| 词组 | perceive, perceived |
| 释义 | perceive, perceived Kilpatrick 1984 and Safire 1986, two commentators who work in the political line as well as the language line, take up the subject of perceive and perceived as used in current political writing. Kilpatrick is at pains to defend his use in "how the American character is perceived in the Kremlin" from attack by an academic for whom perceive can only mean "to become aware of something as it really is." This is an interesting matter in which both disputants are partly in the right. Kilpatrick's use is in the mainstream of current political writing, and the professor's perception of the meaning is broadly true for older use of perceive. Dictionaries have let both down by not being quick enough to recognize the newer use, although the professor's disapproval would probably not have been affected by mere dictionary recognition. The newer uses of perceive emphasize not external reality—"something that is readily observed"—but rather the mental conception or interpretation of what something really is, regardless of external reality. The use may have originated in psychology. Let us compare the older and newer uses. First, two of the older ones: • This was also pointed out twenty-five years ago by no less a critic than David Garnett, who clearly perceived the nature of my method —James Thurber, letter, 24 Oct. 1958 • If this person has really been inadequate for some time, his brighter subordinates probably perceive the fact before the front office does —Samuel Feinberg, Women's Wear Daily, 27 May 1975 Now some examples of the newer use: • ... the key issue: what kind of threat is China perceived to be? —Stephen S. Rosenfeld, Saturday Rev., 5 Feb. 1972 • No wonder his father is angered by his constant daydreaming. Jack Penfield perceives it as mental incompetence —E. L. Doctorow, Loon Lake, 1979 • ... Washington was perceived as tilting toward Pakistan —Geoffrey Godsell, Christian Science Monitor, 26 Oct. 1979 • In The Anderson Tapes the Mafia is perceived as an admired business corporation —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, November 1971 You can see the difference in emphasis—interpretation in the newer use, observation in the older. It is interesting that the newer use tends to be most often passive in construction. The past participle is in frequent use as an adjective, and it is the adjective that Safire mentions. He distinguishes his use of felt as an adjective from his use of perceived. Typical adjective uses of perceived look like this: • ... real and perceived discrimination —John V. Lindsay, letter to the editor, Harper's, December 1971 • ... widening the perceived as well as real gap — Harry B. Ellis, Christian Science Monitor, 22 Oct. 1979 • Suppose the perceived network threat is eavesdropping or tapping —Jan Johnson, Datamation, 1 May 1984 • ... helpless victims of perceived injustice —Neil Hickey, TV Guide, 22 Dec. 1973 |
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