about my social life,

有關我社交生活的事

which I know may not seem relevant,

我知道說這些看似無關

but it is.

不過其實是相關的

When people meet me at parties

當人們在派對上遇見我時

and they find out that I'm an English professor

他們發現我是位英語系教授

who specializes in language,

專攻語言

they generally have one of two reactions.

他們通常有兩種反應

One set of people look frightened. (Laughter)

一種人面露驚恐 (笑聲)

They often say something like,

他們通常會說

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

喔，我最好小心說話

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

我肯定你會聽出來我犯的每個錯誤

And then they stop talking. (Laughter)

然後他們就不說話了 (笑聲)

And they wait for me to go away

然後他們等著我離開

and talk to someone else.

並跟其他人交談

The other set of people,

另一種人

their eyes light up,

他們眼睛閃閃發亮

and they say,

他們會說

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

你正是我想交談的對象

And then they tell me about whatever it is

然後他們告訴我任何

they think is going wrong with the English language.

他們認為英語出錯的地方

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

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

幾週前，我參加一個晚宴

and the man to my right

然後在我右方的一位男士

started telling me about all the ways

開始告訴我所有

that the Internet is degrading the English language.

網路正讓英語降格的事

He brought up Facebook, and he said,

他提到臉書，然後他說

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

去defriend?我的意思是，連那也算是真的單字嗎?

I want to pause on that question:

我想停在這問題上：

What makes a word real?

是什麼因素讓一個單字成真？

My dinner companion and I both know

我的晚餐夥伴和我都知道

what the verb "defriend" means,

"defriend"這個動詞的意思

so when does a new word like "defriend"

因此曾幾何時，一個如同defriend這樣的新單字

become real?

變成真的單字呢？

Who has the authority to make those kinds

究竟是誰有權做出這種

of official decisions about words, anyway?

有關於單字的決定呢?

Those are the questions I want to talk about today.

這些是我今天想談談的問題

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

我認為大部分的人，當他們說一個單字不是真的

what they mean is, it doesn't appear

他們的意思是，這個單字並沒有出現在

in a standard dictionary.

正統字典裡

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

當然，這件事提出更多其他的問題

including, who writes dictionaries?

包括，是誰撰寫字典呢?

Before I go any further,

在我更進一步闡述前

let me clarify my role in all of this.

讓我澄清我在這事件裡的角色

I do not write dictionaries.

我並不撰寫字典

I do, however, collect new words

不過，我會蒐集新單字

much the way dictionary editors do,

就像是字典編輯群所做的事一樣

and the great thing about being a historian

而身為英語史學家

of the English language

最棒的事

is that I get to call this "research."

就是我可以把這稱作「研究」

When I teach the history of the English language,

當我教英語史的時候

I require that students teach me

我要求學生在課堂開始前教我

two new slang words before I will begin class.

兩個新的俚語單字

Over the years, I have learned

這幾年來，以這樣的方式我已學到

some great new slang this way,

某些很棒的新俚語

including "hangry," which --

包括"hangry"，也就是 --

(Applause) —

(鼓掌) —

which is when you are cranky or angry

也就是你暴躁或生氣

because you are hungry,

是因為你餓了

and "adorkable,"

還有"adorkable"

which is when you are adorable

就是形容你很可愛

in kind of a dorky way,

但有點傻傻的感覺

clearly, terrific words that fill

很明顯地，這些很棒的單字能填補

important gaps in the English language.

英語的不足

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

But how real are they

但這些單字又有多真實

if we use them primarily as slang

若我們以俚語為主使用這些單字

and they don't yet appear in a dictionary?

而這些單字尚未收錄在字典裡？

With that, let's turn to dictionaries.

因此，讓我們來談談字典

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

我打算讓各位舉手表決

How many of you still regularly

你們有多少人還常常

refer to a dictionary, either print or online?

查字典，不論是紙本或是線上的？

Okay, so that looks like most of you.

好，看來是大部分的人

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

現在，第二個問題。再一次舉手表決：

How many of you have ever looked to see

你們有多少人曾查過

who edited the dictionary you are using?

是誰編輯你使用的字典？

Okay, many fewer.

好，少了很多人

At some level, we know that there are human hands

某種程度上來說，我們知道字典的背後

behind dictionaries,

有人手編輯

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

但我們真的不確定這些人手是誰

I'm actually fascinated by this.

我對此深感著迷

Even the most critical people out there

就算是外面最常批評的人

tend not to be very critical about dictionaries,

也不會批評字典

not distinguishing among them

不會區別字典好壞

and not asking a whole lot of questions

也不會問很多

about who edited them.

是誰編輯字典的問題

Just think about the phrase

只要想想看這句話

"Look it up in the dictionary,"

「去查字典」

which suggests that all dictionaries

這句話顯示所有的字典

are exactly the same.

完全一樣

Consider the library here on campus,

想想在校園裡的圖書館

where you go into the reading room,

你進到閱覽室

and there is a large, unabridged dictionary

在那有一大本未經刪減的字典

up on a pedestal in this place of honor and respect

就放在既光榮又令人尊敬的臺座上

lying open so we can go stand before it

翻開靜躺在那，好讓我們站在它前方

to get answers.

