| 单词 | 小组成员 |
| 释义 | 〔burgeon〕Burgeon has gained greater acceptance in recent years in its use to mean not just "to put forth buds" but more generally "to grow and flourish.” In 1969 only 49 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the phrasethe burgeoning population of Queens ; in our most recent survey 74 percent accepted the same phrase.However, it should be noted that in this useburgeon is more acceptable when it takes the form of the present participle. Only 29 percent of the current Panel accepts the sentence News programs are less expensive to produce than entertainment series, and the public's appetite for them has burgeoned. Burgeon 一词近年来有了更广泛地使用，它不仅用来表示“生长发芽”更普遍地用作“生长并繁茂”。 1969年只有百分之四十九的用法专题使用小组成员承认短语the burgeoning population of Queens（女王时代的人口膨胀） ； 在最近的调查中对同一短语有百分之七十四的人接受。然而，值得注意的是，当burgean 一词在以现在分词形式被使用时，其更能被接受。 仅有百分之二十九的现有小组成员接受如下句子 新闻节目的制造要比一系列的娱乐活动经济实惠，并且公众对此的口味也已急速发展起来 〔any〕Used as a pronoun,any can take either a singular or plural verb, depending on how it is construed:Any of these books is suitable (that is, any one ). But are any (that is, some ) of them available? · The constructionof any is often used in informal contexts to mean "of all,” as inHe is the best known of any living playwright. In an earlier survey this example was unacceptable in writing to 67 percent of the Usage Panel. ·Any is also used to mean "at all" before a comparative adjective or adverb in questions and negative sentences: 用作介词的any 既可接单数动词又可接复数动词， 这取决于怎样翻译：Any of these books is suitable?（这些书的任一本都合适） （这里是指 any one（任何一本） ）。 But are any（但是他们中） （意指 some（任何一些） ） of them available（任何一些都合适吗）？ of any（任一的） 这个结构经常用于非正式语境中来表示“所有的”的意思， 如在句子他是在世剧作家中最著名的一位。 在早期的调查中67%的用法使用小组成员，认为这个例子作为书面语不能被接受。Any 也用于比较级形容词或副词前表示“全然，压根儿”，这一用法适用于疑问句和否定句中： 〔cohort〕The use ofcohort to refer to an individual rather than a group has gained considerable currency in recent years, and seems now to be the predominant usage.Seventy-one percent of the Usage Panel accepts the sentence 使用cohort 来指个别的而不是一群的在近年已很流行， 现在似乎已大量地使用。百分之七十一的用法专题使用小组成员接受这个句子 〔aggravate〕It is sometimes claimed thataggravate should be used only to mean "to make worse" and not "to irritate.” Based on this view it would be appropriate to sayThe endless wait for luggage aggravates the misery of modern air travel, but not It's the endless wait for luggage that aggravates me the most. But the latter use dates back as far as the 17th century and is accepted by 68 percent of the Usage Panel. As H.W. Fowler wrote, "the extension from aggravating a person's temper to aggravating the person himself is slight and natural,and when we are told that Wackford Squeers [in Dickens'sNicholas Nickleby ] pinched the boys in aggravating places we may reasonably infer that his choice of places aggravated both the pinches and the boys.”有时认为aggravate 应当只被用来表示“加重；使恶化”的意思而不表示“使恼火；激怒”。 根据这种观点，The endless wait for luggage aggravates the misery of modern air travel（无休止地等待行李加重了现代飞机旅行的困难） 这个句子是正确的，而 It's the endless wait for luggage that aggravates me the most（无休止地等待行李最为令我恼火） 这一句则不正确。 但是后一种用法可以追溯到17世纪，并且被百分之六十八的用法使用小组成员所接受。正如H·W·福勒写道，“从使一个人的脾气变得更坏到使一个人恼火的延伸是微小和自然的，当我们看到威克福特·斯贵尔斯［出自狄更斯的小说尼古拉斯·尼克尔贝 ］往令人恼火的地方拧孩子们时， 我们可以合理地推断出他所选择的地方既加剧了拧的疼痛又令孩子们大为恼火。”〔comprise〕 While this distinction is still maintained by many writers,comprise is increasingly used, especially in the passive, in place of compose: The Union is comprised of 50 states. In an earlier survey, a majority of the Usage Panel found this use ofcomprise unacceptable. See Usage Note at include 虽然许多作家仍然坚持这个规则，但是comprise 越来越多地取代了 compose：联邦包括50个州。 在早先的调查中，大多数用法专题使用小组成员认为comprise 的这种用法是不可接受的 参见 include〔bad〕The adverbbadly is often used as the complement of verbs such as feel, as inI felt badly about the whole affair, where the choice ofbadly as opposed to bad may convey an implication that the distress is emotional, rather than physical.Although the origin of this usage is a matter of dispute,the usage is now widespread and is supported by analogy to the use of other adverbs withfeel (as inWe feel strongly about this issue ). In an earlier survey,a majority of the Usage Panel accepted this use ofbadly in speech, thoughbad is less likely to occasion objections. · Badly is also used in some regions to mean "unwell,” as inHe was looking badly after the accident (comparepoorly, which is also used in this way). In an earlier survey, however, the usage was found unacceptable in formal writing by 75 percent of the Usage Panel.副词badly 常用作动词的补充，如 feel， 在句子我对整个事件感觉很糟 中， 选择badly 作为与 bad 的对立， 可能传达暗示这一压制的感觉是感情上的而不是身体上的。尽管对这一用法的起源有过争议，但现在已很普遍并被其他带动词feel 的类比词所支持， （如我们对这观点的感受很强烈 ）。 在早期调查中，用法小组大多数接受在口语中使用badly ， 尽管bad 相对不会引起异议。 Badly 也被有些地区用来表示“不好”，如在他在事故后看上去很糟 （和poorly 比较，也是同样用法）。 但在早期讨论中，75的用法专门小组成员不接受在正式书面语中使用这种形式〔Xmas〕Xmas has been used for hundreds of years in religious writing, where theX is understood to represent a Greek chi, the first letter of Χριστος, "Christ";in this use it is parallel to other forms likeXtian, "Christian.” But the letterX, or especially x, is nowadays more frequently interpreted as a mathematical variable than as a Greek letter, as indicated by the common pronunciation of the formXmas as (ĕksʹməs). Thus, while the word is etymologically innocent of the charge that it omits Christ from Christmas,it is now generally understood only as an informal shortening.In an earlier survey 88 percent of the Usage Panel rejected the use ofXmas in writing. Xmas 在宗教作品中已用了几百年， X 用来表示希腊字母chi， 是Χριστος的第一个字母，意为“耶稣”；在这种用法中，它与其他形式相似,如Xtian, “教会的”。 但是字母X， 尤其是 x， 现在更常见的是当作数学变量，而不是希腊字母， 因为该符号Xmas 发音已普遍为(ĕksʹməs)。 因此,当这个单词从词源学上把Christ从Christmas中省掉是合乎规则的，现在该词已被广泛看作一个非正式的缩写形式。