“仇外情绪”当选Dictionary.com年度词汇

从欧洲难民危机、英国脱欧公投到美国总统大选，今年全球政治议题均与仇外情绪密不可分，有见及此，字典网站Dictionary.com日前便宣布将“xenophobia”(仇外)选为年度词汇。

There were a lot of surprises to come out of 2016, but “xenophobia” being named Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year is not one of them.

2016年意外连连，但“仇外情绪”被评为Dictionary.com年度词汇却在预料之中。

When you consider the rhetoric that galvanized people in this year’s Brexit vote and the US presidential race, the proof that “xenophobia” is the word that most represents the zeitgeist of 2016 is, well, in the pudding.

今年英国脱欧公投和美国总统大选中，政客们用花言巧语鼓动选民，事实于是摆在眼前，“仇外情绪”成为最能代表2016年时代精神的词汇。

According to Dictionary.com, the word’s origins stem from two Greek terms meaning “stranger” (”xénos”) and “fear” or “panic” (”phóbo”).

Dictionary.com网站上说，“仇外情绪”一词起源自两个希腊词汇，一个是“xénos”，意为“陌生人”，另一个是“phóbo”，意为“恐惧”或“恐慌”。

Searches for “xenophobia” on the site surged right after the Brexit vote in June.

今年6月，Dictionary.com网站上“仇外情绪”的搜索量飙升至仅次于“英国脱欧公投”。

There was an even larger spike days later, when President Obama delivered a speech stating that language used by Donald Trump, current President-elect, was not an example of populism, but rather “nativism or xenophobia.”

而后其热度一路上涨，同时奥巴马总统发表讲话声明，刚当选的总统唐纳德•特朗普所说的话并非民粹主义，而是“本土主义或仇外情绪”。

“Xenophobia and other words tied to global news and political rhetoric reflected the worldwide interest in the unfortunate rise of fear of otherness in 2016, making it the clear choice for Word of the Year,” said Liz McMillan, CEO of Dictionary.com, in a statement.

Dictionary.com总裁利兹•麦克米伦在声明中说：“不幸的是，2016年，人们越发恐惧差异性，‘仇外情绪’和其他与国际资讯及政治辞令有关的词汇恰巧反映了全世界人民对该问题的兴趣，‘仇外情绪’是当之无愧的‘年度词汇’。”

“While we can never know the exact reasons why xenophobia trended in our lookups this year, this reflects a desire in our users to understand the significant discourse surrounding global events.”

“为何‘仇外情绪’登上我们今年的搜索热榜，我们无从得知，而这反映出用户渴望理解全球事件中的重要话语。”

Dictionary.com’s selection of “xenophobia” is far from the only indicator of our tumultuous year. Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year was “post-truth,” a term that means “objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”

这一年的纷纭喧嚣，远不止体现在Dictionary.com选出的“仇外情绪”上。牛津词典的年度词汇是“后真相”，意为“比起客观事实，诉诸情感和个人信念对民意的影响更大”。

In 2013, Oxford gave “selfie” the same honor. If only we could go back to those simpler times.

2013年获得牛津词典年度词汇殊荣的是“自拍”（selfie）。要是我们能回到那些更简单的年代该多好。