冒号和分号是属于一类最有用
Colons and semicolons are among the most useful
并且最为意蕴丰富 引人入胜的标点符号
but also rich, generous and psychologically interesting kinds of punctuation.
当然 它们看起来非常相似
They look, of course, very similar,
这就可能会造成困惑 也要引起注意
and that can cause confusion and alarm.
不过这区别十分简单
But the distinction is very simple.
外表上看 冒号由两个点组成 相互隔开 一个在另一个上方
Visually the colon consists of two dots, spaced apart, one above the other,
而分号是一个点在一个逗号上方
while the semicolon is a dot floating above a comma.
在使用的方面 尽管他们都用于连接一句话的某些部分
In terms of their use, although they’re both used to link together parts of a sentence.
掌管它们的语法规则却有所不同
The grammatical rules which govern them work in quite different ways.
冒号用于更细节化的补充说明
A colon is used either to explain something in more detail,
或者明确地定义一系列事物
or to identify a set of things explicitly.
比如说 “Maria只想要最好的生活”
So for example, Maria only wanted the best from life.
然后我们把冒号放在这里 “：”
Then we put the colon in here:
“一幢漂亮的房子 一个美满的家庭 以及一份璀璨的事业”
a beautiful home, a loving family and a glittering career.
但是我们也在深挖问题时用冒号
But we also use a colon whenever we want to drill deeper into a topic.
“Maria不知道该想什么” 然后 “：”
Maria didn’t know what to think: then in it goes
“离婚以后她得过问所有事情”
after the divorce she had to question everything.
冒号之后可以接一个列表或者一个完整的句子
What follows the colon can be a list, a sentence in its own right
亦或者是一个单词 就像接下来的这个例子一样
or even a single word as in this example.
“Maria还有一个很重要的品质：”
Maria still had one important quality:
“坚强”
strength.
分号就不同了 它的使用方法更加微妙
A semicolon is different. And in its way a great deal more subtle.
它可以将两个相互独立的句子连接起来
It links together two sentences that might have stood on their own,
并且突出两个句子间的关系
but it throws their relationship into particular focus.
例如 “Maria简直受够了”
For example, Maria had had enough.
然后加上分号 “；”
Then in goes the semicolon,
“比起被别人误会她更愿意孤身一人”
she preferred to be alone than misunderstood by another person.
分号任何时候都可以被一个完满的句号代替
A semicolon could always be replaced with a full stop,
但是句号并不能起到分号的绝妙作用
but a full stop doesn’t do what a semicolon does so wonderfully,
即让我们觉得两句话是相互联系的
give us a sense that two statements are related.
观察2： 如果我们把这个句子中的分号换成冒号的话
Observe 2: what would happen to this sentence
这个句子会变成什么样呢？
if we put in a colon rather than a semicolon?
“Maria简直受够了： 比起被别人误会她更愿意孤身一人 ”
Maria had had enough: she preferred to be alone than misunderstood by another person.
事情就变得更生硬而且更简单的线性化了
Things get blunter and more linear.
这意味着所有让Maria烦心的事全只是因为被误解
This means that all of Maria’s fed upness was to do with being misunderstood.
但是在实际生活中 事情的联系千丝万缕 说不清道不明 更像是分号而不是冒号
But in life, connections tend to be more like semicolons than colons.
用一个分号来连接这段对Frank的心理描写
Take this description of Frank’s mood connected up with a semicolon.
“Frank郁郁寡欢；凉秋将至”
Frank had a feeling of melancholy; autumn was coming.
分号可以艺术化地描绘句子间的比喻或对照
Semicolons can artfully draw comparison or contrasts between related statements.
分号的一个狂热爱好者
One of the greatest fans of semicolons
是美国19世纪的一位作家 “William James”
was the American 19th century writer, William James.
一个标点符号就因他而可以完美地契合于防止意识流
It was for him a piece of punctuation ideally suited to keeping the flow of the mind
要么像是受到阻碍完全停下来
from either stopping altogether as if it had been dammed,
要么像句号那样
as it does with a full stop,
变成一注失控的让人费解的意识倾泻
or else turning into an uncontained incomprehensible torrent.
下面是两个来自William James的作品中完美使用分号的例子
Here are two examples from William James’s work of semicolons in operation.
“好的幽默是一种思想上的哲学状态；”
Good humor is a philosophic state of mind;
“就好像是对自然表白 我们视伊珍重同伊视我们”
it seems to say to nature that we take her no more seriously than she takes us.
“我主张人应当永远在谈起哲学时伴以微笑”
I maintain that one should always talk of philosophy with a smile.
下面是William James的另一段使用了很多分号的文章
And here’s another paragraph from William James, which uses a lot of semicolons.
“一个伟大的国家不是被战争所拯救的它是被并非虚有其表的行为所拯救的”
A great nation is not saved by wars, it is saved by acts without external picturesqueness,
“即言谈 写作 合理地选举；
by speaking, writing, voting reasonably;
迅速严打腐败；聚会间的优雅仪态；
by smiting corruption swiftly; by good temper between parties;
“能够认出君子的人民并且
by the people knowing true men when they see them
更愿意他们作为领导者 而不是狂热的游击队员和空洞的庸医”
and preferring them as leaders to rabid partisans and empty quacks.
冒号是有逻辑的
Colons are logical.
它们拨开云雾见青天
They unpack things,
但是分号却更贴近生活
but semicolons are closer to life.
它们是我们用在想要搭建联系却不能完全阐明的时候
They are what we use when we want to connect but can’t entirely explain,
和事情有些联系却又不是完全相互独立的时候使用
when things are related but not entirely dependent.
分号轻描淡写地将想法连起来
The semicolon by gently linking ideas together,
引发思考和有趣的并列关系
invites reflections and interesting juxtapositions.
它不是终止一个想法而是导引出下一个想法
Instead of closing off a thought, it introduces another,
给我们留出空隙去发现它们的共生关系
giving us pause to see symbiotic links.
它的语气是深思熟虑并且带有试探性的
Its tone is mature and tentative.
例如 “我相信生活就是一系列单一的选择；”
For example, I believed that life was a series of simple decisions;
“我活得越久 这些决定就会变得越来越复杂”
the more I lived, the more complicated those decisions became.
我们会透过分号的独特镜头
We would be wise to see more things in life
智观人生之多彩
through the distinctive lens of the semicolon.
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