Subprime当选美国07年年度词汇(图)

http://www.sina.com.cn 2008年01月16日 10:27   河南报业网-大河报

  Used to describe a risky loan,“subprime”has been chosen as the Word of the Year 2007 by American Dialect Society at its annual convention recently.

  在近日召开的美国方言学会年度大会上,用于形容高风险贷款的“次级(subprime)”一词被评为2007年度词汇。

  About 80 members of the organization spent two days debating the merits of runners-up “Facebook”,“green”,“Google ganger”and “water boarding”before voting for an adjective that means “a risky or less than ideal loan,mortgage or investment”.

  此前,美国方言学会的约80名成员就评选年度词汇进行了为期两天的讨论。Facebook(美国在线社交网站)、green(绿色)、Google ganger (谷歌替身)和water boarding(水刑)都在讨论之列。最终,他们投票选定意味着“高风险贷款或投资”的形容词“次级”为2007年度词汇。

  The choice signifies the public's concern for a “deepening mortgage crisis”,the society said in a statement.

  美国方言学会在一份声明中说,“次级”当选年度词汇表明美国民众对于“日益恶化的次贷危机”的担忧。

  “Facebook”,as a noun,verb or adjective,was popular with younger linguists,said Wayne Glowka,a spokesman for the group.

  该组织发言人韦恩·格洛卡说,年轻的语言学家们更青睐Facebook 一词,Facebook 既可用作名词,也可用作形容词和动词。

  Several people lobbied for “green”,which “designates environmental concern”,but the term has been around for years,he said.The word topped the 2007“Most Useful”category,one of numerous subgroups the society choses.

  还有几名评委倾向于“green(绿色)”一词,但这个代表人们对环境关切的词语已流行多年。除年度词汇外,该语言组织还评选出了多项词汇之最,green一词当选2007年“最有用的词汇”。

  The group also decided that although “waterboarding”,an interrogation technique that simulates drowning,gained a lot of attention during recent attorney general confirmation hearings,it was a bigger deal in 2004,Glowka said.

  该组织称,尽管审讯手段“水刑”在最近召开的总检察长确认听证会上受到众多关注,但程度还不及2004年。“水刑”是一种让犯人感觉自己快被溺死的刑讯方式。

  But what's a “Googleganger”?

  那么Googleganger指的是什么呢?

  A play on “doppelganger”,the word is “a person with your name who shows up when you Google yourself”,according to the society. It was named as the “Most Creative”word.

  据介绍,“Googleganger(谷歌替身)”是根据(德语)doppelganger(面貌相似的人)一词改造而来,指的是在Google上搜索自己时发现的与自己同名同姓的人。Googleganger 被评为“最具创意词汇”。

  In 2006,the organization chose “plutoed”,which means “to be demoted or devalued”.

  2006年的年度词汇为plutoed,意为“被降级或贬值”。

发表评论 _COUNT_条
爱问(iAsk.com)
不支持Flash
·《对话城市》直播中国 ·新浪特许频道免责公告 ·企业邮箱换新颜 ·邮箱大奖等你拿