'GIF' chosen as word of the year

GIF是"图形交换格式"这三个英文单词首字母的缩写.最早在1987年由美国在线信息服务机构"计算机服务"公布,但它近些年在文化领域强势复苏,最常用于对从体育到美国大选等热门话题的诙谐评论.

GIF is, in fact, an abbreviation of three separate words: Graphics Interchange Format. It was first released by CompuServe in 1987 but has experienced a dramatic cultural resurgence in recent years, most commonly used to make humorous commentary on topics ranging from sports to the 2012 presidential election.

今年GIF正式获选为《牛津美国辞典》的年度词汇,在文化辞典中拥有了荣耀的一席之地.

"GIF" has been chosen as word of the year by the Oxford American Dictionary. It now formally holds an honored place in the cultural lexicon.

"GIF已经从流行文化基因的媒介发展成为有多种用途的工具,包括于用于研究领域以及新闻业,而它在词汇方面的定位也在随之改变." 牛津大学美国辞典项目负责人凯瑟琳?马丁说："GIF在2012年成为词汇的里程碑,作为动词当选年度词汇,而不仅仅是名词."

"The GIF has evolved from a medium for pop-cultural memes into a tool with serious applications including research and journalism, and its lexical identity is transforming to keep pace." said Katherine Martin, head of the US dictionaries program at Oxford. "GIF celebrated a lexical milestone in 2012, gaining traction as a verb, not just a noun."

年度词汇榜单的第二位也是一个缩写——YOLO,意思是"你只有一辈子可活".入选年度名单的还有"超级风暴",该词因为在11月的第一周横扫美国东岸的桑迪飓风而大量被人们提及.

The runner-up for the word of the year was also an abbreviation, "YOLO," which stands for "You only live once." "Superstorm" was another runner-up for word of the year, after the major storm that affected the Eastern US during the first week of November.

毫无疑问,以上三个词汇都表明了新词正对文化景观产生越来越大的影响.另外,一些旧有词汇也被赋予新的语义.源自罗马词汇plebs（平民、民众）的Pleb在现代语境中用来形容普通人或者工人阶级,含有贬义.

Needless to say, having all three words shows how neologisms are having a growing influence in the cultural landscape. Still, some older words have found new linguistic relevance. "Pleb," taken from the Roman word "plebs," has found a modern context in its derogatory usage to describe "a member of the ordinary people or working classes."

有趣的是,即便当选年度词汇,也不能保证入选的词汇将来都会被收录进《牛津英语辞典》.

Interestingly, the word-of the-year distinction does not guarantee that the chosen words will actually be included in future editions of the Oxford English Dictionary.

词语解释：

强势 （qiángshì） mighty

诙谐 （huīxié） humorous

一席之地 （yī xí zhī dì） a place

榜单 （bǎngdān） ranking list

飓风 （jùfēng） hurricane; storm

赋予 （fùyǔ） give

(Source: myechinese.com)