评论
打印
What's wrong, John?
怎么了，约翰？
It's not fair.
太不公平了。
What?
什么？
Why are some words cut short...treated like they aren't important?
为什么有些词被弱读……被当作不重要的词来对待？
Why don't we treat words equally in everyday speaking?
为什么我们不在日常对话中平等地对待词语呢？
John, I don't think the words have feelings.
约翰，我认为词语没有感情。
And if we said every word clearly and separately, our speed of communication would drop.
如果我们把每一个词都说得清清楚楚，我们交流的速度就会减慢。
I guess I just feel bad for function words.
我想我只是为虚词感到难过。
They don't get the same attention that content words do.
它们不像实词那样受到关注。
Function words are words that have a grammatical purpose.
虚词是有语法作用的词。
Function words include pronouns, determiners, conjunctions and so on.
虚词包括代词、限定词、连词等。
Common function words include "he," "she," "the," "a," "will" and "and."
常用虚词包括“he”、“she”、“the”、“a”、“will”和“and”。
Content words are words such as nouns, verbs, or adjectives.
实词是名词、动词或形容词等词。
They give the most specific meaning.
它们给出了最具体的含义。
Americans often reduce function words in everyday speech.
美国人经常在日常对话中弱读虚词。
In other words, they often say function words more quietly and quickly.
换句话说，他们说虚词时往往会更轻声、更快。
Consider this example: He picked up the book.
看一看这个例子：他拿起了书。
If the statement only had content words, it would not be a complete sentence, but it would still communicate a general idea.
如果这句话只有实词，它就不是一个完整的句子，但它仍然可以传达大意。
The content words are ... "picked up" ... "book".
实词是“picked up”和“book”。
The function words in our example were "he" and "the".
我们举的例子中的虚词是“he”和“the”。
Americans often reduce function words because these words are less important for expressing specific meaning.
美国人经常弱读虚词，因为这些词在表达具体意思时不那么重要。
But that doesn't mean that function words are useless--they are like the glue binding content words together.
但这并不意味着虚词毫无用处——它们就像是把实词粘在一起的胶水。
It's like in woodworking or homebuilding.
就像木工活或房屋建造。
You need glue, cement, or nails to make everything stick together.
你需要胶水、水泥或钉子才能把所有东西粘在一起。
You just try to hide them a little bit, or minimize their appearance.
你只是设法把它们藏起来，或者最小化它们。
So, too, do English speakers hide or minimize function words.
以英语为母语的人也会隐藏或最小化虚词。
And that's Everyday Grammar!
以上就是今天的《每日语法》！
