ブログ記事からの抜粋
ニュースで学ぶ現代英語-2「英語からみる2025年ニュースこの1年」
Looking back on 2025 in English
-News timeline 2025
#- DISCUSSION: TRUMP AND THE ECONOMY
討論：トランプと経済
(Looking back like this, it really was a year where many things happened all over the world.)
(In both politics and the economy.)
(Indeed. So, how do the experts look back? We have two guests in the studio. First, Professor Kazuhiro Maeshima of Sophia University, a political scientist specializing in U.S. politics and diplomacy.)
Hello, everybody.
(And Ms. Kaori Iida, NHK Senior Commentator specializing in the world economy, IT, and tech-related fields.)
Hello, everybody.
(First, Mr. Maeshima, what do you think is the English keyword to look back on this year?)
(What I think of is this one used by President Trump.)
1). tariff 関税
(Yes, it’s the word for “kanzei.” President Trump certainly said it over and over again.)
(Regarding this word “Tariff,” there are survey results showing that about 65% of Americans have heard it, but don’t know the details of its meaning or how it works. It’s a word found in textbooks, not something used in daily conversation.)
(I see. And regarding this “Tariff,” President Trump has also said this from time to time:)
The most beautiful word in the dictionary. The most beautiful word in the dictionary.”
「辞書の中で最も美しい言葉。それは関税だ」
(That’s what it means. He doesn’t mention the mechanism of tariffs; he just creates an impression that it’s the most beautiful thing. I think that’s the point. “Tariffs are what the other side pays.” In reality, American companies pay them too, but it can be read as an appeal that it’s advantageous for America.)
(On the other hand, in a poll conducted in the U.S. in April, 59% did not support President Trump’s tariff policy, greatly exceeding the 39% who did. In short, I think America is deeply divided over tariffs.)
(You said that people didn’t know much about “Tariff” at first, but if President Trump talks about it this much every time, everyone will study it, and having learned about it, the opinion not to support it remains strong?)
(I think so. Originally, the U.S. was a country that kept lowering tariffs. So, as a new word, people might feel they need to study what it is.)
(Even if they don’t fully understand the technical meaning of “Tariff,” many people are starting to get the impression that it’s not something that will improve their lives?)
(Then, Ms. Iida, what is your English keyword to look back on this year?)
(There’s a word that really struck me, and again, it’s related to President Trump. It’s this one.)
2). TACO タコ
(Hmm, this became quite a topic.)
And “TACO” is an acronym for the following words, isn’t it?)
Trump Always Chickens Out
トランプはいつもおじけづく
(“Chicken Out” means to lose one’s nerve or back down. In other words, the point is that even if he says he’ll impose high tariffs, President Trump will eventually get cold feet and back down.)
(Yes, exactly. It was originally written by Robert Armstrong, a commentator for the British financial newspaper Financial Times, in his newsletter as “Taco Trade” or “Taco Theory.” It became popular on Wall Street around May and then went viral on social media.)
(And speaking of “Taco,” it’s not the Japanese octopus, but Mexican tacos.)
(They’re delicious, aren’t they?)
(I love them too. One is “a taco,” two are “tacos”)
Tacos の「s」は複数の「s」ですね。
(the “s” is for plural.)
(Yes, yes. So, in this case, it’s a made-up word mocking President Trump’s tariff measures. While President Trump boldly declares he’ll impose high tariffs, he’s repeatedly lowered or suspended them whenever financial markets got turbulent. So investors recognize that even when tariff measures are announced, they’ll likely be reversed or changed overnight anyway. That’s what this phrase means.)
(But in reality, the world was jerked around by President Trump saying he’d impose high tariffs and then stopping.)
(We were indeed. And what’s interesting is there was a scene where President Trump was asked what he thought about “TACO.”)
(At a press conference.)
(Yes, it was like a media scrum. He apparently hadn’t heard of it, and after receiving an explanation from the reporter, I remember him saying with anger, “I’m not getting cold feet at the end. This is a negotiation.”)
(It’s a negotiation tactic.)
(Yes. It’s part of deal-making. And it’s not always a bad thing; it means President Trump can be surprisingly flexible when markets get rough or when he receives advice from various people. I’ve heard it used not just for the economy but also in diplomacy, as in “Trump tacoed again.”)
(I see. Well, the world really was at the mercy of President Trump this year. As keywords, we had Tariff, followed by TACO.)
(And Mr. Maeshima, speaking of President Trump, his general debate speech at the UN General Assembly in September also drew a lot of attention.)
(That’s right. While President Trump strongly appealed that he himself had ended various conflicts, he repeatedly criticized the UN for not meeting expectations, in typical Trump fashion. In that speech, what I particularly noticed was his direct criticism of climate change measures led by the UN. President Trump used the following expression in his speech:)
It’s the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world in my opinion.
I just heard “con Job.” What does that mean?
(“Con,” C-O-N, and “Job.” “Con Job” means a scam or a fraud. In other words, he’s saying that in his opinion, climate change measures are the biggest scam ever perpetrated on the world.)
(Exactly. There are several English words for fraud, such as “fraud,” but “con job” is, how shall I say, a lower-level word. You might even call it a vulgar term.)
