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George W. Bush is mocked for strangling grammar. But he can hold his
head up high in the new Oxford Dictionary of Quotations published on
Thursday.
The U.S. President makes a respectable first appearance in one of the
world's most famous reference books with his notorious "Axis of Evil"
speech about Iran, Iraq and North Korea. Bush, long renowned for his malapropisms, has in the past
offered such gems as misunderestimate, embetter and resignate.
But Oxford dictionary editor Elizabeth Knowles works on very different
criteria for new entrants in
the revered tome.
"You look at the quotation, not at their linguistic dexterity," she
told reporters.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's closest ally in the war on
Iraq, is given prominence for waxing lyrical in appropriately
Shakespearean tones in the lead-up to the conflict: "This is not the time
to falter." Intriguingly the latest edition of the famous sayings book
first published in 1941 highlights how history has a way of repeating
itself when it comes to the memorable soundbite.
Bill Clinton, watching the saga of the Florida chaos unfolding in the
2000 U.S. Presidential election, said: "The American people have spoken --
but it's going to take a little time to determine what they said."
That echoed the complaint by British Conservative statesman Lord
Salisbury in 1877: "One of the nuisances of the ballot is that when the
oracle has spoken, you never know what it means."
"We are constantly trying to pick up material that has become
newly resonant," Knowles said,
citing a John Quincy Adams quote that struck a chord after the September
11 attacks on the United States.
"Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be
unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But
she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy."
(Agencies) |
乔治·布什经常因令人窒息的语法错误而被人嘲笑。然而，在周四（9月9日）出版的新版《牛津引语词典》里，他终于可以扬眉吐气了。
这位美国总统曾经在一次演讲中将伊朗、伊拉克和北朝鲜称为“邪恶轴心（Axis of
Evil）”，这个臭名昭彰的单词让他首次在这本世界上最著名的参考书中光荣亮相。布什一直以误用词语而闻名，他曾经创造出诸如misunderestimate（underestimate）,
embetter (embitter)和resignate (resignation)等经典词汇。
牛津词典的编辑伊丽莎白·诺尔斯在搜集引语时用了不同寻常的标准，在这本倍受尊敬的词典中加入了这个词语。
她告诉记者说：“你要看引语本身，而不要挑剔其语言上的技巧。”
英国首相托尼·布莱尔是布什在伊拉克战争中最亲密的盟友。他那恰到好处的莎士比亚语调使其战争动员的演讲带有抒情诗的韵味。他说：“现在不是踌躇徘徊的时刻。”令人感兴趣的是，这本词典的最新版本突出强调了记录下这些值得纪念的同期声可以再现历史的一幕。1941年，这本记录名人名言的词典首次出版。
比尔·克林顿目睹了2000年美国总统选举中因佛罗里达州计票争议而引起的混乱局面，他说：“美国人民已经表达了自己的意愿，不过还需要一点儿时间来弄清楚他们的意愿。”
这句话与1877年英国保守党政治家索尔兹伯里勋爵的抱怨相互呼应。他说：“投票令人讨厌的一点是当圣人讲话时，你永远也不懂它的意思。”
“我们不断地尝试挑选能引起最新共鸣的材料。”诺尔斯引用了约翰·昆西·亚当斯的话。这句话在美国9/11恐怖袭击事件发生后，引起了共鸣。
“无论（美国式）自由和独立标准已经或将会出现在哪里，那里都会有美国的精神、祝福和祈祷。但是，美国不会到别的国家去搜寻怪物并将之摧毁。”
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2004-09-15 10:04
