發(fā)微信的時(shí)候，你會(huì)在一句話結(jié)束時(shí)用句號(hào)嗎？一些語言學(xué)家表示，用句號(hào)來結(jié)束一句話，會(huì)讓拿著手機(jī)長(zhǎng)大的Z世代人感到恐慌，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)對(duì)于他們而言，不再意味著句子的結(jié)束，而是表示“說話時(shí)語氣生硬或憤怒”。

Full stops intimidate young people when used in social media communication as they are interpreted as a sign of anger, according to linguistic experts.

語言專家表示，在社交媒體交流中使用句號(hào)會(huì)讓年輕人感到恐慌，因?yàn)樗麄冋J(rèn)為這表示憤怒。

Teenagers and those in their early twenties, classified as Generation Z, have grown up with smartphones which they use to send short messages without full stops.

青少年和那些20歲出頭的人被稱為Z世代，他們?cè)谥悄苁謾C(jī)的陪伴下長(zhǎng)大，用智能手機(jī)發(fā)送短信，但不使用句號(hào)。

Linguistic experts are now investigating why teens interpret a correctly-punctuated text as a signal of irritation.

語言專家正在研究，為什么青少年會(huì)把正確地使用了標(biāo)點(diǎn)的短信理解為憤怒的信號(hào)。

The debate was reignited after writer Rhiannon Cosslett tweeted: 'Older people – do you realise that ending a sentence with a full stop comes across as sort of abrupt and unfriendly to younger people in an email/chat? Genuinely curious.'

作家里安農(nóng)·科斯萊特近日發(fā)布的推文中寫道：“年齡較大的人們，你們是否意識(shí)到，在郵件或短信聊天中使用句號(hào)對(duì)年輕人來說意味著生硬和不友善？純粹好奇?！边@引發(fā)了有關(guān)年輕人對(duì)句號(hào)態(tài)度的再次討論。

That prompted crime novelist Sophie Hannah to reply: 'Just asked 16-year-old son – apparently this is true. If he got a message with full stops at the end of sentences he'd think the sender was "weird, mean or too blunt".'

犯罪小說家索菲·漢娜回復(fù)道：“我問過16歲的兒子，這顯然是真的。如果他收到的短信末尾有句號(hào)，他會(huì)認(rèn)為發(fā)件人‘古怪、刻薄或太生硬’。”

According to experts, youngsters used to communicating electronically break up their thoughts by sending each one as a separate message, rather than using a full stop, which they use only to signal they are annoyed or irritated.

專家認(rèn)為，習(xí)慣用電子設(shè)備交流的年輕人會(huì)將他們的想法分開發(fā)送，而不是使用句號(hào)，因?yàn)榫涮?hào)只能表示他們很惱火或憤怒。

Some have said the full stop is redundant when used in texting because the message is ended just by sending it.

有些人說，發(fā)短信時(shí)用句號(hào)是多余的，因?yàn)槎绦虐l(fā)出那句話就結(jié)束了。

According to The Telegraph, Linguist Dr Lauren Fonteyn of Leiden University in Holland, tweeted: 'If you send a text message without a full stop, it's already obvious that you've concluded the message.

據(jù)英國《每日電訊報(bào)》報(bào)道，荷蘭萊頓大學(xué)的語言學(xué)家勞倫·方廷博士在推特上寫道：“發(fā)短信時(shí)不加句號(hào)，很明顯你也已經(jīng)說完了?！?/p>

'So if you add that additional marker for completion, they will read something into it and it tends to be a falling intonation or negative tone.'

“所以如果已經(jīng)結(jié)束了，你還額外加上一個(gè)表示完成的符號(hào)，人們就會(huì)解讀出一些往往是消極或負(fù)面的情緒?！?/p>

A linguist from the University of Cambridge, Owen McArdle, told the newspaper: 'I'm not sure I agree about emails. I guess it depends how formal they are.

劍橋大學(xué)的語言學(xué)家歐文·麥卡德爾告訴《每日郵報(bào)》：“電子郵件中的處理方式，我不太確定。要看郵件有多正式?！?/p>

'But full stops are, in my experience, very much the exception and not the norm in [young people's] instant messages, and have a new role in signifying an abrupt or angry tone of voice.'

