| Change log entry 67185 | |
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| Processed by: | goldyn_chyld (2019-03-03 12:52:31 UTC) |
| Comment: |
<< review queue entry 63840 - submitted by 'richwarm' >> I think "amateur" may be the best *single-word* definition, but the problem with it is that it - tends to be used in the sporting sense ("An athlete who has never accepted money for participating in a competition") - or in a disparaging sense ("One lacking the skill of a professional") ... neither of which seems to capture the meaning of 素人. In addition, a 素人 may have no previous experience, whereas amateurs are generally enthusiasts who may have plenty of experience (as a pastime), but lack formal training and professional recognition. E.g. 1) 職業演員不斷以多面向的表演累積劇情，而素人主角則以自然的表演方式被劇情推著走， The professionals would approach the scenes from a variety of angles, while the newcomers would take the naturalistic route, 2) 歌唱比賽當道，素人歌手頻頻亮相，誰能竄出頭？ With so many everyday folk taking their shot at stardom in American Idol-lookalike shows, how does one stand out and break out? 3) 為讓具有教學潛力的素人能有發光的機會，Hahow團隊以無償顧問的形式給予提案者企劃的建議， The Hahow team offers planning advice at no charge to would-be teachers. [If they're *would-be* teachers, it seems wrong to call them "amateurs". Better to call them "untrained person".] 4) Also, from the original submission: 素人选手 “战胜” 业余围棋天王，... [In this example, the 素人 is contrasted with the experienced amateur (业余围棋天王). The 业余 player might be called an amateur who plays outside working hours, but the article says that this 素人 is something different -- someone who hasn't been known as a regular player at all. Therefore he isn't even an amateur, but rather someone who has no training or experience. He beats the experienced amateur by cheating (using an AI app).] ---------------------- I think 素人 comes to Chinese from Japanese via Taiwan. Certainly, it's true that - 素人 has been a Japanese word meaning "amateur; layman" for some decades -- since the 1980s at least -- if not much earlier. - In TP articles it appears in the 1990s only a few times, but many times after 2010. - There are more hits for "素人" at site:.tw than site:.cn, (though perhaps not so many more that we would have to add (Tw)). |
| Diff: |
- 素人 素人 [su4 ren2] /amateur/ + 素人 素人 [su4 ren2] /untrained, inexperienced person/layman/amateur/ |