介绍:
XH: Hello and welcome to Round Table’s Word of the Week. This week, we’re talking about the word “phubbing.” It’s a really funny sounding word.
John: It’s actually a neologism, two words combined into one. The first word is “phone” and the second word is “snubbing” so we come up with the word “phubbing.”
XH: 这个词被翻译成低头症，也就是指因为低头玩手机而冷落了旁边的人的一种症状。
John: The term “phubbing” is supposed to mean someone who has the habit of snubbing someone in favor of using a mobile phone so that could be in a restaurant, that could be in a bar while you’re on a date or perhaps even while you’re watching a movie.
XH: It seems that everyone is guilty of “phubbing” nowadays, but then where exactly did this word come from?
John: That’s actually the funny thing about this word. This isn’t a word that someone randomly came up with and started using on Reddit or Twitter or what-have-you. Instead it was actually created by McCann Melbourne, which is an advertising agency that created the word behind a campaign by the Macquarie Dictionary to describe the habit of snubbing someone in favor of a mobile phone, now we call it “phubbing.” Macquarie Dictionary actually began a “Stop Phubbing” campaign that was designed to bring attention to this word and, of course, bring attention to the dictionary.
XH: 和其它自然而然产生的新鲜网络词汇不同，这个词居然是由一个公关公司制造出来的，并且随着这个词汇的推广，他们还开展了一个叫做“停止看手机”的活动。
John: Not so much to do with pubbing, but I think one of the best strategies to deal with people who are, for example, walking on the street or in a subway station looking at their phone and not looking where they’re going, is most people have the tendency to try to walk around them, but I think the most effective way, as like a public campaign to get people to stop doing that, is to not walk around them. Either you can walk right into them, you know, gently, don’t hurt them or get into a fight. Or you just stop where you are and let them run into you.
XH: That’s a very interesting idea, John, but I’m not sure how many lawsuits or street fights that will instigate.
John: That’s what I’m saying, just do it gently and everything will be okay. The whole point is to remind people to stop doing that.
XH: Hmm. Alright and that’s it for Round Table’s Word of the Week.
