ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Forsyth - Writer
Mark Forsyth strolls through the English language, telling stories, making connections and banishing hobgoblins.

Why you should listen

Mark Forsyth is a passionate, self-described pedant when it comes to the English language -- but his detailed knowledge of history has given him a common-sense approach to its "proper" use. He is an author, blogger, journalist, proofreader and ghostwriter. He can be found dispelling the grammar myths we were all taught in his popular blog, the Inky Fool. His book The Etymologicon takes "a circular stroll through the hidden connections of the English language" by history of one word or phrase with each chapter.

More profile about the speaker
Mark Forsyth | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxHousesOfParliament

Mark Forsyth: What's a snollygoster? A short lesson in political speak

马克•福赛斯: 什么叫“snollygoster”?一堂政治语境的短课

Filmed:
623,708 views

大多数政客都会小心翼翼的选择用词,以用来塑造他们希望看到的现实。但这有用吗?词源学家马克•福赛斯分享给大家几个非常有趣儿的关于词汇来源的英国和美国的小故事,(例如,你想不想知道乔治•华盛顿是怎样被叫做“president”?),而且最后讲师给出了令人惊讶的结论。(本演讲来源自伦敦的TED 伦敦议会 )
- Writer
Mark Forsyth strolls through the English language, telling stories, making connections and banishing hobgoblins. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:16
One of my favorite喜爱 words in the whole整个 of
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我很喜欢的词之一
00:18
the Oxford牛津 English英语 Dictionary字典 is "snollygostersnollygoster."
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在整个牛津英语词典里叫“snollygoster”。
00:22
Just because it sounds声音 so good.
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不仅因为它听起来很不错。
00:23
And what snollygostersnollygoster means手段 is
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而且它的意思是
00:25
"a dishonest不诚实 politician政治家."
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“一个诡诈的政客”。
00:28
Although虽然 there was a 19th-centuryTH-世纪
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尽管这只是一个19世纪的
00:29
newspaper报纸 editor编辑 who defined定义 it rather better when he said,
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报纸编辑给出的一个很好的定义,他的原话:
00:31
"A snollygostersnollygoster is a fellow同伴 who seeks寻求 office办公室
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“‘snollygoster’是一个这样的家伙,他会为了谋求高位
00:34
regardless而不管 of party派对, platform平台 or principle原理,
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而不在乎任何政党、任何舞台或任何原则,
00:38
and who, when he wins,
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他会用其三寸不烂之舌
00:39
gets得到 there by the sheer绝对 force
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口若悬河而赢得高位。”
00:41
of monumental纪念 talknophicaltalknophical assumnancyassumnancy."
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(笑声)
00:45
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
00:47
Now I have no idea理念 what "talknophicaltalknophical" is.
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我一点儿也不明白“talknophical”是什么意思。
00:49
Something to do with words, I assume承担.
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大概是和言语词汇相关的词汇,我假设。
00:50
But it's very important重要 that words are at the center中央 of politics政治,
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但是言语词汇对于政治中心之作用是非常重要的,
00:53
and all politicians政治家 know they have to try and control控制 language语言.
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并且所有的政客都明白他们必须尝试着控制他们的话语言论。
00:57
It wasn't until直到, for example, 1771
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举例来说,一直到1771年,
01:00
that the British英国的 Parliament议会 allowed允许 newspapers报纸 to report报告
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英国议会才允许新闻报纸报道
01:04
the exact精确 words that were said in the debating辩论 chamber.
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在辩论会上政客们说的真实话语。
01:08
And this was actually其实 all down to the bravery
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而且实际上这全是因为一个勇敢的人,
01:10
of a guy with the extraordinary非凡 name名称 of Brass黄铜 Crosby克罗斯比,
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这个伟大的名字叫布艾斯·克若斯比 (Brass Crosby),
01:13
who took on Parliament议会.
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在议会上提议。
01:15
And he was thrown抛出 into the Tower of London伦敦
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他被丢到了伦敦塔里
01:17
and imprisoned囚禁,
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遭到囚禁,
01:18
but he was brave勇敢 enough足够,
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但是他还是很勇敢
01:21
he was brave勇敢 enough足够 to take them on,
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拥有足够的勇气在议会上提议,
01:24
and in the end结束 he had such这样 popular流行 support支持 in London伦敦 that he won韩元.
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并且到最后他在伦敦拥有众多的支持声音而赢得了胜利。
01:26
And it was only a few少数 years年份 later后来