在早期的调查问卷中，有百分之八十八的用法使用小组成员拒绝在作品中用Xmas 〔alibi〕Alibi (noun) in its nonlegal sense of "an excuse" is acceptable in written usage to almost half of the Usage Panel.As an intransitive verb (they never alibi ), it is unacceptable in written usage to a large majority of the Panel.Alibi （名词）作为没有法律意义的“借口”解释时， 差不多半数以上的用法使用小组成员认为其书面用法是可以接受的。而作为不及物动词（they never alibi（他们从不为自己辩解） ）， 用法使用小组中的大多数人不接受其书面用法〔quote〕As a transitive verbquote is appropriately used to describe the use of an exact wording drawn from another source. When the original source is paraphrased or alluded to,the more general termcite is usually preferable. · The nounquote is well established as a truncation of quotation, though many critics regard it as unduly journalistic or breezy.As such, it is best avoided in formal literary discussions.The use of the noun was acceptable to only 38 percent of the Usage Panel in the sentenceHe began the chapter with a quote from the Bible. But the usage is less objectionable in informal contexts or in reference to less august sources;the word was acceptable to 53 percent of the Panel in the sentenceHe lightened up his talk by throwing in quotes from Marx Brothers movies. · The nounquote is sometimes used as a synonym for "dictum, saying,” as inHis career is just one more validation of Andy Warhol's quote that "in the future, everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes.” This example was unacceptable to 76 percent of the Usage Panel.作为一个及物动词，用quote 一词来指从另一出处中抄取完全一样的用语是很恰当的。 当原文出处被意译或是间接提及时，一个意义更广泛的词cite 更可取。 quote 这名词形式是由 quatation 削减而来，也已被普遍接受， 虽然许多批评家认为这个词染有不恰当的记者文风或不太正式。因此，在正式的文学讨论中最好避免使用。在用法专题使用小组的调查中，只有38%的人认为这个名词在这章的开始他引用了《圣经》中的一段 文字 这个句子中的用法是可行的。 但在不正式的语境下或提及的出处不很严肃时，对于这种用法的反对意见要少一些。在他插入了一段引自马克斯兄弟电影中的 话 来活跃谈话气氛 这个句子中， 53%的小组成员认为这个词可以接受。 Quote 这个名词有时也可用作“格言、名言”的同义词， 如在他的一生再一次证实了安迪·霍尔的 格言 “将来，每个人都将享有十五分钟的知名度” 这个句子中， 用法专题使用小组中76%的成员认为这个例句无法接受〔cadre〕A member of such a group.小组成员：上述组织的一个成员〔caring〕Some critics have objected to the use ofcaring as an adjective, perhaps because it appears to treat compassion as a chronic condition.The acceptability of the usage may therefore vary according to the relation between the source and object of the caring.Thus 74 percent of the Usage Panel accepts the sentence A child has a right to certain things: a secure home, a healthful environment, and caring parents. A smaller majority, 58 percent,acceptsWe are looking for a few caring people to help with this program, where the adjective appears to ascribe an undiscriminating disposition to care about whatever object of concern may present itself.Finally, only 29 percent of the Panel accepts 一些评论家反对把caring 当作形容词用， 也许是因为该词看起来把同情作为一种长期的状态来对待。对该词形容词用法的可接受性也许会因此根据同情的缘由和对象的关系而变化。所以有74％的用法专题使用小组成员认为 儿童有权享受一定的事物：安定的家庭，健康的环境以及充满爱心的父母一句可接受。 比例少一些的多数人。即58％的成员，认为我们正在寻找一些有同情心的人帮助实施这项计划 一句可接受。 该句中的形容词似乎把一种不加区别的性情当作关心任何一个可能出现的需要关心注意的对象。最后，只有29％的小组成员接受 〔certain〕Althoughcertain appears to be an absolute term, it is frequently qualified by adverbs,as infairly certain or quite certain. In an earlier survey,a majority of the Usage Panel accepted the construction 尽管certain 像一个独立的词， 它也经常被副词的限定，如相当确定 或 非常肯定。 据以前的调查，多数用法专题使用小组成员接受这一结构 〔dilemma〕It is sometimes claimed that because thedi- in dilemma comes from a Greek prefix meaning "two,” the word should be used only when exactly two choices are involved.But 64 percent of the Usage Panel accepts its use for choices among three or more options in the example 据说有时因为dilemma 中的 di- 出自于一个含意为“两个”的希腊语前缀， 所以只有当在包含恰恰正是两种选择的时候才应使用这个词。但有64％的用法小组成员承认在三个或更多选择的例句中的使用，如 〔access〕The verbaccess is well established in its computational sense "to obtain access to (data or processes),” as inThis program makes it considerably easier to access files on another disk. In recent years it has come to be used in nontechnical contexts with the more general sense of "to obtain access to (goods or information), usually by technological means,”as inYou can access your cash at any of 300 automatic tellers throughout the area. This example was judged unacceptable by 82 percent of the Usage Panel.动词access 的计算机意义上“存取（数据或程序）”已被人们广为接受， 如这个程序使从另一磁盘上获得文件大为简便了。 近几年它已被运用于非技术领域，从而有更广泛的意义“通常是通过科技手段来取得（货物或信息），”如你可以通过使用整个地区的300个自动取款机中任何一个取得现金。 但这种用法被百分之八十二的用法使用小组成员认为是不可取的〔curate〕The verbcurate is widely used in art circles to mean "arrange or supervise (an exhibition of art),”as inShe has curated two exhibitions for the Modern Museum. This usage is rejected by 81 percent of the Usage Panel.动词curate 被广泛用于艺术界， 意指“安排或指导（某一艺术展览）”，如在句子她为现代博物馆组织了两次展览 中。 这一用法被81%的用法小组成员否定〔hang〕Hanged, as a past tense and a past participle of hang, is used in the sense of "to put to death by hanging.”In the following examplehung would be unacceptable to a majority of the Usage Panel: Hanged 这个词作为 hang 这个词的过去时和过去分词， 它的意思是“被绞死”。在下面这个例子中，对绝大多数用法专题使用小组成员来说用hung 是不合适的，如 〔input〕The nouninput has been used as a technical term for about a century in fields such as physics and electrical engineering, but its recent popularity grows out of its use in computer science,where it refers to data or signals entered into a system for processing or transmission.In general discourseinput is now widely used to refer to the transmission of information and opinion, as inThe report questioned whether a President thus shielded had access to a sufficiently varied input to have a realistic picture of the nation or The nominee herself had no input on housing policy. In this last sentence the meaning of the term is uncertain:it may mean either that the nominee provided no opinions to the policymakersor that she received no information about housing policy.This vagueness in the nontechnical use ofinput may be one reason that some critics have objected to it (including, in an earlier survey, a majority of the Usage Panel). Though the usage is well established,care should be taken not to use the word merely as a way of pretending to a scientific precision unwarranted by the facts of the case.