(However, in terms of context, he deliberately chose and applied the expression “Con Job” to “Climate Change,” a term that has been treated as a sanctuary in the international community and whose legitimacy is assumed—a term with a “clean” ring to it. I think President Trump is using that gap in tone to make his message even sharper.)
(Behind President Trump’s intense criticism of UN climate change measures is the fact that the U.S. is already an energy superpower. The U.S. has already become the world’s largest energy producer. Furthermore, among the Christian evangelicals who support President Trump, there are some who believe that “climate and such things are governed by God, and it’s strange for us to try to change it by whether or not we emit CO2.” There is definitely an influence from such views.)
It really feels like the very order built by the post-war world is being shaken by President Trump.
(In 2025, President Trump and the international order—those two things were always on our minds.)
–
単語・熟語 発音記号 意味
look back on /lʊk bæk ɑːn/ ～を振り返る
turbulent /ˈtɜːrbjələnt/ 激動の、不安定な
perspective /pərˈspɛktɪv/ 視点、見方
delve into /dɛlv ˈɪntuː/ ～を深く掘り下げる
intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃən/ 意図
active as /ˈæktɪv æz/ ～として活躍している
educational /ˌɛdʒuˈkeɪʃənl/ 教育的な
impressive /ɪmˈprɛsɪv/ 印象的な
inauguration /ɪnˌɔːɡjʊˈreɪʃən/ 就任式
be sworn in /bi swɔːrn ɪn/ 宣誓就任する
executive order /ɪɡˈzɛkjətɪv ˈɔːrdər/ 大統領令
institute /ˈɪnstɪtuːt/ 導入する
reciprocal tariff /rɪˈsɪprəkəl ˈtærɪf/ 相互関税
reconciliation /ˌrɛkənˌsɪlɪˈeɪʃən/ 和解
profound /prəˈfaʊnd/ 深い
achievement /əˈtʃiːvmənt/ 業績
at the mercy of /ət ðə ˈmɜːrsi əv/ ～のなすがままに
tariff /ˈtærɪf/ 関税
impose /ɪmˈpoʊz/ 課す
divided /dɪˈvaɪdɪd/ 分断された
acronym /ˈækrənɪm/ 頭字語
chicken out /ˈtʃɪkɪn aʊt/ 怖気づいてやめる
go viral /ɡoʊ ˈvaɪrəl/ 拡散する
mock /mɑːk/ 嘲笑する
suspend /səˈspɛnd/ 一時停止する
negotiation tactic /nɪˌɡoʊʃiˈeɪʃən ˈtæktɪk/ 交渉戦術
flexibility /ˌflɛksəˈbɪlɪti/ 柔軟性
climate change /ˈklaɪmɪt tʃeɪndʒ/ 気候変動
con job /ˈkɑːn dʒɑːb/ 詐欺
perpetrate /ˈpɜːrpəˌtreɪt/ 行う（悪事）
sanctuary /ˈsæŋktʃuˌɛri/ 聖域
legitimacy /lɪˈdʒɪtɪməsi/ 正当性
energy superpower /ˈɛnərdʒi ˈsuːpərˌpaʊər/ エネルギー超大国
international order /ˌɪntərˈnæʃənl ˈɔːrdər/ 国際秩序
（このように振り返ると、本当に世界中で多くの出来事が起きた一年でした。）
（政治でも経済でも。）
— そうですね。では専門家は今年をどう振り返るのでしょうか。本日はスタジオに2人のゲストをお迎えしています。まず、アメリカ政治と外交を専門とする上智大学の前嶋和弘教授です。
— こんにちは。
— そして、世界経済、IT、テクノロジー分野を専門とするNHKの飯田香織シニア解説委員です。
— こんにちは。
— 前嶋さん、今年を振り返る英語のキーワードは何だと思いますか。
— 私が思い浮かべるのは、トランプ大統領が使ったこの言葉です。「Tariff（関税）」。
この言葉については、意味や仕組みをよく知らないアメリカ人が多いことが調査で分かっています。日常会話ではあまり使われない教科書的な言葉です。
一方で、「関税は辞書で最も美しい言葉だ」と語ることで、仕組みを説明せずに強い印象を与えています。実際にはアメリカ企業も負担しますが、「アメリカに有利だ」というメッセージとして受け取られています。
しかし世論は分断されており、関税政策を支持しない人の方が多いのが現実です。
— 飯田さん、今年のキーワードは？
— 私は「TACO」です。
これは「Trump Always Chickens Out（トランプはいつも最後に怖気づく）」の略語で、トランプ氏の関税政策を皮肉った造語です。高関税を宣言しても、市場が不安定になると引き下げたり停止したりする傾向を指します。
この言葉は金融界から広まり、SNSで拡散しました。交渉戦術としての柔軟性を評価する声もありますが、世界が振り回された一年だったのは確かです。
さらに国連演説では、気候変動対策を「史上最大の詐欺」とまで批判しました。これは意図的に俗な表現を使い、メッセージを鋭くする狙いがあったと考えられます。
エネルギー超大国となったアメリカの立場や、宗教的価値観も背景にあります。
2025年は、トランプ大統領と国際秩序という二つの要素が常に意識された一年でした。