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英式英语vs美式英语

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英式英语vs美式英语

英国知识分子喜欢为了美式英语大量涌入其母国的语言而哀叹。 英式英语vs美式英语

双语精读

British v American English: What's your cup of tea?

英式英语vs美式英语:哪种是你的菜?

British intellectuals enjoy bewailing the influx of Americanisms into the language of the mother country.

英国知识分子喜欢为了美式英语大量涌入其母国的语言而哀叹。

The BBC once asked British readers to send in the Americanisms that annoyed them most and was flooded with thousands of entries, including "24/7", "deplane" and "touch base".

英国广播公司曾请英国读者提交最让他们恼火的美式英语,结果收到了数千个词条,其中包括"24/7" "下飞机"和"与某人联系"。

The furore--which Americans would call a furor--seemed to die down. But in September Simon Heffer of the Daily Telegraph revived it with a column and book exploring Americanisms, a trend he situates "in the past 15 years".

这场群情激奋的讨论----美国人会称之为furor----似乎平息了。但在今年9月,《每日电讯报》的西蒙·赫弗在一篇专栏文章和一本书中探讨了美式英语,从而重新提起了这个话题,他认为这种趋势"在过去15年间"产生。

His language evokes violence, bemoaning American words' "poisoning", "linguistic assault", "conquest" and "penetration".

他的语言让人想到暴力,他悲叹美国词汇的"毒害""语言攻击""征服"和"穿透"。

In the end, though, even the hyperbolic Mr Heffer concedes that Brits are, in fact, "willingly adopting" these words, especially via two channels associated with America: digital technology and "corporatespeak". He just wishes his countrymen would stop.

但在最后,就连夸张的赫弗也承认,事实上,英国人"愿意采用"这些词汇,尤其是通过与美国相关的两个渠道:数字技术和"企业用语"。他只是希望他的同胞们能够停止使用美国词汇。

But linguistic exchange can also be seen in a more upbeat way. This is the approach of Ben Yagoda, emeritus professor of English at the University of Delaware, in "Gobsmacked!"

但是语言交流也可以从更乐观的角度来看待。这是特拉华大学英文专业荣誉退休教授本·雅戈达在《惊呆了!》一书中的看法。

The trend is older and more extensive than many think. Mr Yagoda describes Britishisms like "it's early days" and "gone missing" taking hold in America almost entirely below the radar in the 1980s and 2000s, respectively.

语言交流的趋势比许多人认为的更为古老和广泛。雅戈达写道,一些英式表达,如"早期"和"不见了",这两个表达分别在20世纪80年代和21世纪初在美国流行起来,而且几乎没有引起人们的注意。

Mr Yagoda identifies the intensifier "awfully" (as in "awfully tired") as the first Britishism, having been noticed (disapprovingly) by an American commentator in the 19th century.

雅戈达指出,"极其"(如"极其疲惫")这个强调词是第一个传入美国的英式英语,19世纪时被一位美国评论家注意到(并对这个词表示不赞成)。

The early 20th century saw many more Britishisms take hold, especially via military contact: "gadget", "cushy", "scrounge", "bonkers", "dicey" and "shambolic" all made their way from the British Tommy to GI. Joe, and thence to the wider American public.

20世纪初,更多的英式英语表达流行起来,尤其是通过军事接触:"小装置""轻松的""乞讨""发疯的""不确定的""混乱的"都从英国士兵传到了美国士兵那里,然后又传给了美国大众。

Mr Yagoda has compiled a "top 40", including "brilliant" (merely "OK, good"), "chat up" and "ginger". It is possible that the British need "Gobsmacked!" more than their American cousins.

雅戈达编制了一份"英式用语前40名"清单,包括"很好的"(意思仅仅是"不错,很好的")"搭讪"和"姜黄色的"。有可能英国人比他们的美国表亲更需要《惊呆了!》这本书。

The Americanisation of British English is well known; the Britishisation of American English, not so much (as a Californian teen might say). A country not sure what influence it still has in the world might like to know that the superpower across the ocean still fancies the mother country and its culture.

