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LeraBoroditsky_2017W-_语言如何形塑出我们的思考方式_
So, I'll be speaking to you using language ... 我要用语言跟各位说话……
because I can. 因为我可以。
This is one these magical abilities that we humans have. 这是人类的神奇能力之一。
We can transmit really complicated thoughts to one another. 我们能把非常复杂的 想法传送给另一个人。
transmit:v.传送;发射;播送;传播;传染; complicated:adj.复杂的;难懂的;v.使复杂化;(complicate的过去分词和过去式)
So what I'm doing right now is, I'm making sounds with my mouth as I'm exhaling . 我现在在做的, 是用我的嘴巴发出声音, 吐气时发声。
exhaling:v.呼气;发散;排出(exhale的现在分词形式);
I'm making tones and hisses and puffs , and those are creating air vibrations in the air. 我会做出语调、嘶嘶声、呼气, 在空气中产生空气振动。
tones:n.声调;基本音色(tone的复数);v.调节音调(tone的第三人称单数); hisses:vi.发出嘘声;发嘘声;n.嘘声;嘶嘶声; puffs:v.吸,抽;使喷出;气喘吁吁;n.少量;千层酥;泡芙;(puff的第三人称单数和复数) vibrations:n.[力]振动;共鸣;动摇(vibration的复数);
Those air vibrations are traveling to you, they're hitting your eardrums , and then your brain takes those vibrations from your eardrums and transforms them into thoughts. 那些空气振动会传到你那里, 触及到你的耳膜, 接着你的大脑会取得 耳膜接收到的振动, 把它们转换为思想。
eardrums:n.鼓膜,耳膜;中耳; transforms:v.[数][电]变换; n.语法转化规则;
I hope. 我希望啦。
(Laughter) （笑声）
I hope that's happening. 希望现在就在发生。
So because of this ability, we humans are able to transmit our ideas across vast reaches of space and time. 因为这种能力,我们人类 才得以把我们的想法 跨越空间和时间,传给别人。
We're able to transmit knowledge across minds. 我们能把知识传送到不同人的大脑。
I can put a bizarre new idea in your mind right now. 我现在就能在各位的脑中 放入一个怪异的想法。
bizarre:adj.奇异的(指态度,容貌,款式等);
I could say, "Imagine a jellyfish waltzing in a library while thinking about quantum mechanics ." 我可以说, 「想像一只水母在图书馆跳华尔滋, 同时想着量子力学。」
jellyfish:n.水母;[无脊椎]海蜇;软弱无能的人; waltzing:vi.跳华尔兹舞; vt.硬拖; adj.圆舞曲的; n.华尔兹舞; quantum mechanics:n.量子力学;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Now, if everything has gone relatively well in your life so far, you probably haven't had that thought before. 如果你的人生中目前为止 一切算是相对顺利, 你以前可能没有过那种想法。
relatively:adv.相当程度上;相当地;相对地;
(Laughter) （笑声）
But now I've just made you think it, through language. 但现在我能让你们去想它, 透过语言办到。
Now of course, there isn't just one language in the world, there are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world. 当然,世界上的语言不只一种, 全世界人类说的语言就有约七千种。
And all the languages differ from one another in all kinds of ways. 每种语言在各面向上都不同。
Some languages have different sounds, they have different vocabularies, and they also have different structures -- very importantly, different structures. 有些语言有不同的声音, 它们有不同的字彙, 它们还有不同的结构── 非常重要,不同的结构。
structures:n.结构; v.建造(structure的第三人称单数形式);
That begs the question: 于是,我们会问:
Does the language we speak shape the way we think? 我们所说的语言 是否会形塑我们的思考？
Now, this is an ancient question. 这个问题历史悠久。
People have been speculating about this question forever. 长年来大家都一直在思索这个问题。
speculating:v.推测;猜测;推断;投机;(speculate的现在分词)
Charlemagne, Holy Roman emperor, said, "To have a second language is to have a second soul" -- strong statement that language crafts reality. 神圣罗马大帝查理曼说过: 「有第二种语言, 就像是有第二个灵魂」── 很有力的陈述, 说明了语言制造出现实。
Roman:n.罗马人;古罗马语;adj.罗马的;罗马人的; second language:n.第二语言; statement:n.声明;陈述,叙述;报表,清单; crafts:n.工艺品,手艺(craft的复数形式);
