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小道真相

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小道真相factoid)是指那些捏造或假设为事实的陈述,[1][2]或是属实但简短冷知识类的新闻资讯。

这个词是由美国作家诺曼·梅勒于1973年创造的,意指一则即使并非真实但却被视为事实的资讯,或是一则因为出现在报纸上而被认为是真实的虚构事实。[3]自1973年发明此词以来,它已被用来形容简短或琐碎的新闻或资讯。

用法

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美国作家诺曼·梅勒于1973年在他的玛丽莲·梦露传记中创造了这个新词[4]梅勒将factoids描述为“在杂志或报纸上出现之前根本不存在的真相”,[5]并将真相(fact)一词与结尾-oid结合而成此词,意指“类似但不相同”。华盛顿时报形容梅勒的新词是指“看似事实、可能是事实,但实际上不是事实的东西”。[6]

因此,小道真相可能产生或源自常见误解都市传说。在梅勒创造这个名词的数十年后,它开始有了多种意义,其中有些意义彼此迥异。[7]1993年,威廉·萨菲尔确定出几种截然不同的含义:

  • 指责性含义:声称是事实的错误信息;或虚假的统计数据。[7]
  • 中立性含义:看似真实但不一定事实。[7]
  • CNN版本:鲜为人知的信息;琐碎但有趣的数据。[7]

19世纪80~90年代,CNN头条新闻电视频道经常在新闻播报中以“factoid”为标题,将此类事实纳入其中。BBC广播二台节目主持人史提芬·怀莱德在他的节目中广泛使用小道真相。[8]

factoid与factlet相比

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由于factoid的涵义令人混淆,有些英文风格和用法指南不鼓励使用此词。[9] 威廉·萨菲尔在他的On Language专栏中主张用factlet代替factoid来表达一个简短有趣的事实以及 “一点点的奥秘”的意思,但没有解释采用这个新词如何能缓解factoid现有的相互矛盾常用义的持续混乱。[10]

萨菲尔建议用factlet来指代一个少量琐碎但仍然真实准确的资讯。[7][10] 卫报一篇报导指出萨菲尔factlet这个词的创作者,[4]尽管萨菲尔在1993年的专栏中指出factlet在当时已有使用。[7]大西洋杂志同意萨菲尔的说法,并建议用factlet来表示“可能不重要但有趣的小事实”,因为factoid仍含有虚假事实的含义。[11]factlet一词曾在琼斯母亲[12]圣荷西信使报[13]和雷诺公报[14]等刊物中使用。

参见

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参考

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  1. ^ factoid: definition of factoid in Merriam-Webster Dictionary (US). Merriam-Webster. [November 14, 2015]. 
  2. ^ factoid: definition of factoid in Oxford dictionary (American English) (US). Oxford Dictionaries Online. [July 13, 2015]. (原始内容存档于June 14, 2013). 
  3. ^ Dickson, Paul (April 30, 2014). "The origins of writerly words". Time. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  4. ^ 4.0 4.1 Marsh, David. A factoid is not a small fact. Fact: A factoid is subtly different from a trivial fact, whatever Steve Wright may claim. The Guardian. January 17, 2014 [June 16, 2014]. 
  5. ^ Mailer, Norman. Marilyn: A Biography. Grosset & Dunlap. 1973. ISBN 0-448-01029-1. 
  6. ^ Pruden, Wesley. Ah, there's joy in Mudville's precincts. The Washington Times. January 23, 2007 [February 24, 2012]. 
  7. ^ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Safire, William. On Language; Only the Factoids. The New York Times Magazine. December 5, 1993 [June 15, 2014]. 
  8. ^ Steve Wright. Steve Wright's Book of Factoids. HarperCollins Entertainment. 2005. ISBN 0-00-720660-7. 
  9. ^ Brians, Paul. Common Errors in English Usage需要免费注册. William James & Company. 2003. ISBN 1-887902-89-9.  "factoid" The Website of Prof. Paul Brians.
  10. ^ 10.0 10.1 Safire, William. On Language; Only the Factoids. The New York Times Magazine. December 5, 1993 [February 24, 2012]. 
  11. ^ Madrigal, Alexis C. (March 29, 2012). "Down With Factoid! Up With Factlet!". The Atlantic. Accessed June 9, 2014. "Factoid is now almost exclusively used to mean a brief interesting fact ... ought instead to use another word for a small probably unimportant but interesting fact".
  12. ^ Drum, Kevin (April 19, 2010). "Factlet of the Day". Mother Jones. Accessed June 9, 2014.
  13. ^ Burrell, Jackie (May 19, 2014). "Amazing Race All-Star Winners: And the winner is (spoiler!!)". The San Jose Mercury News. Accessed June 9, 2014. "Brendan has promised his bride that if they win the million bucks, she can have a baby, a factlet that keeps coming up in the most manipulative and unsavory ways". (italics added)
  14. ^ Wright, Johnathan L. (May 26, 2014). "In One Ear: Cherchez the sparkle at jewelry fundraiser; Cakebread dinner". Reno Gazette Journal. Accessed June 9, 2014. "The chardonnay made its entrance next on the arm of rabbit loin wrapped in serrano ham (little food factlet for you: serrano ham couldn't be imported to the United States until 1997, when the pigs used in the ham were certified as free from African swine disease)". (italics added)