“但根據(jù)我的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，在（年輕人的）即時(shí)通訊中，句號(hào)的確是個(gè)例外，它并不常見，而且它有了一個(gè)新角色，就是表達(dá)突?；驊嵟恼Z調(diào)?！?/p>

And the potential change in meaning of the full stop, in relation to online communication, has been debated by linguists for years.

關(guān)于句號(hào)的含義在網(wǎng)絡(luò)交流中可能發(fā)生的變化，語言學(xué)家已經(jīng)爭(zhēng)論了很多年。

Professor David Crystal, one of the world's leading language experts, argues that the usage of full stops is being 'revised in a really fundamental way'.

大衛(wèi)·克里斯特爾教授是世界頂尖的語言專家之一，他認(rèn)為句號(hào)的用法正在“從根本上發(fā)生改變”。

In his book, Making a Point, he says that the punctuation mark has become an 'emotion marker' which alerts the recipient that the sender is angry or annoyed.

他在所著的《表達(dá)觀點(diǎn)》一書中寫道，句號(hào)已經(jīng)變成了一種“情緒標(biāo)記”，提醒收件人，發(fā)件人生氣或惱怒。

He wrote: 'You look at the internet or any instant messaging exchange – anything that is a fast dialogue taking place. People simply do not put full stops in, unless they want to make a point.

他寫道：“看看互聯(lián)網(wǎng)或任何即時(shí)通訊交流，任何正在發(fā)生的快速對(duì)話。除非想要表明一個(gè)觀點(diǎn)，否則人們根本不會(huì)使用句號(hào)。”

The full stop is now being used in those circumstances as an emotion marker.'

“如今，句號(hào)在這些語境中被用來表達(dá)情緒?！?/p>

In 2015, a study from Binghamton University in New York suggested that people who finish messages with full stops are perceived as insincere.

2015年，紐約賓漢姆頓大學(xué)的一項(xiàng)研究表明，用句號(hào)結(jié)束短信的人會(huì)被認(rèn)為不真誠。

The study involved 126 undergraduates and the researchers found that text messages ending in the most final of punctuation marks – eg 'lol.', 'let's go to Nando's.' – were perceived as being less sincere.

共有126名大學(xué)生參與了這項(xiàng)研究，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，使用句號(hào)的短信會(huì)被認(rèn)為不那么真誠，比如“大聲笑（Laugh Out Loud）?！被颉拔覀?nèi)ando's烤雞店吧?！?/p>

Unusually, texts ending in an exclamation point – 'lmao!', 'just a cheeky one!', 'what body part even is that? I hope it's your arm!' – are deemed heartfelt or more profound.

不同尋常的是，短信以感嘆號(hào)結(jié)尾被認(rèn)為是真心誠意或更深刻的。比如，“笑死我了！”、 “真是個(gè)厚顏無恥的家伙!”、“那到底是什么身體部位？我希望是你的胳膊！”

Research leader Celia Klin said at the time: 'When speaking, people easily convey social and emotional information with eye gaze, facial expressions, tone of voice, pauses and so on.

研究負(fù)責(zé)人西莉亞·克林當(dāng)時(shí)說：“在說話的時(shí)候，人們很容易通過凝視、面部表情、語調(diào)、停頓等方式傳遞社交和情感信息?！?/p>

'People obviously can't use these mechanisms when they are texting. Thus, it makes sense that texters rely on what they have available to them – emoticons, deliberate misspellings that mimic speech sounds and, according to our data, punctuation.'

“人們?cè)诎l(fā)短信時(shí)顯然不能使用這些方式。因此，我們的研究數(shù)據(jù)顯示，發(fā)短信的人依賴他們現(xiàn)有的表情符號(hào)、刻意用錯(cuò)別字來模仿語音，以及使用標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)來傳遞信息，這都是有道理的?！?/p>

The full stop derives from Greek punctuation introduced by Aristophanes of Byzantium in the 3rd Century BC.

句號(hào)源自希臘標(biāo)點(diǎn)符號(hào)，由拜占庭的阿里斯多芬尼斯（古希臘早期喜劇代表作家、詩人）在公元前3世紀(jì)引入。

英文來源：每日郵報(bào)

翻譯&編輯：yaning