名词input 作为一个专业名词在象物理和电子工程领域已经被用了大约一个世纪， 但是它在计算机科学上的最新流行超出了原来的用法，在计算机科学上它指输入系统进行运行或传送的信息和信号。总的来说，input 广泛地用来指信息和观点的传送， 就象在报告怀疑这样保护起来的总统是否能获得接近足够多样信息的机会，从而有一幅这个国家的现实图景 或 被提名人自己没有关于房产政策的任何信息 。 在后一句中单词的定义是不确定的：它既可以指被提名人未向决策者提供任何建议，也可以指她未收到任何有关房产政策的信息。这种模糊在input 的非专业用法中有可能是一些批评家反对它（在一个早期调查中，其中包括大部分用法专题小组成员）的一个原因。 尽管这种用法已完全确立，用这个词时也应谨慎，不能把这个词仅仅用来伪装一种科学的精确性，而在这样的情况下，如此的精确性是不被事实所证明的〔premiere〕In entertainment contextsthe verbpremiere has by now become the standard way of saying "to introduce to the public,” at least partly because of its ubiquitous use on television.Over the past 20 yearsthis use has won the sometimes grudging acceptance of the Usage Panel.The exampleThe Philharmonic will premiere works by two young Americans was acceptable to 51 percent of the Panelists in the most recent survey, up from 14 percent in 1969.But only 10 percent of the Panelists in the most recent survey accepted extension of the verb to nonentertainment contexts,as in Last fall the school premiered new degree programs in word processing and accounting. 在娱乐场合下，动词premiere 现在已经成为表示“介绍给公众”的标准说法， 这至少在某种程度上是由于它在电视上广泛地使用。在过去的二十年里，这一用法已经赢得了用法专题使用小组的有时勉强的接受。例句交响乐曲将让两个美国年轻人首次出演其作品 在最近的一次调查中已经被51%小组成员接受了， 比1969年的14%有所提高。但在这次调查中只有10%的成员接受将此用法扩展至非娱乐性场合，如去年秋天学校首次推出字处理和会计两门新的学位课程 〔impact〕Each generation of critics seems to select one particular usage to stand as the emblem of what they view as linguistic crassness.Thirty years ago it was the use ofcontact as a verb, but opposition to that form has more or less disappeared,and attention now focuses on the verbal use ofimpact meaning "have an effect, affect.” Eighty-four percent of the Usage Panel disapproves of the constructionto impact on, as in the phrasesocial pathologies, common to the inner city, that impact heavily on such a community; and fully 95 percent disapproves of the use ofimpact as a transitive verb in the sentence Companies have used disposable techniques that have a potential for impacting our health. But even these figures do not reflect the degree of distaste with which critics view the usage:in their comments some Panelists labeled the usage as "bureaucratic,” "pretentious,” "vile,” and "a vulgarism.” ·It may be that the particular pretentiousness associated with the verbal use ofimpact is caused by its derivation from an already questionable metaphoric use of the noun impact, as in phrases such asthe political impact of the decision or the impact of the program on the community, in which no more is usually meant than might have been expressed by effects or consequences. But thoughimpact may have begun life a generation ago as an inflated substitute for "affect significantly,” it has by now become so common in corporate and institutional contexts that younger speakers appear to regard it as wholly standard and straightforward usage.Within a few years, accordingly,the usage is likely to be no more objectionable thancontact is now, since it will no longer betray any particular pretentiousness on the part of those who use it.See Usage Note at contact 每一代的批评家好象都挑了一个特别的用法作为他们认为的语言上的愚蠢行为的象征。三十年以前是contact 作为动词的用法， 但是对这种形式的反对或多或少已经消失了，注意力现在集中到了impact 意思为“有不好的影响、影响”的动词用法上。 用法专题小组成员中百分之八十四不同意to impact on 的结构， 如在短语对内城区来说很普通的社会病理学，对这样一个社区产生了很大影响的 当中； 百分之九十五的成员完全不同意impact 在句子 公司已经使用了可能会对我们的健康产生不良影响的易处理技术 中当作及物动词来使用。 但是即使是这些数字也没有反映出批评家们对这种用法厌恶的程度：在他们的评论当中有些成员把这种用法说成是“官僚主义的”、“装腔作势的”，“可耻的”，还说这是“粗鄙的语言。”也许和impact 的动词用法有关联的虚饰成份是由于它是从名词 impact 的一个早有争议的比喻用法衍变而来造成的。 如在短语这个决定在政治上的影响 或者 这个计划对公众的影响 中它的意思并没有比用 effects 或者 consequences 表达出来的意思要多。 尽管impact 作为“明显地影响”的夸大了的替代可能在一代人之前开始产生， 但是现在的年轻一代使用者看上去把它当成了完全标准的、直接的用法，这在共同的和惯例的文章中已经很普遍了。相应地在几年内，这种用法很有可能不比今天的contact 更引起反对， 因为对于那些使用它的人来说这不会再显得有点矫揉造作了 参见 contact〔internecine〕In the first edition of theAmerican Heritage Dictionary 91 percent of the Usage Panel approved the use ofinternecine relating to internal struggle within a nation or organization that did not necessarily imply fatal or destructive conflict.The objection that had been overcome for most of the Panel was thatinternecine should imply such destruction because it came from the Latin wordinternecīnus, a variant ofinternecīvus, "fought to the death, murderous,” ultimately derived fromnecāre, "to kill.” Inter- in this compound is simply an intensive, supplying the notion of "all the way to" in the sense "fought to the death.”Internecine in English, first recorded in 1663, indeed meant "deadly, destructive,”but Samuel Johnson, inserting the word in his dictionary of 1755,thought thatinter- meant "mutual" and so defined it as "endeavoring mutual destruction.”This definition set the word incorrectly on its present course,and wheninternecine was further extended simply to mean "relating to internal struggle,” the original error was compounded.However, the point is that the meaning of words can be changed by mistakes and that mistaken meanings adhere to words.Only an occasional etymologist points out that the emperor's new clothes are patched.在美国经典辞书 第一版中， 百分之九十一的用法专题使用小组成员赞同internecine 与一个国家或组织内部的斗争有关， 但并不一定是致命的或有破坏性的冲突。为大多数小组成员说服的反对意见为internecine 应该暗指这种破坏， 因为它来源于拉丁词internecinus ， 是internecivus 的变体，意为“战至死亡的，谋杀的”， 它最终来源于意为“杀害”的necare 。 在这个复合词中inter- 只是简单的一个强调成分， 在“战至死亡的”这个意义上加上“一直”这个概念。在英语中internecine 最早记载于1663年， 确实意味着“致死的，破坏性的”，但是塞缪尔·约翰逊在其1755年的字典中插入此词，认为inter- 意为“共同的”， 并且将它定义为“竭力造成共同破坏的”。这个定义造成此词今日用法的不准确，而且当internecine 更进一步被简单地引申为“关于内部斗争的”时， 其起源的错误就加重了。但是，重要的是词的意思被错误改变并且为错误意思所追随。