英式英语的美国化是众所周知的,而美式英语的英国化则不是(一个加利福尼亚青少年可能会这样认为)。一个国家如果不确定自己在世界上还有什么影响力,那么它可能会想知道大洋彼岸的超级大国仍然喜欢其母国及母国的文化。

词汇预习

  • entirely [高考]

    美[ɪnˈtaɪərli] | 英[ɪnˈtaɪəli]

    adv. 完全地;全部地

  • extensive [高考]

    美[ɪkˈstensɪv] | 英[ɪkˈstensɪv]

    adj. 广泛的;广阔的;广大的;大量的

  • military [高考]

    美[ˈmɪləteri] | 英[ˈmɪlətri]

    adj. 军事的 n. 军队

  • commentator [高考]

    美[ˈkɑːmənteɪtər] | 英[ˈkɒmənteɪtə(r)]

    n. 评论员;解说员;注释者

  • awfully [高考]

    美[ˈɔflɪ] | 英[ˈɔ:fli]

    adv. 非常地;极端地;令人嫌恶地

  • column [高考]

    美[ˈkɑːləm] | 英[ˈkɒləm]

    n. 栏;专栏;列;圆柱;柱;柱形物

  • radar [高考]

    美[ˈreɪdɑːr] | 英[ˈreɪdɑː(r)]

    n. 雷达

  • upbeat [高考]

    美[ˈʌpˌbit] | 英[ˈʌpbi:t]

    n. 上升;[音]弱音拍 adj. 乐观的

  • approach [高考]

    美[əˈproʊtʃ] | 英[əˈprəʊtʃ]

    v. 接近;建议;接洽;着手处理 n. 方法;接近;路径;道路

  • trend [高考]

    美[trend] | 英[trend]

    n. 趋势;倾向;方位 vi. 倾向;转向

  • merely [高考]

    美[ˈmɪrli] | 英[ˈmɪəli]

    adv. 仅仅;只不过

  • violence [高考]

    美[ˈvaɪələns] | 英[ˈvaɪələns]

    n. 猛烈;暴力;暴行;强暴

  • brilliant [高考]

    美[ˈbrɪliənt] | 英[ˈbrɪliənt]

    adj. 卓越的;灿烂的;美妙的;杰出的;才华横溢的 n. 宝石

  • via [高考]

    美[ˈviːə] | 英[ˈvaɪə]

    prep. 经由;通过

  • send in [高考]

    美[sɛnd ɪn] | 英[send in]

    呈报; 提出; 递送

  • gadget [高考]

    美[ˈɡædʒɪt] | 英[ˈɡædʒɪt]

    n. 小机件;小玩意儿;小巧的机械

  • would [高考]

    美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]

    aux. 将;可能;大概;总会;愿意;will的过去式

  • respectively [四级]

    美[rɪˈspektɪvli] | 英[rɪˈspektɪvli]

    adv. 分别地;各自地

  • conquest [四级]

    美[ˈkɑːŋkwest] | 英[ˈkɒŋkwest]

    n. 征服;占领地;战利品;俘虏

  • superpower [四级]

    美[ˈsupərpaʊə(r)] | 英[ˈsu:pəpaʊə(r)]

    n. 超级大国;超能力

  • linguistic [六级]

    美[lɪŋˈɡwɪstɪk] | 英[lɪŋˈɡwɪstɪk]

    adj. 语言的;语言学的

  • assault [六级]

    美[əˈsɔːlt] | 英[əˈsɔːlt]

    n. 攻击;突袭;抨击 vt. 袭击;突袭

  • penetration [六级]

    美[ˌpɛnɪˈtreʃən] | 英[ˌpenɪˈtreɪʃn]

    n. 侵入;渗透;突破;洞察力

  • ginger [六级]

