密歇根新闻广播 我们太老了,不能说"boyfriend"

 

As designated word nerds, we here at That's What They Say whole-heartedly admit that sometimes we do things in our spare time that are a bit, well, geeky. But also pretty fascinating.

For instance, English Professor Anne Curzan has been been working on a project that traces changes in the New York Times style guide. She's been perusing¹ stylebooks from the beginning of the 20th century to the present to see what has changed over time.

In the 1976 edition, she found this entry for boyfriend and girlfriend: "Despite the wide currency these objectionable colloquialisms² have attained³, they should not be used until it has been definitely established that no other term or description will suffice."

Seems a bit harsh, no?

When Curzan saw that entry, she assumed that people found these terms "objectionable" because they were just coming into use. Sure enough, when she checked Google Books, she found that "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" took off around 1960.

In fact, neither term is really that old. The Oxford⁴ English Dictionary has the first citation⁵ for "boyfriend" in 1906 and for "girlfriend" in 1892.

The 1999 edition of the style book describes these terms as "informal" and "best reserved for teenagers." But in 2015, we get this: "While some traditionalists still view them as informal, these terms are now widely accepted for people of any age."

That said, some of you who are of a certain age, may still feel a little odd referring to your significant other as your boyfriend or girlfriend. So what do you prefer to call them?

1 perusing   

v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的现在分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字）

参考例句：

• She found the information while she was perusing a copy of Life magazine. 她在读《生活》杂志的时候看到了这个消息。 来自辞典例句
• Hence people who began by beholding him ended by perusing him. 所以人们从随便看一看他开始的，都要以仔细捉摸他而终结。 来自辞典例句

2 colloquialisms   

n.俗话，白话，口语( colloquialism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are as many colloquialisms in Japanese as are in Chinese. 中日文中存在着大量的四字熟语。 来自互联网
• It is getting better, but It'still struggles with colloquialisms and idioms. 机器翻译的质量虽然有所改善，但翻译起口语体和习语来还是困难重重。 来自互联网

3 attained   

（通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况）

参考例句：

• She has attained the degree of Master of Arts. 她已获得文学硕士学位。
• Lu Hsun attained a high position in the republic of letters. 鲁迅在文坛上获得崇高的地位。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 citation   

n.引用，引证，引用文；传票

参考例句：

• He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
• The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票，对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。