gain traction 復習
安倍首相は昨日、来年の早い時期にロシアを訪問する方針を固めました。平和条約の締結へと少しでもはやく駒を進めたい狙いがあるようです。
Defending approach in territorial dispute, Abe eyes Russia visit early next year
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he plans to visit Russia early next year to continue negotiations on the long-running territorial dispute over the four Japan-claimed islands off Hokkaido.
“You can’t conclude a peace treaty only with one or two (summit) meetings. It’s not such an easy task,” Abe said in a speech to business leaders at a Tokyo hotel. “I’d like to accelerate moves toward improvement of the relationship” with Russia.
Abe also defended the outcome of his high-profile meetings with President Vladimir Putin last week.
He has been criticized by media outlets for winning no concessions in the territorial issue while only pledging to promote economic cooperation with Russia.
But in his speech Tuesday, Abe argued that Japan’s case for sovereignty of the islands has failed to gain any traction over the past seven decades, necessitating a “new approach” meant to promote economic cooperation first to build up bilateral trust with Moscow.
一部抜粋
今回取り上げる表現は"gain traction"という熟語です。gain と traction を２つに分けて調べたいと思います。
『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第５版）を見てみると、gain は「獲得する、〜を得る」、 traction には「牽引力、牽引」という意味がありました。
以上を合わせて直訳すると「牽引力を得る」となりますがこのままではよくわかりません。牽引力には「引っ張る力が強い、原動力」と言い換えられるので、failed toとあわせて「進展がない」となるのではないでしょうか。(Mt.Fuji)
過去にも先生が同じ表現を取り上げておりました。