    美[ˈdʒɪndʒɚ] | 英[ˈdʒɪndʒə(r)]

    n. 姜;姜根;精力;深棕色 vt. 用姜调味;使 ... 活泼

  • saw [专八]

    美[sɔː] | 英[sɔː]

    n. 锯;谚语,格言 v. 锯,用锯割开;看见,明白(see的过去式)

  • scrounge [专八]

    美[skraʊndʒ] | 英[skraʊndʒ]

    v. 四处搜寻;乞讨;索取

  • willingly [考研]

    美['wɪlɪŋli] | 英['wɪlɪŋlɪ]

    adv. 乐意地;心甘情愿地

  • influx [托福]

    美[ˈɪnflʌks] | 英[ˈɪnflʌks]

    n. 流入;河口;汇集;涌入

  • annoyed [托福]

    美[əˈnɔɪd] | 英[əˈnɔɪd]

    adj. 恼怒的;气恼的

  • emeritus [雅思]

    美[iˈmerɪtəs] | 英[iˈmerɪtəs]

    adj. 名誉退休的 n. 名誉退休者

重点讲解

British v American English: What's your cup of tea?

英式英语vs美式英语:哪种是你的菜?

intellectual  n. & adj.

1. 作名词:知识分子

【例】a group of intellectuals 一群知识分子

2. 作形容词:智识的;智力的

【例】an intellectual worker  脑力工作者

intellectual curiosity  求知欲

【辨析】intelligent  adj. 智商高的;智能的

British intellectuals enjoy bewailing the influx of Americanisms into the language of the mother country.

英国知识分子喜欢为了美式英语大量涌入其母国的语言而哀叹。

intellectual  n. & adj.

1. 作名词:知识分子

【例】a group of intellectuals 一群知识分子

2. 作形容词:智识的;智力的

【例】an intellectual worker  脑力工作者

intellectual curiosity  求知欲

【辨析】intelligent  adj. 智商高的;智能的

The BBC once asked British readers to send in the Americanisms that annoyed them most and was flooded with thousands of entries, including "24/7", "deplane" and "touch base".

英国广播公司曾请英国读者提交最让他们恼火的美式英语,结果收到了数千个词条,其中包括"24/7" "下飞机"和"与某人联系"。

die down  逐渐平息;逐渐变弱

【例】The flames died down. 

火焰逐渐熄灭了。

【拓展】die out  灭绝

situate  v. 使位于;置于

【例】To understand this issue, it must first be situated in its historical context.

为了理解这个问题,首先必须把它放在当时的历史背景中。

【拓展】situation  n. 情境

【近义词】contextualize  v. 置于背景中考虑

The furore--which Americans would call a furor--seemed to die down. But in September Simon Heffer of the Daily Telegraph revived it with a column and book exploring Americanisms, a trend he situates "in the past 15 years".

这场群情激奋的讨论----美国人会称之为furor----似乎平息了。但在今年9月,《每日电讯报》的西蒙·赫弗在一篇专栏文章和一本书中探讨了美式英语,从而重新提起了这个话题,他认为这种趋势"在过去15年间"产生。

die down  逐渐平息;逐渐变弱

【例】The flames died down. 

火焰逐渐熄灭了。

【拓展】die out  灭绝

situate  v. 使位于;置于

【例】To understand this issue, it must first be situated in its historical context.

为了理解这个问题,首先必须把它放在当时的历史背景中。

【拓展】situation  n. 情境

【近义词】contextualize  v. 置于背景中考虑

His language evokes violence, bemoaning American words' "poisoning", "linguistic assault", "conquest" and "penetration".