But on the other hand , Shakespeare has Juliet say, "What's in a name? 但,另一方面,莎士比亚 笔下的茱丽叶说: 「名字有什么用？
on the other hand:另一方面; Shakespeare:n.莎士比亚(英国剧作家);
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." 玫瑰不叫玫瑰,依然芳香如故。」
Well, that suggests that maybe language doesn't craft reality. 那意味着,语言不见得会制造现实。
These arguments have gone back and forth for thousands of years. 数千年来,这些论点一直你来我往。
back and forth:前后移动的,来回的,反复的;
But until recently , there hasn't been any data to help us decide either way. 但,直到最近之前,都没有任何资料 来协助我们决定是哪一种。
recently:adv.最近;新近;
Recently, in my lab and other labs around the world, we've started doing research, and now we have actual scientific data to weigh in on this question. 最近,在我的实验室 和世界上其他的实验室, 我们开始做研究, 现在,我们有了真正的科学资料, 可以来探究这个问题。
labs:n.实验室;实验大楼;(lab的复数) scientific:adj.科学的,系统的;
So let me tell you about some of my favorite examples. 让我分享一些我最喜欢的例子。
I'll start with an example from an Aboriginal community in Australia that I had the chance to work with. 我的第一个例子 来自澳洲的一个原住民部落, 我有机会和他们合作。
Aboriginal:adj.土著的;原始的;n.土著居民;土生生物; community:n.社区;[生态]群落;共同体;团体;
These are the Kuuk Thaayorre people. 他们是庫克萨优里族,
They live in Pormpuraaw at the very west edge of Cape York. 他们住在波姆浦洛, 那是约克角半岛的西部边缘。
Cape:n.披肩;披风;短斗篷;地角;
What's cool about Kuuk Thaayorre is, in Kuuk Thaayorre, they don't use words like "left" and "right," 庫克萨优里族很酷的一点是, 在庫克萨优里语中,他们 不用「左」、「右」这些字,
and instead, everything is in cardinal directions: north, south, east and west. 一切都是用基本的方向: 北、南、东、西。
cardinal:n.红衣主教; adj.主要的,基本的;
And when I say everything, I really mean everything. 我说「一切」,真的就是指一切。
You would say something like, "Oh, there's an ant on your southwest leg." 你可能会说这样的话: 「喔,在你的脚的 西南方有一只蚂蚁。」
Or, "Move your cup to the north-northeast a little bit." 或「把你的杯子向北北东移一点。」
north-northeast:adv.向北东北;吹北东北风(的);
In fact, the way that you say "hello" in Kuuk Thaayorre is you say, "Which way are you going?" 事实上,在庫克萨优里语中, 说「哈啰」的方式是: 「你要去哪个方向？」
And the answer should be, "North-northeast in the far distance. 而回应应该是: 「北北东的远方。
How about you?" 你呢？」
So imagine as you're walking around your day, every person you greet, you have to report your heading direction. 所以,想像一下 你当天走到任何地方, 你问候每一个人时, 都得要报告你朝什么方向前进。
(Laughter) （笑声）
But that would actually get you oriented pretty fast, right? 但那会让你很快速确定方位,对吧？
oriented:adj.导向的; v.调整;
Because you literally couldn't get past "hello," 因为如果不知道 你在朝什么方向前进,
literally:adv.按字面:字面上:确实地:
if you didn't know which way you were going. 你就说不出「哈啰」。
In fact, people who speak languages like this stay oriented really well. 事实上,说这类语言的人, 都一直很有方向感。
They stay oriented better than we used to think humans could. 他们的方向感比我们认为 人类能办到的程度更好。
We used to think that humans were worse than other creatures because of some biological excuse: "Oh, we don't have magnets in our beaks or in our scales ." 我们以前认为人类 这方面比其他生物更糟, 是因为某种生物藉口: 「我们的鸟喙或鳞片里面 没有内建的磁铁。」
creatures:n.生物;动物;(具有某种特征的)人(creature的复数) biological:adj.生物学的;生物的;与生命过程有关的;加酶的;n.[药]生物制品; magnets:n.磁铁;磁石;吸铁石;有吸引力的人(或地方、事物);(magnet的复数) beaks:n.[鸟]鸟嘴(beak的复数形式); scales:n.规模范围; v.攀登; (scale的第三人称单数和复数)
No; if your language and your culture trains you to do it, actually, you can do it. 不对;如果你的语言 和你的文化训练你去做, 你其实能办到。