獲得解答

Now, don't get me wrong,

現在，別誤會我的意思

dictionaries are fantastic resources,

這些字典是絕佳的資源

but they are human

但這些字典畢竟是人造的

and they are not timeless.

而它們絕非永恆

I'm struck as a teacher

身為人師，我非常震撼

that we tell students to critically question

我們告訴學生要批判質疑

every text they read, every website they visit,

所讀到的每個文本，每個瀏覽的網站

except dictionaries,

字典除外

which we tend to treat as un-authored,

我們常以為字典沒有作者

as if they came from nowhere to give us answers

就好像它們不曉得打哪兒來給我們

about what words really mean.

關於單字真正定義的答案

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

重點來了：若你去問字典編輯群

what they'll tell you

他們會告訴你

is they're just trying to keep up with us

他們只是努力

as we change the language.

跟上正在改變語言的我們

They're watching what we say and what we write

他們正在觀察我們說什麼和寫什麼

and trying to figure out what's going to stick

然後努力搞清楚哪些單字會留下來

and what's not going to stick.

和哪些單字不會留下來

They have to gamble,

他們必須要賭

because they want to appear cutting edge

因為他們想要顯得新潮

and catch the words that are going to make it,

然後去捕捉能創新潮的單字

such as LOL,

像是LOL

but they don't want to appear faddish

但他們不想顯得為了趕流行

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

然後去收錄不能趕流行的單字

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

而我認為他們現正觀察的一個單字

is YOLO, you only live once.

就是YOLO，你只活一遍

Now I get to hang out with dictionary editors,

現在我能和字典編輯群一起相處

and you might be surprised

你可能會

by one of the places where we hang out.

對我們去的其中一個地方感到驚訝

Every January, we go

每年一月，我們會去

to the American Dialect Society annual meeting,

美國方言學會年度會議

where among other things,

在那邊除了其他事情以外

we vote on the word of the year.

我們投票表決年度風雲單字

There are about 200 or 300 people who come,

大約有兩三百人來

some of the best known linguists in the United States.

有些是美國知名的語言學家

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

為了讓你了解這個會議的氣氛和味道

it occurs right before happy hour.

這個會議在餐點半價的歡樂時光前舉辦

Anyone who comes can vote.

任何參與的人都能投票

The most important rule is

最重要的規則是

that you can vote with only one hand.

你只能單手投票

In the past, some of the winners have been

過去，有些年度風雲單字冠軍曾是

"tweet" in 2009

2009年的「推文」(tweet)

and "hashtag" in 2012.

和2012年的「關鍵字標記」(hashtag)

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

「屑屑」(Chad) (打孔機從選票上打掉的小紙片)為2000年度風雲單字。

because who knew what a chad was before 2000,

因為在2000年以前誰知道「屑屑」(Chad) 是什麼

and "WMD" in 2002.

和2002年的「大規模毀滅性武器」(WMD)

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

現在，我們也在其他類別進行投票

and my favorite category

而我最喜歡的類別

is most creative word of the year.

就是年度最有創意單字

Past winners in this category have included

以前這個類別的冠軍得主包括

"recombobulation area,"

「整裝區」

which is at the Milwaukee Airport after security,

就是在密爾瓦基機場安檢後

where you can recombobulate.

有一處讓你可以重新整理行李衣著

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

You can put your belt back on,

你可以繫回皮帶

put your computer back in your bag.

將你的電腦放回包包

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

然後在這次投票當中，我最喜歡的單字

which is "multi-slacking."

是「同時多重懈怠」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

And multi-slacking is the act

「同時多重懈怠」的行為是

of having multiple windows up on your screen

在你的螢幕裡打開很多視窗

so it looks like you're working

所以這看起來像是你一直在工作

when you're actually goofing around on the web.

不過其實你不務正業在上網

(Laughter) (Applause)

(笑聲) (鼓掌)

Will all of these words stick? Absolutely not.

這些單字都會留下來嗎？絕對不會

And we have made some questionable choices,

我們也做出許多令人質疑的選擇

for example in 2006

例如在2006年時

when the word of the year was "Plutoed,"

年度風雲單字是「被冥王星了」(Plutoed)

to mean demoted.

意思是被降級

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

But some of the past winners

但有些以前的冠軍得主

now seem completely unremarkable,

現在看似完全不值得注意

such as "app"

像是「應用程式」(app)

and "e" as a prefix,

和當作字首的"e"

and "google" as a verb.

還有作為動詞的"google"

Now, a few weeks before our vote,

在我們投票幾週前

Lake Superior State University

大湖州立大學

issues its list of banished words for the year.

發佈一張年度該被剔除的單字列表

What is striking about this

關於此，最特殊的是

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

其實有很多重覆的單字

between their list and the list that we are considering

介於他們的列表和我們考慮的列表中

for words of the year,

爭奪年度單字

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

因為我們也注意到同樣的事情

We're noticing words that are coming into prominence.