他的语言让人想到暴力,他悲叹美国词汇的"毒害""语言攻击""征服"和"穿透"。

penetration  n. 刺穿;穿透

【例】penetration of the stomach by a knife 

被刀刺破胃部

penetration of overseas markets

对海外市场的渗透/开拓海外市场

to analyze the problem with penetration

深刻地分析问题

【拓展】penetrate  v. 刺穿;穿透

hyperbolic  adj. 夸张的

【例】a hyperbolic storyteller

一个讲故事添油加醋的人

【近义词】exaggerated  adj. 夸张的

【拓展】hyperbole  n. 夸张修辞

hyper  adj. 亢奋的;精力过剩的

hype  n. 媒体炒作;夸张的宣传

In the end, though, even the hyperbolic Mr Heffer concedes that Brits are, in fact, "willingly adopting" these words, especially via two channels associated with America: digital technology and "corporatespeak". He just wishes his countrymen would stop.

但在最后,就连夸张的赫弗也承认,事实上,英国人"愿意采用"这些词汇,尤其是通过与美国相关的两个渠道:数字技术和"企业用语"。他只是希望他的同胞们能够停止使用美国词汇。

penetration  n. 刺穿;穿透

【例】penetration of the stomach by a knife 

被刀刺破胃部

penetration of overseas markets

对海外市场的渗透/开拓海外市场

to analyze the problem with penetration

深刻地分析问题

【拓展】penetrate  v. 刺穿;穿透

hyperbolic  adj. 夸张的

【例】a hyperbolic storyteller

一个讲故事添油加醋的人

【近义词】exaggerated  adj. 夸张的

【拓展】hyperbole  n. 夸张修辞

hyper  adj. 亢奋的;精力过剩的

hype  n. 媒体炒作;夸张的宣传

But linguistic exchange can also be seen in a more upbeat way. This is the approach of Ben Yagoda, emeritus professor of English at the University of Delaware, in "Gobsmacked!"

但是语言交流也可以从更乐观的角度来看待。这是特拉华大学英文专业荣誉退休教授本·雅戈达在《惊呆了!》一书中的看法。

upbeat  adj. 积极向上的;乐观的

【例】to feel upbeat about the future

对未来持乐观态度

Let's call the end of the meeting on this upbeat note.

让我们在这种愉快气氛中结束会议吧。

【反义词】downbeat  adj. 悲观的;消沉的

take hold  抓住;变得稳固

【例】Take hold of the rope.

抓住绳子。

This idea has taken hold. 

这个观念已经为大家所接受。

below the radar  未引起注意的

【例】Some crime stays below the radar.

一些犯罪行为没有被人发现。

【反义词】on one's radar  引起某人注意

The trend is older and more extensive than many think. Mr Yagoda describes Britishisms like "it's early days" and "gone missing" taking hold in America almost entirely below the radar in the 1980s and 2000s, respectively.

语言交流的趋势比许多人认为的更为古老和广泛。雅戈达写道,一些英式表达,如"早期"和"不见了",这两个表达分别在20世纪80年代和21世纪初在美国流行起来,而且几乎没有引起人们的注意。

upbeat  adj. 积极向上的;乐观的

【例】to feel upbeat about the future

对未来持乐观态度

Let's call the end of the meeting on this upbeat note.

让我们在这种愉快气氛中结束会议吧。

【反义词】downbeat  adj. 悲观的;消沉的

take hold  抓住;变得稳固

【例】Take hold of the rope.

抓住绳子。

This idea has taken hold. 

这个观念已经为大家所接受。

below the radar  未引起注意的

【例】Some crime stays below the radar.

一些犯罪行为没有被人发现。

【反义词】on one's radar  引起某人注意

Mr Yagoda identifies the intensifier "awfully" (as in "awfully tired") as the first Britishism, having been noticed (disapprovingly) by an American commentator in the 19th century.

雅戈达指出,"极其"(如"极其疲惫")这个强调词是第一个传入美国的英式英语,19世纪时被一位美国评论家注意到(并对这个词表示不赞成)。

disapprovingly  adv. 不赞成的;反对的

【例】She shook her head disapprovingly.