There are humans around the world who stay oriented really well. 世界上有些人类的方向感非常好。
And just to get us in agreement about how different this is from the way we do it, 为了让大家能够了解 我们的做法上有多大的差异,
I want you all to close your eyes for a second and point southeast . 我想请大家闭上眼睛一下子, 请指出东南方。
southeast:adj.东南的;来自东南的;n.东南;东南地区;adv.来自东南;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Keep your eyes closed. Point. 眼睛别张开。指出来。
OK, so you can open your eyes. 好,可以张开眼睛了。
I see you guys pointing there, there, there, there, there ... 我看到大家指向那里、 那里、那里、那里…
I don't know which way it is myself -- 我自己也不知道是哪一边──
(Laughter) （笑声）
You have not been a lot of help. 你们实在也没幫上忙。
(Laughter) （笑声）
So let's just say the accuracy in this room was not very high. 姑且就说在这间房间中的 正确率没有很高。
accuracy:n.[数]精确度,准确性;
This is a big difference in cognitive ability across languages, right? 不同语言中的认知能力 差别很大,对吧？
cognitive:adj.认知的,认识的;
Where one group -- very distinguished group like you guys -- doesn't know which way is which, but in another group, 一个族群──非常 卓越的族群,比如各位── 不知道哪边是哪个方向, 但到了另一个族群,
distinguished:adj.尊贵的; v.区分;
I could ask a five-year-old and they would know. 我去问五岁的小孩,他们也会知道。
(Laughter) （笑声）
There are also really big differences in how people think about time. 大家对于时间的思考方式 也有很大的差异。
So here I have pictures of my grandfather at different ages. 这里是我祖父的照片, 他在照片中的年龄都不同。
And if I ask an English speaker to organize time, they might lay it out this way, from left to right. 如果我请说英语的人 依据时间来整理, 他们可能会这样排列, 从左到右。
organize:v.组织;安排;处理;分配;管理;
This has to do with writing direction. 这与书写的方向有关。
If you were a speaker of Hebrew or Arabic, you might do it going in the opposite direction, from right to left. 如果你说希伯来语或阿拉伯语, 你可能会用反方向, 从右到左。
Hebrew:n.希伯来人,犹太人;希伯来语;adj.希伯来语的;希伯来人的;
But how would the Kuuk Thaayorre, this Aboriginal group I just told you about, do it? 但庫克萨优里族, 我刚刚和各位说的 原住民族群,会怎么做？
They don't use words like "left" and "right." 他们没有「左」和「右」这些字。
Let me give you hint . 让我提示各位。
hint:n.提示;暗示;迹象;窍门;v.暗示;透露;示意;
When we sat people facing south, they organized time from left to right. 当我们让他们面向南方时, 他们会把时间从左向右排。
organized:adj.有组织的; v.组织; (organize的过去分词和过去式)
When we sat them facing north, they organized time from right to left. 当我们让他们面向北方时, 他们会把时间从右向左排。
When we sat them facing east, time came towards the body. 当我们让他们面向东方时, 时间的方向朝向他们的身体。
What's the pattern? 模式是什么？
East to west, right? 由东向西,对吧？
So for them, time doesn't actually get locked on the body at all, it gets locked on the landscape . 所以,对他们而言, 时间完全不会被身体限制住, 时间是和地景绑在一起的。
landscape:n.景观;乡村风景画;(文件的)横向打印格式;v.对…做景观美化;美化…的环境;
So for me, if I'm facing this way, then time goes this way, and if I'm facing this way, then time goes this way. 对我来说,当我面向这边, 时间就朝这个方向, 当我面向这边,时间就朝这个方向。
I'm facing this way, time goes this way -- very egocentric of me to have the direction of time chase me around every time I turn my body. 面向这边,时间就朝这个方向── 非常自我中心,每当我转身,
egocentric:adj.[心理]自我中心的;利己主义的;n.利己主义者;
For the Kuuk Thaayorre, time is locked on the landscape. 对庫克萨优里族, 时间和地景绑在一起。
It's a dramatically different way of thinking about time. 这是非常不同的时间思考方式。
