| 词组 | dialogue |
| 释义 | dialogue 1. The spelling dialogue is much more commonly used than dialog. 2. There is a variety of comment on the noun dialogue. Kilpatrick 1984 says, "At some point in recent semantic history, a curious notion took root that dialogue should be restricted to describe a conversation between two persons only." This is apparently a delicate allusion to, among others, Edwin Newman, whose discussion of Gerald Ford's use of dialogue (in Esquire, December 1975) is based on that notion, and Shaw 1975, 1987, where dialogue is said to be from the Greek for "two words." Not only is Shaw in thrall to the etymological fallacy, but the Greek etymon does not contain the notion "two" at all. Anyone who reads the etymology of the word in a good dictionary will see that Greek dia means "through, across, apart" and several other things, but never "two." Restriction to two is also mentioned at the entry in the OED, where it is called a tendency. More commentators seem concerned about the sense of dialogue that means "an exchange of ideas and opinions." This sense is called a "fad word" by Flesch 1964, and is mentioned or discussed also in Bremner 1980, Reader's Digest 1983, and Shaw 1975, 1987, and is the subject of Newman's remarks about President Ford's use. Here are some examples of the use: • Rhetoric and anger partially yielded to dialogue — Robert Liebert, Change, October 1971 • However, the beginnings of a dialogue between church and complex have been established —Cynthia Proulx, Saturday Rev., May 1973 • ... encouraging unions and management to develop a day-to-day dialogue in which long-term problems can be discussed —Current Biography, January 1967 • ... shows how the dialogue about British economic growth has developed —Times Literary Supp., 5 Mar. 1970 There is no doubt that this sense has enjoyed a considerable vogue which is still going on. It is standard in general prose. The sense seems to have been prefigured by Thomas Hobbes: • To enter into Dispute, and Dialogue with him — Leviathan, 1651 (OED) 3. Reader's Digest 1983 opines that the verb dialogue developed from the noun in the "exchange of ideas" sense discussed above, and the editors don't much care for it. That the verb is formed from the noun there is no question. And if the OED evidence is conclusive, Shakespeare was the first to use it—both transitively and intransitively. Among other users of the verb cited by the OED are Richardson, Coleridge, and Carlyle. What seems to have happened is that this verb has fallen out of serious literary use but has persisted or been revived in speech and speech-like writing. Here are some examples of typical recent use: • What I especially appreciate is your willingness to dialogue about issues —Louis Shores, RQ, Spring 1973 • ... to dialogue with Jesus Christ —radio talk show, 22 June 1975 This sort of use has been held up for our amusement by a contemporary satirical novelist: • Nor could he get her to dialogue with him beyond an inflectionless "Far out." —Cyra McFadden, The Serial, 1977 |
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