先日のブログのコメント欄で触れたこの表現、ちょっと注意が必要である。『ジーニアス英和』で示されている用例では問題点は見えてこない。
- His carelessness lost him his job.→ He lost his job because he was careless.の方が普通
これと同じエントリーの『ジーニアス英和大』では、
- His carelessness lost him his job = He lost his job to his carelessness.→ He lost his job because he was careless.の方が普通
という扱いとなっている。この toはどのような働きなのか？という問題提起なのである。
同様の意味を表すと思われる動詞の用例を挙げる。能動態である。
- I lost my mother to cancer.
- She lost all her loved ones to disease and war.
動詞costとは異なり、loseのこの用法の文から受け身の文を作り出すことは可能と考えられる。
実際の用例では次のようなものが見られる。
- the memory of my mother who was lost to cancer in 1991
- Chestnut said that 75 percent of his stomach was lost to cancer and only marijuana proved effective in stimulating his appetite.
- "We are trying to replenish a lot of the food that was lost to the hurricane," added Schneider.
- On August 29th, the wind and rains came, the sea surged, the levees failed, and a great American city was lost to the hurricane.
一方、成句で be lost toをエントリーとして扱っている英和では『ロイヤル』がセンテンスまたはセンテンスに準じた長い用例を挙げている。
- (1) 人の所有でなくなる
- A few pounds were lost to him at cards.
- Your husband will not be lost to you if you have faith.
- (2) から消え去る
- It was lost to sight.
- The movement was lost to any public record.
- (3) を感じない
- be lost to shame [pity]
『英和活用大辞典』（研究社）では、
- The boat was soon lost to sight in the fog.
という例が挙げられている。
このような語義に照らしあわせた時、一見、わかりやすそうで、明確に説明しにくいものに、次の be lost to the seaがある。
「海の藻屑と消える」という訳語で分かった気になってはダメで、受け身に対応する能動態の文はなんなのか？ということである。上記『ロイヤル』の語義でいえば、(1),(2)に矛盾するのではないか？
- There are also the remains of the port built by Edward I to replace the original harbour which was lost to the sea in the 13th century.
- Fantasy and mystery surround the legendary existence of Atlantis. Now, designer Thomas Sota creates this exquisite ring inspired by this rich and glorious empire that was lost to the sea.
- It had remained high on the cliff many years after the house it belonged to was lost to the sea.
- The reluctance apparently stems in part from concern it would make Greenland a bigger a target for U.S. adversaries. It also results, Greenlandic officials have said, from the history of U.S. activities there, including the forced removal of local Eskimos from their hunting and burial grounds in 1953, the secret Cold War presence of nuclear weapons there, one of which was lost to the sea in an aircraft accident, and environmental degradation.
- Waves broke the bow in huge walls carrying away anything not attached to the vessel. Most of the crewmen still aboard were lashed to something and the shipﾕs huge square sail was lost to the sea. The sky roared like a giant beast hungry for blood. The ship's timbers groaned in tortured agony.
ここまで見てきたtoをどう整理して体系づければよいのか？「ハートで」感じられる人、誰か教えて下さい!!
