外国人最讨厌的英文词,你却当做高格调?
近日,一大波2015年最令人讨厌的英文词和短语就登上了美国《纽约时报》,该英文榜单由美国LSSU大学(Lake Superior State University)公布,当选的都是“年度最易被错用、滥用、甚至无用的英语词汇”。入选的词汇中有哪些已经被你拿去提高格调了?还无视老外感受的小伙伴们赶紧跟着小编涨姿势吧!看完歪果仁的吐槽,保证你再也不敢乱说英文了~
So
所以说(So)……2015年头号讨人厌的英文单词就是它了。当你同外国人交流的时候是不是老爱说:So 吧啦吧啦?恭喜你躺枪了。世纪君原以为这只不过是Chinglish,看来老外也爱用,而且还很不招人待见。好像用了“So”,接下来要说的话就特别在理。来看看歪果仁是怎么这个单词的:
Currently, it is being overused as the first word in the answer to ANY question. For instance, 'How did you learn to play the piano? ' Answer: 'So my dad was in a classical music club...'
“So”这个词都被用滥了,几乎回答任何问题都能用它来开场。比如: How did you learn to play the piano?(你怎么学的弹钢琴?)答:So my dad was in a classical music club... (所以说,我爸当时在一个古典音乐俱乐部里……)
Tune in to any news channel and you'll hear it. The word serves no purpose in the sentence and to me is like fingernails on a chalkboard. So, I submit the extra, meaningless, and overused word “so.”
几乎什么新闻里你都能听到。这词对于整个句子表达来说毫无意义。听着就跟指甲划过黑板一样刺耳。所以说,我点名“so”这个被滥用又废话的单词。
Politicians, especially, are using this word when asked a question and not answering said question.
特别是政客,都爱用这个词来回避提问。
Frequently used to begin a sentence, particularly in response to a question, this tiresome and grammatically incorrect replacement for "Like," or "Um," is even more irksome…It hurts my ears, every single time I hear it!
听着累心的一个词,比“额(Um)”、“就像(Like)”还招人厌,而且还毫不合乎语法。每每听到都深深滴伤害了我的耳朵!
So it's getting really annoying. So can we please put a stop to this?
所以说这词儿真是太烦人了。所以说我们能别这么说了吗?
Conversation
Now we are all encouraged to have a “conversation,” and everything will somewhat be magically resolved.
好像只要来次“谈话/会谈”,啥事就都顺水推舟、水到渠成了。
Over the past five years or so, this word has been increasingly used by talking heads on radio, television and in political circles to describe every form of verbal communication known to mankind. It has replaced 'discussion', 'debate', 'chat','discourse', 'argument', 'lecture', 'talk'….all of which can provide some context to the nature of the communication. Perhaps the users feel that it is a word that is least likely to offend people, but I consider it to be imprecise language that, over time, dumbs down the art of effective discourse.
近五年来,这个单词被使用的频率一路飙升,广播、电视、政治圈里,只要是人类用语言沟通的事儿都会用“conversation(谈话/会谈)”这个单词来表达。“Conversation”已经代替了“discussion(讨论)”、“debate(辩论)”、“chat(攀谈/聊天)”、“discourse(论述)”、“argument(争论)”、“lecture”(演讲)、“talk(说话/讨论/谈话)”等可以更准确体现交流的特定含义的词汇。估计是觉得“conversation(谈话/会谈)”这个单词是最中立的,最不会冒犯别人,然而却大大破坏了语言的有效性和准确性。
Used by every media type without exception. No one listens.
无一例外,所有媒体都躺枪。只要一说“某某进行了某某谈话”,就根本没人听了。
Have one, start one, engage in one. Enough.
进行了某项会谈,开始了某种会谈,参加了某个会谈。真够了。
Problematic
A corporate-academic weasel word, according to the Urban Dictionary.
美国著名的在线俚语词典Urban Dictionary评论:“这是个听起来很考究,其实含糊其辞、不明所以的单词”。
Somewhere along the line, this word became a trendy replacement for 'that is a problem.' I just hate it.
不知啥时“Problematic”(有问题的/疑难的)开始流行,已经取代了“that is a problem.”(这是个问题)。我太讨厌这词了。
Anything that the speaker finds vaguely inconvenient or undesirable, such as an opposing political belief or bad traffic. Contrast things that are self-evidently taken to be problematic with, say, actual problems like a hole in the ozone layer or a job loss.
只要啥事稍微觉得有点儿不好表达或者不受欢迎就用这个词来形容,比如发表政治观点,又或者只是谈论交通堵塞。很多事实比如环境问题或者失业,谁都知道“是个问题”,还用“problematic”这词来形容,不是废话么?
Stakeholder
A word that has expanded from describing someone who may actually have a stake in a situation or problem, now being over-used in business to describe customers and others.
这个单词原本是用于形容某人确确实实与某个情况或某个问题相关。而如今在商业圈却被滥用来形容顾客或者其他并不真正相关的人。
Often used with “engagement.” If someone is disengaged, they're not really a stakeholder in the first place. LSSU, please engage your stakeholders by adding this pretentious jargon to your list.
Stakeholder(股东/利益相关者)这个单词常与engagement一起使用。如果某股东撤股了,他就不是股东了。某相关人员不再“相关”了,他就不是“相关人员”了好吗?求LSSU大学的相关人员将这个矫情的行话入选榜单!
