撇号的衰落
The decline of the apostrophe
Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I'm Georgina.
大家好，这里是六分钟英语，我是乔治娜。
And I'm Rob.
我是罗伯。
Are you a punctuation pedant?
你是个标点符号学者吗？
Do you get upset, annoyed or angry if you see punctuation being used incorrectly – particularly apostrophes?
如果你看到标点符号使用不正确——尤其是撇号，你会感到烦恼、心烦或生气吗？
Well, it depends.
这得视情况而定。
Usually I'm pretty chilled out about it,
通常我对此都很冷静，
but sometimes, just sometimes it really winds me up.
但有时，只是有时真的让我很气恼。
For example, if I see a sign for taxis at a train station and it says taxi – apostrophe - s – aargh!
例如，如果我在火车站看到一个出租车的标志，上面写着出租车——撇号——s，啊！
Why – why?
为什么，为什么？
The apostrophe is not used to show there is more than one,
撇号不是用来表示不止一个，
it's used to show there is a missing letter or that the word is a possessive,
它是用来表示省略一个字母或者那个词是一个所有格，
it's just wrong!
出租车的那种用法是错误的！
So that does kind of make my blood boil.
所以那确实会让我很生气。
So, when you say you're pretty chilled about it you mean…
所以，当你说你很冷静的时候，你的意思是……
OK, OK, I'm not chilled at all.
好吧，好吧，我一点都不冷静。
But maybe I wish I were.
但或许我希望我是冷静的。
Well, we're going to be taking a look at reactions to the use and abuse of apostrophes in this programme.
好吧，我们将在本期节目中看看人们对撇号使用和滥用的反应。
But first, a question.
但首先有一个问题。
The word ‘apostrophe’ itself – which language does it come from?
撇号这个词本身是来自哪种语言？
Is it: A: Latin, B: Greek, or C: Arabic?
是A：拉丁语，B：希腊语，还是C：阿拉伯语？
What do you think, Rob?
你觉得呢，罗伯？
Well.
好吧。
I don't think it's Arabic,
我认为它不是阿拉伯语，
so it's a toss-up between Latin and Greek.
所以在拉丁语和希腊语之间很难选择。
I'm going to say Greek.
我选希腊语。
OK.
好的。
We'll see if you're correct at the end of the programme.
我们将在节目最后看看你是否回答正确。
The apostrophe, it is true to say, is often misused.
事实上撇号经常被误用。
It's put where it shouldn't be and not used where it should be.
它被放在不该放的地方，也没有被用在该用的地方。
Is it important, though? Does it matter?
然而这重要吗？有关系吗？
After all, in spoken English there is no difference between ‘it's’ with an apostrophe and 'its' without.
毕竟，在英语口语中，有撇号的“it‘s”和没有撇号的“its”是没区别的。
'Your' and 'you're' – short for 'you are' sound the same.
“Your”和“you’re”——“you are”的缩写听起来是一样的。
So what's the problem in written English?
那么书面英语有什么问题呢？
In many cases there isn't a problem at all.
在很多情况下根本不存在问题。
There would be very little confusion.
极少会混乱。
But I don't think that means we should just ignore the correct way to use them.
但我不认为那意味着我们要忽视正确的使用方法。
Sometimes it can be very important to make clear if it's a singular or plural or possessive.
有时候弄清楚它是单数、复数还是所有格非常重要。
Another important thing to remember is that in CVs and job applications a good standard of spelling and punctuation is expected.
另一件要记住的重要事情是，在简历和工作申请中，高标准的拼写和标点是必要的。
Get it wrong and you could miss out on a good opportunity.
弄错了，你可能会错失良机。
There is one group that has tried for nearly 20 years to keep others to these high standards - The Apostrophe Protection Society.
近20年来有一个组织一直在努力让其他人遵守这些高标准——撇号保护协会。
They have publicly pointed out incorrect use in public signs and communications
他们已经公开指出公共标识和交流中对撇号的不正确使用
– a tactic that has not always been welcome or successful.
——这种策略并不总是受到欢迎或取得成功。
But like the apostrophe itself, the group is in danger.
但就像撇号本身一样，这个群体也处于危险之中。
Here's a BBC news report on the subject.
这是BBC关于这个话题的新闻报道。
They linger above our letters,
它们停留在字母之上，
they wander around the endings of our words,
徘徊在单词末尾，
but apostrophes, it seems, are an endangered species.
但撇号似乎是一种濒临灭绝的物种。
The Apostrophe Protection Society, yes there really is one, says their future is, well, up in the air.
撇号保护协会，是的，确实有这么一个协会，说撇号的未来悬而未决。
How does he describe apostrophes?
他是如何描述撇号的？
Using metaphorical, poetic language,
用隐喻性、富有诗意的语言，
he says they linger above our letters.
他说它们停留在字母之上。
To linger is a verb usually used to describe someone or something staying somewhere before finally leaving.
