第1438期:The future of English

You're learning English, right? You might think you can work out the grammar and have built a vast vocabulary, but then you come across an expression like 'plos'. 你在学英语，对吧？您可能认为您可以掌握语法并建立大量词汇，但随后您会遇到像“plos”这样的表达方式。According to online urban slang dictionaries, it means 'parents looking over shoulder'. Teenagers are to blame. 根据在线都市俚语词典，它的意思是“父母在肩上看”。青少年是罪魁祸首。They have their own code, including 'text speak' when they are on the internet or using their phones.他们有自己的代码，包括当他们在互联网上或使用手机时的“文字说话”。Text speak has a lot to do with inventing cool new terms – and these change quickly. Maybe you shouldn't be surprised if an English friend says you sound a bit old-fashioned. 文字朗读与发明很酷的新术语有很大关系——而且这些术语变化很快。如果一位英国朋友说你听起来有点过时，也许你不应该感到惊讶。The modal verb 'shall' is on the way out because 'will' sounds more natural these days.情态动词“shall”即将淘汰，因为如今“will”听起来更自然。 Bas Aarts, Professor of English linguistics at University College London says, "If you have two words which more or less express the same meaning, one of the two words will get pushed out of the language."伦敦大学学院英语语言学教授 Bas Aarts 说：“如果你有两个或多或少表达相同含义的词，那么这两个词中的一个就会被排除在语言之外。”People have been shying away from using the modal 'must' because it sounds authoritarian and people are choosing to express obligation in different ways. 人们一直回避使用模态“必须”，因为这听起来很专制，而且人们选择以不同的方式表达义务。It sounds nicer to soften obligation by saying 'might'. For example, "You might like to read this article."通过说“可能”来缓和义务听起来更好。例如，“您可能想阅读这篇文章”。Progressive tenses - formed from the verb 'be' and the suffix 'ing' - are used for ongoing situations, for example, 'I'm writing this article for you to read'. 进行时态——由动词“be”和后缀“ing”组成——用于正在进行的情况，例如，“我正在写这篇文章供你阅读”。But its use has been increasing rapidly. Bas Aarts says that this might have to do with advertising. 但它的使用一直在迅速增加。 Bas Aarts 说这可能与广告有关。A fast-food chain uses the expression 'I'm loving it' in English-speaking countries. 一家快餐连锁店在英语国家使用“我喜欢它”的表达方式。But the verb 'love' expresses a state of being – as opposed to doing – and is usually used in the simple form, for example, 'I love it'. 但是动词“爱”表达了一种存在状态——而不是做——并且通常以简单的形式使用，例如，“我爱它”。These days, people are using stative verbs in the progressive more and more.这些天来，人们越来越多地在进行时使用静态动词。Before you despair and throw your English book in the bin, be assured that some words take a very long time to change.在你绝望并把你的英文书扔进垃圾箱之前，请放心，有些单词需要很长时间才能改变。 According to Professor Mark Pagel at Reading University in the UK, pronouns like 'I', 'you' and 'we' evolve slowly – a thousand years ago we would be using similar or sometimes identical sounds.根据英国雷丁大学的 Mark Pagel 教授的说法，像“我”、“你”和“我们”这样的代词发展缓慢——一千年前，我们会使用相似或有时相同的声音。 Nouns and adjectives, on the other hand, get replaced rapidly – and in 500 years or so we'll probably be using different words to the ones we have now. But let's leave the problem for the future generations.另一方面，名词和形容词被迅速取代——大约 500 年后，我们可能会使用与现在不同的词。但是让我们把问题留给后代。