只有偶尔的一个词源学家指出“皇帝的新衣服打满补丁”〔man〕Traditionally,man and words derived from it have been used generically to designate any or all of the human race irrespective of sex.In Old Englishthis was the principal sense ofman, which meant "a human being" regardless of sex;the wordswer and wyf (or w÷pman and wifman ) were used to refer to "a male human being" and "a female human being" respectively. But in Middle Englishman displaced wer as the term for "a male human being,”whilewyfman (which evolved into present-day woman ) was retained for "a female human being.” The result of these changes was an assymetrical arrangement that many criticize as sexist.Many writers have revised some of their practices accordingly.But the precise implications of the usage vary according to the context and the particular use ofman or its derivatives. · Man sometimes appears to have the sense of "person" or "people" when it is used as a count noun, as inA man is known by the company he keeps and Men have long yearned to unlock the secrets of the atom, and in phrases likethe common man and the man in the street. Here the generic interpretation arises indirectly:if a man is known by the company he keeps,then so, by implication, is a woman.For this reasonthe generic interpretation of these uses ofman is not possible where the applicability of the predicate varies according to the sex of the individual. Thus it would be inappropriate to say thatMen are the only animals that can conceive at any time, since the sentence literally asserts that the ability to conceive applies to male human beings.This usage presumes that males can be taken as representatives of the species.In almost all cases,however, the wordsperson and people can be substituted for man and men, often with a gain in clarity. · By contrast,man functions more as a generic when it is used without an article in the singular to refer to the human race, as in sentences likeThe capacity for language is unique to man or in phrases like man's inhumanity to man. But this use ofman is also ambiguous, since it can refer exclusively to male members of the human race.In most contexts wordssuch ashumanity or humankind will convey the generic sense of this use of man. · On the whole,the Usage Panel accepts the generic use ofman, the women members significantly less than the men. The sentenceIf early man suffered from a lack of information, modern man is tyrannized by an excess of it was acceptable to 81 percent of the Panel (including 58 percent of the women and 92 percent of the men).The Panel also accepted compound words derived from genericman. The sentenceThe Great Wall is the only man-made structure visible from space was acceptable to 86 percent (including 76 percent of the women and 91 percent of the men).The sentence"The history of language is the history of mankind" (James Bradstreet Greenough and George Lyman Kittredge) was acceptable to 76 percent (including 63 percent of the women and 82 percent of the men). Such compounds were acceptable even when the context required that they be applied chiefly to women.Thus, 66 percent of the Panel (including 57 percent of the women and 71 percent of the men) accepts the wordmanpower in the sentence Countries that do not permit women to participate in the work force are at a disadvantage in competing with those that do avail themselves of that extra source of manpower. · A related set of problems is raised by the use ofman in forming the names of occupational and social rolessuch asbusinessman, chairman, spokesman, layman, and freshman, as well as in analogous formationssuch asunsportsmanlike and showmanship. Some condemn this use categorically;however, these words remained acceptable to a majority of the Usage Panel when they were used to refer to a role or class in the abstractbut were rejected when they were used to refer to a woman.Thus the general use ofchairman was acceptable to 67 percent of the Panel (including 52 percent of the women and 76 percent of the men) in the sentence The chairman will be appointed by the Faculty Senate. But only 48 percent (including 43 percent of the women and 50 percent of the men) accepted the use of the word inEmily Owen, chairman of the Mayor's Task Force, issued a statement assuring residents that their views would be solicited, where it is applied to a woman. · Several strategies have been suggested for replacing the categorical use of compounds formed withman. Parallel terms likebusinesswoman, spokeswoman and chairwoman are increasingly used to refer to women. Also in use are common-gender terms coined withperson, such asbusinessperson, spokesperson, and chairperson. For occupational titles ending inman, new standards of official usage have been established by the U.S. Department of Labor and other government agencies.In official contexts termssuch asfirefighter and police officer are now generally used in place of fireman and policeman. · A majority of the Panelists rejected the verbman when it was used to refer to an activity performed by women. The sentenceMembers of the League of Women Voters will be manning the registration desk was unacceptable to 56 percent of the Panel (including 61 percent of the women and 54 percent of the men). See Usage Note at -ess ,people 传统上，man 以及它的衍生字一般是用来指任何人或整个人类， 不考虑性别。在古英语中，这就是man 这个字主要的意思， 即“人” 而不分性别；单词wer 和 wyf （或 woepman 和 wifman )则分别用以指“男人”和“女人”。 但在中古英语时man 取代了 wer 这个词， 也具有“男人”的意义了；而wyfman （这个字发展演变成了今天的 woman 这个字）作为“女人”这个意思被保留了下来。 这些变化的结果是，作为性别歧视者所批评的匀称排列。为此，许多作家相应地修订了他们部分的创作活动。但是这用法的准确含义取决于它的上下文以及man 的具体用途或它的衍生字。 当man 这个字被当作一个可数名词来用时，它有时似乎具有“一个人”或“人们”的意思， 如在被他所在的那个公司熟悉了解的人 和 很久以来，人们都期盼着解开原子的秘密 ， 以及如下短语中普通的人 和 街上的人 。 这里，一般的理解源于间接地推理：如果一个男人是被他所在的公司了解的话，其言下之意是，一个女人也是被他所在的公司熟悉了解的。正是这个原因，使得man 当此一般理解之义用时，其谓语随着个人性别的改变而变化是不可能的。 所以，说人是唯一能在任何时候思考的动物 是不适当的， 因为这句话字面之义是指男人的思考能力。这种用法是假定男人可以作为人类的代表。几乎毫无例外的是，词person 和 people 可以用 man 和 men 来取代，且后两字意思更清楚。 