北美年輕人常用的口頭禪
(2011-01-04 16:53:46)
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1. It's cool:cool 是青少年(teen-agers) 常用的字,(有時也用 debonaire) 其真正意思是指可以接受的好事;或是情況可以控製;或是保持冷靜、文雅、禮貌、外表不錯,能夠合乎年輕人的標準。(可指人或事物)也就是 something good or acceptable;situation is under control;being calm, gentle, courteous or good-looking;meet teen's standard. 所以可以說:
That's cool;he is cool;this is cool.
Skydiving (或surfing) is cool.(跳傘或衝浪運動很不錯) 主詞可用任何人稱的單複數 (I, we, they 等),動詞可用 verb to be 的任何時態 (is, was, were, will be, have been等)。因此,也可以說:
She (He) was cool in the past.
That's a cool T-shirt.(好看的運動衫)
He (she) is a cool person.(文雅禮貌的人)
但是如果說:Are you cool?又是指「你冷嗎?」(cool = cold),可見 cool 當口頭禪或俚語時,多半不用在問句。假如說:
She looks as cool as a cucumber. 又是恭維語,是說她很 calm and charming; not emotional. 但為何用黃瓜 (cucumber) 代表,則不得而知(衣人注:應該是幽默的說法,類似的用法還有:as busy as a bee,etc)。 (注:許多華人把 cool 譯成「很酷」)
2. Are you trippin'?:trippin' 這個字,是由動詞 trip 演變而來。(動詞時態是:tripped, tripping)年輕人用省略符號 (apostrophe ) 代替 g,表示是 slang,或口頭禪。這個字是現在分詞當形容詞用,是指行為異乎尋常,也許受到吸毒或喝酒的影響,而顯得神魂顛倒、奇形怪狀(to get high on drug such as LSD),也就是說:要不是受到藥、酒的影響,你為什 顯得這樣古怪呢?(Are you under any influence of drug or alcoholic? Why are you so crazy and bizarre?) 所以可以說:
They are trippin'. (= tripping)
She (he) is trippin'.
Mr. A must be trippin'.
通常隻用在年輕人身上,而且不是恭維語。
3. He is a nerd:nerd 是指一些年輕人,每天隻懂讀書、考試,但對生活上的其他事情,都很生疏。 (A person always buries his nose in books, but not good at social situations.)
由於美國十分重視多方麵發展的教育 (well-rounded),所以許多老外認為 nerd 雖然學識不錯,但很乏味;有IQ,但缺乏EQ,隻是社會上無足輕重的「書蟲」或「蠢貨」而已。(IQ = Intelligence Quotient ; EQ = Emotional Quotient) nerd 可用複數,動詞也能用其他時態。因此可以說:
He used to be a nerd in high school. (過去他在高中時是位書呆子)
Many Chinese students are(或 have been)considered nerds.
至於 geek 這個字,雖然與 nerd 相似,年輕人也常用,但 geek 是指在某一方麵有很高的 IQ。我們可以說:
He is a computer geek. (意思是:雖然他是書呆子,但電腦很棒) 另外,年輕人還用 jerk 這個字,通常是指沒有社交技巧,頭腦簡單或古怪,令人討厭的家夥(annoying person),如果你不喜歡一個人,就可以說:
I don't like him because he is a jerk.
也可以用複數:
Many jerks are working in our company.
主詞也可以用其他人稱,動詞也可用其他時態:
They are jerks; He was a jerk in the past; Mr. A has been jerk for years. (注:有時年輕人也用 dork 這個字,但不如 jerk 流行)
4. Yo baby:Yo baby 是許多年輕的黑人男子對女子的招呼語,也有人用“Yo baby, yo baby yo”,由於女子很漂亮,很吸引人,他想與她交談。(He thinks she is pretty and attractive, so he wants to speak to her.),也就是找話題,想要「打開話匣」。(to use as a form of opening line or pick-up line or to begin a greeting; try to know her or date her) 如果說:
Yo baby, are you trippin'? 意思是:漂亮的姑娘,你的樣子有點怪裏怪氣,有什麽心事嗎?
“Yo baby" 後麵可跟任何可以「打開話匣」的句子。諸如:May I help you with something? I think I have met you somewhere before.
同理,如果年輕女子看到帥哥,有吸引力,很想與他交談,那 就用:“Hey, hey, hey" 後跟任何可以「打開話匣」的句子。諸如:
Hey, hey, hey, what's going on?“what is going on?”就是年輕黑人打招呼的用語 (a form of greeting or open statement) 或 Hey, hey, hey, are you going to the movie?(帥哥,你是去看電影嗎?)
5. She is a ho:ho 這個字,也是美國年輕人把 whore 字改變而成的一種口頭禪或俚語。意思是指一些年輕女人,也許因為 peer pressure 或 curiosity 或 enjoyment 的心理,隨便自願與男子免費上床(--木子美?木子美應該更進了一步,甚至把經曆Blog到網路上公開宣揚)。(a girl or woman gives sex freely without charge),也就是說:She is very loose. 或 She is a loose woman (girl)。
ho 也可用複數:They are (were) hos.
There are quite a few hos in high schools. 但是如果用 whore,是指妓女,男人需要付錢的。(a girl or woman is paid for sex.)
6. Catch you later!這是年輕人說「再會」的口語。(a form to say“good-bye”) 也就是說:現在沒有時間與你交談,以後再談吧!(I don't have time to talk with you now, but we can talk later.) 因此,catch 就是 talk 或 contact 的意思。catch 後麵,也可用其他人稱代名詞(him, her, them 等)
有時年輕小夥子也用:I am off. 意思就是:I am leaving now; I'll talk to you again. (我要走了,再談吧!)