[ti:What is the 2016 Word of the Year?] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.20]The American dictionary Merriam-Webster [00:05.04]has named "surreal" its 2016 Word of the Year. [00:13.20]Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary defines the adjective [00:19.24]as "very strange or unusual" or "having the quality of a dream." [00:29.56]The word entered the English language in the 1930s, [00:36.48]following the artistic movement known as surrealism. [00:42.88]Merriam-Webster says searches for "surreal" [00:47.60]rose after several world events and tragedies in the past year. [00:55.44]Major increases in the number of lookups [01:00.08]directly followed the terrorist attacks in Belgium and France, [01:05.88]the overthrow attempt in Turkey, the Brexit vote, [01:11.72]and the death of American musician Prince. [01:16.68]But, Merriam-Webster reports, the largest increase in searches for "surreal" [01:24.72]came just after the United States presidential election last month. [01:32.28]Its meaning comes from the word's two parts. [01:38.60]The word "real" comes after the preposition "sur," [01:45.08]which means "above" or "over" in the French language. [01:50.84]"Surreal" is often used to describe something shocking. [01:57.20]People might use the word when they cannot believe [02:02.36]-- or do not want to believe -- reality. [02:07.28]"Surreal" can have a negative or positive meaning. [02:12.44]For example, the Grand Canyon or a trip to the Moon could be described as surreal. [02:21.56]Other popular words of 2016 include revenant, [02:27.12]icon, and bigly, Merriam-Webster says. [02:32.64]Revenant means "one that returns after death." [02:38.08]It comes from the French verb for "return." [02:42.60]The Oscar-winning Hollywood film "The Revenant" drove this word's popularity. [02:50.88]People searched for the word "icon" in high numbers [02:55.44]following the death of pop star Prince. [02:59.72]It means "a person who is very successful and admired." [03:06.24]"Bigly" became hugely popular after many people thought [03:12.16]U.S. President-elect Donald Trump used the word during a presidential debate. [03:21.00]People questioned whether the adjective "big" [03:25.08]can be used as an adverb in the English language. [03:30.04]But language experts agreed that Trump actually said "big league." [03:37.20]This expression describes something very successful or high-level. [03:43.52]Trump used it as an adverbial phrase. [03:47.83]Language experts also agreed that "bigly" is a word, [03:53.16]although it is not often used. [03:56.60]Other dictionaries have also announced their 2016 words of the year. [04:03.40]The Oxford-English Dictionary chose "post-truth," [04:08.76]which describes situations in which "facts are less influential [04:16.92]in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief." [04:24.48]The phrase became popular during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. [04:33.64]Dictionary.com named "xenophobia" its Word of the Year. [04:39.44]It means "fear or hatred of foreigners." [04:44.44]A huge increase in searches for the word happened on June 24 [04:50.68]-- one day after Britain voted to leave the European Union. [04:56.24]I'm Ashley Thompson. [04:57.84]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM