如果说，在“新冠”刚爆发的时候，大家的话题都是围绕疫情展开的；

那么，在被病毒“围堵”了这么久之后，大家的关注重心放在了“有望结束大流行病的”疫苗身上。

“你接种疫苗了吗？种第几针了？打的哪家的？加强针打了吗？”...逐渐成了我们见面时的招呼语。

所以，今天的Buzz word我们就来说说疫苗Vax.

Vax其实就是疫苗的非正式说法，它既可做名词表示“疫苗”，也可以做动词表示“打疫苗”。

“Vax” is an informal word that can mean the noun “vaccine” or the verb “vaccinate.”

在之前，“打疫苗”真的是个再普通不过的词汇，但截至2021年9月，“Vax”一词的使用量是去年同期的72倍。（来自中国青年报数据）

所以牛津字典也将“Vax”选作2021年的年度词汇，不无道理。

The Oxford English Dictionary chose “vax” as their word of the year, due to an explosion in the use of related terms such as “vaxxed” and “anti-vaxxer”.

The editors at the Oxford English dictionaries said that vax was an obvious choice for the word of the year as it has made the most striking impact.

And the word can bring out emotions and discussions in ways it never did before the start of the pandemic.

牛津词典的编辑认为vax这个词在过去一年间，催生的讨论和给人带来的情绪影响，在语言的发展史上都非常罕见。

来看看牛津词典对Vax的定义和解释：

Vax

vax n. A vaccine or vaccination;

vax v. Treat (someone) with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease; Vaccinate

Vax and vaxx are both accepted spellings but the form with one x is more common.

Merriam-Webster have spotted an increase of over 1,000% in the searches for the word “vaccine” during the pandemic.

美国著名的韦氏词典Merriam-Webster也因为疫情期间对疫苗这个词的搜索暴涨,所以把Vaccine定为word of the year.

01

Word Origin

The word “vax” was first recorded in English in 1799, with “vaccinate” and “vaccination” first appearing a year later.

All of these words find their root in the Latin word “vacca”, which means cow.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this is because the English scientist Edward Jenner discovered that cowpox, a mild infection that occurs in cows, can help protect people from smallpox.

Vax一词发现的最早记录是在1799年，词根来源于拉丁语“vacca”，牛的意思。

这是因为英国免疫学之父爱德华·詹纳证实了牛痘疫苗能预防天花的试验，普及了预防可怕天花病的方法──接种疫苗法。

02

People's concerns

虽然谁也不会否认vax是热词，可是全球范围来看，关于疫苗却有不少的争议。

Many see the promise of protection against Covid-19 provided by the vaccine as a welcome scientific advancement.

当然，很多人会觉得疫苗是能控制、终止疫情的救星。

However, others viewed a new drug with skepticism, and some refuse to get it.

但也有不少人对疫苗百般质疑，拒绝接种。

When it comes to the vax and getting vaxxed, there are really two different stories.

One is the science story about the development of the vaccines. But there is also the political story regarding policies, politics and political affiliation.

所以这小小的一个词，它的背后一边是科学技术，一边则是政治、政策性的考量。

03

Derivative word

What makes “vax” the hottest word of the year is all these related terms that derived from it.

有意思的是，为了蹭“vax”这个词的热度，去年在英文里出现了很多的衍生词， 比如：

没有接种疫苗的当然就被叫做unvaxxed.

If you got two jabs or two shots, 接种两针疫苗的就可以叫做double-vaxxed, 三针的叫做triple-vaxxed.

For those people who don't really trust the vaccines who refuse to get vaxxed, they are called anti-vaxxers.

反对接种疫苗的人就被叫做 anti-vaxxers.

In many countries, after getting vaxxed, you can get a vax card.

接种疫苗之后，你可以拿到一张vax card, 疫苗接种卡。

And some countries have also been talking about vax passport. So when the world opens up for free traveling, there's a way to show you of vaccination status.

有一些国家会在一段时间内持续地大量组织疫苗接种，希望能够接种更多的人。

And this has been called vaxathon 疫苗马拉松。

Vax这个词的热度也一口气烧到了流行文化，比如:

很多人都会在社交媒体上晒出Vaxxie, this is a combination of vax and selfie, 打疫苗自拍照vaxxie.

And there're even vaxinistas, this is the combination of vax and fashionista.

所谓的疫苗元素时尚达人，比如那种会晒出打疫苗最佳穿搭的up主, 就可以被叫做 Vaxinista.

This is the fascinating thing about language and how it can evolve in pop culture.

新词拓展

Example 1：

-A lot of people in China have been triple-vaxxed with a booster shot.

Example 2：

-Anti-vaxxers remain skeptical about the new development made by scientists.

Key Words

本期关键词

Vax/Vaxx

疫苗/打疫苗

（是vaccine/vaccinate的变体）

Get the “jab”

接种疫苗（口语）

Booster shot

加强针

Unvaxxed

未接种疫苗的

Double-vaxxed

接种两针疫苗的

Anti-vaxxer

反疫苗者

Vax card

疫苗接种卡

Vax passport

疫苗接种护照

Vaxxie

打疫苗自拍照

Vaxathon

疫苗“马拉松”

（在短时间内持续大量组织疫苗接种）

Vaxinista

疫苗元素时尚达人