相反，当man 以单数不带冠词出现用以指人类时，它更是指一类、一属， 如在象句子只有人才有语言能力 或象短语 人类对人类的不人道 中。 但man 若以这种形式出现，其意思也会模糊不清， 因为其可只指人类中的男性成员。在大多数的行文中，例如humanity 或 humankind 这样的字也传达了 man 这种用法的一般意义。 总的说来，在用法专题使用小组成员中接受man 这种一般用法的女性比男性明显少得多。 下面这句话如果说古代人受信息不足之苦的话，那么现代人则是受信息过量之虐待了 在小组中有81的成员可接受 （其中女性成员中的接受率为58，男性中则为92)。专题小组会还接受作为一般意义的man 构成的复合词。 长城是太空中的唯一可见的人造物 这句话有86的成员接受 （其中女性成员的接受率为76，而男性中为91)。“语言史就是一部人类史” （詹姆士·布拉斯瑞特·格里诺和乔治·莱曼·基特里奇）这句话的接受率为76（基中在女性成员中有63接受，而男性中为82)。 即使是上下行文所需的字主要指的是女人，这种复合词仍然被接受。因此小组中的66（其中女性委员的57，男性的71)接受了manpower 这个词在下句的用法： 那些不允许女人加入生产力大军的国家和那些允许女人加入生产力大军的国家相比，在处理剩余劳动力这一点上明显处于竞争的劣势 。 由于man 的使用所引起的一系列相关问题产生了， 在构成职业或社会角色类别的名称，如商人、主席、发言人、外行 和 渔夫 ， 以及将这个字用于类似的构词法中，如违反运动精神的 和 善于表演的才能 。 有些人谴责这种类别的用法；然而，当它们抽象地指某种角色或阶层时，这些词仍能得到用法专题使用小组大多数人的接受；但当它们用由于指女性时，这些词就被拒绝了。因此在句子主席由职工委员会指定 中 主席 的这种一般用法就得到了67小组成员的接受（其中在女性成员中为52，而男性中为76)。 但是，在句子艾米莉·欧文，市长任务小组的主席，发表了一个声明，向市长保证将考虑他们的观点 中这个字的用法，由于是指女性，只有48的成员接受（其中在女性成员中的接受率为43，而男性中为50)。 对于如何替换用man 构成的类别复合词，几种构思被提了出来。 与之相对的复合词如女商人、女发言人 和 女主席 越来越多地被用来指女性。 另外，用person 构成的中性词也创造了出来， 如商人、发言人 和 主席 。 对于用man 结尾的职业名称， 美国政府劳工部和其它政府机构已建立起了新的官方运用标准。在官方行文，现在一般用如firefighter 和 police officer 代替 fireman 和 policeman 。 大多数的小组成员反对将动词man 用于指那些女性从事的活动。 句子登记处将配备女性选民联盟的成员 在用法专题使用小组中的反对率是56（其中在女性成员中的反对率是61，而男性中为54) 参见 -ess,people〔data〕But whiledata comes from a Latin plural form, the practice of treatingdata as a plural in English often does not correspond to its meaning, given an understanding of what counts as data in modern research.We know, for example, what "data on the homeless" would consist of—surveys, case histories, statistical analyses, and so forth—but it would be a vain exercise to try to sort all of these out into sets of individual facts,each of them a "datum" on the homeless. (Does a case history count as a single datum,or as a collection of them?Is a correlation between rates of homelessness and unemployment itself a datum, or is it an abstraction over a number of data?)Since scientists and researchers think of data as a singular mass entity like information,it is entirely natural that they should have come to talk about it as such and that others should defer to their practice.Sixty percent of the Usage Panel accepts the use ofdata with a singular verb and pronoun in the sentenceOnce the data is in, we can begin to analyze it. A still larger number, 77 percent, accepts the sentence 但是当data 来源于一拉丁复数形式， 在英语中把data 当作复数来对待的运用常常和它的意义不相符合， 给了我们在现代研究中算作数据事物的一种理解。例如，我们知道，“无家可归人的资料”将由调查、个人历史，数据分析等等构成——但是试着把这些都分类到一套个人事实将会是一次无用的尝试，他们中的每一个都为无家可归人的资料。 （个人历史是算作一个简单的资料，还是作为其中的一个收集?无家可归人的比率和失业之间的联系是一个资料，还是一系列资料中的一个提取？）既然科学家和研究工作者认为资料和信息一样是一个单一的团体，他们就应该这样地来谈论它并且其他的人应当服丛他们的说法，这是完全自然的，百分之六十的用法专题使用小组成员接受把data 和单数动词和代词连用， 如在句子一旦资料来了，我们就能开始分析了 中， 更大的比例，即百分之七十七的成员接受了句子 〔crescendo〕Crescendo is sometimes used by reputable speakers and writers to denote a climax or peak, as in noise level, rather than an increase. Although citational evidence over time attests to widespread currency,it is difficult for anyone acquainted with the technical musical sense ofcrescendo to use it to mean "a peak.” Such usage, as inWhen the guard sank a three-pointer to tie the game, the noise of the crowd reached a crescendo, was unacceptable to 55 percent of the Usage Panel.Crescendo 一词有时被享有声誉的演说家和作家用于表示高潮或顶点，而不是指渐强的过程，就象在噪声级中。 尽管过多的引证表明了这一流行趋势，然而对于熟悉渐强 这一音乐上的专门意义的人来说，很难把它用于指“顶点”。 在当后卫投入一个三分球而使比赛成平局时，观众的嘈杂声到达了极点 中的这类用法， 有55%的用法专题使用小组成员不接受〔themed〕Their disapproval may stem from the inference that this adjectival participle must come from a verb "to theme,” rather than from the nountheme (as left-handed comes from the noun hand ). Although many common verbs, such as telephone, began their lives as nouns, there is often very strong resistance when a noun first begins to be used as a verb. There are indeed instances of theme being used as a verb, but they are relatively rare—a fact that seems to suit the Usage Panel. Ninety-two percent reject the sentence 他们不赞同的理由或许源自于此形容词themed应该自动词"to theme（设计主题）”而来，而不是从名词theme 而来（如 left-handed 源自名词 hand ）。虽然许多普通动词原本是名词，如 telephone ，但当名词开始当动词用时常会引起激烈反对。事实上像 theme 这样用作动词的例子相对较少——看来它较迎合用法专家小组。92%的小组成员反对此句型 〔contact〕In 1966 Wilson Follett wrotethat "Persons old enough to have been repelled by the verbcontact . . . may as well make up their minds that there is no way to arrest or reverse the tide of its popularity.” His prophecy is proving correct:In 1969 only 34 percent of the Usage Panel accepted the use ofcontact as a verb, but in our most recent survey 65 percent of the Panel accepted the sentence 1966年威尔森·福莱特写道：“对contact 这个动词素有反感的年长者还不如趁早接受这一无法阻拦或逆转它日渐通用的趋势这个事实”。 他的预言证明是正确的，在1969年用法专题使用小组成员中只有34％的人接受将contact 作为动词的用法， 但在我们最近的调查中65％的用法小组成员接受以下句子： 〔harass〕Educated usage appears to be evenly divided on the pronunciation ofharass. In a recent survey50 percent of the Usage Panel preferred a pronunciation with stress on the first syllable,while 50 percent preferred stress on the second syllable.Curiously, the Panelists' comments appear to indicatethat each side regards itself as an embattled minority.harass 一词在受教育者的使用中也同样有不同的发音。 在最近的一次调查中，百分之五十的用法专题使用小组成员将该词的重音放在第一个音节，而另百分之五十则倾向于将重音放在第二个音节上，奇怪的是在小组成员的观点中可以看出，各方都认为自己是不断受困扰的少数派〔percent〕Statistically speaking,a quantity can be increased by any percentage but cannot be decreased by more than 100 percent.Once pollution has been reduced by 100 percent, for example, it ceases to exist,and no further reduction is possible.In defiance of this logic, however, advertisers sometimes refer toa 150 percent decrease in lost luggage or a new dental rinse that reduces plaque on teeth by over 300 percent. On reflection,it is possible to infer the intended meaning in these examples—presumably the rinse is three times as effective as some other tooth-cleaning procedure—but the ostensible claim is logically nonsensical,and the phrasing serves mostly to obscure the fact that the standard of comparison has not been made explicit.The latter phrase was unacceptable to 66 percent of the Usage Panel.