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Updated: 2005-01-17 11:27
Disaster Changes Use of Word 'Tsunami'

东南亚海啸惊天动地 “海啸”含义从此改变

Disaster Changes Use of Word 'Tsunami'

 

Before, musicians produced a "sonic tsunami," Wall Street analysts foresaw "tsunamis" of bad earnings news and Japanese restaurants served "tsunami" sushi rolls.

The word was used in dozens of different contexts, but now it likely will appear with just one, tragic, meaning, a language group said on Wednesday.

Because of the South Asian tsunami disaster that has killed more than 150,000 people, the word assumes a solely solemn use, much the way "Ground Zero," for the site of the World Trade Center, had its meaning changed from "starting point" to the center of the Sept. 11 tragedy, said Paul Payack, head of Global Language Monitor.

Payack said that since the Dec. 26 tsunami, the Japanese word has appeared more than 18.5 million times and been the subject of 88,000 articles in major media.

"Before Sept. 11, 2001, the term ground zero was a business cliche meaning starting point, especially when beginning a project over again as in 'going back to ground zero.' That term now represents what many consider to be hallowed ground and its old usage is rarely employed," he said.

"In the same manner, we envision that the word tsunami will be the subject of considerable discretion before being used in anything other than a most serious manner," he said.

Payack said thousands of sports teams around the world use tsunami into their names, like the Tsunami Aquatics Swim team of Livermore, California.

He said there are also some 10,000 products called tsunami, like Tsunami Point-to-Point Wireless Bridges, Tsunami Multimedia Speakers and Tsunami Image Processors.

Newspaper headline writers also liked the colorful word, as the Detroit News' "Ford Releases a Tsunami of New Products" and "Heading for the presidency on a tsunami of visions" in London's The Times.

(Agencies)

曾几何时,音乐家们创作过模拟海啸声响效果的乐曲,纽约华尔街的分析家们预测不利消息会像“海啸”一样涌来,还有些日本饭店提供名叫“海啸”的寿司卷。

某语言研究组上周三(1月12日)表示,“海啸”这个词曾被用于各种不同的场合,但如今它也许仅剩一种带有悲剧色彩的含义。

全球语言监测机构的负责人保罗·佩亚克说,由于南亚的海啸导致超过15万人丧生,“海啸”这个词和“归零地”(世贸中心遗址)一样,现在仅存一种肃穆的意味了。“归零地”本来的意思是“出发点,开始点”,但在911恐怖袭击事件后,专指世贸中心双塔曾经竖立的地方。

佩亚克说,自2004年12月26日海啸发生后,tsunami这个日语单词在主流媒体上出现了超过1850万次,并成为8.8万篇文章的标题。

他说:“911恐怖袭击事件发生之前,‘归零地’只是一个陈腐的商业术语,意思是‘开始点’,特指重新开始某项目或方案,重回起点’。但现在,这个术语在很多人心目中代表着一块‘圣地’,其原有的意义已经很少被用到了。”

“同样,我们预想今后人们在使用‘海啸’这个词之前,将会相当慎重地考虑它是否仅适用于某种严肃的场合。”他说。

佩亚克说,世界上有数千个体育运动队在他们的名字中使用了“海啸”一词,比如加州利弗莫尔的“海啸水上运动队”。

他说,世界上还有大约一万种产品取名叫“海啸”,比如“海啸牌点对点无线网桥”、“海啸牌多媒体扬声器”以及“海啸牌图像处理器”。

报纸新闻标题作者同样喜欢这个色彩鲜明的词汇,比如《底特律新闻》上的《福特新品上市掀起海啸冲击波》和伦敦《时代》杂志上的《乘着想象的海浪向总统宝座进军》。

(中国日报网站译)

Vocabulary:

sushi: small cakes of cold cooked rice wrapped in seaweed, dressed with vinegar, and topped or wrapped with slices of raw or cooked fish, egg, or vegetables.(寿司,生鱼片冷饭团)

cliche
:
陈腐的

envision: to picture in the mind; imagine(想像)

discretion: 谨慎;考虑周到

 
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