English 资源网 论坛 原文阅读 在线翻译
当前位置: BBC英语学习 > 你问我答

近义词辨析:international、cross-national、multinational、transnational

[2024年4月5日] 来源:BBC Learning English 编辑:Geilien.cn   字号 [] [] []  

内容简介

一位网友想知道 “international、cross-national、multinational” 和 “transnational” 之间的区别。这四个词都由单词 “national” 加上不同的前缀构成,意思都与 “多个国家的” 有关,但它们之间具体的区别是什么?听节目,学习这四个近义词的用法。

文字稿

(关于台词的备注: 请注意这不是广播节目的逐字稿件。本文稿可能没有体现录制、编辑过程中对节目做出的改变。)

Jiaying
大家好,欢迎收听 BBC英语教学的 “你问我答” 节目。I'm Jiaying. 

Phil
And I'm Phil. 

Jiaying
本期节目要回答的问题来自一位网友,问题是这样的: 

Question
您好,请问一下 “international、cross-national、multinational” 和 “transnational” 之间的区别是什么呢?一直没搜到相关资料,谢谢解答。

Phil
These words have very close meanings, so a lot of the difference is in how and when they're used. Let's start by looking at 'international'. 

Jiaying
“International” 多用作形容词,是四个词里最常见的一个。

Phil
Yes, and it refers to anything that happens in or is related to more than one country. We often talk about 'international trade' – trade between countries, 'international students' – people who move countries to study, and 'international airports', where you can travel between countries. 

Jiaying
是的,形容词 “international” 的意思是 “国际的,国际上的”,强调一件事情是 “发生在一个以上国家的” 或 “与一个以上的国家有关的”。比如:“international trade(国际贸易)”、“international students(留学生,国际生)”、“international airports(国际机场)”。来听两个使用了形容词 “international” 的例句。

Examples
The market for international travel has recovered in recent years.
(近年来,国际旅游市场已经复苏。) 

The international conference attracted researchers from all over the world.
(这次国际会议吸引了来自世界各地的研究人员。) 

Phil
'Cross-national' is probably most used to talk about academic studies. The prefix 'cross-' means 'across' – so a 'cross-national comparison' is where data is compared across different countries.

Jiaying
没错,复合形容词 “cross-national” 的意思是 “跨国的”,它多见于学术领域。 

从构词上来看,“cross-national” 的前缀 “cross-” 的意思是 “越过,跨越”,所以 “cross-national comparison” 就指 “通过分析、比较不同国家的数据而开展的跨国对比研究”。听两个例句。 

Examples
We need to carry out a cross-national comparison to see if the problem exists in other countries.
(我们需要开展跨国对比研究,看看其它国家是否也存在这个问题。) 

We used the results of the cross-national analysis to plan our strategy.
(我们利用跨国分析研究得到的结果来规划我们的战略。) 

Jiaying
接下来看 “multinational” 和 “transnational”,它们既可以作名词,也可以作形容词使用,多用于谈论商业的语境中。 

Phil
They describe large companies operating in more than one country. 

Jiaying
作名词时,“multinational” 和 “transnational” 指 “跨国企业”。

从构词上来看,“multinational” 中的前缀 “multi-” 的意思是 “不止一个,多个”,所以 “a multinational” 就指 “在多国开展业务的企业”;“transnational” 中的前缀 “trans-” 表示 “穿越”,所以 “transnational” 指 “所开展的业务穿越国界的企业”,也就是 “跨国企业”,两个词通常可以互换使用。听两个例句。

Examples
It's believed that the arrival of multinationals in the city will lead to increased employment opportunities.
(人们相信,跨国公司的到来会给这座城市带来更多的就业机会。)

Many graduates dream of getting jobs at transnationals.
(许多毕业生梦想在跨国企业找到工作。) 

Phil
When used as adjectives, 'multinational' and 'transnational' often describe businesses. Like all the words we've looked at here, they're used to say that companies or organisations operate in more than one country. 

Jiaying
形容词 “multinational” 和 “transnational” 多表示 “(企业或机构的类型是)跨国的”。此外,两者都可以表示 “(方案、计划、方法是)涉及多国的”。听两个例句。

Examples
Multinational charities can sometimes have a large impact.
(跨国慈善机构有时会起到巨大的作用。) 

Different countries have come together to set up transnational networks to tackle global environmental issues.
(不同的国家共同合作,建立跨国网络,以解决全球环境问题。) 

Jiaying
归纳一下:形容词 “international” 的意思是 “国际的”,用法是四个词语中最广泛的一个。形容词 “cross-national” 多见于学术领域,表示一项研究是 “跨国的”。“Multinational” 和 “transnational” 都可以指 “跨国公司”,作形容词时表示 “(公司、机构是)跨国的”,或者 “(方案、计划、方法是)涉及多国的”。 

Phil
We hope that we've answered your question. Remember that if you have a question you'd like us to answer, you can email us too at: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk

Jiaying
你也可以通过微博向我们提问。我们的微博账号是 “BBC英语教学”。Bye, everyone. 

Phil
Bye.