據英國《每日電訊報》(Daily Telegraph) 8月18日報導,南非足球迷愛用的塑膠喇叭「呼呼塞拉」(vuvuzela) 在今年世界盃足球賽一鳴驚人,也把 vuvuzela 這個字吹進最新修訂出版的《牛津英語辭典》(Oxford Dictionary of English) 裡,成為牛津英語辭典最新收錄的新字新詞之一。
《牛津英語辭典》與歷史悠久的《牛津英語大辭典》(Oxford English Dictionary, OED) 略有不同,以常用字為主,而網路衍生的新字詞最多,如 microblogging (微網誌)、tweetup (經推特 twitter 安排的聚會)、defriend (從 facebook 等社群網站將某人從自己的好友名單中移除),源自日文的 hikikomori (繭居族) 也上榜。
金融海嘯也帶來 toxic debt (有毒債務,指可能無法償還的債務)、quantitative easing (量化寬鬆,指的是中央銀行增加全國貨幣供應量)、staycation (在國內度假) 等新字。科學方面的新字新詞多與氣候有關,如 carbon storage (碳封存),指在燃燒燃料過程,留住二氧化碳並封存在某處。國家和全球政治領域出現的新字詞包括 exit strategy (退出戰略)、the fog of war (戰爭迷霧)、a surge (增兵)、overthinking (多慮)、catatrophizing (比實際情況更糟糕的局面) 以及 soft skills (軟技能,指與別人和諧相處的能力)。
新修訂出版的牛津英語辭典,會依據每個字詞使用的頻繁程度,決定是否將它們納入。7月份針對全球語言學者所做的調查顯示,vuvuzela 是本屆世足賽最重要的字。編纂單位請 60 多國的 320 多位語言學者,選出他們認為對本屆世足賽影響最大的字,結果有 75% 選擇 vuvuzela。
以下為《每日電訊報》的原文報導:
Vuvuzela enters Oxford Dictionary of English
The vuvuzela has blasted its way into the Oxford Dictionary of English for the first time after becoming the sound of the World Cup.
Along with other new words like tweetup, cheeseball and turducken, it is included in the third edition of the dictionary, published on Aug. 18.
The word vuvuzela has only been in common use since the summer when the long horn began to be heard at the World Cup matches in South Africa.
It is one of more than 2,000 new words and phrases included in the dictionary for the first time.
Other newcomers include: tweetup (a meeting arranged through Twitter); cheeseball (lacking taste or style); and a turducken (a roast dish consisting of a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey).
Two of the greatest influences on current language have been the internet and the financial crisis.
Paywall (which restricts website access only to subscribers), microblogging (posting short entries on a blog), netbook, viral and defriend have all arrived in our language because of the internet.
The financial world has also provided a host of new words including toxic debt, deleveraging (reducing debt by quickly selling assets), overleveraged, quantitative easing and staycation (a holiday spent in your home country).
Many of these were words that, in the past, were only used by economists and City experts, but which have now crept into normal parlance.
The world of national and global politics has contributed a number of new words and phrases including exit strategy, the fog of war, a surge (of troops), overthinking, catatrophizing (presenting a situation as considerably worse than it actually is) and soft skills (personal attributes that let you interact harmoniously with others).
Scientists have provided words connected with the climate. Carbon capture, carbon storage and geoengineering are all ways to help fight global warming.
Other new entries are :
* wardrobe malfunction : when someone exposes an intimate part of their body after clothing slips;
* chill pill: a notional pill to make someone calm;
* bromance : a close but non-sexual relationship between two men;
* LBD (little black dress). This refers to the simple evening or cocktail dress that, it is claimed, should be part of every womans wardrobe; and
* frenemy : a person that one is friendly with despite a fundamental dislike.
A spokesman for publishers Oxford University Press said the dictionary, which was first published in 1998, is based on a huge word bank or corpus which is continually being added to.
The spokesman said : The Oxford Dictionary of English was the first dictionary to be fully based on evidence of how language is really used, with words and senses derived from the latest corpus research.
This third edition of the dictionary draws on the Oxford English Corpus to ensure that it remains at the leading edge of language research.