問:Cumulative、accumulative二字,用法有什麼分別?
答:查第五版《朗文當代高級英漢雙解詞典》,cumulative是「increasing gradually as more of something is added or happens積累的,漸增的」,而accumulative是「gradually increasing in amount or degree over a period of time累積的,逐漸增加的」。兩個注釋,意思無別。事實上,兩字一般通用,但用cumulative較為穩妥,例如:The cumulative(或accumulative)effects of pollution are showing up on a world-wide basis(污染日積月累的結果,全球各地逐漸顯現)。
有人強行分辨cumulative、accumulative二字,但總是越說越不分明。英國Bloomsbury出版社的英文用法指南Good English Guide談到cumulative一字,說It should not be confused with "accumulative"(這個字不可和accumulative混淆),但除了說accumulative是個「很少用的形容詞(an adjective that is rarely used)」,根本說不出兩字怎樣可免「混淆」。
說得最清楚的,是牛津出版社一九九五年出版的A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage:In one sense they are synonymous : "increasing by successive addition," in which meaning "cumulative" is the usual and therefore the preferred term(Cumulative、accumulative二字,有一個意思是相同的,即「逐漸增加」;而說「逐漸增加」,cumulative較常用,故用cumulative較佳)。作者說二字「有一個意思相同」,因為還有其他不同用法,但那些是財經、法律界專門用法,一般人不必理會。