从统计学上说，数量可以按任意比例增长但不能按超过百分之一百的比例减少。例如，一旦污染减少百分之百，它就会消失，也就不再会有任何进一步减少的可能了。然而，广告商们时常忽视这种规律而提出行李丢失率下降了百分之一百五 或 一种新型爽口剂将牙病减少了百分之三百。 从观众的反应来说，不可能推断这些例句想表达的意思——假定这种爽口剂比其它洁齿措施有效三倍——但这种表面的说法却是不合逻辑的，并且短语的运用大大模糊了比较标准尚不清晰的事实。后一个短语是百分之六十六的用法小组成员不能接受的〔conflicted〕The adjectiveconflicted is associated with the jargon of New Age psychology: 92 percent of the Usage Panel rejected its use in the sentence 这个形容词conflicted 与新时代心理学的术语有关： 百分之九十二的用法专题使用小组成员认为在下面这个句子中的用法是不可接受的： 〔protagonist〕Theprotagonist of a Greek drama was its leading actor, of whom there could be but one in any play.This is an etymological nicety that many modern writers continue to observe when using the word to refer to the main character of a drama or other fiction.Thus when the members of the Usage Panel were asked "How many protagonists are there inOthello ?” the great majority answered "One"and offered substitutes such asantagonist, villain, principal, and deuteragonist to describe Desdemona and Iago. But there is reputable precedent from the 17th century on for usingprotagonist to mean simply "important actor" or "principal party,”with no implication of uniqueness,as inThere are three protagonists in this sluggish novel. Smith and Jones were the protagonists in the struggle over the future of the computer company. Thus, while some writers may prefer to confine the word to a singular sense in their own usage,it is pedantic to insist that the looser use is incorrect. ·The use ofprotagonist to refer to a proponent has become common only in the 20th century and may have been influenced by a misconception that the first syllable of the word represents the prefixpro-, "favoring.” In sentences such asHe was an early protagonist of nuclear power, this use is likely to strike many readers as an errorand can usually be replaced byadvocate or proponent with no loss of sense.希腊戏剧的protagnist 是主角， 且在任何戏剧中仅有一个主角。许多现代作家在用这个词时都注意使它指代戏剧或其他小说的主要人物，因此当用法专题小组成员被问及“在奥赛罗 里有几个主要人物?”时， 大部分人回答“一个”，而且用如antagonist、villain、principal 和 deuteragonist 等词来描述苔丝德蒙娜和雅各。 但是从十七进纪开始，有一个使用protagonist 的规范惯例， 仅表示“重要的演员”或“首要的政党”，而丝毫没有独一无二的暗示，象在句子在这部文风拖沓的小说中有三个人物。 史密斯和琼斯是为计算公司的未来而奋斗的主角中一样。 因此，当某些作家可能在他们自己的用法中偏于把这个词限制在一个简单的含义中时，仍强调自由用法不正确就是卖弄学问的了。用protagonist 来指代建议者或支持者仅在20世纪开始变得常见， 而且被对于代表意为“支持的”前缀pro- 的该词第一个音节的误解所影响。 在句子他是核武力的早期支持者 中， 这种用法可能会使读者认为是个错误，而且常被advocate 或 proponent 所替代， 同时也不会有任何意思的遗漏〔complete〕Complete is sometimes held to be an absolute term likeperfect or chief, which is not subject to comparison. Nonetheless, it can be qualified asmore or less, for example. A majority of the Usage Panel accepts the example Complete 有时具有绝对的意味， 就象非比较形容词perfect 或 chief 。 然而，它可以用more 或 less 来修饰。 绝大多数用法专题使用小组成员接受下面的句子： 〔sneak〕Snuck is an Americanism first introduced in the 19th century as a nonstandard regional variant ofsneaked. But widespread use ofsnuck has become more common with every generation. It is now used by educated speakers in all regions,and there is some evidence to suggest that it is more frequent among younger speakers thansneaked is. Formal written English is naturally and properly more conservative than other varieties, of course,and heresnuck still meets with much resistance. Many writers and editors have a lingering unease about the form,particularly if they recall its nonstandard origins.In fact, our consolidated citations, exhibiting almost 10,000 instances ofsneaked and snuck, indicate thatsneaked is preferred by a factor of 7 to 2. And 67 percent of the Usage Panel disapproves ofsnuck. Nevertheless, in recent yearssnuck has been quietly establishing itself in formal writing. An electronic search of a wide range of reputable publications turns up hundreds of citations forsnuck, not just in sports writingbut in news columns and commentary: Snuck 是一个美国独创词， 19世纪作为sneaked 的不标准的地方变体被首次引入。 在每一代，snuck 这个词都得到了广泛应用。 现在，任何地区受过教育的人都使用它，而且证据显示在年轻的使用者中，它比sneaked 更加常用。 当然，正式的文字英语自然要比其它语体保守一些，在这里，snuck 一词还是受到了排挤。 许多作家和编辑对这个词的形式有一种长久的反感，特别是联系到它不标准的起源。实际上，在我们反复验证过的显示约一万个使用sneaked 和 snuck 的引文中， 表明sneaked 受到青睐的程度为七比二。 用法专题使用小组成员中百分之六十七的人的反对snuck 一词。 但是，最近几年，snuck 在正式文体中也悄悄确立了它的地位。 对一系列著名出版物的电子扫描调查显示出几百处使用snuck 的地方， 而且不光是在体育文章中，在新闻专栏和评论中也有使用： 〔convince〕In an earlier survey, a majority of the Usage Panel held that this distinction should be maintained,but the use ofconvince with an infinitive has become increasingly common even among reputable writers, and it is unlikely that this stricture can be maintained for much longer.在更早的一次调查中，用法专题使用小组成员的大多数人认为这一区别应当保持，但是甚至在知名作家中convince 和不定式连用的用法也已变得日渐普遍起来， 这一限制不可能会保持很久〔but〕Traditional grammarians have worried over what form the pronoun ought to take whenbut is used to indicate an exception in sentences such as No one but I (or No one but me ) has read it. Some have argued thatbut is a conjunction in these sentences and therefore should be followed by the nominative formI. However, many of these grammarians have gone on to argue somewhat inconsistentlythat the accusative formme is appropriate when the but phrase occurs at the end of a sentence, as inNo one has read it but me. While this treatment of the construction has a considerable weight of precedent on its sideand cannot be regarded as incorrect,a strong case can be made on grammatical grounds for treating this use ofbut as a preposition. For one thing, ifbut were truly a conjunction here, we would expect the verb to agree in person and number with the noun or pronoun followingbut; we would then sayNo one but the students have read it. What is