您現在的位置是:首頁 > 影視首頁影視
盡信書,不如無書:英文“校友”在詞書裡的評註比較
alumni是什麼意思
(甲) 緣起
十多年前的一個下午,突然心血來潮,想要從身邊的詞書裡找到以“Excellency”尊稱總統或國家元首 (主席) 的書證。在常用的幾部詞書裡都找不到讓我滿意的答案,例如:
· 牛津高階英英·英漢雙解辭典,1990
“
Excellency……title of ambassadors, governors and their wives, and some other officers and officials:閣下 (對大使,省長,大使及省長夫人,以及若干其他官員的尊稱)”
· 英漢大詞典,第二版,2007
“Excellency 閣下(對大使、總督、主教、總理等的尊稱……”
·
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged Edition), 1993
“Excellency……a title of honor given to certain high officials, as governors, ambassadors, and Roman Catholic bishops and archbishops……”
· The World Book Dictionary, 1995
“Excellency……a title of honor used in speaking to or of a prime minister, governor, bishop, ambassador, or other high official……”
雖然後兩本英英詞典的正文前部說明或後部附加資料都有詳細的
稱謂語 (Forms of Address)
使用指南,我還是不很滿意……再翻過幾本詞書之後,終於在一本1946年出版的美國詞典Funk & Wagnalls New Practical Standard Dictionary of the English Language找到
白紙黑字
的明證:
“Excellency……An honorary title of various high official, specifically belonging to the governors……also used to address a foreign
president
……”
【President就是總統或國家元首 (主席)。】
(乙) 比爾·蓋茨及馬克·扎克伯格等人算不算是哈佛校友?
換言之,肄業生 (未畢業) 可否稱為校友?【Alumnus 是男校友,複數 alumni。Alumna 是女校友,複數 alumnae。Alumni 可指男女校友;alumni and alumnae 是男女校友較為平等的表達方法。】
(1) 答案
算是。校友包含畢業生和自願退學的肄業生 (dropout)。【非自願退學 (被開除學籍) 的學生視乎個別學校的處理方針。】
(2) 依據 (Authorities)
·
Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language, 2nd College Edition, 1976
“alumnus [:] a person, especially a boy or man, who
has attended or is a graduate
of a particular school, college or university” (p。 41) 【無論畢業與否,曾在某校就讀都會被該校視為校友。】
·
John B. Bremner, “Words on Words”, 1980
“…。 The generic word for all former students,
whether graduates or not
, is alumni, embracing both men and women。” (p。 23) 【無論畢業與否,總稱為校友。】
·
William and Mary Morris, Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage, Second Edition, 1985
“An alumna is a female former student of a school or college。 An alumnus is a male former student of a school or college。 They may also be graduates of the institutions they attended, but this is
not essential
。 In other words,
a person who falls short of completing the graduation requirements of an institution is nonetheless an alumnus or alumna of it
。” (p。 31) 【校友可以是畢業生,但畢業並非必要。肄業生也不失為校友。】
·
Morton S. Freeman, A Handbook of Problem Words & Phrases, 1987
“…。 The term alumni embraces both sexes of coeducational institutions…。 Note that
alumni are not only graduates but also those who left without diplomas.
” (p。 13) 【校友指畢業生和未取得文憑的肄業生。】
·
J. N. Hook, The Appropriate Word, 1990
“…。 Note that
graduation is not a requirement for being an alumnus or an alumna
。 If completion of a degree program is to be shown, standard written English uses graduate: ‘
Graduates are fewer than alumni
。’” (p。 13) 【鑑於校友不是畢業生的專稱,肄業生也是校友,因此校友的人數會比畢業生多。】
(3) 以下將幾十種詞書提供的定義分為兩類:
3.1 有誤導之嫌的定義
以下詞書在“alumnus/alumna”詞條裡的定義/註釋有誤導之嫌(1950年及以前出版的詞書從略):
· The Thorndike Barnhart Handy Pocket Dictionary, 1955。
· The Scribner-Bantam English Dictionary, 1979。
· Modern Business Language and Usage in Dictionary Form, 1984。
· Dictionary of Problem Words and Expressions, 1985。
· Kenkyusha‘s New Collegiate Dictionary of the English Language, 1986。
· The New American Dictionary of Good English, 1987。
· The Columbia Guide to Standard American English, 1993。
· Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary, 1993。
· A Dictionary of Modern American Usage, 1998。
【作者
Bryan A. Garner
是美國律師、教授及世界聞名的詞書編纂家。他將alumni(alumnus的複數)和alumnae(alumna的複數)依次解釋為男畢業生和女畢業生,前者可兼作男女畢業生的集合複數名詞,後者則僅可作女畢業生的複數。他的這個解釋在2015年改版兼改名面世的第4版Garner’s English Usage裡維持不變。但他在1995年面世的第2版A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage是這樣
正確無誤
解釋alumnus的:“……Strictly speaking, one need not be a graduate to be an alumnus。 One who abandons a course of study is still an alumnus。” (p。47)