停留是一个动词，通常用来描述某人或某物在最后离开之前待在某地。
So, we have apostrophes lingering above our letters and also he said they wander around the ending of words.
所以，撇号停留在字母之上，而且他说它们徘徊在单词末尾
Yes, also a metaphorical use.
是的，也是一种隐喻用法。
To wander means to walk slowly around without any real purpose or urgency.
徘徊是指在没有任何真实目的或迫切性的情况下慢慢四处走动。
And he went on to say that the future of the apostrophe is up in the air.
他继续说到撇号的未来是悬而未决的。
When something is up in the air, it means its future is not certain, it’s not guaranteed.
当某事悬而未决时，那指的是它的未来不确定，没有保证。
So if, for example, your holiday plans are up in the air,
所以，例如，如果你的假期计划悬而未决，
it means that there is some kind of problem and you might not be going on holiday after all.
那意味着有某种问题，你可能根本不会去度假。
The person who founded The Apostrophe Protection Society is John Edwards.
创建撇号保护协会的人是约翰·爱德华兹。
Now 96 years old he has decided to give it up.
现在96岁的他决定放弃。
Partly because of his age,
部分是因为他的年龄，
but also because he thinks that due to the impact of texting and social media,
但也是因为他觉得由于短信和社交媒体的影响，
he has lost the battle against bad punctuation.
他已经输掉了与错误标点符号的战斗。
So why has it come to this?
所以为什么会这样呢？
Here he is explaining why he thinks people aren't bothered about using correct punctuation.
在这里，他解释了为什么他认为人们不在意正确使用标点符号这件事。
I think it's a mixture of ignorance and laziness.
我认为这是无知和懒惰一起的结果。
They're too ignorant to know where it goes,
他们太无知，不知道把撇号放在哪里，
they're too lazy to learn,
他们懒得去学，
so they just don't bother.
所以他们就是不在意而已。
The barbarians have won.
野蛮人赢了。
So what's his reason?
那么他的理由是什么？
He blames ignorance and laziness.
他归咎于无知和懒惰。
Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or understanding of something.
无知是对某事缺乏知识或认识。
So people don’t know the rules and are too lazy to learn them, according to Edwards.
所以据爱德华兹所说，人们不知道这些规则，也懒得去学。
Quite strong views there!
非常强烈的观点！
Yes, and you thought I was a pedant!
是的，你还认为我是个学究！
He actually goes further to say that the barbarians have won.
他实际上更进一步说是野蛮人赢了。
Barbarian is a historical word for people who weren't part of so-called civilized society.
野蛮人是一个历史词汇，所指的是那些不属于所谓文明社会的人。
They were seen as violent and aggressive, primitive and uncivilized.
他们被认为是暴力的、好斗的、原始的、未开化的。
So it's not a compliment then?
所以它不是夸赞？
Oh no!
噢，不是！
Right, before we review today's vocabulary,
好的，在我们复习今天的词汇之前，
let's have the answer to today's quiz.
让我们揭晓今天测验问题的答案。
Which language does the word apostrophe come from?
撇号这个词来自哪种语言？
What did you say?
你说是什么？
I went for Greek.
我选的是希腊语。
Congratulations to you and anyone else who got that right.
恭喜你以及其他做对的人。
Greek is the right answer.
希腊语是正确答案。
Now let's remind ourselves of today's vocabulary.
现在让我们回顾一下今天的词汇。
First, what's a pedant, Rob?
首先，什么是学究，罗伯？
A pedant is someone who corrects other people's small mistakes,
学究就是纠正别人小错误的人，
particularly in grammar and punctuation,
尤其是语法和标点符号方面，
but it's not the same as an English teacher!
但和英语老师不一样！
A pedant will correct native speakers’ mistakes too, and not in the classroom.
学究也会纠正母语使用者的错误，而且并不是在课堂上。
To linger means to stay somewhere for longer.
停留的意思是在某个地方待更长时间。
To wander is to walk around without a real purpose or intention to get somewhere quickly.
徘徊是在没有快速到达某地的真实目的或意图的情况下四处走动。
If your plans are up in the air,
如果你的计划悬而未决，
it means they are at risk and might not happen.
这意味着它们有风险，可能不会发生。
Ignorance is the state of not knowing something that should be known.
无知是不知道某事的状态，而它应该被知道。
And finally, a barbarian is a word for a primitive and uncivilized person.
最后，野蛮人是指原始未开化的人。
Right, we can't linger in this studio as our six minutes are up.
好的，我们不能在这个演播室逗留了，因为我们的六分钟已经结束了。
You can find more from us about punctuation and many other aspects of English online, on social media and on the BBC Learning English app.
你可以在网上、社交媒体和BBC英语教学应用程序上找到更多我们关于标点符号和英语其他方面的内容。
Bye for now.
再见了。
Byebye!
拜拜！