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而且仅仅几年后
01:29
that we have the first recorded记录 use of the phrase短语
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我们有了第一次记录使用短语
01:31
"as bold胆大 as brass黄铜."
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“as bold as brass” (意译:敢作敢为)
01:34
Most people think that's down to the metal金属.
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很多人认为这个短语出自于金属什么的。
01:36
It's not. It's down to a campaigner活动家
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不是的,它是出自于
01:38
for the freedom自由 of the press.
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一个新闻自由卫士。
01:41
But to really show显示 you how
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不过为了真实的表明
01:43
words and politics政治 interact相互作用,
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词汇和政治怎样互相影响,
01:45
I want to take you back to the United联合的 States状态 of America美国,
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我想带你回到过去的美国,
01:48
just after they'd他们会 achieved实现 independence独立.
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在它刚刚宣布独立的时候。
01:50
And they had to face面对 the question
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那时他们有一个问题要面对
01:52
of what to call George乔治 Washington华盛顿, their leader领导.
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就是怎样称号乔治·华盛顿, 他们的领袖。
01:55
They didn't know.
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他们不知道,
01:56
What do you call the leader领导 of a republican共和党人 country国家?
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应该尊称一个共和国的领袖为什么?
01:59
And this was debated辩论 in Congress国会 for ages年龄 and ages年龄.
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就这个问题在国会上争论了很久很久。
02:03
And there were all sorts排序 of suggestions建议 on the table,
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并且产生了很多建议,
02:05
which哪一个 might威力 have made制作 it.
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这些建议貌似可行。
02:06
I mean, some people wanted him to be called
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我的意思是,一些人想叫他为
02:08
Chief首席 Magistrate法官 Washington华盛顿,
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首席行政官华盛顿,
02:10
and other people, His Highness高度 George乔治 Washington华盛顿,
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而另一些人称他为乔治·华盛顿殿下,
02:13
and other people, Protector保护者 of the Liberties自由 of the People of the United联合的 States状态 of America美国 Washington华盛顿.
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还有人叫他美利坚联合政府自由解放的保卫者华盛顿。
02:20
Not that catchy上口.
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没有一个朗朗上口的名字。
02:21
Some people just wanted to call him King国王.
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一些人只是想叫他国王。
02:24
They thought it was tried试着 and tested测试.
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他们认为是个称号是过去用过并经过考验的。
02:25
And they weren't even being存在 monarchical君主制 there,
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他们甚至并没有延续君主制,
02:27
they had the idea理念 that you could be elected当选 King国王
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他们的主意是你可以是选举的国王
02:29
for a fixed固定 term术语.
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有一个固定的任期。
02:31
And, you know, it could have worked工作.
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你知道的,这样大概会可行。
02:32
And everybody每个人 got insanely疯狂地 bored无聊, actually其实,
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而且每一个人都感到神经错乱似地厌烦了,事实上,
02:35
because this debate辩论 went on for three weeks.
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因为这场辩论持续了3个礼拜。
02:37
I read a diary日记 of this poor较差的 senator参议员,
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我读过一个当时可怜议员的日记,
02:38
who just keeps保持 coming未来 back, "Still on this subject学科."
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里面持续的记录着,“竟然又是这个议题。”
02:41
And the reason原因 for the delay延迟 and the boredom无聊 was that
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而致使延期和厌倦的原因是
02:44
the House of Representatives代表 were against反对 the Senate参议院.
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众议院对战参议院。
02:47
The House of Representatives代表 didn't want Washington华盛顿
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众议院不想让华盛顿
02:50
to get drunk on power功率.
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沉醉于权力。
02:52
They didn't want to call him King国王
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他们不想称他为国王
02:53
in case案件 that gave him ideas思路, or his successor接班人 ideas思路.
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以防万一他或他的继任者会产生什么想法。
02:56
So they wanted to give him the humblest卑微, meagerestmeagerest,
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所以他们给他一个他们能够想到的,最低微的、最微不足道的、
02:59
most pathetic可怜 title标题 that they could think of.
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最为可悲的头衔。
