在挪威，texas不只是德克萨斯

 　　To most of the world,Texas is known as a big state in southern America.

　　世界上大多数人都知道德克萨斯州是位于美国南部的一个大州。

　　But to Norwegians, it is also a word that frequently crops up in everyday conversation - often in the phrase "Der var helt texas!" [That was very completely/totally texas!].

　　但是，对挪威人而言，它也是日常交谈时常说的一个词，经常是这样说的“Der var helt texas!”(这实在是太疯狂了！)

　　The word is slang for "crazy" or "wild" and is used to refer to a chaotic¹ atmosphere, Texas Monthly first reported.

　　据《德克萨斯月刊》报道，这个词是个俚语，指“疯狂”或“狂热”，用于指一种混乱的氛围。

　　It became part of the language when Norwegians started watching cowboy movies and reading Western literature, according to Daniel Gusfre Ims, the head of the advisory² service at the Language Council of Norway.

　　挪威语言学会首席顾问埃米斯表示，当挪威人开始观看牛仔电影、阅读西方文学时，这个词就成为了当地语言中的一部分。

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　　"The genre³ was extremely popular inNorway, and a lot of it featuredTexas, so the word became a symbol of something lawless and without control," he says.

　　他说：“当时，那种西部文学在挪威很受欢迎，而且多数都讲的是“德克萨斯州”的故事，因此“texas”这个词就变成了无法无天、缺乏秩序的指代词。”

　　Its first usage dates back to 1957, when it appeared in a novel by Vegard Vigerust called The Boy who wanted to buy Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. The author writes "he would make it even more texas in the village?".

　　1957年，挪威小说家维吉尔斯特在《男孩》（The Boy ）一书中首次使用了这个词，书中的男孩想要买下挪威广播公司，他在书中写道，“他会把整个村弄得更加“texas”吗？”。

　　Nowadays, the word is widespread all overNorway. It's frequently used in the phrase "helt texas" [completely crazy], which has appeared in Norwegian newspapers 50 times this year, he says.

　　现在，这个词在挪威各地广泛使用。它常见于短语“helt texas(完全疯狂)”中，埃米斯表示，今年这个词已经在挪威的报纸上出现50余次了。

　　It's often used negatively, but not always. "It could be a party out of control, a class out of control, or traffic. It could also be used by someone who had sold many products," he says.

　　它常见于负面含义，但不总是如此。埃米斯说：“它可以指场面混乱的派对、失控的课堂或混乱的交通。而它也可用于描述销售人员业绩长虹”。

　　Gusfre Ims says this language phenomenon - metonymy, where a thing or concept is called not by its own name, but by another name which is associated with it - is pretty common in Norway, and language generally.

　　埃米斯表示，这种语言现象是转喻，指人们把一个事物或概念换至另一个与之相关的名称，这在是一种普遍的语言现象，在挪威很常见。

　　Norwegians also use the term "hawaiifootball" to describe an "out-of-control" match, he says. The word "klondike", a region inCanadaassociated with the gold rush, is used to describe economic expansion, and also has a hint of something going out of control.

　　埃米斯表示，挪威人还用“夏威夷美式足球（hawaii football）”表示一场失控的比赛。“克朗代克（klondike）”原指加拿大以淘金热闻名的地区，而现在，挪威人用它来描述经济蓬勃发展，或是有一点点失控。

　　He also points to terms such as "Armageddon" and "champagne⁴".

　　埃米斯还谈到一些词汇，如“末日审判（Armageddon）” “香槟（champagne）”。

　　"People don't mean the place in the Bible, or the area inFrance," he says.

　　他说：“人们用到这些词时并不是指《圣经》中世界末日善恶决斗的终极战场；说香槟也不是指法国的一个地区”。

　　Erin McKean, the founder⁵ of the online dictionary Wordnik, agrees that words are often adopted into language in this way.

　　线上字典Wordnik的创办人麦克金表示，词汇常以此方式被用于语言。

　　"I'm not surprised Norwegians would use this kind of geography to convey a quality. This is how we make language - emphasing one aspect of the word, or using metaphors," she says.

　　她说：“我不讶异挪威人用地名来表示代替该地的某种特质。因为，这就是我们创造语言的方式，即强调词的一方面或使用隐喻”。

　　McKean says there are plenty of examples of the English language using perceived characteristics of people from other places, which is a common occurrence with neighbouring countries.

　　麦克金表示，有很多例子表明，英文也常用一些其他地方的民族特色词汇，周边国家这样的现象也很常见。

　　"Dutch courage is associated with having to drink to be courageous⁶. A Dutch treat [when people pay for their own share of an expense] isn't exactly a treat. We talk about taking French leave, or an Irish goodbye.

　　“荷兰人的勇气（Dutch courage）”与喝酒壮胆有关，而“荷兰人请客（a Dutch treat）”真正指的不是一顿免费大餐，而是各付己帐。还有，我们会用French leave或an Irish goodbye表示不辞而别。

　　"The closest thing to we probably have to 'texas' inAmericais berserk from the Norse warriors⁷, but that's apparently⁸ Icelandic, although disputed," she says.

　　麦克金说：“在美国，语言借用中跟挪威人用texas最接近的可能是berserk，这个词来源于古代挪威战士，但很显然是冰岛语，不过还有争议”。

　　McKean says people tend to take these expressions with a pinch of salt.

　　麦克金表示，人们往往对这些说法半信半疑。

　　"I think Americans think the Norwegian texas thing is quite funny. Texans like to think of themselves as larger than life and extreme in some way - and it's a short hop⁹ from extreme to crazy," she says.

　　她说：“我认为美国人会觉得挪威人用texas这事儿挺有趣的。德克萨斯州人认为自己都很出众、在某些方面走极端，而极端与疯狂也相去不远”。

　　Anne Ekern, of the Norwegian consulate¹⁰ inHouston, agrees.

　　挪威驻休士顿领事爱克儿同意麦克金的说法。

　　"The reactions we have had, have been on the positive side," she says.

　　爱克儿说：“据我们所知，迄今为止，（美国人）的反应都是正面的”。

　　But Gusfre Ims wants to reassure¹¹ any Texans in doubt.

　　然而，埃米斯还是想消除德克萨斯人的疑虑。

　　"What Norwegians think aboutTexashas nothing to do with the expression. We knowTexasis not a lawless society. It's just a fixed¹² phrase," he says.

　　埃米斯说：“挪威人对德克萨斯州的看法与这个词的用法无关。我们知道德克萨斯州不是缺乏法制之邦，这只是一个惯用语而已”。

　　Language tips：

　　英语中跟国家相关的短语

　　Indian giver 送东西给人日后又讨回的人

　　Spanish castle 空中楼阁；不切实际

　　Spanish athlete 爱吹牛的人

　　Italian hand 幕后操纵；暗中干预

　　Irish bull 自相矛盾，荒唐可笑的说法

　　Greek gift 害人的礼物

1 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

2 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

3 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

4 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

7 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

10 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

11 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。