oy!哎吆

【使用地区】：美国

【释义】：

“Oy is not a word，”Leo Rosten writes in The Joys of Yiddish(1968)．“It is a vocabulary．It is uttered in as many ways as the utterer’s histrionic ability permits．It is a lament，a protest，a cry of dismay，a reflex of delight．But however sighed，cried，howled or moaned，oy!is the most expressive and ubiquitous exclamation in Yiddish．”Oy vay，a shortening of oy vay iz mir，is also used as an“all—purpose ejaculation，”Rosten notes．He doesn’t list oy gevald，which Henry Roth used as“a cry of alarm，concern or amazement”in From Bondage(1996)．But Rosten does list gevalt or gerald alone as the same kind of cry and cites the folk proverb“Man comes into the world with an Oy!—and leaves with a gevalt．”I have heard oy!，and oy ray!，for that matter，uttered by New Yorkers of many religions，races，and nationalities．Gevalt also．

“oy不是一个单词，”Leo Rostern在《意第诸语的乐趣》(1968)一书中这样写道：“它可以称得上是一个词汇表，其意思完全取决于讲话者的意愿。此词可以表达哀叹、抗议、怨恨、兴奋，总之，该词能表达所有的喜怒哀乐之情。Oy!一词是意第绪语中最有表现力、最独特的一个词。”同样Rosten也指出，oy vay是oy vay iz mir的缩写，也可表示各种惊呼。不过按照Hery Roth在From Bondage(1996)一书中的说法，Rosten并没有把oy gevald(哎吆，天哪)这一词组列入他的书——此感叹语也表示惊讶、关心或者好奇等。Roth指出gevalt或者gerald也可以表达相近的呼喊之意。并且举了一句谚语：“Man comes into the world with an Oy!——and leaves with a gevalt．(人‘哇’的一声来到世间，‘呀’的一声撒手人寰。)”纽约人，无论宗教、肤色和国籍，都会讲oy!或者oy ray!抑或使用gevalt一词。