more, ifbut were a true conjunction here we would not expect that it could be moved to the end of a clause, as inNo one has read it but the students. Note that we cannot use the conjunctionand in a similar way, saying John left and everyone else in the class in place of John and everyone else in the class left. These observations suggest thatbut is best considered as a preposition here and followed by accusative forms such asme and them in all positions: No one but me has read it. No one has read it but me. These recommendations are supported by 73 percent of the Usage Panel when thebut phrase precedes the verb and by 93 percent when thebut phrase follows the verb. · But is redundant when used together with however, as in But the army, however, went on with its plans; one or the other word should be eliminated. ·But is generally not followed by a comma. Correct written style requiresKim wanted to go, but we stayed, not Kim wanted to go, but, we stayed. · But may be used to begin a sentence at all levels of style. See Usage Note at and ,cannot ,doubt ,however ,I 1传统的语法学家考虑当but 用于表示例外的意思时应该用什么形式的代词，比如 No one but I （或者 No one but me ) has read it 。 有人认为but 在这种句子中是个连词， 因此应该使用主格I。 然而许多语法学家接下来的讨论有些不一致，即当but 短语出现在句子末尾时用宾格 me 比较合适， 如No one has read it but me（除我以外没有人读过它）。 同时这种结构前置处理的重要性是值得考虑的，并且不会被认为是不正确的，一个有力的例子在语法范畴内，认为but 在这里作介词使用。 首先如果but 在此真是一个连词的话， 我们会期望同名词或代词在人称和数上保持一致的动词跟在but 后面； 我们会说No one but the students have read it（除学生以外没有人读过它）。 再者，如果but 在此真是连词的话，我们不希望它被放在句子末尾， 如在句子No one has read it but the students 中。 注意我们不以类似的方式来使用连词and ，说 John left and everyone else in the class 来代替 John and everyone else in the class left。 这些发现表明but 在此最好被当作介词， 在任何位置后面都应跟宾格形式如me 和 them ： No one but me has read it. No one has read it but me（除了我没人读过它）。 当but 短语放在动词之前时，有百分之七十三的用法专题使用小组成员支持这些提议； 而当but 短语放在动词之后时，得到百分之九十三的小组成员的支持。 But 在同 however 一起使用时是多余的，如 But the army, however, went on with its plans； 这两个词必须去掉其中一个。But 通常后面不加逗号。 正确的写法是Kim wanted to go, but we stayed, 而不是 Kim wanted to go, but, we stayed 。 But 可以放在所有文体标准的句子开头 参见 and,cannot,doubt,however,I1〔holocaust〕When referring to the massive destruction of human beings by other human beings,holocaust has a secure place in the language. Fully 99 percent of the Usage Panel accepts the use ofholocaust in the phrase nuclear holocaust. Sixty percent accepts the sentenceAs many as two million people may have died in the holocaust that followed the Khmer Rouge takeover in Cambodia. But because of its associations with genocide,extended applications ofholocaust may not always be received with equanimity. When the word is used to refer to death brought about by natural causes,the percentage of the Panel's acceptance drops sharply.Only 31 percent of the Panel accepts the sentence holocaust 在指人类之间大规模的杀害时用法稳定。 百分之九十九的用法专题使用小组成员接受holocaust 在 nuclear holocaust 中的用法。 百分之六十的成员接受在红色高棉组织接管柬埔寨之后，高达两百万的民众死于那场大屠杀 。 但由于它和种族灭绝有一定联系，人们并不总能很平静地接受holocaust 的引申用法。 当用这个词表示由于自然灾害引起的死亡时，用法小组接受的百分比明显下降。只有百分之三十一的成员同意这样的用法： 〔anxious〕Anxious has a long history of use roughly as a synonym for eager, but many would prefer that the distinction between the two words be maintained and thatanxious be used only when its subject is worried or uneasy about the anticipated event. In the traditional view, one may sayWe are anxious to see the strike settled soon but notWe are anxious to see the new show of British sculpture at the museum. Fifty-two percent of the Usage Panel rejectsanxious in the latter sentence. But general adoption ofanxious to mean "eager" is understandable, at least in colloquial discourse,since it provides a means of adding emotional urgency to an assertion,in its implication that the subject's desire for a certain outcome is so strong that frustration of that desire will lead to unhappiness.Note, in this connection, the analogous use of sentences such asI'm dying to see your new baby in informal style. Anxious 在很长一段时间以来，一直大致作为 eager 的同义词来用， 但很多人喜欢保留这两个词之间的区别，即只有当主体对预测事件忧虑不安时才用anxious 。 在传统观点看来，可以说我们渴望看到罢工问题很快解决 ， 但不能说我们渴望在博物馆里见到新的英国雕塑展览。 52%的用法使用小组成员反对anxious 在后一个句子中的用法。 但通常用anxious 来表示"eager"是可以理解的， 至少在口语中是这样，既然它加强了某一主张在感情上的迫切性，它隐喻的一层意思就是，主体对某一特定结果的愿望是如此强烈，以至于这种欲望受挫就会导致不愉快。注意与此有关的类似句子如我很渴望见到你们新出生的孩子 也是非正式的 〔banal〕The pronunciation ofbanal is not settled among educated speakers of American English. Sixty years ago, H.W. Fowler recommended the pronunciation BAN-al (rhyming withpanel ), but this pronunciation is now regarded as recondite by most Americans:it is preferred by only 2 percent of the Usage Panel.Other possibilities are BANE-al (rhyming withanal ), preferred by 38 percent of the Panel; ba-NAL (rhyming withcanal ), preferred by 46 percent; and ba-NAHL (the last syllable rhyming withdoll ), preferred by 14 percent (this last pronunciation is more common in British English).Some panelists admit to being so vexed by the problem that they tend to avoid the word in conversation.Speakers can perhaps take comfort in knowing that any one of the last three pronunciations will have the support of a substantial minority, and that none of them is incorrect.When several pronunciations of a word are widely used,there is really no right or wrong one.单词banal 的发音在受过教育的讲美式英语的人中并未固定下来。 六十年前，H.W.福勒曾建议其发音为BAN-al（与panel 押韵）， 但大多数美国人认为这一发音是晦涩难懂的：它只得到“惯用法专题研究小组”中2%成员的偏爱。另外可能的发音有BANE-al（与anal 押韵），得到38小组成员的认可； ba-NAL（与canal 押韵）得到46的认可； ba-NAHL（最后一个音节与doll 押韵），得到14的认可 （这最后一个发音在英国英语中更为常用）。一些小组成员承认，这个词的发音令他们太伤脑筋了以至他们在说话时尽量避免使用它。当使用者得知最后三个发音中的任何一个都有较为坚实的少数票的支持，且它们中的任何一个都不是错误的，也许会给他们一些安慰。当一个单词的几种发音都被广泛使用时，便的确无所谓对错了〔dilemma〕In its primary sensedilemma denotes a situation in which a choice must be made between alternative courses of action or argument. Although citational evidence attests to widespread use of the term meaning simply "problem" or "predicament" and involving no issue of choice,74 percent of the Usage Panel rejected the sentence dilemma 的主要意思是表示处于进退维谷的境地。 