每一年，《牛津英語詞典》都會評選出一個最具代表性的年度詞匯，但是今年，《牛津英語詞典》卻表示，沒有辦法用一個詞匯來概括2020年，他們實在是選不出來。

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has been unable to name its traditional word of the year for 2020, instead exploring how far and how quickly the language has developed this year.

《牛津英語詞典》無法選出傳統的年度詞匯，而是探討了今年英語語言發展的程度之深、速度之快。

"It quickly became apparent that 2020 is not a year that could neatly be accommodated in one single 'word of the year,'" the OED said, with the language adapting "rapidly and repeatedly."

《牛津英語詞典》稱，由于語言“一次又一次地快速”適應社會變化，“很快我們就發現，2020年顯然不能用一個年度詞匯來概括”。

The report, titled "Words of an Unprecedented Year," uses an adjective that has itself seen a big spike in use during 2020.

這份報告的標題是“史無前例的一年的詞匯”，采用了一個2020年使用量大增的形容詞（Unprecedented）。

"Though what was genuinely unprecedented this year was the hyper-speed at which the English-speaking world amassed a new collective vocabulary relating to the coronavirus, and how quickly it became, in many instances, a core part of the language," the report reads.

報告寫道：“今年英語世界中和新冠病毒有關的新詞積累的速度確實是史無前例，在很多情況下，這些詞還以史無前例的速度成為了英語的核心部分。”

It moves through the year, detailing the most important words in certain months, based on spikes in use, from "bushfire" in January, when Australia suffered its worst fire season on record, to "acquittal" in February, when US President Donald Trump's impeachment trial ended.

該報告詳述了這一年的特定月份中基于使用量增長情況的最重要詞匯，從一月份的“叢林火災”（澳大利亞當時遭遇了史上最嚴重的火災季），到二月份的“無罪判決”（指的是美國總統特朗普的彈劾案終結）。

From March onward, terms related to the coronavirus pandemic start to dominate, including "Covid-19," a completely new word, first recorded on February 11; "lockdown," "social distancing" and "reopening."

從三月份開始，和新冠疫情有關的詞匯開始占據主導地位，包括全新詞匯“新冠肺炎”（2月11日首次記載）、“封鎖”、“社交隔離”和“重新開放”。

In June, use of the phrase "Black Lives Matter" exploded, followed by "cancel culture" and "BIPOC," an abbreviation of "Black, indigenous and other people of color."

六月份，“黑人的命也是命”這一短語的使用量暴增，其次是“取消文化”和縮寫“BIPOC”（指黑人、原住民和其他有色人種）。

"Mail-in" and "Belarusian" were both flagged as words of the month for August, referring to mail-in voting for the US election and the controversial reelection of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, respectively.

八月份的熱門詞匯是“郵寄選票”和“白俄羅斯的”，分別指郵寄美國大選選票和白俄羅斯總統亞歷山大·盧卡申科在爭議中再次當選。

"Moonshot," the name the UK government gave to its mass coronavirus testing program, appears in September, while "net zero" and "superspreader" are highlighted in October.

九月份的熱詞是“登月”，指的是英國政府給大規模新冠測試項目取的名字。十月份的熱詞則是“凈零”和“超級傳播者”。

Net zero refers to Chinese government's pledge that the country will be carbon neutral by 2060, and superspreader, a word that dates to the 1970s, according to the OED, saw a spike in use after a cluster of Covid-19 cases at the White House.

“凈零”指的是中國政府承諾中國將在2060年前實現碳中和。據《牛津英語詞典》記載，“超級傳播者”一詞起源于上世紀70年代，在白宮出現新冠聚集性感染之后該詞的使用量大增。

The OED named "climate emergency" as word of the year in 2019, and "toxic" in 2018.

《牛津英語詞典》將“氣候緊急狀態”評選為2019年度詞匯，而2018年度詞匯是“有毒的”。

英文來源：美國有線電視新聞網

翻譯&編輯：丹妮