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Updated: 2002-03-22 01:00

In times of terror, teens talk the talk (2002/03/22)

美国青少年创造9·11俚语 (2002/03/22)

In times of terror, teens talk the talk
Students in J.E.B. Stuart High School's journalism course discuss the use of and issues surrounding "Sept. 11 slang."
Their bedrooms are "ground zero." Translation? A total mess.
A mean teacher? He's "such a terrorist."
A student is disciplined? "It was total jihad."
Petty concerns? "That's so Sept. 10." And out-of-style clothes? "Is that a burqa?"

It's just six months since Sept. 11, but that's enough time for the vocabulary of one of the country's most frightening days to become slang for teenagers of all backgrounds, comic relief in school hallways and hangouts.

It's like, 'Your Mama, Osama,' as an insult. If you're weird, people might call you 'Taliban' or ask if you have anthrax".

Language has always been as malleable and erratic as the day's headlines, and young people have always been some of the most innovative and playful in linking world events to their daily vernacular.

Teenagers breeze through such expressions as "He's as hard to find as bin Laden," or "emo" to describe people who are very emotional about Sept. 11. Girls might say a boy is "firefighter cute" instead of the more common "hottie."

"We're able to make jokes and aren't as overly sensitive as before," said Jonathan Raviv, a senior school student. "You don't want to offend anyone. But sometimes it's a little insensitive, and that's the nature of the joke."

However, teachers worry that such slang could cross the line between funny and offensive. "When you have adolescent bravado and nothing can hurt you, underneath that is really a tremendous fear that everything can hurt you," said Alan Lipman, executive director of the Center at Georgetown for the Study of Violence. "They are trying to joke around, which takes the air out of it."

Slang has always bubbled to the surface during crisis points. Some fades quickly, but some becomes a part of the national lexicon. And young people are comfortable being sassy sooner than adults are--think "going postal" or "nuke 'em."

(Agencies)

卧室是"世贸废墟(Ground Zero)",因为太脏太乱;严厉的老师是"恐怖头子(terrorist)";学生受到老师处分是遭到"圣战攻击(jihad)";根本不值得一提的事情被称为"That's so Sept.10";那么过了时的服饰是什么呢?对了,"burga (阿富汗塔利班统治时期强制妇女穿的一种能将全身上下都罩住的大布衫,只留下眼睛和鼻子一小块地方可以暴露于外)"。这就是目前在美国青少年中颇为流行的带有"恐怖幽默"的"9·11俚语"。

"9·11"虽然才刚刚过去了半年,但是在那个恐怖事件中产生的词汇很快发展成为校园俚语,在美国青少年中风靡起来。在学校的走廊上和学生宿舍里时时可以听到这些不乏幽默色彩的"9·11俚语"。

例如"你妈的,奥萨马 (Your Mama, Osama)"就是最新的骂人的话。如果一个人很怪异或是神神秘秘的,人们可能会叫他"塔利班 (Taliban)",或者问他"是不是感染炭疽了"(if you have anthrax)。

语言就像每天报纸的新闻标题一样,在不断发展和变化,而孩子们总会将世界上发生的事情和他们的生活中的语言联系起来,加以创新,变成戏谑的话。

青少年们还会开玩笑说:"他就像本·拉登那样难找 (He's as hard to find as bin Laden)";或者形容那些对9·11事件过分敏感的人为"emo(英文单词emotional的缩写)"。从前女孩子们经常用"hottie"来称呼十分受欢迎的男孩子,而现在则用"像消防队员一样可爱 (firefighter cute)"这样的词汇来形容他们了。

一名名叫乔纳森·拉维夫的高中生说:"我们现在不再像以前那样敏感,开不起玩笑了。其实我们开玩笑的时候并不想冒犯任何人。但是有的时候还是会无意之中冒犯了别人,不过,开玩笑嘛,这种情况本来就在所难免。"

然而,一些学校的老师对此现象深表担忧,他们担心孩子们会开玩笑开得"过火了"而"伤到他人"。乔治敦暴力研究中心的执行董事艾伦·李普曼说:"当一些青春期的孩子表现出天不怕地不怕的样子时,他们心中都隐藏着或多或少的恐惧,实际上他们害怕受到任何的伤害。这时候最好的办法就是开玩笑,用幽默来赶走恐惧。"

每当一些重大事件发生的时候,语言中总是会产生一些新的俚语。其中一些俚语很快就被人们遗忘了,但是有一些则最终会成为该语言的一部分。而年轻人(在语言的创新和使用方面)往往会走在成年人的前面,例如年轻人曾用"going postal" 来形容一个人"简直是疯了,而且很暴力"(go crazy and violent,90年代中期,美国一些暴力的人扮成邮差,半夜进行谋杀活动);而 "nuke 'em"则是 "nuke them"的缩写,直译是"对他们使用核武器",意思是"向他开火,狠狠地贬他"。

(中国日报网站译)

 
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