| 词组 | partially, partly |
| 释义 | partially, partly First, let us review a few facts. The adverb partially has been used in the sense "in some measure or degree" since the 15th century; the adverb partly has been used in the same sense since the 16th century. In this sense the adverbs are pretty much interchangeable, although there are uses in which you can distinguish between them if you want to, as we will see later. The adverb partially also has another sense, "with bias or favoritism; unfairly," that began to be used in the 16th century. This sense of partially is unattested since 1800 and is virtually obsolete. Our controversy begins in 1870 with Richard Grant White. He was reading a book by Swinburne—whom he seems not to have cared much for—when he ran across the clause "If this view of the poem be wholly or partially correct." White found this to be impossible, for, he said, partially meant "with unjust or unreasonable bias." He based his opinion on the mistaken assumption that the adjective partial meant only "biased." White's view was trenchantly attacked by Fitzedward Hall in books published in 1872 (Recent Exemplifications of False Philology) and 1873 (Modern English). In a footnote in the 1873 volume, Hall shows that partially in the sense attacked by White had been in use for a long time and that it had been used with increasing frequency during the 19th century. He gives quotations and appends a list of other authors who use the sense. (In addition, Hall finds partially more euphonious, and he attacks White's powers of reasoning.) Bardeen 1883 quotes both White and Hall, but he is clearly more impressed with Hall's evidence. Ayres 1881, on the other hand, favors White's view, although he has obviously read Hall. His comment is, in its way, a classic example of one common stance of usage writers: "This use of the adverb partially is sanctioned by high authority, but that does not make it correct." Partially for partly was put on William Cullen Bryant's Index Expurgatorius, compiled before 1877 for the New York Evening Post, and thus became part of American newspaper tradition. The proscription is repeated in Bierce 1909, Hyde 1926, and no doubt many others right up to Bernstein 1971 and Copperud 1980. Vizetelly 1906 warns against partially on the grounds that it is ambiguous—an argument subsequently repeated many times, from Utter 1916 and F. K. Ball 1923 to Bernstein and Copperud. As a lexicographer, Vizetelly might have been expected to realize that the "biased" sense was obsolescent, but he did not. Hall 1917 finds White's opinion repeated in two turn-of-the-century college rhetoric texts; Krapp 1927 considers partly simpler than partially. With Fowler 1926 two new ingredients are added to the broth. He introduces the notion of partially as a long variant of partly, and he introduces a distinction in usage between the two. Since Fowler's distinction is frequently repeated (by Bremner 1980, Nickles 1974, Janis 1984, Strunk & White 1972, 1979, Sellers 1975, Bryson 1984, Heritage 1969, Longman 1984, and Chambers 1985), it is worth examining. Fowler says that partly (which he opposes to wholly) is better used to mean "as regards a part and not the whole," while partially (opposed to completely) is better used to mean "to a limited degree." Bryson 1984 puts this point most succinctly, equating partially with "incompletely" and partly with "in part." Fowler's distinction is a clear and simple one. It is, however, wholly factitious, the words both having been in use in more complex patterns for 300 years or more when Fowler devised it. Although most of the examples provided by usage writers to illustrate it have been made up, it is not hard to find examples that follow its general outlines. Here, for instance, we find partially clearly used to mean "to a limited degree": • ... their ramble did not appear to have been more than partially agreeable —Jane Austen, Mansfield Park, 1814 • ... steps were taken to furnish these partially trained forces with whatever equipment could be made available —George C. Marshall, The United States at War, 1943 • ... but he has only partially succeeded in it —Times Literary Supp., 16 Apr. 1970 • I'm partially drunk, by the way —James Joyce, Ulysses, 1922 • A sharp-featured face with a partially bald head — Norman Mailer, The Naked and the Dead, 1948 And here we find partly meaning "in part" with no hint of incompleteness or limited degree: • ... a Reprimand, which partly occasioned that Discourse of the Battle of the Books —Jonathan Swift, A Tale of a Tub, 1710 • ... may at least partly explain their common genius —William Styron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, 1982 • ... I knew, partly from experience and partly from instinct —Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1848 The last example shows a construction, partly x, partly y, in which partly is very common and partially quite rare. You can follow Fowler's distinction if you want to. But the distinction is transparent only in the clearest of contexts; more often writers seem to use the adverbs interchangeably: • ... her figure was partly enveloped in a shawl — Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1848 • ... her hat-brim partially shaded her face —Charlotte Brontë, Ja ne Eyre, 1848 • ... female religious (partly clothed ... ) —James Joyce, Ulysses, 1922 • ... a partially nude senorita, frail and lovely — James Joyce, Ulysses, 1922 • ... it only partly explains his lack of interest —Richard Poirier, A World Elsewhere, 1966 • ... scarcity of suitable screen material partially explains the trend —Publishers Weekly, 9 June 1951 Fowler added one more comment, sometimes repeated, that partially is overused. It is, however, used less often than partly. From Fowler to the present time, little has changed; most commentators have been willing to repeat Fowler or some other earlier comment. A little originality was injected by a Harper 1975 usage panelist who reversed Fitzedward Hall; Hall had praised partially as more euphonious; the panelist said that partly sounds better. Our evidence shows that there is some tendency toward differentiation, but it is far from completely established. Partially is used more often than partly to modify an adjective or past participle that names or suggests a process: • The snow was partially melted —George Meredith, The Ordeal of Richard Feverel, 1859 • ... killed and partially eaten —J. Stevenson-Hamilton, Wild Life in South Africa, 1947 • ... a partially cleared grassy circle —John McNulty, New Yorker, 13 June 1953 • ... partially concealed by a reddish beard —Gay Talese, Harper's, February 1969 • "... a partially paid-for-car —Philip G. Schräg, Columbia Forum, Summer 1970 Partly, on the other hand, is used more often than partially before clauses and phrases offered by way of explanation: • ... it is also partly because Chaucer's English lies almost directly behind our own —W. F. Bolton, A Short History of Literary English, 1967 Partly to reassure him, North invited Ghorbanifar to the United States —The Tower Commission Report • Partly for this reason, the search ... was not undertaken —Noam Chomsky, Columbia Forum, Spring 1968 These observations may indicate a trend, but only time will tell whether more differentiation or less will be the result. At the present time we have plenty of exceptions even to the general trend, and many more examples in which the context might elicit either word: • ... a new kind of revolt, which is only partly connected with the generation gap —Margaret Mead, Barnard Alumnae, Winter 1971 • He is trembling, partially from cold —Norman Mailer, The Naked and the Dead, 1948 • ... while not convincing, is at least partly true — Edwin O. Reischauer, N.Y. Times Book Rev., 23 May 1954 • ... at least partially reversed the general trend —J. L. Dillard, American Talk, 1976 • ... at least partly directed against herself —Irving Howe, Harper's, January 1972 Most native speakers of English will have no difficulty with these words. If you are a learner, we suggest that you follow either Fowler's distinction, insofar as possible, or the current general trends as illustrated here. |
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