03:02
And that title标题 was "President主席."
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而这个头衔叫“President”。
03:08
President主席. They didn't invent发明 the title标题. I mean, it existed存在 before,
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President (会议主持,总统)。他们没有创造这个头衔。我的意思是,这个头衔以前就有,
03:11
but it just meant意味着 somebody who presides下辖 over a meeting会议.
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但是它是指一个会议的主持人。
03:14
It was like the foreman领班 of the jury陪审团.
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同陪审团主席的意思相似。
03:16
And it didn't have much more grandeur富丽堂皇
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并且它一点也不显得非常极其地位显赫
03:18
than the term术语 "foreman领班" or "overseer监工."
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比起“foreman(陪审团主席)”和“overseer(监工)”来。
03:20
There were occasional偶然 presidents总统 of little colonial殖民 councils议会
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虽然偶尔会有一些小型殖民地的会议主持人
03:23
and bits of government政府, but it was really a nothing title标题.
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并有一丝政府管理的意思,但是它真的是个什么都不是的头衔。
03:26
And that's why the Senate参议院 objected反对 to it.
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而且这也是为什么参议院反对这个头衔。
03:28
They said, that's ridiculous荒谬, you can't call him President主席.
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他们说这个真的很荒谬,你们不能叫他会议主持。
03:32
This guy has to go and sign标志 treaties条约 and meet遇到 foreign国外 dignitaries政要.
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这个人还得去签条约和接见外宾。
03:35
And who's谁是 going to take him seriously认真地
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谁还会认真对待他,
03:37
if he's got a silly愚蠢 little title标题
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如果他只有一个这样愚蠢的小头衔
03:39
like President主席 of the United联合的 States状态 of America美国?
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比如美利坚联邦政府主持(President of the United States of America)?
03:43
And after three weeks of debate辩论, in the end结束
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之后经过三周的辩论,
03:47
the Senate参议院 did not cave洞穴 in.
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最后参议院也没有屈服。
03:50
Instead代替, they agreed同意 to use the title标题 "President主席" for now,
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作为替代,他们同意先用着头衔“President”,
03:56
but they also wanted it absolutely绝对 set down
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但他们也要求绝对确定下来
03:59
that they didn't agree同意 with it
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他们不同意这个头衔
04:02
from a decent正经 respect尊重 for the opinions意见 and practice实践 of civilized文明 nations国家,
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是出于对文明国家的意见和做法的尊重,
04:08
whether是否 under republican共和党人 or monarchical君主制 forms形式 of government政府,
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无论是民主党还是共和党执政,
04:11
whose谁的 custom习惯 it is to annex附件,
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他们会自定义它,
04:13
through通过 the office办公室 of the Chief首席 Magistrate法官, titles标题 of respectability尊重 --
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通过首席行政官办公室,获得非常体面的头衔称号 -
04:18
not bloody血腥 President主席 --
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而不是杯具的“President”-
04:20
and that in the intercourse交往 with foreign国外 nations国家,
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还有在同外国交际时,
04:24
the majesty威严 of the people of the United联合的 States状态
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美利坚人们的威严
04:28
may可能 not be hazarded胆子 by an appearance出现 of singularity奇点,
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可能不会有被这个奇特头衔损害的危险,
04:31
i.e., we don't want to look like bloody血腥 weirdos变态.
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即我们不想被后人看成一群杯具的变态。
04:35
Now you can learn学习 three interesting有趣 things from this.
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现在从这个故事里你能够了解到三件有趣的事情。
04:38
First of all -- and this is my favorite喜爱 --
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首先,也是我最喜欢的地方,
04:41
is that so far as I've ever been able能够 to find out,
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到目前为止所有我能找到的资料里,
04:43
the Senate参议院 has never formally正式地 endorsed赞同 the title标题 of President主席.
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参议院从来没有正式的认可过“总统”这个头衔。
04:48
Barack巴拉克 Obama奥巴马, President主席 Obama奥巴马, is there on borrowed time,
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巴拉克·奥巴马,“总统奥巴马”的头衔,到现在还是暂借的,
04:51
just waiting等候 for the Senate参议院 to spring弹簧 into action行动.
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只是在一直等待参议院的突然正式任命。
04:55
Second第二 thing you can learn学习 is that
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第二件事你可以了解到
04:57
when a government政府 says that this is a temporary临时 measure测量 --
