《经济学人》发布了2023年世界各地年度热词,体现了不同国家和地区在过去一年里的不同状态,我从中挑几段,和大家分享:
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Before naming a word of the year, Johnson turns to colleagues to find out what those in different fields and in various countries are talking about. It is a salutary reminder that the world is much bigger than the English language and that, even in largely English-speaking countries, the stock of words is constantly being refreshed by the languages with which English makes contact.
在确定年度词汇之前,约翰逊专栏向同事们请教,以了解不同领域、不同国家的人们正在谈论什么。这提醒着我们,世界之大,非英语所能涵盖,即便在主要使用英语的国家,英语词汇库也因与其他语言交融而不断更新。
Johnson 是《经济学人》的语言专栏,源于现代英文字典之父 Samuel Johnson,主要讨论有趣的语言话题,比如单词的演变、语法的理解、写作手法和语言现象。
what those in different fields and in various countries are talking about
这里 those 指人,those in different fields and in various countries 意思是:不同领域、不同国家的人。
这部分也可以写成:what's on the lips of those in different fields and in various countries.
be on people's lips 表示“人们正在谈论”:
It is a salutary reminder that...
salutary 的意思是:having a good effect on sb / sth, though often seeming unpleasant “有益的”,如:a salutary lesson / experience / warning 有益的教训 / 经历 / 告诫。
the stock of words is constantly being refreshed by the languages with which English makes contact
stock 原义是“库存”,the stock of words 指“词库”。
with which English makes contact,其中 which 代指 the languages,还原成普通句:English makes contact with the languages,英语和一些语言发生交融。再看定语从句就好理解了 the languages with which English makes contact 英语与之发生交融的语言。
美国文学家爱默生说过:
Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone.
语言是一座城,每个人都在为它添砖加瓦。
言外之意是,语言是动态发展的。
这也是为什么很多英语单词都有引申义,比如 spur,最初是名词指马靴上的“马刺”,这是一种较短的尖状物或者带刺的轮,连在骑马者的靴后根上,用来刺激马快跑。后来适用范围扩大,引申出“鞭策、激励、促进”的意思。
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第三段讲了印度热词——世界导师。
In contrast, India had a self-confident year, and vishwaguru was on many lips. As India hosted the G20 summit under the satisfied gaze of Narendra Modi, the prime minister, his fans revived the Sanskrit term. It means, roughly, “teacher to the world” (vishwa means “world”, and guru has long been an Indian export). Indians using it feel they need no lessons from arrogant Westerners.
然而,印度却度过了一个自信满满的年头,“世界导师”(vishwaguru)一词挂在许多人的嘴边。在纳伦德拉·莫迪总理满意的注视下,印度主办了G20峰会。莫迪的粉丝们重新唤起了这个梵文词汇。它的意思大致是“世界导师”(vishwa意为“世界”,guru很早就引入英语)。使用这个词的印度人觉得他们无需从傲慢的西方人那里学习经验。
guru has long been an Indian export
guru 最初是梵文词汇,指印度宗教里的“灵性导师”,后来引入西方文化,并扩展到各个领域,用来形容在特定领域中表现卓越、受人尊敬的专家或领导者。
这里的 export 指印度出口到其它语言文化里的词汇,也就是“guru”一词。这也印证了前面的那句话:the stock of words is constantly being refreshed by the languages with which English makes contact.
看到这段真的很难不笑,看来英国人眼里的印度跟我们眼里的是一样的。这是年度热词吗,终生热词吧[狗头]
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In the global East, Johnson’s colleagues highlight lan wei lou: Mandarin for rotten-tail building. Ordinary Chinese are obsessed not with geopolitics but the collapse of their property sector. Those who bought unfinished flats, never to see them completed, were especially angry.
在东方,约翰逊专栏的同事们强调了“烂尾楼”一词。这个词指无法竣工的楼房。中国老百姓并不关心地缘政治,而是关注房地产市场的崩溃。那些购买了烂尾公寓、永远看不到它们竣工的人,尤为愤怒。
rotten-tail building 指“烂尾楼”,也可以说 unfinished buildings。《经济学人》是懂得戳人痛处的。
语言杂志《咬文嚼字》也发布了中国2023年十大流行语:
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But nothing can stop technology from dominating this year’s words. This was the year of artificial intelligence (AI), and not any kind but generative AI, which can churn out text and images with only some simple prompts. The breakthrough in particular of large language models (LLMs) has been stunning. They produce prose (散文) so human-like that they have ignited a debate about whether LLMs are actually thinking (and whether students will ever do homework without them again).
但是,没有什么能阻挡科技主导今年的热词。今年是人工智能(AI)之年,而且不是其他类别的人工智能,而是生成式人工智能(generative AI),它仅凭一些简单的提示词就能生成文字和图像。尤其是大型语言模型(LLMs)的突破令人惊叹。它们生成的散文非常像人类写的,以至于引发了一场关于大型语言模型是否真的会思考的争论(以及学生们是否还会在没有大型语言模型的情况下做作业)。
generative AI 意思是“生成式人工智能”,即,根据提示词能生成文字、图片、视频的人工智能模型。
这种模型生成的内容叫 AIGC,全称为 Artificial Intelligence Generated Content 人工智能生成内容,一般认为是相对于PCG(专业生成内容)、UCG(用户生成内容,比如QQ空间、微博、小红书等社交媒体)而提出的概念。
churn out text and images with only some simple prompts
churn out 指“大批生产”,有时会指生产质量不好的产品,《经济学人》在描述中国海军的发展速度时就用到了这个说法:
Three decades ago its warships were clapped out, capable of operating only close to shore. Now its shipyards are churning out state-of-the-art combat vessels at a furious pace.
三十年前,中国海军实力薄弱,只能在近海巡航。如今,中国正以惊人的速度大批生产最先进的战舰。
churning out state-of-the-art combat vessels at a furious pace,网友戏称“海军军舰下饺子”。
prompts 指“提示词”。
“大语言模型是否具有思考能力”“大语言模型辅助作业的利弊”这两个话题很有深度,可能会出现在英语考试作文中,我帮大家整理了一些观点素材作为积累,以备不时之需。后台回复关键词“AI”可获取下载链接。
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