2024年的年度词汇：Brat，Brain Rot，Polarization

From "brat" to "brain rot" and "polarization", word experts agree that social media and politics have driven conversations that use these terms.

从“brat”到“brain rot”再到“polarization”，词汇专家一致认为，社交媒体和政治推动了用到这些词汇的对话。

Here are their selections for word of the year.

以下是他们选出来的年度词汇。

The American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster selected polarization as its word of the year for 2024.

美国词典出版商韦氏词典将“polarization”选为2024年的年度词汇。

The dictionary publisher defines polarization as "division into two sharply distinct opposites;

这家词典出版商将“polarization”定义为“分裂成两个截然不同的对立面;

especially, a state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society… become concentrated at opposing extremes."

尤指一个团体或社会的观点、信仰或利益处于对立的极端状态。”

As divided as Americans appear, Merriam-Webster says "polarization" happens to be one idea that both sides of the political spectrum agree on.

韦氏词典表示，尽管美国人看起来存在分歧，但“polarization”恰好是政治光谱双方都认同的一个观点。

The word was widely used in news stories and broadcasts to describe the presidential election in the United States.

这个词被广泛用于新闻报道和广播中来描述美国的总统选举。

Supporters of both candidates, president-elect Donald Trump and Vice president Kamala Harris, voiced the opinion that the opposing candidate was a threat to the nation.

总统当选人唐纳德·特朗普和副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯这两位候选人的支持者都表示，对方候选人是对国家的威胁。

The U.S. election also brought attention to two other words: pander and weird.

美国大选还引起了人们对另外两个词的关注：pander 和weird。

Trump's supporters accused Harris of pandering, in other words, changing her policy positions to get votes.

特朗普的支持者指责哈里斯阿谀奉承，换句话说，为了获得选票而改变自己的政策立场。

And Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz called his opponents weird, meaning strange or unusual.

民主党副总统候选人蒂姆·沃尔兹称他的竞争对手很怪异，意思是奇怪或不寻常。

The editors at Britain's Oxford university press say usage of its word of the year selection, brain rot, increased by 230 percent from 2023 to 2024.

英国牛津大学出版社的编辑表示，从2023年到2024年，其年度词汇brain rot的使用量增加了230%。

Oxford defines brain rot as "the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state,

牛津将brain rot定义为“一个人所谓的精神或智力状态的退化”，

especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging."

尤指过度消费人们认为琐碎或没有挑战性的材料(现在特别是指在线内容)造成的结果。”

The phrase likely first appeared in written form in Henry David Thoreau's 1854 book Walden about his experiences living a simple lifestyle.

这个短语可能最早以书面形式出现在亨利·大卫·梭罗1854年的作品《瓦尔登湖》一书中，该书讲述了梭罗过着简朴生活的经历。

He wrote: "While England endeavors to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot -- which prevails so much more widely and fatally?"

他写道：“在英格兰努力防治土豆腐烂时，就不做出任何努力治疗脑腐烂吗?脑腐烂要更为广泛和致命。”

In 2024, the phrase has been used to describe concerns about the harm of overconsuming, or watching and reading too much, online material.

在2024年，这个短语被用来描述对过度消费或过多观看和阅读在线材料的危害的担忧。

Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, noted, "I find it fascinating that the term 'brain rot' has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha,

牛津语言的主席卡斯珀·格拉斯沃指出：“我觉得这件事很有意思，Z世代和阿尔法世代在使用‘脑腐烂’这个词，

those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to."

但这些群体又主要负责该术语所指数字内容的使用和创建。”

Politics and social media come together in the Collins Dictionary's selection of brat as its word of the year.

《柯林斯词典》将“brat”选为其年度词汇，那将政治和社交媒体结合在一起。

The most recent usage of brat started as the title of an album by pop singer Charli XCX.

brat最新用法始于流行歌手查莉·XCX的一张专辑的名称。

Then it went viral as a campaign slogan "Kamala IS Brat" for the Democratic presidential candidate.

然后，它作为民主党总统候选人的竞选口号“Kamala IS Brat”在网络上迅速传播开来。

The word means different things to different people.

这个词对不同的人有不同的含义。

Traditionally, brat describes an immature person or an unruly child.

传统上，brat形容的是一个不成熟的人或一个不守规矩的孩子。

But Collins says it is now used to describe a person with "confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude".

但《柯林斯词典》表示，它现在被用来形容具有“自信、独立和享乐主义态度”的人。

Collins says the term brat "has clearly captured something of the spirit of the age".

《柯林斯词典》称，“brat”这个词“显然捕捉到了这个时代的某种精神”。

And for a short time, the word brat summer even "established itself as an aesthetic and a way of life".

在很短的一段时间内，“brat summer”这个词甚至“确立了自己作为一种美学和一种生活方式的地位”。

The online Dictionary.com selected demure as its word of the year for 2024.

在线网站Dictionary.com将“demure”选为2024年的年度词汇。

Between January and the end of August, Dictionary.com said the word "saw a nearly 1200 percent increase in usage in digital web media alone."

Dictionary.com表示，从今年1月到8月底，这个词“仅在数字网络媒体上的使用量就增长了近1200%”。

The sharp rise is credited to several videos on TikTok by Jools Lebron.

这一数字的急剧上升要归功于朱尔斯·勒布朗在TikTok上的几个视频。

"You see how I do my makeup for work?" she asked.

“你看到我是如何为工作打造自己的妆容了吗?”她问。

"Very demure, very mindful."

“非常端庄，非常能让人留意到。”

Demure is another example of how popular word usage changes over time.

Demure是流行词汇用法如何随着时间的推移而变化的另一个例子。

In the 14th century, demure was used to describe people who avoid bringing attention to themselves.

在14世纪，demure被用来形容那些避免引起他人关注的人。

Today, the word is used to describe someone who brings attention to themselves with "refined and sophisticated appearance or behavior".

今天，这个词被用来形容那些以“精致和高雅的外表或行为”吸引他人关注的人。

And those are the Words of the Year for 2024.

以上就是2024年的年度词汇。

I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.

小马里奥·里特为您播报。