dramatically:adv.戏剧地;引人注目地;adv.显著地,剧烈地;
Here's another really smart human trait . 还有个很聪明的人类技俩。
trait:n.特性,特点;品质;少许;
Suppose I ask you how many penguins are there. 如果我问各位,这里有几只企鹅？
Suppose:v.推断:假定:假设:设想: penguins:n.企鹅;(penguin的复数)
Well, I bet I know how you'd solve that problem if you solved it. 我打赌我知道各位是 如何解答这个问题的。
bet:n.打赌;赌注;预计;估计;v.下赌注(于);用…打赌;敢说;八成儿;
You went, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." 你会用:「一、二、三、 四、五、六、七、八。」
You counted them. 你用数的。
You named each one with a number, and the last number you said was the number of penguins. 你给毎一只一个号码, 你说出的最后一个号码, 就是企鹅的数目。
This is a little trick that you're taught to use as kids. 这是个小计俩,你小时候 就有人教你用了。
You learn the number list and you learn how to apply it. 你学到了数字表, 你学到了如何应用它。
apply:v.申请;涂,敷;应用;适用;请求;
A little linguistic trick. 小小的语言计俩。
linguistic:adj.语言的;语言学的;
Well, some languages don't do this, because some languages don't have exact number words. 有些语言并不会这样做, 因为有些语言并没有代表数字的字。
They're languages that don't have a word like "seven" 这些语言并没有像「七」这样的字,
or a word like "eight." 也没有「八」。
In fact, people who speak these languages don't count, and they have trouble keeping track of exact quantities . 事实上,说这些语言的人不会计数, 他们无法记得确实的「量」。
track:n.小道;足迹;车辙;轨道;v.追踪;跟踪; quantities:n.数量;数目;大量;大宗;(quantity的复数)
So, for example, if I ask you to match this number of penguins to the same number of ducks, you would be able to do that by counting. 比如,如果我请各位 把刚才企鹅的数目 对应到同样数目的鸭子, 你可以靠计数的方式做到。
But folks who don't have that linguistic trait can't do that. 但语言没有这项特征的人就没办法。
Languages also differ in how they divide up the color spectrum -- the visual world. 语言也有不同的方式来区别色谱── 视觉世界。
spectrum:n.光谱;频谱;范围;余象; visual:adj.视觉的,视力的;栩栩如生的;
Some languages have lots of words for colors, some have only a couple words, "light" and "dark." 有些语言中有很多颜色的字, 有些语言只有几个字, 「亮」和「暗」。
And languages differ in where they put boundaries between colors. 不同语言也有不同的颜色界线。
boundaries:n.边界;分界线;(boundary的复数)
So, for example, in English, there's a world for blue that covers all of the colors that you can see on the screen, but in Russian, there isn't a single word. 比如,在英文中就有蓝色的世界, 包含萤幕上的所有这些颜色, 但在俄语中,就没有单一个字。
Instead, Russian speakers have to differentiate between light blue, "goluboy," 说俄语的人,得要去区别 浅蓝色「goluboy」,
differentiate:vi.区分,区别;vt.区分,区别;
and dark blue, "siniy." 和深蓝色「siniy」。
So Russians have this lifetime of experience of, in language, distinguishing these two colors. 所以俄国人一生当中都会在语言上 把这两种颜色区别开来。
distinguishing:v.区分;辨别;分清;看清;认出;听出;(distinguish的现在分词)
When we test people's ability to perceptually discriminate these colors, what we find is that Russian speakers are faster across this linguistic boundary . 当我们测试大家在感知上 区别这些颜色的能力时, 我们发现,在各语言中,说俄语的人 会比较快做出区隔。
perceptually:感知; discriminate:vt.歧视;区别;辨别;vi.区别;辨别; boundary:n.边界;范围;分界线;
They're faster to be able to tell the difference between a light and dark blue. 他们比较快就能辨别出浅蓝色 和深蓝色的差异。
And when you look at people's brains as they're looking at colors -- say you have colors shifting slowly from light to dark blue -- the brains of people who use different words for light and dark blue 去观察正在看着颜色的人的大脑── 比如颜色缓慢地从 浅蓝色转换到深蓝色── 用不同的字来说浅蓝色 和深蓝色的人,他们的大脑
