Question

“分手信”为什么叫“Dear John letter”

Answer 1

　　A "Dear John letter" is a letter written to a husband or boyfriend to inform him their relationship is over, usually because the author has found another lover. Dear John Letters are often written out of an inability or unwillingness to inform the man in person. The reverse situation, in which someone writes to his wife or girlfriend to break off the relationship, is referred to as a "Dear Jane letter".
　　所谓“Dear John letter”是指一个女子写给丈夫或男友表示分手的信件，通常是在写信人另有所爱的情况下所写，且往往写信人不能够或不想要当面告知男方这一情况。反之，如果是写给妻子或女友告知分手的信，则被称作“Dear Jane letter”。
　　While the exact origins of the phrase are unknown, it is commonly believed to have been coined by Americans during World War II. Large numbers of American troops were stationed overseas for many months or years, and as time passed many of their wives or girlfriends decided to begin a relationship with a new man rather than wait for their old one to return.
　　确切的起源还真不可考证，但人们普遍认为这个词由美国人缔造于二战时期。当时大量的美军部队被派往海外，短则数月，长则多年。光阴流转，军嫂们或者在家的女朋友不愿再独守空闺，盼着良人归来，决定开始一段全新的感情。
　　As letters to servicemen from wives or girlfriends back home would typically contain affectionate language (such as "Dear Johnny", "My dearest John", or simply "Darling"), a serviceman receiving a note beginning with a curt "Dear John" would instantly be aware of the letter's purpose. 　　
　　而这些服役军人们的妻子女友通常都是以充满爱意的称谓，比方“亲爱的强尼”、“我最亲爱的约翰”或者“达令”，开始她们残酷的分手信，军人们收到这样子生硬开头的信件，往往都有所警觉：是不是要分手了？
　　A writer in the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, NY, summed it up in August 1945:1945年八月，一位作家总结道："Dear John," the letter began. "I have found someone else whom I think the world of. I think the only way out is for us to get a divorce," it said. They usually began like that, those letters that told of infidelity on the part of the wives of servicemen... The men called them "Dear Johns".
　　“亲爱的约翰，”信是这么开头的，“我找到了另一个人，我愿意与他共度一生。唯一的解决方案就是，咱俩离婚吧。”这类信通常都是这么写的，这些军嫂们婉转坦白自己背叛的信件。而那些被一脚踢开的男人们，称自己为“亲爱的约翰们。”
　　There are a number of theories on why the name John is used rather than any other. John was a common name in America at the time the term was coined. John is also the name used in many other terms that refer to an anonymous man or men, such as "John Doe" or "John Smith".
　　为什么偏偏是约翰而不是迈克或者理查德呢？因为约翰在美国实在是一个超级大众的名字，尤其在这个词组诞生的时候格外普遍。另外呢，约翰这个名字也往往被用来指示无名人士，比方很常见的John Doe或者John Smith。

Answer 2

朝鲜战争时期，有一首表达女友向美国大兵分手主题的流行歌曲"Dear John"风靡一时，其开头一句就是"Dear John, oh how I hate to write...."，后来在美国军队中，a Dear John letter就成了“女友写来的分手信”之代名词。时至今日，一般的美国人也用a Dear John letter（或者a Dear John ）来指来年轻人收到来自恋人的分手信。