Dr. Van Helsing should be the only stake holder.
范海辛才是唯一的“木棍(stake)持有者(holder)”。
友情提示:Stake有木棍的意思,该网友将stakeholder恶搞拆成了stake+holder,而范海辛是传说中的吸血鬼猎人,传说木棍穿心可以杀死吸血鬼你懂得
Price Point
Another example of using two words when one will do.
另一个明明仅说一个词就能表达却偏偏要用两个单词的例子。
This alliterative mutation seems to be replacing the word ‘price’ or ‘cost.’ It may be standard business-speak, but must it contaminate everyday speech?
这个押头韵(首字母相同)的短语貌似是替代了“price(价格)”或“cost(费用)”。它是可以用于商务用语,但非得在日常用语里也这么用吗?该网友还举例:比如某医疗杂志里的这句:“Although the ‘price point’ of effective new drugs...may initially be out of reach for many patients...” (虽然这些有疗效的新药起初对很多患者来说价格太过昂贵。)这里用price(价格)不就好了,非要用price point(价格点)吗?
Secret Sauce
Usually used in a sentence explaining the ‘secret’ in excruciating public detail. Is this a metaphor for business success based on the fast food industry?
这个词经常被用来解释、爆料某件超级烦人的公众细节。难道这是基于快餐行业成功的一个隐喻么?(“secret sauce”是秘方/秘籍/秘密武器/宝典的意思,按字面意思来看即“秘密的调料”。)
It has become too frequent in business discussions. I am tired of it.
这词在商务圈儿里已经被滥用了。真烦人。
Break the Internet
An annoying bit of hyperbole about the latest saucy picture or controversy that is already becoming trite.
又一个用来吸睛却夸张到讨厌的短语,常用于形容某张艳照或某件引起争议的八卦等,其实早就是陈词滥调了。
Meaning a post or video or whatever will have so much Internet traffic that it will ‘break the internet.’ It’s being used for every headline and video. Ridiculous.
用于形容一条火爆的帖子或者视频被疯传,会“刷爆网络/朋友圈” (break the internet)。几乎所有头条或视频标题都用这个词儿。真搞笑。
I hope the list doesn’t ‘break the internet.’ (How else would I read it next year)?
我希望这个“最招人厌的单词榜单”没有“刷爆互联网”,要不然我明年还咋看新一届榜单啊?
Presser
This shortened form of 'press release' and 'press conference' is not so impressive.
这个“press release(媒体报道)”或“press conference(新闻发布会/记者招待会)”的简称并不能深入人心。
Not only is there no intelligent connection between the word 'presser' and its supposed meaning, this word already has a definition: a person or device that removes wrinkles. Let's either say ‘press conference’ or ‘press release’ or come up with something more original, intelligent and interesting!
Presser这个单词和它想表明的含义之间并没有什么考究的联系,而且presser这个词原本已经有“压制工”或者“压榨机”的意思了。
This industry buzzword has slipped into usage in news reporting and now that they have started, they can't seem to stop using it.
这个工业术语开始在新闻报道中被广泛使用了。就不能消停点儿吗?(press这个词是新闻媒体的意思)
Manspreading
A word that is familiar to those in bigger cities, where seats on the bus or subway are sometimes difficult to find.
这个单词在公交车、地铁拥挤(没座位)的大城市里很流行。来形容某人占了不止一个座位。
Men don't need another disgusting-sounding word thrown into the vocabulary to describe something they do…You're just taking too much room on this train seat, be a little more polite...
人类不需要再多一个恶心的单词添进词典里了。有礼貌点儿说你多占了个座位就行了。
Vape
Vape and vaping are used to describe the act of ‘smoking’ e-cigarettes (another strange word) since the products emit vapor instead of smoke.
Vape(电子香烟)、vaping(抽电子烟)其实就是smoking e-cigarettes。这个新造出来的诡异单词来源是因为电子香烟喷出的是蒸汽(vapor)而不是“烟(smoke)”。是啊世纪君也很讨厌新造单词,本来脑容量就不够又得多记好多词汇、好多新用法有木有。
Giving Me Life
The phrase refers to anything that may excite a person, or something that causes one to laugh.
这个单词用来形容任何能点燃你兴趣、让人发笑的东西或事情。投票者认为这是个被滥用且夸张的短语。例如:
Honey, that dress you got on is giving me life!
This video of a guy falling over while running from a spider is giving me life!
Physicality
We had to include one for the sports fans. John Kollig of Jamestown, N.Y., says this is overused by every sports broadcaster and writer.
我们得为体育迷们选这个单词。几乎每个体育播音员或撰稿人都爱滥用这个单词。(physicality是“肉体性”,着实很费解啊。)
I am not sure who is responsible, but over the last 12-18 months you cannot watch a sporting event, listen to a sports talk show on radio, or anything on ESPN without someone using this term to attempt to describe an athlete or a contest.
都不知道谁该为这个词负责。在过去的一年多里,只要你看个体育赛事,听个体育节目或者任何体育频道里都有人用这个词来形容某个运动员或比赛。
Every time I hear them say it, I change the channel.
只要在电视里听到这个词,我就换台。
What the heck does it mean?
这词到底是什么鬼?
另外,在《纽约时报》的号召下,推特网友们也纷纷给出了自己最讨厌的词汇,比如bae(baby的一种写法), 动不动就用literally(字面上来说), whatever(……之类的), selfie(自拍),Trump等等。