いじめ ― bullying

いじめ問題・・・、日本の話と思ったら、最近では米国でも深刻な問題になっているようです。

この単語の面白いところは語源です。

遡ると中期オランダ語で、"boele"は“恋人”を意味したそうです。つまりよい意味が変遷を経て、ネガティヴな意味になったのですが、まるで昨今言われているドメスティックバイオレンスを想起させます。当時からそういう概念があったかは不明ですが・・・。


Half of all high school students say they have bullied someone in the past year, with nearly as many saying they have been the victims of bullying, according to a new study released this week.

The study of the "Ethics of American Youth" released Tuesday surveyed more than 40,000 high school students and has been conducted every other year since 1992.

The study by the non-profit Josephson Institute of Ethics also found that one-third of all high school students say that violence is a big problem at their school, and nearly one in four say they do not feel very safe there. The problem is much less pronounced at private schools, where the figures drop to less than 10 percent in those two categories.
(Study: Half of high school students admit to bullying. CNN. October 27, 2010.)


元記事はこちら。