附有關詞條快照,
前詞條解釋錯誤,後詞條才是正確】
· Mind the Gaffe, 2001。
(附“alumnus/alumna”詞條快照)
· 時代英英·英漢雙解大辭典,2003,中國臺灣。
(僅英文定義不準確,附“alumnus/alumna”詞條快照)
· Collins English Dictionary (Complete and Unabridged), 2003。
· The Wall Street Journal Essential Guide to Business Style and Usage, 2003。
(附“alumnus/alumna”詞條快照)
· The Gregg Reference Manual, 2005。
3.2 堪稱正確無誤的定義
以下詞書在“alumnus/alumna”詞條裡的定義/註釋堪稱正確無誤(1950年及以前出版的詞書從略):
· The Shorter Oxford Dictionary, 1956 and 2002。
· A Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage, 1957。
(附“alumnus”詞條快照。肄業生被視為“校友”的原因 —— 獲得更多捐款 —— 值得留意)
· The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 1964 and 1982。
· The Pocket Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 1969。
· The Little Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 1969。
· Webster‘s Universal Dictionary, Unabridged International Edition, 1970。
· Collins Universal Dictionary, 1972。
· Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, 2nd College Edition, 1976。
· The American Dictionary of the English Language, 1979。
· 牛津高階英英·英漢雙解辭典,1990,中國臺灣。
· Longman Dictionary of the English Language, 1991。
· The Chambers Dictionary, 1993。
· The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged Edition), 1993。
(附“alumnus/alumna”詞條快照)
· The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, 1993。
(附“alumnus”詞條快照)
· The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual, 1994。
· The World Book Dictionary, 1995。
(附“alumnus/alumna”詞條快照。“前成員、前[小區]住戶、前同事”這些新意值得留意)
· The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, 1995 (由The Concise Oxford Dictionary, 8th Edition, 1990和The Oxford Thesaurus, 1991兩詞書合二為一)。
· New Fowler‘s Modern English Usage, 1996。
· 牛津高階英漢雙解詞典,1997。
· Larousse English Dictionary, 1997。
· 朗文當代英語大辭典 (英英·英漢雙解),2004。
· Longman Exams Dictionary, 2006。
· 英漢大詞典,第二版,2007。
(附“alumnus/alumna”詞條快照。“前成員、前[小區]住戶、前同事”這些新意值得留意;本詞條的依據 (包括例句) 是上述The World Book Dictionary,1995)
· Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 2011。
(丙) 附記
(1) 與母校及畢業生有關的幾個字
Alma mater是母校/校歌。
英式英語:還未取得本科學位 (first degree) 稱為undergraduate,取得本科學位之後稱為graduate,讀硏究院 (碩士或以上) 稱為postgraduate。
美式英語:中學和大學畢業生都稱為graduate。研究院課程graduate course相當於英式英語的postgraduate course。
(2) 宜培養透過對比資料獨立解決疑難的能力
例如本文“校友”的定義,只看中文難免會誤入歧途,皆因中國人對“校友”有不同的想法。“校友”的首要條件是 (乙)(2)指明的 “has attended…… a particular school, college or university”曾於某校就讀,是否畢業並非必要。據我的經驗,很多時必需看英文註釋才能正確掌握英文的含意。
例如:
暫停、中止
的英文
suspend, suspension
經常被人畫蛇添足在前面加上temporarily或temporary,導致經常有Flush water will be temporarily suspended或Temporary suspension of water supply之類的句子,不知suspend,suspension本身已有“暫時”的含義。
另外,suspended sentence是緩刑的意思。
看本文之前,你視肄業生(dropout)為校友嗎?
補遺
本文釋出之後,收拾臥室的書籍時才發現遺漏了一本可靠的美語用法指南*有關“校友”的詞條。
以下是該詞條完整的原文:
alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae
An
alumnus
is the “foster son” of an
alma mater
(“mother who fosters or nourishes”), a term that originally applied to such Roman goddesses as Ceres and Cybels and in the 17th century began to be applied to a person’s former school or college。
Alumni
(final sound “eye”) may be used as the plural of
alumnus
or as the term for a group of men and women intellectually “nourished” by an educational institution。
The “foster-daughter” words are
alumna
and its plural
alumnae
(final sound “ee”)。 The year-2000 edition of The American Heritage Dictionary notes that “the choice of many women‘s colleges that have begun to admit men” is the phrase
alumnae and alumni
or the term
alumnae/i
。
These designations apply to anyone who attended a particular campus,
whether or not that person graduated
。
Graduate
is the correct noun for someone who earned a degree。
*
Mark
Davidson,
“Right,
Wrong,
and
Risky:
A
Dictionary
of
Today’s
American
English
Usage”,
2006,
pp。
62-63。