世界上最權威的英語詞典之一《牛津詞典》通過官方推特向外界公布,選擇「有毒」(toxic)作為2018年的年度關鍵詞。
在該詞典中,「toxic」意指「有毒性的」,一般用於健康和環境話題的討論中。但是其最近一項研究表明,該詞已經正式地被當做一種隱喻來使用,用來描述職場、學校、文化、人際關係和所面臨的壓力等等。
在過去幾年,負責編纂出版《牛津詞典》的牛津大學出版社,基於網絡出版物中的當下英語詞彙及許多語言研究項目等,挑選出來一個「年度詞彙」來描述當代時代精神,如2017年的「青年地震」;2016年的「後真相」等(可自行度娘了解背景知識)。
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The Oxford word of the year 2018 is toxic.《牛津詞典》2018年度詞彙是·toxic".Toxic is defined as'poisonous'and ultimately has its origins in the Greektoxikon pharmakon, meaning'poison for arrows'."Toxic" 意為「有寫的",最早可追溯到希臘語中的toxikon pharmakon這個詞指「箭矢毒藥」 (塗抹千箭上的話藥)。Yet when borrowed into Latin, it was the Greek for arrows or archery,toxikon, that made the leap rather than the word for poison.但是當引入到拉丁語中後,原本代表「弓箭」和「射箭」的toxikon 卻成了「有毒」的意思了。Cut to 2018 and our research shows that this year more than ever peoplehave been using toxic to describe a vast array of things, situations,concerns and events.回到2018, 我們的研究表明,相比以往任何時候,人們在今年使用"toxic" 這個詞最多,用來形容各種各樣的事物、情景、社會問題和突發情況。In its original, literal use to refer to poisonous substances, toxic has beenever-present in discussions of the health, of our communities and ourenvironment, with'toxic air','toxic algae','toxic chemicals','toxic fumes','toxic waste', and even'toxic slime'hitting the headlines - not to mentionthe continued public condemnation of the toxicity of plastics.
其實它最初直接用於形容有毒物質,現在越來越多的人開始用它討論社會和環境健康的話題,如「有毒空氣」、「有毒海藻..、「有毒化學物品'、「有毒煙霧」、「有毒廢物'. 甚至是登榜新聞頭條的「有毒粘液」,更不用說—直被公眾話病的「有毒塑料」了。And it's not just the physical being touted as toxic this year.但是在今年它不僅僅只用來形容物質是有毒的了。Toxic has truly taken off into the realm of metaphor as people havereached for the word to describe workplaces, schools, cultures,relationships and stress, lending a personal angle to this year of toxicity.這個詞被用於隱喻,用來形容工作場所、學校、文化、人際關係和壓力,為這個詞增加了個人色彩。Personal but also political, the #MeToo movement has put the spotlighton'toxic masculinity'.除了應用於個人層面,還可以應用到政治領域中。#Metoo 運動讓公眾關注到了「有毒的男性化」 (直男癌)。W血e in politics, more broadly the word has been applied to the rhetoric,policies, agendas, and legacies of leaders and governments around theglobe.但這一詞在政治領域的應用不僅限於此,在全球領導人和政府的言辭、政策、議程和遺留問題匯總都能發現toxic 的影子。
In 2018, toxic has become a potent descriptor for the year's most talkedabout topics, adding more and more strings to its poisonous bow.2018年, "taxic「已經成為最常用的形容詞,人們用它描述各種熱門話題,也讓這"毒箭」更具威力。It's the sheer scope of its application that has made it a stand-out choicefor the Oxford Word of the year.正是因為它的應用範圍廣,所以toxic 這個詞成為了《牛津詞典》年度詞匯的獨特選擇。