TED演讲：重新定义字典(10)

 　　So a word without its source is like a cut flower. 一个没有来源的词就像一朵被剪下来的花。

　　You know, it's pretty to look at for a while, but then it dies. It dies too fast. 看一会还可以，不久就蔫了。蔫得太快了。

　　So, this whole time I've been saying, "The dictionary, the dictionary, the dictionary." 我一直在说，“字典，字典，字典，字典。”

　　Not "a dictionary," or "dictionaries." 而不是“一本字典”，或“很多字典”。

　　And that's because, well, people use the dictionary to stand for the whole language. 这是因为，人们用字典去代表整个语言。

　　They use it synecdochically. 这是一种借代（以点代面）的说法--

　　And one of the problems of knowing a word like "synecdochically" is that you really want an excuse to say "synecdochically." 知道“synecdochically”会引起的问题是，你真的很想找个理由去说synecdochically

　　This whole talk has just been an excuse to get me to the point where I could say "synecdochically" to all of you. 这整个演讲也就是个借口，为了能让我可以有机会跟你们说synecdochically这个词。

　　So I'm really sorry. But when you use a part of something -- like the dictionary is a part of the language, 真对不起。但如果你用一样事物的一部分，例如字典是语言的一部分，

　　or a flag stands for the United States, it's a symbol of the country -- then you're using it synecdochically. 或者用国旗代表美国作为一个国家的象征--那样你在用借代。

　　But the thing is, we could make the dictionary the whole language. 不过，我们可以让字典成为语言的全部，

　　If we get a bigger pan, then we can put all the words in. We can put in all the meanings. 如果我们有个大一点的锅，那我们就可以把所有的单词都放里边了，还可以把所有的单词解释都放里边。

　　Doesn't everyone want more meaning in their lives? 每个人不都想人生更有意义吗（英语里，意义和单词解释是同一个单词）？

　　And we can make the dictionary not just be a symbol of the language -- we can make it be the whole language. 那样，我们就可以让字典不仅仅是语言的象征，我们就可以让字典涵盖整个语言。

　　You see, what I'm really hoping for is that my son, 你看，我真希望到我儿子的时候--

　　who turns seven this month -- I want him to barely¹ remember that this is the form factor that dictionaries used to come in. 这个月他就满7岁了--我想他只记得这是过去的字典的形式，

　　This is what dictionaries used to look like. 这是过去的字典的样子。

　　I want him to think of this kind of dictionary as an eight-track tape. 我想他把这种字典当成8轨录音带类似的东西，

　　It's a format² that died because it wasn't useful enough. It wasn't really what people needed. 是种已经过时的形式，不再适合人们的需求。

　　And the thing is, if we can put in all the words, 如果我们可以涵盖所有单词，

　　no longer have that artificial distinction between good and bad, we can really describe the language like scientists. 不再人为的区分好词坏词，我们就可以像科学家那样的描述语言，

　　We can leave the aesthetic³ judgments⁴ to the writers and the speakers. 我们可以把审美判断留给作家和演讲者。

　　If we can do that, then I can spend all my time fishing, and I don't have to be a traffic cop anymore. 如果我们可以做到这点，那我就可以把我所有的时间花在捕鱼上，用不着再当交警。

　　Thank you very much for your kind attention. 谢谢，感谢您的关注。

1 barely   

adv.仅仅，几乎没有，几乎不

参考例句：

• The male bird is barely distinguishable from the female.雄鸟和雌鸟几乎无法辨别。
• He took barely enough money to keep the children in bread.他赚很少的钱仅够孩子们勉强糊口。

2 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

3 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

4 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。