shifting:adj.不断移动的;流动的;v.转移;赶快;快速移动;变换;(shift的现在分词)
will give a surprised reaction as the colors shift from light to dark, as if, "Ooh, something has categorically changed," 在颜色从浅蓝色转换到 深蓝色时,会有惊讶的反应, 就像:「喔,改变类别了。」
reaction:n.反应,感应;反动,复古;反作用; categorically:adv.绝对地;直截了当地;
whereas the brains of English speakers, for example, that don't make this categorical distinction , don't give that surprise, because nothing is categorically changing. 而,比如说英文的人,他们的大脑 就不会做类别的区分, 就不会有惊讶, 因为没有类别上的改变。
whereas:conj.然而;鉴于;反之; distinction:n.区别;区分;差别;卓越;
Languages have all kinds of structural quirks . 语言有各种结构上的变化。
structural:adj.结构的;建筑的; quirks:怪癖;急转;借口(quirk的复数);
This is one of my favorites. 这是我的最爱之一。
Lots of languages have grammatical gender; every noun gets assigned a gender , often masculine or feminine . 许多语言在文法上都有性别; 每个名词都有被指派一种性别, 通常是男性或女性。
grammatical:adj.文法的;符合语法规则的; noun:n.名词; assigned:v.分配(某物);分派;指定;委派;(assign的过去分词和过去式) gender:n.性别; masculine:adj.男性的;阳性的;男子气概的;n.男性;阳性,阳性词; feminine:adj.女性的;妇女(似)的;阴性的;娇柔的;
And these genders differ across languages. 在不同语言,这些性别也不同。
genders:n.性别;性;
So, for example, the sun is feminine in German but masculine in Spanish, and the moon, the reverse . 比如,在德文,太阳是女性, 但在西班牙文则是男性, 月亮刚好相反。
reverse:n.反面; v.颠倒; adj.相反的;
Could this actually have any consequence for how people think? 这有没有可能影响人的思考方式？
consequence:n.结果;重要性;推论;
Do German speakers think of the sun as somehow more female-like, and the moon somehow more male-like? 说德文的人是否会用 比较女性的方式来想太阳？ 比较男性的方式来想月亮？
somehow:adv.以某种方法;莫名其妙地;
Actually, it turns out that's the case. 结果发现,的确是如此。
So if you ask German and Spanish speakers to, say, describe a bridge, like the one here -- "bridge" happens to be grammatically feminine in German, grammatically masculine in Spanish -- 比如,如果你请说德文的人 和说西班牙文的人描述一座桥, 就像这里的桥── 「桥」在德文文法中要用女性, 在西班牙文则要用男性──
describe:v.描述;形容;把…称为;画出…图形; grammatically:adv.从语法上讲;
German speakers are more likely to say bridges are "beautiful," " elegant " 说德文的人在形容桥时 比较会用「漂亮的」、「优雅的」,
elegant:adj.高雅的,优雅的;讲究的;简炼的;简洁的;
and stereotypically feminine words. 或其他刻板印象上是形容女性的字。
stereotypically:典型地;带有成见地;
Whereas Spanish speakers will be more likely to say they're "strong" or "long," 而说西班牙文的人比较有可能会说 桥很「坚固」或「长」,
these masculine words. 这些是男性用字。
(Laughter) （笑声）
Languages also differ in how they describe events, right? 在描述事件时,不同语言 也很不一样,对吧？
You take an event like this, an accident. 比如像这样的事件,一个意外,
In English, it's fine to say, "He broke the vase." 在英文,可以说「他打破了花瓶。」
In a language like Spanish, you might be more likely to say, "The vase broke," 在比如西班牙文, 你比较有可能会说「花瓶破了」,
or, "The vase broke itself." 或「花瓶自己破了」。
If it's an accident, you wouldn't say that someone did it. 如果它是个意外, 就不会说是有人做的。
In English, quite weirdly , we can even say things like, "I broke my arm." 在英文,挺奇怪的, 我们甚至会说像这样的话: 「我弄断了我的手臂。」
weirdly:adv.古怪地;
Now, in lots of languages, you couldn't use that construction unless you are a lunatic and you went out looking to break your arm -- 在许多语言中, 你不会用那种句法结构, 除非你是疯子, 然后你跑出去想办法 把你的手臂弄断──
construction:n.建设;建筑物;解释;造句; lunatic:n.疯子;狂人;精神错乱者;adj.疯狂的;荒唐可笑的;
(Laughter) （笑声）且你成功了。
and you succeeded.