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当美国政府宣称这只是一项临时措施时 --
05:00
(Laughter笑声) --
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(笑声)--
05:03
you can still be waiting等候 223 years年份 later后来.
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它会持续223年之久。
05:08
But the third第三 thing you can learn学习,
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但第三件事你能了解到的,
05:09
and this is the really important重要 one,
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而且也是非常重要的一件,
05:11
this is the point I want to leave离开 you on,
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我很想让你们记住这个要点,
05:12
is that the title标题, President主席 of the United联合的 States状态 of America美国,
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就是这个头衔,美利坚联邦政府总统(President of the United States of America),
05:17
doesn't sound声音 that humble谦卑 at all these days, does it?
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听起来从来也没有过地位低微的意思,不是吗?
05:22
Something to do with the slightly over 5,000
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大概是有着超过5000多的
05:25
nuclear warheads弹头 he has at his disposal处置
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核弹头被他支配控制着,
05:27
and the largest最大 economy经济 in the world世界
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还有着全世界最大的经济体,
05:29
and a fleet舰队 of drones无人驾驶飞机 and all that sort分类 of stuff东东.
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还有一大群战机及其他军事力量。
05:33
Reality现实 and history历史 have endowed天赋 that title标题 with grandeur富丽堂皇.
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现实和历史赋予了这个头衔高贵的含义。
05:40
And so the Senate参议院 won韩元 in the end结束.
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所以最后参议院赢了。
05:41
They got their title标题 of respectability尊重.
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他们得到了他们要的体面头衔。
05:44
And also, the Senate's参议院 other worry担心, the appearance出现 of singularity奇点 --
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而且,参议院担心的另一件事,这个头衔听起来很古怪 --
05:47
well, it was a singularity奇点 back then.
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哦,它曾经在那段时光听起来古怪。
05:49
But now, do you know how many许多 nations国家 have a president主席?
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但是现在,你知道现在有多少个国家有总统吗?
05:52
A hundred and forty-seven四十七.
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147个。
05:55
All because they want to sound声音 like
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这都是因为他们想让自己的头衔听起来
05:56
the guy who's谁是 got the 5,000 nuclear warheads弹头, etc等等.
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像那个拥有5000多个核弹头的家伙,等等。
06:01
And so, in the end结束, the Senate参议院 won韩元
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所以到最后,参议院胜利了
06:04
and the House of Representatives代表 lost丢失,
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众议院输了,
06:08
because nobody's没有人是 going to feel that humble谦卑
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因为没有人会感到不体面
06:10
when they're told that they are now
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当他们被告知他们现在是
06:12
the President主席 of the United联合的 States状态 of America美国.
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美利坚联邦政府总统。
06:16
And that's the important重要 lesson I think you can take away,
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而且这是很重要的一课我认为你们能够学到的,
06:19
and the one I want to leave离开 you with.
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也是我想留给你们的要点。
06:20
Politicians政治家 try to pick words and use words to shape形状 reality现实
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政客们小心翼翼地选择用词,并利用词汇塑造
06:23
and control控制 reality现实, but in fact事实,
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和控制现实,但是事实上,
06:27
reality现实 changes变化 words far more
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现实改变词汇远远超过
06:29
than words can ever change更改 reality现实.
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词汇能改变的现实。
06:32
Thank you very much.
135
376536
1680
非常感谢。
Translated by Bill Wang
Reviewed by Yuguo Zhang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Forsyth - Writer
Mark Forsyth strolls through the English language, telling stories, making connections and banishing hobgoblins.

Why you should listen

Mark Forsyth is a passionate, self-described pedant when it comes to the English language -- but his detailed knowledge of history has given him a common-sense approach to its "proper" use. He is an author, blogger, journalist, proofreader and ghostwriter. He can be found dispelling the grammar myths we were all taught in his popular blog, the Inky Fool. His book The Etymologicon takes "a circular stroll through the hidden connections of the English language" by history of one word or phrase with each chapter.

More profile about the speaker
Mark Forsyth | Speaker | TED.com