在美国的官员、学者、军人、民众中，有知华派、亲华派，也有强硬派、温和派，本属正常。中国有亲美派、反美派，甚至有鹰派和鸽派都是正常的。但是，可怕的是出现了偏执狂，走了极端，得了“恐美症”，提到美国就害怕，遇到美国就畏惧，美国一介入就惊慌失措，就没辙。有的人对美国怕的要死，恨得要命。美国成了无法弄的代名词。出现了悲观论，甚至是中国崩溃论、亡国论，惶惶不可终日，又很难治愈，实在是难以理解，难以救药。
足球领域也有“恐韩症”的说法。翻译“恐韩症”与“恐美症”中的“恐”，可能会想到phobia。根据《韦氏词典》，该词定义为：an exaggerated usually inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation。“恐韩症”中的“恐惧”来源于国足难以战胜韩国的事实，有事实基础，并非illogical。用在“恐美症”上，phobia似乎很合适，但在考虑一些phobia的实际用法后，phobia的问题也开始暴露出来。
以常见的一个phobia，即homophobia为例，同样根据《韦氏词典》，这个词的意思为irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals。此时，phobia除了fear，又多了aversion（厌恶）和discrimination（歧视）。释义一贯简练的《剑桥词典》将phobia描述为a fear or dislike of gay people。
因此，除了心理障碍，比如claustrophobia（幽闭恐怖症），phobia在XXXphobia结构中包含的意思很可能不仅是恐惧，还有厌恶甚至憎恨。
查到Washington Post一篇名为《Free trade with U.S.? Europe balks at chlorine chicken, hormone beef》的文章提到美国与欧洲之间的Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)因为欧洲人因食品安全问题抵制美国食品进口难以达成，其中有这样一段话：
In some E.U. countries — including Poland and Sweden — there appears to be solid support. But in other nations, the opposition increasingly seems to be less about food than outright Americaphobia.
In Europe, a certain brand of anti-Americanism is almost always just under the surface on the political left and the far right. But with the TTIP talks, at least some of those sentiments appear to be going mainstream. In parts of Europe, including Germany — a nation still smarting from revelations of U.S. spying — staunch opposition has built up around the possible inclusion of an investor-rights clause in TTIP.
这里的Americaphobia表面看是“恐美症”，但其实是一种anti-Americanism，即反美情绪，“反对”与“恐惧”之间存在差异。
Washington Times一篇题为《Americaphobia》的文章第一段表达出了更鲜明的反美立场：
“My anti-Americanism has become almost uncontrollable. It has possessed me, like a disease. It rises up in my throat like acid reflux, that fashionable American sickness. I now loathe the United States and what it has done to Iraq and the rest of the helpless world. I can hardly bear to see the faces of Bush and Rumsfeld, or to watch their posturing boy language, or to hear their self-satisfied and incoherent platitudes.”
因此，将“恐美症”译为Americaphobia会让人误解为“反美症”。避免这一问题的最简单方法就是译出fear，将“恐美症”意译为ingrained fear of the US，即对美国根深蒂固的恐惧。前面提到的“恐韩症”也可用同样方法处理，避开“恐韩症”并不illogical的问题。
（中国翻译研究院）
