| 词组 | qua |
| 释义 | qua This Latinate preposition means "in the capacity or character of; as." It is not a word that most people use or recognize, but several usage writers have paid some attention to it. Fowler 1926 devoted a column to discussing what he regarded as its correct use. He believed it should be restricted to cases in which "a person or thing spoken of can be regarded from more than one point of view or as the holder of various coexistent functions, & a statement about him (or it) is to be limited to him in one of these aspects," as in "He was a good husband and father, but, qua businessman, he was a failure." Fowler disapproved its use in other contexts where the less "precise" as would be adequate. Later critics such as Flesch 1964 and Copperud 1964 have not concerned themselves with such niceties—they have simply regarded qua as a pretentious substitute for as. Our evidence shows that qua is in fact used in a distinctive way, but not the one prescribed by Fowler. Consider the following passages: • ... will provide a key to any one poem qua poem — Louis MacNeice, The Poetry ofW. B. Yeats, 1941 • ... the obsession with routine qua routine —Charles E. Silberman, Atlantic, July 1970 • ... not so much a question of voice qua voice — Harold C. Schonberg, N. Y. Times, 24 Jan. 1973 • Not to teach students grammar qua grammar is as bad as teaching mathematics unmathematically — Simon 1980 • ... the role of scientist qua scientist —Philip Handler, Science, 6 June 1980 • Killing Russians qua Russians —Thomas Powers, Atlantic, November 1982 Most of our citations for qua show it being used in just this way, between repetitions of a noun. It seems to function in such contexts as a somewhat more emphatic synonym of as. If as were used instead, italics might very well be employed to signal the added emphasis the voice would provide in speech (" ... the role of scientist as scientist"). When qua is used, the italics are not necessary (although qua is, in fact, sometimes italicized by those to whom it seems not fully English). Qua does not always occur between repeated nouns, but its use in other contexts is a good deal less common: • It cannot, qua film, have the scope of a long book — John Simon, Esquire, March 1974 • Since its launching qua museum last August 3, it has played to capacity crowds —Hudson Bridges, Gourmet, December 1982 If you choose to use the preposition qua as it is now most often used, you stand a small chance of being criticized by a disciple of Fowler. If you use it only as Fowler recommended, you still stand some chance of being called pretentious. In neither case should you be greatly concerned. A better reason for avoiding it—if you want one—is that most readers will find it a strange and unfamiliar word. As, of course, will confuse no one. |
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