我們發現越來越引人注目的單字

It's really a question of attitude.

這其實是一個態度的問題

Are you bothered by language fads and language change,

你會對語言潮流和語言的改變感到厭煩嗎？

or do you find it fun, interesting,

或者你覺得這很有趣

something worthy of study

這是值得研究的事

as part of a living language?

這本來就是活語言的一部分

The list by Lake Superior State University

大湖州立大學所提供的單字列表

continues a fairly long tradition in English

在英語界維持相當長久的傳統

of complaints about new words.

持續抱怨新單字

So here is Dean Henry Alford in 1875,

因此1875年有位亨利‧阿福德主教

who was very concerned that "desirability"

擔心「慾望性」(desirability)

is really a terrible word.

是個很糟的單字

In 1760, Benjamin Franklin

在1760年，班傑明‧富蘭克林

wrote a letter to David Hume

寫一封信給大衛·休謨

giving up the word "colonize" as bad.

放棄「殖民」這個字的負面意思

Over the years, we've also seen worries

經過這幾年來，我們也已目睹

about new pronunciations.

對新式發音的擔心

Here is Samuel Rogers in 1855

1855年時，山缪羅傑斯

who is concerned about some fashionable pronunciations

關注一些流行的發音

that he finds offensive,

他認為這些流行發音很冒犯人

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

他說：「彷彿沉思還不夠糟糕

balcony makes me sick."

陽台讓我作噁」

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

The word is borrowed in from Italian

陽台(balcony)這個字是從義大利文借來的

and it was pronounced bal-COE-nee.

它原本的發音是bal-COE-nee

These complaints now strike us as quaint,

這些抱怨讓我們覺得很奇特

if not downright adorkable -- (Laughter) --

若不算十足傻傻可愛的話 -- (笑聲) --

but here's the thing:

不過重點來了：

we still get quite worked up about language change.

我們對語言的改變仍然很激動

I have an entire file in my office

在我的辦公室裡有整個

of newspaper articles

剪報文章的檔案

which express concern about illegitimate words

這些文章對不合規則的單字表達擔憂

that should not have been included in the dictionary,

這些單字不該被收錄在字典裡

including "LOL"

包括"LOL"

when it got into the Oxford English Dictionary

它被收錄到牛津英語字典

and "defriend"

和"defriend"

when it got into the Oxford American Dictionary.

它被收錄到牛津美語字典

I also have articles expressing concern

我也有些文章對此表示擔憂

about "invite" as a noun,

像是將「邀請」(invite)當作名詞

"impact" as a verb,

將「撞擊」(impact)當作動詞

because only teeth can be impacted,

因為只有牙齒可以被撞擊

and "incentivize" is described

而「激勵」(incentivize)被描述為

as "boorish, bureaucratic misspeak."

「粗野的、官僚的發音錯誤」

Now, it's not that dictionary editors

這並不是因為字典編輯群

ignore these kinds of attitudes about language.

忽略這些對語言的態度

They try to provide us some guidance about words

他們試圖提供給我們指引

that are considered slang or informal

針對被認為是俚語或不正式文字

or offensive, often through usage labels,

或冒犯人的，往往透過用法標籤

but they're in something of a bind,

但他們在某種困境當中

because they're trying to describe what we do,

因為他們努力去描述我們所做的事

and they know that we often go to dictionaries

而且他們知道我們通常會去查字典

to get information about how we should use a word

取得資料，包括我們該如何

well or appropriately.

好好地或適當地使用單字

In response, the American Heritage Dictionaries

針對此點回應，美國傳統詞典

include usage notes.

包括用法注意事項

Usage notes tend to occur with words

用法注意事項容易出現在

that are troublesome in one way,

某種方面有點困難的單字

and one of the ways that they can be troublesome

這些單字的用法可能有困難的原因之一

is that they're changing meaning.

就是它們的定義一直改變

Now usage notes involve very human decisions,

現在用法注意事項涉及到非常人為的決定

and I think, as dictionary users,

而我認為，就像字典使用者

we're often not as aware of those human decisions

我們通常沒有注意到那些人為的決定

as we should be.

我們原本早該意識到的

To show you what I mean,

為了讓你明白我的意思

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

我們來看一個例子，但在我們看例子之前

I want to explain what the dictionary editors

我想解釋字典編輯群

are trying to deal with in this usage note.

試圖處理這個用法注意事項

Think about the word "peruse"

想想看"peruse"這個單字

and how you use that word.

和這個單字的用法

I would guess many of you are thinking

我猜你們很多人正在想

of skim, scan, reading quickly.

略讀、瀏覽或快速閱讀

Some of you may even have some walking involved,

你們有些人可能甚至會聯想到走路

because you're perusing grocery store shelves,

因為你們正在仔細瀏覽雜貨店貨架

or something like that.

或其他相關的事

You might be surprised to learn

你們可能會很訝異得知

that if you look in most standard dictionaries,

若你查詢大部分的標準字典

the first definition will be to read carefully,

第一個定義會是仔細閱讀