时髦英语口语词汇讲解第41期:Text 短信

Text
短信

'Text' is one of these new words that have come into English as a result of the internet revolution and especially, this time, the cell phone revolution.
因特网革命给英语带来了新的词汇，text就是其中的一个。而“text”这个词跟手机革命尤为相关。

Cell phones didn't exist well, 5, 10 years ago, they weren't around and as soon as they came along, people started using them to send messages to each other.
手机在510年前还不存在。那个时候还没有手机，但是手机一出现，人们就开始用它来相互发信息。

So, first as a noun, you had the noun 'text' and now you have the verb 'to text', which is to send a written message using a mobile phone or a cell phone if you use that expression instead.
一开始，我们接触到的是名词“text”。现在我们看到的是它的动词形式 “to text”，如果你说你“text”某人，你就是在说你在手机发信息（给某人）。

It isn't new actually.
这个词其实并不算新词。

Although the verb 'to text' is a modern feature of today's English, you can actually trace it back to the 16th century when 'to text', in those days, was to write something in very large letters, in capital letters, in 'text hand'.
尽管text作为动词使用应归为现代英语，但是text的动词形式早在16世纪就出现了。那时候， 说 “text” 什么东西就是把什么东西用很大的字体并且全用大写——也就是所谓的“text”体写出来。

And, if you look it up in a big dictionary these days, you'll often be told "this verbal use is now rather rare".
假如你现在查一查词典，它会告诉你这个词的动词用法已经相当罕见了。

Well it was rare until about 4 or 5 years ago.
实际上，可能在4，5年前你不常看到 text被作为动词来用。

Since then of course, everybody's been using it, and it's produced a whole new family of words.
但是也正是从那个时候起，人们就在开始使用这个词，而且由这个词还衍生出了新的一类英语词汇。

You can now 'text' somebody of course, but you can be engaged in the noun 'texting'.
当然啦，你可能会用到“text”的动词形式，但是，你也可能会遇到“text”的动名词形式 “texting”。

And then you've got 'text messaging' which is a fuller form of the idea of texting somebody.
然后还有“text messaging”(发短信）一说——这是“给某人发短信”的较完整的说法。

And the people who send messages to each other are called 'texters', and the whole language of abbreviated communication that you can use - introducing abbreviated forms into your text message, in order to make it as succinct and as quick to send as possible.
发信息的人呢被叫做“texter”。接踵而至的是一系列的缩写词在短信交流中被应用，以便使信息尽量简洁且迅速。

Well, what's the name for that? There isn't an agreed name at the moment - but I call it 'text speak'.
嗯，这一类词被称之为什么呢？现在还没有一个统一的称呼，但是我暂且把它们归类为“短信用语”。