If it was an accident, you would use a different construction. 如果是意外,你就会 用不同的句法结构。
Now, this has consequences . 这是会造成不同结果的。
consequences:n.后果,结果;影响(consequence的复数);
So, people who speak different languages will pay attention to different things, depending on what their language usually requires them to do. 说不同语言的人 会把注意力放在不同的地方, 就看他们说的语言需要他们怎么做。
pay attention to:注意
So we show the same accident to English speakers and Spanish speakers, 如果我们让说英文的人 和说西班牙文的人看到同样的意外,
English speakers will remember who did it, because English requires you to say, "He did it; he broke the vase." 说英文的人会记得是谁做的, 因为英文要求你说: 「是他做的;他打破了花瓶。」
Whereas Spanish speakers might be less likely to remember who did it if it's an accident, but they're more likely to remember that it was an accident. 而说西班牙文的人 比较不会记得是谁做的, 如果是意外的话, 但他们比较会记住这是一件意外。
They're more likely to remember the intention . 他们比较会记住意图。
intention:n.意图;目的;意向;愈合;
So, two people watch the same event, witness the same crime, but end up remembering different things about that event. 所以,两个人看同样的事件, 目击同样的犯罪, 最后却会记得该事件中不同的细节。
witness:n.证人;目击者;证据;v.目击;证明;为…作证;
This has implications , of course, for eyewitness testimony . 当然,在目击证人证词方面, 这是值得深思的。
implications:n.蕴涵式;暗指,暗示;含蓄,含意;卷入(implication的复数); eyewitness:n.目击者;见证人; testimony:n.[法]证词,证言;证据;
It also has implications for blame and punishment . 在责怪和惩罚时, 也应该想想这一点。
punishment:n.惩罚;严厉对待,虐待;
So if you take English speakers and I just show you someone breaking a vase, and I say, "He broke the vase," as opposed to "The vase broke," 如果是说英文的情况, 我刚让你看到有人打破了花瓶, 我说:「他打破了花瓶」 而不是说:「花瓶破了」,
opposed:adj.强烈反对; v.反对(计划、政策等); (oppose的过去分词和过去式)
even though you can witness it yourself, you can watch the video, you can watch the crime against the vase, you will punish someone more, you will blame someone more if I just said, "He broke it," 即使你自己可以亲眼看见, 你可以看监视影片, 你可以看这件关于花瓶的罪行, 你会惩罚某个人多一些, 你会责怪他多一些, 若我说「他打破了它」,
as opposed to, "It broke." 而不是「它破了」。
The language guides our reasoning about events. 语言会引导我们对于事件的推理。
Now, I've given you a few examples of how language can profoundly shape the way we think, and it does so in a variety of ways. 我已经举了几个例子, 说明语言如何能 深深形塑我们的思考方式, 而影响的方法有很多种。
profoundly:adv.深刻地;深深地;极度地; variety:n.多样;种类;杂耍;变化,多样化;
So language can have big effects, like we saw with space and time, where people can lay out space and time in completely different coordinate frames from each other. 所以,语言的影响可能很大, 就像刚才空间和时间的例子, 大家在排列空间和时间时, 用完全不同的座标架构。
coordinate:n.坐标; v.协调; adj.同等的; frames:n.[计][电子][通信]帧,[电影]画面;[建][计]框架;眼镜架(frame的复数);
Language can also have really deep effects -- that's what we saw with the case of number. 语言的影响也可能很深── 可参考计数的例子。
Having count words in your language, having number words, opens up the whole world of mathematics . 在你的语言中有计数的字词, 有数字的字词, 就能打开整个数学的世界。
mathematics:n.数学;数学运算;
Of course, if you don't count, you can't do algebra , you can't do any of the things that would be required to build a room like this or make this broadcast , right? 当然,如果你不会计数, 你不会做代数, 你就完全做不到像是 建造这间房间这一类的事情, 也无法做这场转播,对吧？
algebra:n.代数学; broadcast:v.广播; n.广播节目; adj.[无线]播音的;
This little trick of number words gives you a stepping stone into a whole cognitive realm . 数字字词的小小计俩, 能给你一个垫脚石, 进入认知的国度。
stepping stone:n.踏脚石;方法,手段; realm:n.领域,范围;王国;
Language can also have really early effects, what we saw in the case of color. 语言的影响也可能很早, 也就是颜色的例子。
These are really simple, basic, perceptual decisions. 这些是很简单、基本、感知的决策。
