-ness & -ism

I always find the prefix, suffix,and root are quite clever and intriguing invention.


我常常覺得英文的字首字尾字根是很聰明且有趣的發明。

比如說在取這個站的名稱時我就想到了"You, Me and Dupree"中最後Dupree跟Carl說的ㄧ段激勵人心的對話，(雖然其實我覺得這部片實在是不怎麼好看。)但是他所提出的"-ness"概念倒是讓我提起興致。


以下就是電影中有關"-ness"的對話 :

Carl:My life's in the shitter right now.

Dupree:Yes, it is. But what are you gonna do? Quit? So what if you made some mistakes. Everybody does.So what if her dad hates you. You think you're the first guy to be hated by his father-in-law? So what if he beat your ass with a candlestick.

Carl:That's probably happened before.

Dupree:The point is, is somewhere along the road, you lost your magic.
They knocked you off your game. Your Carlness went right out the window.

Carl:What's with this "Carlness"? It's not even a real word.

Dupree:Yes, it is.Oh, it is? It's a verb. It's a conjunction, a preposition, it's a philosophy, a way of life. It's your name with "ness" attached to it.

Carl:Bullshit. There's never been any Carlness. There's just Carl.

Dupree:Well, I'm glad we got that straightened out. My mistake. You know, the truth is, I never really thought you and Molly were right for each other. There was something about her I never bought, right from Jump Street. That whole, "Hey, look at me. I'm a great person. "I'm always smiling.I'm pretty. I'm smart. I work with inner city kids." Get the hell out of there.I saw through that sham, and you did, too. And if you want to know the truth, frankly, I'd blame her.

Carl:Now, wait a minute!

Dupree:No, I won't hold it!

Carl:Hold on a second!Your life is going to hell in a hand basket! Molly is the best damn thing that ever happened to me. Leave her out of this.

Dupree:Sure she is. Did you see what just happened when I tricked you? All of a sudden you had that instinct to fight, that Carlness. That's what this situation needs. It's crying out for it. You're trying to get it back, that fight, the will to fight.

至於"ism" 這個字根，是"-主義"的意思，這個對我而言並不陌生，或許應該說這是不可避免的熟悉。因為翻開藝術人文的書本總是會有一大堆的主義。EX: Impressionism Fauvism Cubism Futurism expressionism
或許正因這些學者、藝術家等有夠多的"主意"才會有這麼多的"主義"吧!


而我，我想我是一個喜歡出主意的人。