I don't think he's getting his picture taken there anytime soon.

我不認為他可以在不遠的將來可在那邊拍照。

But he found 140 comets without a telescope.

但他並沒有用望遠鏡找到140個彗星。

He downloaded data from the NASA SOHO satellite,

他下載了NASA和SOHO的衛星資訊，

and that's how he found them.

就這樣找到了彗星。

If we can find comets without a telescope,

如果我們可以不需要望遠鏡就可以找到彗星，

shouldn't we be able to find words?

那為什麼我們不能找到新的字？

Now, y'all know where I'm going with this.

現在，你們都知道我在想什麼了。

Because I'm going to the Internet, which is where everybody goes.

我在想網路，就是大家都在用的。

And the Internet is great for collecting words,

而且網路是個非常適合蒐集文字的地方，

because the Internet's full of collectors.

因為網路上有很多蒐集者。

And this is a little-known technological fact about the Internet,

且這是網路較不為人知的科技面向，

but the Internet is actually made up of words and enthusiasm.

但事實上網路是由文字和熱情編織出來的。

And words and enthusiasm actually happen to be

而文字和熱情正是

the recipe for lexicography. Isn't that great?

辭典編纂的元素。這不是很棒嗎？

So there are a lot of really good word-collecting sites out there right now,

現在網路上有很多很棒的文字蒐集網站，

but the problem with some of them is that they're not scientific enough.

但問題在於他們不夠科學化。

They show the word, but they don't show any context.

他們顯示文字，但沒有內容：

Where did it come from? Who said it?

從哪裡來？誰說的？

What newspaper was it in? What book?

在哪些報紙當中？哪些書當中？

Because a word is like an archaeological artifact.

因為文字是古典神物。

If you don't know the provenance or the source of the artifact,

如果你不知道神物的出處，

it's not science, it's a pretty thing to look at.

就不是科學，只是一個好看的東西罷了。

So a word without its source is like a cut flower.

所以一個不知道來源的字就像是朵被摘下來的花。

You know, it's pretty to look at for a while, but then it dies.

就是看起來很漂亮但過一陣子就死掉了。

It dies too fast.

它很快就會死亡。

So, this whole time I've been saying,

從剛剛到現在我一直說

"The dictionary, the dictionary, the dictionary, the dictionary."

：「辭典、辭典、辭典。」

Not "a dictionary," or "dictionaries." And that's because,

不是「一本辭典」或是「數本辭典」。原因是--

well, people use the dictionary to stand for the whole language.

人們把「辭典」當作整個語言的代稱。

They use it synecdochically.

人們把它當作一種借代--

And one of the problems of knowing a word like "synecdochically"

且知道一個像是「借代」這樣的詞

is that you really want an excuse to say "synecdochically."

就是你會想要一個用這個詞理由。

This whole talk has just been an excuse to get me to the point

所以這整個演講就是製造一個

where I could say "synecdochically" to all of you.

讓我可以有機會講這個字。

So I'm really sorry. But when you use a part of something --

對不起。但當你用東西的一部份--

like the dictionary is a part of the language,

就像辭典是語言的一部份，

or a flag stands for the United States, it's a symbol of the country --

或是讓國旗代表美國、代表國家--

then you're using it synecdochically.

那麼你就是在使用借代了。

But the thing is, we could make the dictionary the whole language.

但問題是，我們可以讓辭典成為整個語言。

If we get a bigger pan, then we can put all the words in.

如果我們有個大一點的鍋子，我們就可以把所有字放進去。

We can put in all the meanings.

我們可以讓它有所有的意義。

Doesn't everyone want more meaning in their lives?

人們不是總希望人生有更多意義嗎？

And we can make the dictionary not just be a symbol of the language --

且我們可以讓辭典不是只是語言的符號，

we can make it be the whole language.

我們可以讓它成為整個語言。

You see, what I'm really hoping for is that my son,

我很希望我的兒子--

who turns seven this month -- I want him to barely remember

他這個月就要七歲了--我希望他幾乎不會記得

that this is the form factor that dictionaries used to come in.

這是以前辭典的形式。

This is what dictionaries used to look like.

這是以前辭典的樣子。

I want him to think of this kind of dictionary as an eight-track tape.

我希望他把這種辭典就有點像是錄音帶。

It's a format that died because it wasn't useful enough.

就是一種因為不夠常使用而不復存在。

It wasn't really what people needed.

並不是人們真的需要的。

And the thing is, if we can put in all the words,

但事實上，如果我們可以把所有的字放進去，

no longer have that artificial distinction between good and bad,

沒有人為的優質劣質間的區分，

we can really describe the language like scientists.

我們就真的可以如科學家般解釋語言。

We can leave the aesthetic judgments to the writers and the speakers.

我們可以把美學鑑定的部份讓給作家和演講家。

If we can do that, then I can spend all my time fishing,

如果我們可以做到，那們我就可以把所有時間拿來釣魚，

and I don't have to be a traffic cop anymore.

而不用繼續當一個交通警察了。

Thank you very much for your kind attention.

謝謝各位的注意。