We make thousands of them all the time, and yet, language is getting in there and fussing even with these tiny little perceptual decisions that we make. 我们随时都在做几千个这样的决策, 而语言也有介入其中, 去扰乱我们这些非常小的感知决策。
fussing:v.瞎忙一气;过分关心;(为小事)烦恼;(fuss的现在分词)
Language can have really broad effects. 语言的影响也可能很广。
So the case of grammatical gender may be a little silly, but at the same time , grammatical gender applies to all nouns . 文法性别的例子虽然可能有点可笑, 但同时,文法性别 是用在所有名词上的。
at the same time:同时;另一方面;与此同时; applies:v.适用;申请;运用;专心;(apply的第三人称单数) nouns:名词(noun的复数)
That means language can shape how you're thinking about anything that can be named by a noun. 那意味着,语言能形塑你如何思考 任何能用名词来命名的事物。
That's a lot of stuff . 那数量很惊人。
stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本:
And finally , I gave you an example of how language can shape things that have personal weight to us -- ideas like blame and punishment or eyewitness memory. 我最后举的例子, 说明语言能形塑对我们 有个人意义的事物── 像是责怪及惩罚这类想法, 或是目击证词。
finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地; personal:adj.个人的;身体的;亲自的;n.人事消息栏;人称代名词;
These are important things in our daily lives. 这些都是日常生活中的重要事物。
Now, the beauty of linguistic diversity is that it reveals to us just how ingenious and how flexible the human mind is. 语言多样性之美在于它能向我们揭示 人类心智是多么巧妙和有弹性。
diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化: reveals:v.揭示;显示;透露;展示;(reveal的第三人称单数) ingenious:adj.有独创性的;机灵的,精制的;心灵手巧的; flexible:adj.灵活的;柔韧的;易弯曲的;
Human minds have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000 -- there are 7,000 languages spoken around the world. 人类心智发明出了不只一个 认知宇宙,而是七千个── 全世界的语言有七千种。
And we can create many more -- languages, of course, are living things, things that we can hone and change to suit our needs. 我们还能创造更多── 当然,语言是活的, 我们可以去磨它、改变它, 来符合我们的需求。
hone:v.磨练,训练;磨(刀);n.磨刀石;
The tragic thing is that we're losing so much of this linguistic diversity all the time. 可惜之处在于,我们在不断 失去语言的多样性,
tragic:adj.悲剧的;悲痛的,不幸的;
We're losing about one language a week, and by some estimates , half of the world's languages will be gone in the next hundred years. 我们大约一周会失去一种语言, 依据一些估计, 在接下来的一百年, 世界上的语言有一半会不见。
estimates:n.估计;估价;估计的成本;v.估价;估算(estimate的第三人称单数和复数)
And the even worse news is that right now, almost everything we know about the human mind and human brain is based on studies of usually American English-speaking undergraduates at universities. 更糟的消息是,现在, 几乎所有我们对于人类心智 和人类大脑的知识 都是来自于针对说英文的美国大学生 所做的研究。
undergraduates:n.本科生,大学生;
That excludes almost all humans. Right? 那就几乎排除了所有人类,对吧？
excludes:v.不包括; (exclude的第三人称单数)
So what we know about the human mind is actually incredibly narrow and biased , and our science has to do better. 所以我们对于人类心智的了解, 其实是非常狭隘且有偏见的, 我们的科学得要做得更好才行。
incredibly:adv.难以置信地;非常地; narrow:adj.狭窄的; v.使窄小; n.峡谷; (场所,物品等的)狭窄部分; biased:adj.有偏见的;结果偏倚的,有偏的;
I want to leave you with this final thought. 最后,我想留下一点让各位思考。
I've told you about how speakers of different languages think differently, but of course, that's not about how people elsewhere think. 我已经告诉各位,说不同语言的人 如何有不同的思考方式, 但重点并不是其他地方的人怎么想,
elsewhere:adv.在别处;到别处;
It's about how you think. 重点是你怎么想。
It's how the language that you speak shapes the way that you think. 重点是你说的语言 如何形塑出你的思考。
And that gives you the opportunity to ask, "Why do I think the way that I do?" 那就给了你一个机会,可以问: 「我为何会用我这种方式思考？」
'"How could I think differently?" 「我要如何用不同方式思考？」
And also, "What thoughts do I wish to create?" 还有, 「我想要创造出怎样的想法？」
Thank you very much. 非常谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）