她不满意地摇了摇头。

【反义词】approvingly  adv. 赞许地

【拓展】approve of  赞成

disapprove of  不赞成

via  prep. 通过,凭借(某种途径)

【例】He got the job via internal referral. 

他通过内推得到了这份工作。

【近义词】by means of/through  通过;凭借

The early 20th century saw many more Britishisms take hold, especially via military contact: "gadget", "cushy", "scrounge", "bonkers", "dicey" and "shambolic" all made their way from the British Tommy to GI. Joe, and thence to the wider American public.

20世纪初,更多的英式英语表达流行起来,尤其是通过军事接触:"小装置""轻松的""乞讨""发疯的""不确定的""混乱的"都从英国士兵传到了美国士兵那里,然后又传给了美国大众。

disapprovingly  adv. 不赞成的;反对的

【例】She shook her head disapprovingly.

她不满意地摇了摇头。

【反义词】approvingly  adv. 赞许地

【拓展】approve of  赞成

disapprove of  不赞成

via  prep. 通过,凭借(某种途径)

【例】He got the job via internal referral. 

他通过内推得到了这份工作。

【近义词】by means of/through  通过;凭借

Mr Yagoda has compiled a "top 40", including "brilliant" (merely "OK, good"), "chat up" and "ginger". It is possible that the British need "Gobsmacked!" more than their American cousins.

雅戈达编制了一份"英式用语前40名"清单,包括"很好的"(意思仅仅是"不错,很好的")"搭讪"和"姜黄色的"。有可能英国人比他们的美国表亲更需要《惊呆了!》这本书。

compile  v. 编纂;汇编

【例】compile an anthology of poems 

汇编诗歌选

【拓展】compilation  n. 选集

【例】a compilation of her best poems

她的诗歌精选集

【近义词】collection  n. 集;汇集册

fancy  v. 喜欢

【例】Fancy a drink? 

想喝一杯吗?

I don't fancy the idea of living alone.

我不喜欢一个人住。

The Americanisation of British English is well known; the Britishisation of American English, not so much (as a Californian teen might say). A country not sure what influence it still has in the world might like to know that the superpower across the ocean still fancies the mother country and its culture.

英式英语的美国化是众所周知的,而美式英语的英国化则不是(一个加利福尼亚青少年可能会这样认为)。一个国家如果不确定自己在世界上还有什么影响力,那么它可能会想知道大洋彼岸的超级大国仍然喜欢其母国及母国的文化。

compile  v. 编纂;汇编

【例】compile an anthology of poems 

汇编诗歌选

【拓展】compilation  n. 选集

【例】a compilation of her best poems

她的诗歌精选集

【近义词】collection  n. 集;汇集册

fancy  v. 喜欢

【例】Fancy a drink? 

想喝一杯吗?

I don't fancy the idea of living alone.

我不喜欢一个人住。

课后练习

  • What does the BBC example show?

    A. British people find Americanisms amusing.

    B. The dislike of Americanisms is common in Britain.

    C. British people embrace the influx of Americanisms.

    D. British media encourage the integration of Americanisms.

  • What does Simon Heffer think about Americanisms?

    A. He criticizes their influence on British English.

    B. He advocates the adoption of American terms.

    C. He believes that British people are forced to use them.

    D. He wishes that Brits could learn from American culture.

  • How does Ben Yagoda view the linguistic exchange between British English and American English?

    A. He believes that it causes a confusion of meanings.

    B. He disapproves of its impact on American English.

    C. He reveals the spread of Britishisms in America.

    D. He considers it as a one-way exchange.

  • Why does the author believe that the British need "Gobsmacked!" more than their American counterparts?

    A. Because British English is more influential than American English.

    B. Because Americans are less interested in British culture.

    C. Because the British are more affected by American influence.

    D. Because the British may want reassurance of their cultural significance.


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