有時候，我在寫中文的文章之前，會先用英文打草稿，把我想講的內容快速記錄下來。因為我從小在美國長大，有一半的時間還是用英文思考，所以看題材的不同，有時這麼做反而會比寫中文來得更直接。
最近上傳的BRAND名牌誌專欄《The Unselfie》，當初就是用英文先打了草稿。剛好有網友說希望看到英文版，就在此與各位分享。
中文完稿連結如下：
http://www.brand.net.tw/new/ArticleDetail.aspx?id=4073
草稿的文筆不是很講究，只希望各位能從中英文對照，能看到原來的想法如何變成最後的文章內容。
劉軒
------------------------------------------------------------------------Brand 2014-1
Xuan Liu
The UNSelfie
Every
year, the lexicographers at Oxford Dictionaries announce their choice
for the English Word of the Year. The editors base their choice on a
variety of factors, such as popularity, media usage, the ‘quality’ of
the word and whether it can represent the past year.
And their selection for 2013 was… SELFIE (自拍)
I
must admit I was surprised, much more so than I was by the choice of
假(fake) for Taiwan’s own word of the year. ‘Selfie’ has been around
since the early 2000s, but its usage has gone up 17000% in the past year
alone. Popularity aside, though, I still didn’t expect the editors of
the most authoritative and respected English dictionary in the world to
pick a word that was so … childish.
For non English
speakers, this requires a bit of explanation. “Selfie” is a word made up
of “self” with “-ie”. In English, the -ie added to the end of a noun
usually has the effect of making the noun feel smaller and cuter. So,
“sweet + ie = sweetie” 甜心, “dear + ie = dearie” 親愛的, “cute + ie = cutie”
卡哇依... etc. In the same way, “selfie” is a cuter way of saying “self
photo”. I think the term has caught on because it also reflects
something about most self-taken photos and the people who like to take
them - cute, endearing, not very serious, and (as Oxford’s editors have
noted) somewhat narcissistic.
So, if the word of the year is supposed to be a statement about the year, what is ‘selfie’ saying about 2013?
The
past year seems to be the year in which people did mostly think about
themselves and their appearance. More than ever, armies of 網路正妹 who have
mastered the art of the selfie manage to make themselves
indistinguishable from each other. Starlets make front page not by their
art but through ‘leaked’ photos. Miley Cyrus’s half-naked selfies and
public twerks make her bigger than Disney. Even Obama poses for a selfie
with Denmark and England’s Prime Minister, which is no big deal, except
it was at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. Somehow, that gesture at
that occasion just makes the three leaders seem so …childish.
Indeed,
2013 was the year where people retreated deeper into their digital
cocoons. It appears as if we’re more connected than ever, but most of
what we share and post is “what I’m wearing, what I’m eating, who I’m
dating”…it is all about me, me, me, and admit it, most of it isn’t very
serious or thought-provoking. And the posts that border on the
ridiculous and inane, seem to get the most likes. Being childlike is
good, being childish is not. Is it a coincidence that “selfie” is just a
couple letters away from “selfish”?
Sometime late last
year, a movement emerged quietly among social platforms. It’s called
the “unselfie”, and here’s how to take one: 1. On a sheet of paper,
write down the name of a charity or cause that you support, and their
web address; 2. Take a photo of yourself holding up that sign, and share
it on social media; 3. Tag it with #unselfie. It’s that simple. The
idea is to use the ‘selfie’ action as a means to share a good cause, to
make the photo not just about yourself, but about something of benefit
to the world.
If the Internet has taught us anything,
is that what goes up must come down. I don’t think selfies will go away,
and I don’t think they are bad. But sometimes too much ‘me’-based
thinking gets us to forget about ‘us’, and we need something to
counterbalance. I hope the word of the year this year will be a bit less
self-centered and a bit more hopeful. I certainly plan to post more
“unselfies” in 2014, and I hope it’ll catch on with you too. If you
agree, take out that smartphone, take a pic, and pass it on.
#unselfie2014.
