颠覆你的语法知识！原来“between”可以用于“两者以上”？

between

among

最近有同学提了这样一个问题：

在学习一份官方文件的译文时，有这样一句话：

“我们要加强人文交流，促进文明互鉴。”

“We should increase people-to-people exchanges and promote mutual learningbetweencivilizations.”

这位同学不明白的是这个句子应该是“倡导不同文明交流互鉴”，“不同文明”应该不止“两个文明”，所以不应该用“between”，而应该使用“among”。

的确，中学时在学习这一语法点时，老师应该也都强调过如果大于“两者”就不能用“between”了，而应该用“among”。小编在网上查了一下，讲解“between”和“among”两者的辨析，也基本把重点放在了数量上：

那么究竟为什么这里“civilizations”很明显“大于2”时，为什么要用“between”呢？

壹

“between”的用法争议

虽然“between”传统上被认为仅适用于两个对象之间的关系，而“among”则适用于三个或更多，但实际使用中，这一规则并不总是严格适用。

早在1755年，萨缪尔·约翰逊（Samuel Johnson）就提到“between”应用于两个对象，而“among”用于更多。然而，诺亚·韦伯斯特（Noah Webster）在1828年指出，“between”可以指代两个或多个对象，显示出该词的用法并不局限于两个（“

Belonging to two or more…. We observe that

between is not restricted to two

许多著名作家如简·奥斯汀（Jane Austen）和T.S.艾略特（T.S.Eliot）等都使用“between”来描述三个或更多的对象：

This, of course, isbetweenour three discreet selves.

— Jane Austen, letter, 11 Oct. 1813

Undoubtedly there is something in commonbetweenthe three (Dante. Chaucer, Villon)

— T. S. Eliot, “Dante” in

Selected Essays

Constantine a little before his death, upon the importunity of the souldiers made Dalmatius his brothers sonne Caesar also; but by the same souldiers he was oppressed, and so the Empire was dividedbetweenthe three brothers.

— Alexander Ross,

The History of the World

贰

“between”的特定用法

在实际使用中，如果涉及多个一对一的活动（one-on-one activities），“between”可以用于三个或更多的对象。

根据《芝加哥手册》（The Chicago Manual of Style, CMS）和《美联社写作风格指南》（Associated Press Stylebook）都认可在涉及多方的一对一关系时使用“between”：

“The maxim that ‘between’ introduces two items and ‘among’ introduces more than two covers most questions about how to use these words: ‘The choice is between fish and tofu. The funds were divided among Ford, Carter and McCarthy.’”

“‘Between’ is the correct word when expressingthe relationships of three or more items considered one pair at a time: ‘The games between the Yankees, Phillies and Mets have been rollicking ones.’”

——Associated Press Stylebook

“‘Between’ indicates one-to-one relationships (between you and me). ‘Among’ indicates undefined or collective relationships (honor among thieves).”

“‘Between’ has long been recognized as being perfectlyappropriate for more than two objects if multiple one-to-one relationships are understoodfrom the context (trade between members of the European Union).”

——Chicago Manual of Style

因此我们再回到开头的那句话：

“我们要加强人文交流，促进文明互鉴。”

“We should increase people-to-people exchanges and promote mutual learning between civilizations.”

这里虽然“civilizations”是“两者以上”，使用“among civilizations”在语法上也是完全正确的，但使用“between”可以更好地强调这些文明之间的具体互动关系。

希望这一解析能够帮助大家更好地理解这一语法点。如果有其他的问题，欢迎在留言区讨论！

文章来源：CATTI中心

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