texas是德州?那就没法和挪威人沟通了！

To most of the world,Texas is known as a big state in southernAmerica.

　　世界上大多数人都知道德克萨斯州是位于美国南部的一个大州。

　　But to Norwegians, it is also a word that frequently crops up ineveryday conversation - often in the phrase "Der var helttexas!" [That was very completely/totally texas!].

　　但是，对挪威人而言，它也是日常交谈时常说的一个词，经常是这样说的“Der var helt texas!”(这实在是太疯狂了!)

　　The word is slang for "crazy" or "wild" and is used to refer to a chaotic¹ atmosphere, TexasMonthly first reported.

　　据《德克萨斯月刊》报道，这个词是个俚语，指“疯狂”或“狂热”，用于指一种混乱的氛围。

　　It became part of the language when Norwegians started watching cowboy movies and readingWestern literature, according to Daniel Gusfre Ims, the head of the advisory² service at theLanguage Council of Norway.

　　挪威语言学会首席顾问埃米斯表示，当挪威人开始观看牛仔电影、阅读西方文学时，这个词就成为了当地语言中的一部分。

　　"The genre³ was extremely popular inNorway, and a lot of it featuredTexas, so the word became asymbol of something lawless and without control," he says.

　　他说：“当时，那种西部文学在挪威很受欢迎，而且多数都讲的是“德克萨斯州”的故事，因此“texas”这个词就变成了无法无天、缺乏秩序的指代词。”

　　Its first usage dates back to 1957, when it appeared in a novel by Vegard Vigerust called The Boywho wanted to buy Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. The author writes "he would make iteven more texas in the village?".

　　1957年，挪威小说家维吉尔斯特在《男孩》(The Boy )一书中首次使用了这个词，书中的男孩想要买下挪威广播公司，他在书中写道，“他会把整个村弄得更加“texas”吗?”。

　　Nowadays, the word is widespread all overNorway. It's frequently used in the phrase "helt texas" [completely crazy], which has appeared in Norwegian newspapers 50 times this year, he says.

　　现在，这个词在挪威各地广泛使用。它常见于短语“helt texas(完全疯狂)”中，埃米斯表示，今年这个词已经在挪威的报纸上出现50余次了。

　　It's often used negatively, but not always. "It could be a party out of control, a class out ofcontrol, or traffic. It could also be used by someone who had sold many products," he says.

　　它常见于负面含义，但不总是如此。埃米斯说：“它可以指场面混乱的派对、失控的课堂或混乱的交通。而它也可用于描述销售人员业绩长虹”。

　　Gusfre Ims says this language phenomenon - metonymy, where a thing or concept is called notby its own name, but by another name which is associated with it - is pretty common in Norway,and language generally.

　　埃米斯表示，这种语言现象是转喻，指人们把一个事物或概念换至另一个与之相关的名称，这在是一种普遍的语言现象，在挪威很常见。

　　Norwegians also use the term "hawaiifootball" to describe an "out-of-control" match, he says. Theword "klondike", a region inCanadaassociated with the gold rush, is used to describe economicexpansion, and also has a hint of something going out of control.

　　埃米斯表示，挪威人还用“夏威夷美式足球(hawaii football)”表示一场失控的比赛。“克朗代克(klondike)”原指加拿大以淘金热闻名的地区，而现在，挪威人用它来描述经济蓬勃发展，或是有一点点失控。

　　He also points to terms such as "Armageddon" and "champagne⁴".

　　埃米斯还谈到一些词汇，如“末日审判(Armageddon)” “香槟(champagne)”。

　　"People don't mean the place in the Bible, or the area inFrance," he says.

　　他说：“人们用到这些词时并不是指《圣经》中世界末日善恶决斗的终极战场;说香槟也不是指法国的一个地区”。

　　Erin McKean, the founder⁵ of the online dictionary Wordnik, agrees that words are often adoptedinto language in this way.

　　线上字典Wordnik的创办人麦克金表示，词汇常以此方式被用于语言。

　　"I'm not surprised Norwegians would use this kind of geography to convey a quality. This is howwe make language - emphasing one aspect of the word, or using metaphors," she says.

　　她说：“我不讶异挪威人用地名来表示代替该地的某种特质。因为，这就是我们创造语言的方式，即强调词的一方面或使用隐喻”。

　　McKean says there are plenty of examples of the English language using perceived characteristicsof people from other places, which is a common occurrence with neighbouring countries.

　　麦克金表示，有很多例子表明，英文也常用一些其他地方的民族特色词汇，周边国家这样的现象也很常见。

　　"Dutch courage is associated with having to drink to be courageous⁶. A Dutch treat [when peoplepay for their own share of an expense] isn't exactly a treat. We talk about taking French leave, oran Irish goodbye.

　　“荷兰人的勇气(Dutch courage)”与喝酒壮胆有关，而“荷兰人请客(a Dutch treat)”真正指的不是一顿免费大餐，而是各付己帐。还有，我们会用French leave或an Irish goodbye表示不辞而别。

　　"The closest thing to we probably have to 'texas' inAmericais berserk from the Norse warriors⁷, butthat's apparently⁸ Icelandic, although disputed," she says.

　　麦克金说：“在美国，语言借用中跟挪威人用texas最接近的可能是berserk，这个词来源于古代挪威战士，但很显然是冰岛语，不过还有争议”。

　　McKean says people tend to take these expressions with a pinch of salt.

　　麦克金表示，人们往往对这些说法半信半疑。

　　"I think Americans think the Norwegian texas thing is quite funny. Texans like to think ofthemselves as larger than life and extreme in some way - and it's a short hop⁹ from extreme tocrazy," she says.

　　她说：“我认为美国人会觉得挪威人用texas这事儿挺有趣的。德克萨斯州人认为自己都很出众、在某些方面走极端，而极端与疯狂也相去不远”。

　　Anne Ekern, of the Norwegian consulate¹⁰ inHouston, agrees.

　　挪威驻休士顿领事爱克儿同意麦克金的说法。

　　"The reactions we have had, have been on the positive side," she says.

　　爱克儿说：“据我们所知，迄今为止，(美国人)的反应都是正面的”。

　　But Gusfre Ims wants to reassure¹¹ any Texans in doubt.

　　然而，埃米斯还是想消除德克萨斯人的疑虑。

　　"What Norwegians think aboutTexashas nothing to do with the expression. We knowTexasis not alawless society. It's just a fixed¹² phrase," he says.

　　埃米斯说：“挪威人对德克萨斯州的看法与这个词的用法无关。我们知道德克萨斯州不是缺乏法制之邦，这只是一个惯用语而已”。

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