尽管引用的论据证明含意仅为“问题”或“困境”的词语达到了普遍运用并涉及没有选择的问题，但有74％的用法专题使用小组成员否定了句子 〔nauseous〕Traditional critics have insisted thatnauseous is appropriately used only to mean "causing nausea" and that it is incorrect to use it to mean "affected with nausea,”as inRoller coasters make me nauseous. In this example,nauseated is preferred by 72 percent of the Usage Panel. What is curious, however,is that 88 percent of the Panelists indicated that they would prefernauseating in the sentenceThe children looked a little green from too many candy apples and nauseous rides. Thus it appears that like a handful of other words such astranspire, nauseous is actively used mainly in the sense in which it is considered incorrect. · While the use ofnauseous to mean "affected with nausea" may incur critical displeasure, it should be pointed out in its defense not only that it is quite common among educated speakersbut that it is subtly distinct fromnauseated in this sense. Nauseated is a passive participle, and hence suggests a condition induced by a specific external cause.By contrast,nauseous is an adjective that refers to an occurrent state whose cause may be nonspecific or unknown.The person who reports thatI woke up this morning feeling nauseous might not be willing to accept that he or she had beennauseated by any external agent. 传统的评论家坚持认为nauseous 只适合用于“引起人厌恶的”意思， 而用于指“患恶心症的”是不正确的，就像在巨浪滑行者使我感到恶心 中一样。 在这个例子中，nauseated 被72%的用法专题使用小组成员认为是合适的。 然而，有趣的是，88%的成员认为他们会选用nauseating 这个词， 用在句子太多的苹果糖和令人恶心的骑乘使得孩子们的脸色有点绿 中。 因此似乎像许多别的词如transpire那样，nauseous 积极地主要用于被人认为是不正确的意思中。 然而用nauseous 来指“患恶心症”可能引起评论的不愉快， 作为防卫我们应该指出不仅在受过教育的演说者中此种用法普遍，而且在这个意思上它和nauseated 有细微的区别。 Nauseated 是过去分词， 因此意味着由特殊的外部原因引导的条件。相反nauseous 是形容词指偶发的状态， 可能是非特殊的或不知道的。声称我早上起来时感到恶心 的人， 可能不情愿接受他或她被任何外界力量所恶心到 〔hopefully〕And though this use ofhopefully may have been a vogue word when it first gained currency 30 years ago, it has long since lost any taint of jargon or pretentiousness for the general reader.The well-attested acceptance of the usage reflects an implicit popular recognition of its usefulness;there is no precise substitute.Someone who saysHopefully, the treaty will be ratified makes a hopeful prediction about the fate of the treaty,whereas someone who saysI hope (or We hope or It is hoped ) the treaty will be ratified expresses a bald statement about what is desired. Only the latter could be continued with a clause such asbut it isn't likely. · It might have been expected, then, that the initial flurry of objections tohopefully would have subsided once the usage became well established. Instead, increased currency of the usage appears only to have made the critics more adamant.In the 1969 Usage Panel survey the usage was acceptable to 44 percent of the Panel;in the most recent survey it was acceptable to only 27 percent.(By contrast, 60 percent accepted the analogous use ofmercifully in the sentence Mercifully, the game ended before the opponents could add another touchdown to the lopsided score. ) Yet the Panel has not shown any signs of becoming generally more conservative:in the very same survey panelists were disposed to accept once-vilified usagessuch as the employment ofcontact and host as verbs. · It seems that this use ofhopefully has been made a litmus test, which distinguishes writers who take an active interest in questions of grammar or usage from the great mass of people who keep their own linguistic counsel.No one can be blamed who useshopefully in blithe ignorance of the critics' disdain for it, since the rule could not be derived from any general concern for clarity or precision.But writers who are aware of the critical controversy face a more delicate decision.Some will simply flout the rule,seeing no reason that they should be deprived of a useful construction.Others may choose to avoid the usage,whether they are motivated by discretion or civility. ·Like other sentence adverbs such asbluntly and happily, hopefully may occasionally be ambiguous. In the sentenceHopefully, the company has launched a new venture, the word hopefully might be construed as describing the point of view of either the speaker or the subject. Such ambiguities can be resolved either by repositioning the adverb (as inThe company has launched the new venture hopefully ) or by choosing a paraphrase ( One may hope that the company has launched the new venture ). 尽管hopefully 的这一用法在30年前首次通用的时候曾是个时兴词， 但对于广大读者来说它早已失去了俚语或矫饰的色彩。屡经证实的对这一用法的接受反映了对其实用性的普遍默认；而且并不存在其他精确的代用词。有人如果说但愿条约能被批准 ， 便是对条约的命运作了充满希望的预测，反之如果有人说我希望 （或 我们希望 或 希望 ) 条约将会被批准 则表达了对其期望之物的大胆声明。 只有后者可以接从句象但这不大可能 。 也许我们本可以期待当这一用法已变得根深蒂固之后， 对hopefully 的一片反对声可稍事平息。 然而，这一用法的流行似乎反而使批评家们更为坚定。在1969年用法调查使用小组的调查中44%的成员接受这一用法；在最近一次的调查中却只有27%的成员接受。（相比之下，60%的人接受mercifully 在句子 幸好，在对手能够给这一边倒的比分再加上一分之前，比赛就结束了 中的类似用法） 但是并没有任何迹象表明调查小组成员正在普遍变得更保守：在同一次调查中小组成员们倾向于接受被一度废除的某些用法，如把contact 和 host 用作动词看来。 似乎hopefully 的用法已经成了一块试金石， 它把对语法和用法怀有浓厚兴趣的作家和保留着他们自己的语言学顾问的广大民众区分开来。那些全然忽视批评家们的蔑视使用hopefully 的人不该受到指责， 因为规则并不来源于任何对清晰和精确的关注。但是意识到了批评界争议的作者们面对着一个更为微妙的决定。有些人干脆违反规则，他们认为没有理由要失去这么一个实用的结构。另外一些人则选择避免这一用法，无论其动机是出于谨慎还是出于礼貌。象许多其它句中副词如bluntly 和 happily一样，hopefully 经常出现歧义。 在下句 Hopefully, the company has launched a new venture 中， hopefully 一词可以解释为记述说话者的观点或者句中主语的观点。 这种歧义可以通过调换副词位置（如公司已经满怀希望地到办了一个新企业 )或选择另一种说法( 有人希望这个公司已经创办了一个新企业 )来消除 〔intuit〕The verbintuit is well established in reputable writing, but some critics have objected to it.Only 34 percent of the Usage Panel accepts it in the sentence 动词intuit 在规范化写作中已被完全确定， 但是一些评论家却一直反对它。只有百分之三十四的用法专题使用小组成员接受它用于句中 |
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