"Vuvuzela" has been voted the word of the World Cup by global linguists who said Monday the tournament will be best remembered for the name of South Africa's deafening trumpet.
"Long after individual matches and goals are forgotten, this will be remembered as the Vuvuzela World Cup," said Jurga Zilinskiene, managing director of London-based firm Today Translations.
"Vuvuzela" was chosen by 75 percent of more than 320 linguists from over 60 countries, who were asked to choose the word with the biggest impact on the tournament.
"Thanks to the World Cup, vuvuzela has the entered the shared language of the world and joined the ranks of words that need no translation," said Zilinskiene.
The tuneless plastic horn blown by fans was a top World Cup newsmaker and has been snapped up abroad. Experts have warned it can damage hearing.
The much-debated official Jabulani ball, mascot Zakumi and the Bafana Bafana national South African team each won four percent of the votes.
(Read by Renee Haines. Renee Haines is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.)
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(Agencies)
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南非世界杯上球迷吹奏的喇叭“呜呜祖拉”于本周一获评本届世界杯的主题词,语言学家们称本届世界杯将会因为这个产自南非的震耳欲聋的喇叭而被人们记住。
总部位于伦敦的今日翻译公司的常务董事尤尔加•奇林斯基尼说:“在本届世界杯的比赛和进球渐渐被淡忘后,人们记住的可能只有‘呜呜祖拉’。”
来自60多个国家的320多名语言学家参与了本届世界杯的主题词评选,其中75%的人选择了“呜呜祖拉”。
奇林斯基尼说:“都是因为世界杯,‘呜呜祖拉’的名字才得以成为世界通用语言中的一员,成为一个不需要翻译的词语。”
南非世界杯期间,球迷们吹奏的这一不成曲调的塑料喇叭成为媒体关注的焦点,在其它国家也成为热销商品。而专家们则曾警告说这种喇叭会损害听力。
此外,备受争议的世界杯官方用球“普天同庆”、吉祥物扎库米以及南非国家队别称“Bafana Bafana (小伙子、小伙子)”分别获得4%的选票。
相关阅读
“呜呜祖拉”惹人厌 商家伺机推消音器
南非球迷必备的vuvuzela是什么
世界杯揭幕战 球迷“呜呜祖拉”气势如虹
南非球迷长喇叭助威 专家提醒有损听力
The Noisy Horn of South Africa 南非喇叭的噪音
古巴人坐颠“普天同庆”球创纪录
(中国日报网英语点津 陈丹妮 编辑蔡姗姗)
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