单词 | 语法错误 |
释义 | 〔medium〕The etymologically plural formmedia is often used as a singular to refer to a particular means of communication,as inThis is the most exciting new media since television. This usage is widely regarded as incorrect;medium is preferred. A stronger case can be made in defense of the use ofmedia as a collective term, as inThe media has not shown much interest in covering the issue. As with the analogous wordsdata and agenda, the originally plural form has begun to acquire a sense that departs from that of the singular: used as a collective term,media denotes an industry or community. Thus the example sentence given here would not be appropriately paraphrased asNo medium has shown much interest in covering the issue, which suggests that the disinclination abides in the means of communication itselfrather than in its practitioners.Ifmedia follows the pattern of data and agenda, this singular use may become entirely acceptable someday.But despite its utility,many people still regard it as a grammatical error.语源复数形式media 常用作单数, 用来指传播手段中的某一种,例如在下面这是自电视出现以来最激动人心的新式传媒 的句子中。 许多人都认为这一用法是不正确的;他们还是喜欢用medium 这一单数形式。 我们能提出更为有力的例子来为media 作为集合名词的用法进行辩护, 如下面的句子:大众传媒对于报道这一事件没有表现出多大兴趣 。 正如类似于原为复数形式的其他两个词data 和 agenda 已经开始具有其单数形式的含义: 用作集合名词的media 现在则可以指传播工业或共同体。 这样的话,我们刚才给出的例句就不能改成如下形式:没有传媒对报道这一事件表现出很大兴趣 , 因为这样改动后,这句话所表示的是传播工具本身的不愿意,而不是业者的不愿意。如果media 也象 data 和 agenda 那样, 那么它作为单数形式的用法总有一天会被完全接受的。但是不管它的实用性大小,许多人仍将其视为一个语法错误〔solecism〕A nonstandard usage or grammatical construction.语法错误:不标准的用法或语法结构 |
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