又中又英 | Slop | 褚簡寧

　　Well-known dictionaries always decide their Word of the Year around this time. Choosing the Word of the Year involves a lot of research, including gathering millions of words from social media and news sites to identify new or old words that became popular during the year. Dictionary lexicographers and editors then decide which word becomes the Word of the Year. A lexicographer is a person whose job is to write dictionaries. Merriam-Webster chose slop as the Word of the Year for 2025. The word "slop" is not a new word. It's been used since the 1700s, but the meaning has evolved over the years.

　　The original meaning in the 1700s was soft mud. It then changed in the 1800s to food waste fed to pigs, which is called "pig slop". The meaning then became rubbish. Throughout the years, slop represented something people didn't want to touch, such as "slime" or wet mud. The word "slime" means a sticky liquid that is unpleasant to touch, like the outside of frogs or snails. A slimeball is a disgusting and dishonest person who pretends to be a friend. Merriam-Webster's new definition of slop is digital content of low quality which is mass-produced by artificial intelligence, or AI for short.

　　Merriam-Webster said the huge quantity of slop in 2025 included absurd videos, fake news that looked real, and cheesy propaganda. The word "cheesy" used this way means bad quality, such as a movie with bad acting and a predictable plot, or insincere, such as people giving you an insincere or not genuine smile. I am glad I can avoid slop by not using social media.

＊＊＊＊＊＊

　　知名的字典常在大約年末這個時候挑選它們的年度代表字。挑選年度字涉及大量的研究，包括從社交媒體和新聞網站蒐集數以百萬計的字，以識別那一年流行的新字或舊字。字典的 lexicographers和編輯們就會決定哪一個字成為年度代表字。A lexicographer就是詞典編纂者。韋氏字典選了 slop為2025年度字。Slop並非新字，它自1700年代已有人開始使用，但其意思在這麼多年來已然演變。 

　　它於1700年代的原初意思是柔軟的泥濘，然後於1800年代就變成了"pig slop"，即餵給豬吃的豬餿，再後來其意思又變成了垃圾。這麼多年來，slop代表了人們不想觸碰的東西，例如"slime"或濕泥。"Slime"一字是指觸摸時令人感到討厭的黏液，例如青蛙或蝸牛的外側。A slimeball就是一個令人噁心和假惺惺，跟你裝好友的人。韋氏字典對slop的最新定義，是人工智能（簡稱AI）大量生成的低質數碼內容。

　　韋氏字典說，2025年大量的AI餿水（slop）包括了荒唐怪誕的影片、像真的假新聞以及 cheesy宣傳。Cheesy在這裏的意思是劣質的，例如一齣演員演技很爛、劇情又是意料之中的電影，又或解作不誠懇的，譬如有人給你一個虛偽或不真摯的笑容。我很高興我沒有使用社交媒體，就避開了許多AI餿水（slop）。              

[email protected]
Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