Pluto is finally getting some respect — from wordsmiths. "Plutoed" was chosen as the 2006 Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society at its annual meeting on Friday.
To "pluto" is "to demote or devalue someone or something," much like what happened to the former planet last year when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto did not meet its definition of a planet.
"Our members believe the great emotional reaction of the public to the demotion of Pluto shows the importance of Pluto as a name," said Society President Cleveland Evans. "We may no longer believe in the Roman god Pluto, but we still have a sense of personal connection with the former planet."
"Plutoed" won against "climate canary," defined as "an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon."
Other words in the running were: murse (a man's purse), flog (a fake blog that promotes products) and macaca (an American citizen treated as an alien).
Former Senator George Allen, a Republican who sought re-election last year, was comfortably ahead in polls until August, when he referred to the son of Indian immigrants as a macaca, regarded by some as a racial slur. Allen lost to Democrat Jim Webb. You could say that he plutoed himself!
The 117-year-old American Dialect Society includes linguists, grammarians, historians and independent scholars. In conducting the vote, members do so for fun and not in any official capacity of inducting words into the English language.
(AP)
愛咬文嚼字的人總算給了冥王星一點公道，「Plutoed」在週五美國方言協會年度會議上被選為二○○六年年度風雲詞彙。
「to pluto」表「降級或貶值某人或某物」，正如同冥王星去年的遭遇，因為國際天文學聯合會裁定冥王星不符合行星的定義標準。
「我們的會員相信社會大眾對於冥王星遭降級會產生如此大的反應，顯示出冥王星名稱的重要性，」方言協會主席克里夫蘭．伊凡斯表示︰「我們可能不會再相信羅馬主神冥王星，但我們仍對這顆前任行星有個人情感上的連結。」
「Plutoed」擊敗「climate canary」而勝出，後者定義為「健康狀況不佳或數量下降的有機物或物種，預示著即將發生的大規模環境災害」。
其他入選的字包括︰「murse」（男用皮包）、「flog」（促銷產品的假部落格）、「macaca」（被當成外國人的美國公民）。
前共和黨參議員喬治．艾倫去年競選連任時，民調直到八月都遙遙領先，卻在以被部份人士認為種族歧視的「瑪卡卡」稱呼印度移民後裔後，敗給民主黨的吉姆．韋布。你可以說他讓自己落選了。
有一百一十七年的歷史的美國方言學會，成員包括語言學家、文法學家、歷史學家與獨立學者，他們舉行投票只為樂趣，並不具備將字彙引入英語的正式效力。（美聯社／翻譯︰鄭湘儀）
As global travel rebounds following the COVID-19 pa ndemic, the longstanding issue of overtourism has returned stronger than ever. Throughout 2024, numerous popular destinations worldwide struggled with tourist numbers that far exceeded their infrastructural and environmental capacities. Not only does this surge congest streets and pollute landscapes, but it also endangers cultural sites and disrupts the daily lives of residents. In response to the growing problem of “overtourism,” various nations have adopted diverse strategies, some of which have sparked controversy. Venice, Italy, has not hesitated to take bold action; since 2024, the city has implemented one of the
In an effort to fight phone scams, British mobile phone company O2 has introduced Daisy, an AI designed to engage phone con artists in time-wasting conversations. Daisy is portrayed as a kindly British granny, exploiting scammers’ tendency to target the elderly. Her voice, based on a real grandmother’s for authenticity, adds to her credibility in the role. “O2” has distributed several dedicated phone numbers online to direct scammers to Daisy instead of actual customers. When Daisy receives a call, she translates the scammers’ spoken words into text and then responds to them accordingly through a text-to-speech system. Remarkably, Daisy
A: This year’s Met Gala, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s fundraiser, is coming on the first Monday of May. B: The event, featuring a lineup of stars, is often praised as fashion’s Oscars. A: Some Asian stars, like Taiwanese pop diva Jolin Tsai, have also attended in the past. B: What are the theme and dress code this time? A: This year’s theme is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.” It’s the first time since 2003 that the theme is focusing on menswear. The dress code is “Tailored for You.” A: 哇今年的大都會博物館慈善晚宴「Met Gala」，即將在5月第一個星期一登場。 B: 這可是被譽為「時尚奧斯卡」的年度盛事，許多巨星都會參加耶。 A:
A: Isn’t the Met Gala, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s fundraiser, chaired by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour? B: Yeah, the blockbuster “The Devil Wears Prada” is allegedly based on her story. A: This year’s four co-chairs are actor Colman Domingo, F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, rapper A$AP Rocky and Louis Vuitton men’s creative director Pharrell Williams. B: And basketball superstar LeBron James is the honorary chair. A: I can’t wait to see the lineup of stars on the red carpet. A: 大都會博物館慈善晚宴「Met Gala」，是《時尚》雜誌全球總監安娜溫圖為該館服裝學院主辦的募款活動吧？ B: 對啊，電影《穿著普拉達的惡魔》據說是以她為範本。 A: 今年晚宴共同主席還有：演員柯爾曼多明哥、F1賽車手路易斯漢米頓、饒舌歌手A$AP洛基、LV男裝創意總監菲董。 B: 籃球巨星勒布朗詹姆斯則是榮譽主席。 A: 紅毯上的全球星光真令人期待！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張迪）
RSS