核心畫面

You put something forward and stand behind it — no , no "maybe": this is true, and I am not backing down from it.

你把一句話「立」在眾人面前,然後站在它後面不退。不是提出來討論,不是問大家覺得如何,而是直接宣告「就是這樣」——語氣更多收起你把一句話「立」在眾人面前,然後站在它後面不退。不是提出來討論,不是問大家覺得如何,而是直接宣告「就是這樣」——語氣裡沒有 maybe、沒有 I think、沒有留餘地。所以 assert 這個字本身就帶著一股力道:你聽到它,會知道說話的人不只是在陳述,而是在「撐住」某個東西,準備承受別人的質疑。

From the word’s history

From Latin *asserere* — *ad-* (to) + *serere* (to join, bind) — literally to lay your hand on a person in a Roman court to declare them free or your property. The physical claim by touch is the ancestor of today's verbal claim.

拉丁文 asserere 由 ad-(朝向)加 serere(連結、繫住)組成。在羅馬法庭上,這個字指的是一個非常具體的動作:你伸手按在某個人身上,藉此公開宣告他是自由人、或宣告他歸你所有。也就是說,最早的 assert 是用手去「按住」來主張的——不是說說而已,是身體站出來把話坐實。今天的 assert 沒有那隻手了,但那股「我出面、我承擔、我不縮回去」的姿態原封不動地留了下來,這也是為什麼它比 say 或 state 都要來得有壓力。

Wiktionary / Online Etymology Dictionary: assert < Latin assertus, past participle of asserō (ad- 'to' + serō 'join'), 'to lay hands on, claim, declare free'

Two branches

主張一件事是真的

這一群是把話立出來:內容是「某件事是真的」或「某個權利是我的」。

state firmly · verb · C1

To say clearly and with force that something is true, as if you are sure about it.

堅稱

把自己立出來

一樣是「立出來、不退」,只是立的東西從一句話換成了一個存在。

assert yourself · verb · C1

To speak and act in a firm way so that other people hear what you think and what you want.

堅持己見

原始詞典資料7 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

assertverb/əˈsɜːt/

  • 1

    To declare with assurance or plainly and strongly; to state positively.

    • Numerous experimental tests and other observations have been offered in favor of animal mind reading, and although many scientists are skeptical, others assert that humans are not the only species capable of representing what others do and don’t perceive and know.
    • He would often assert that there was life on other planets.
  • 2

    To use or exercise and thereby prove the existence of.

    • to assert one's authority
    • Salman Rushdie has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work.
  • 3

    To maintain or defend, as a cause or a claim, by words or measures; to vindicate a claim or title to.

    • to assert our rights and liberties
  • 4

    To insist on the legitimacy of one's rights, opinion, etc; not to allow oneself to be dismissed; to ensure that one is taken into consideration; to make oneself respected; to be assertive. See assert oneself.

    • Since going to therapy, I've found it much easier to assert myself.
  • 5

    computingengineeringmathematicsTo declare that a condition or expression must be true at a certain point in the source code (in some cases causing the program to fail if it is not, as a safeguard).

  • 6

    businesselectrical-engineeringelectricityTo set a signal on a line using a voltage or electric current.

assertnoun/əˈsɜːt/

  • 1

    computingengineeringmathematicsSynonym of assertion.

資料來源:英文維基詞典 English WiktionaryCC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。