《剑桥词典》日前发布消息称，其评选出的2020年度词汇是“quarantine”（隔离）。该词典的编辑们说，“隔离”在今年的搜索量中排名第三，但如果去掉“你好”和“词典”这类几乎每年都出现的词，“隔离”就跃居榜首。The dictionary’s editors said that it was the third most searched-for word of the year, but comes in at number one once you discount words that recur almost every year, such as “hello” and “dictionary”. 根据《剑桥词典》的统计，“隔离”一词在3月18日至24日之间搜索量最大。由于新冠疫情，各国在当时开始实施限制措施。
《剑桥词典》称，在封锁期间，“隔离”有了新的含义，因此也有了新的定义。 《剑桥词典》中写道，疫情期间的“隔离”指的是“禁止人们离家或自由旅行的一段时间，这样人们就不会感染或传播疾病。”"A general period of time in which people are not allowed to leave their homes or travel freely, so that they do not catch or spread a disease," it reads.
除了“隔离”，“大流行”和“封锁”等其他新冠病毒相关词汇也在《剑桥词典》2020年度词汇榜单中名列前茅。Alongside “quarantine”, other coronavirus-related words, including “pandemic” and “lockdown”, ranked highly on Cambridge Dictionary’s most popular list for 2020. 此外，《剑桥词典》还添加了几个新词，包括HyFlex，它是hybrid flexible的缩写，用来描述一些学生远程上课，而另一些学生则在校上课的教学方式。There were also several new words added to the dictionary, including “HyFlex”, which is short for hybrid flexible, a term used to describe a style of teaching that sees some students participating in a class virtually while others are also there physically.“撞肘”也被添加到《剑桥词典》中，这是一种可以让人们保持社交距离的友好问候方式。"Elbow bump" was also added as a way of referring to a friendly greeting that allows people to maintain social distancing.
《剑桥词典》在民意调查中询问读者，认为哪些词今年应该被添加进词典。In a poll, readers were asked which words they think should be added to the dictionary this year. 最常见的词汇有“封锁措施下的青少年”“对封锁的怀念”“新冠疫情期间出生的人”。Among the most common words were “quaranteen” - a teenager in lockdown, “lockstalgia”, feeling nostalgic about lockdown, and “coronnial”, a person who was born during the coronavirus pandemic. 《剑桥词典》出版经理温达林·尼科尔斯说：“人们搜索的词汇不仅能揭示世界上正在发生的事情，还能揭示与这些事件相关的、对他们来说最重要的事情。”Wendalyn Nichols, Cambridge Dictionary publishing manager, said: "The words that people search for reveal not just what is happening in the world, but what matters most to them in relation to those events." “冠状病毒”和“新冠肺炎”都没有出现在《剑桥词典》搜索量年度榜单中。我们认为，这表明人们认为自己对这种病毒非常清楚。”"Neither coronavirus nor Covid-19 appeared among the words that Cambridge Dictionary users searched for most this year. We believe this indicates that people have been fairly confident about what the virus is." “用户们反而一直在搜索与新冠疫情的社会和经济影响有关的词汇，这不仅体现在‘隔离’这个词上，还体现在年度词汇榜单的两个‘亚军’：‘封锁’和‘大流行’上。”"Instead, users have been searching for words related to the social and economic impacts of the pandemic, as evidenced not just by 'quarantine' but by the two runners-up on the shortlist for Word of the Year: 'lockdown', and 'pandemic' itself."
此前，《牛津英语词典》公布其年度词汇，这是该词典首次宣布，当年的年度词汇无法选出。 Cambridge Dictionary’s announcement comes after Oxford English Dictionary revealed its words of the year, announcing for the first time that it has found it impossible to name any single “word of the year”. 《牛津英语词典》称，每年的年度词汇评选反映了前一年的“社会风气、情绪或关注点”，但今年的语言变化无法用一个词来概括。The annual selection reflects “the ethos, mood or preoccupations” of the preceding year, the OED said, but this year the tribute to linguistic change could not be encapsulated in a single word.