“Mamihlapinatapai”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

The word Mamihlapinatapai is derived from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word", and is considered one of the hardest words to translate. It allegedly refers to "a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other would initiate something that they both desire but which neither wants to begin."^[1]

A slightly different interpretation of the meaning also exists: "It is that look across the table when two people are sharing an unspoken but private moment. When each knows the other understands and is in agreement with what is being expressed. An expressive and meaningful silence."^[2] It is also cited in books and articles on game theory associated with the volunteer's dilemma.^[3]^[4]

It is also referenced in Defining the World in a discussion of the difficulties facing Samuel Johnson in trying to arrive at succinct, yet accurate, definitions of words.^[5] It is also referenced in the documentary film Life in a Day (2011), in response to the question "what do you love?".^[6]

Morphology

The word consists of the reflexive/passive prefix ma- (mam- before a vowel), the root ihlapi (pronounced {{IPA-xx|iɬapi|}}), which means "to be at a loss as what to do next", the stative suffix -n, an achievement suffix -ata, and the dual suffix -apai, which in composition with the reflexive mam- has a reciprocal sense.

In popular culture

See also

References

1. ^{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQhj-D1WpkcC&dq=The+Guinness+Book+of+world+Records+1993&q=succinct#search_anchor |title=The Guinness Book of Records 1994 |page=392 |author=Peter Matthews, Norris McWhirter |accessdate=20 June 2011}}
2. ^{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3639409/Drachenfutter-Saudade-Onsay.html|title=Drachenfutter, Saudade, Onsay}}
3. ^{{cite news | last=Kollock | first=Peter | title=Social Dilemmas: the anatomy of cooperation | journal = Annu. Rev. Sociol. | year=1998 |volume=24 |issue= | pages=183–214 |jstor=223479 }}
4. ^{{cite book |title=Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life |first=Len |last=Fisher |page=76 |isbn= }}
5. ^{{cite book |last=Hitchings |first=H. |page=92 |title=Defining the World |publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |location=New York |year=2005 |isbn=0-374-11302-5 }}
6. ^{{Citation|title=Mamihlapinatapai- Life in a day|url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWS5loAeH2M|accessdate = 2015-10-09}}
7. ^{{cite web | url=http://www.brakkegrond.nl/programma/550/Max_Pinckers_en_Michiel_Burger/MAMIHLAPINATAPAI/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121126152159/http://www.brakkegrond.nl/programma/550/Max_Pinckers_en_Michiel_Burger/MAMIHLAPINATAPAI/ | dead-url=yes | archive-date=November 26, 2012 | title=Max Pinckers en Michiel Burger: Mamihlapinatapai | publisher=De Brakke Grond | accessdate=November 24, 2014| language=Dutch, English}}
8. ^{{cite web|title=Ronny Cox Live RELEASED 2004|url=http://www.ronnycox.com/albums/ronny-cox-live/|website=Ronny Cox|publisher=ronnycox.com|accessdate=29 July 2016}}