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PatriciaKuhl_2010X-_婴儿的天才语言能力_
I want you to take a look at this baby. 我想让大家看看这个婴儿。
take a look at:看一看;检查;
What you're drawn to are her eyes and the skin you love to touch. 吸引大家关注的是她的眼睛 以及让人忍不住摸摸的皮肤。
But today I'm going to talk to you about something you can't see -- what's going on up in that little brain of hers. 但今天我要讲些你看不到的东西, 在她的小脑袋瓜里的东西。
The modern tools of neuroscience are demonstrating to us that what's going on up there is nothing short of rocket science . 当代神经科学的研究工具 展示出我们对婴儿脑袋里的东西 知之甚少。
neuroscience:n.神经系统科学(指神经病学,神经化学等); demonstrating:n.演示;v.证明;示威;显示;(demonstrate的现在分词) rocket science:复杂的事;航天器学;
And what we're learning is going to shed some light on what the romantic writers and poets described as the " celestial openness " 我们要知道的 是让浪漫作家和诗人 产生灵感 并称之为孩子心智的
shed some light on:弄清楚; romantic:adj.浪漫的;爱情的;n.浪漫的人;耽于幻想的人; described:v.描述;形容;把…称为;做…运动;(describe的过去分词和过去式) celestial:adj.天上的,天空的;n.神仙,天堂里的居民; openness:n.公开;宽阔;率真;
of the child's mind. “非凡的通慧”
What we see here is a mother in India, and she's speaking Koro, which is a newly discovered language. 大家这儿看到的 是印度的一位母亲, 她讲克罗语, 这是一种新发现的语言。
And she's talking to her baby. 她对她的孩子说这种语言。
What this mother -- and the 800 people who speak Koro in the world -- understands [is] that, to preserve this language, they need to speak it to the babies. 这位母亲 和世界上说克罗语的800人 明白要保留这种语言, 他们必须对婴儿说这种语言。
preserve:vt.保存;保护;维持;腌;禁猎;n.保护区;禁猎地;加工成的食品;
And therein lies a critical puzzle . 在这里有个关键的问题。
therein:adv.在其中;在那里; critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的; puzzle:n.谜;疑问;智力游戏;不解之谜;v.迷惑;使困惑;
Why is it that you can't preserve a language by speaking to you and I, to the adults? 为什么要是对你和我,成年人说一种新语言 却不能保留它？
Well, it's got to do with your brain. 这是和你的大脑有关。
What we see here is that language has a critical period for learning. 这儿我们看到 有个学习语言的关键期。
The way to read this slide is to look at your age on the horizontal axis . 读懂这幅图的方法是看你在横轴上的年龄。
horizontal:n.水平线;水平面;横线;水平位置;adj.水平的;与地面平行的;横的; axis:n.轴;轴线;轴心国;
(Laughter) （笑声）
And you'll see on the vertical your skill at acquiring a second language . 你再对应看纵轴上 你悉得第二外语的能力。
vertical:n.垂直线;垂直位置;adj.竖的;垂直的;直立的;纵向的; acquiring:n.捕获,探测;习得;瞄准;v.获得;(acquire的现在分词); second language:n.第二语言;
Babies and children are geniuses until they turn seven, and then there's a systematic decline . 婴儿和孩子是语言天才 直到7岁 然后语言系统会呈下降趋势。
geniuses:n.天才;天资;才能,本领;(genius的复数) systematic:adj.系统的;体系的;有系统的;[图情]分类的;一贯的,惯常的; decline:v.下降;衰退;减少;谢绝;n.下降;
After puberty , we fall off the map . 青春期后,如图我们语言能力衰退。
puberty:n.青春期;开花期; off the map:不重要的;不存在的;不易到达的;
No scientists dispute this curve , but laboratories all over the world are trying to figure out why it works this way. 科学家们确信这曲线图的情况, 但是全世界的实验室 都试图查明这到底是怎么回事.
dispute:n.纠纷;争端;争论;辩论;v.争论;争执;辩论;争夺; curve:n.曲线;弯曲;曲面;弧线;v.(使)沿曲线移动;呈曲线形; laboratories:n.实验室;(laboratory的复数)
Work in my lab is focused on the first critical period in development -- and that is the period in which babies try to master which sounds are used in their language. 在我实验室的工作主要是 研究第一个关键期 这个时期是关于 婴儿试着掌握他们语言中的声音。
We think, by studying how the sounds are learned, we'll have a model for the rest of language, and perhaps for critical periods that may exist in childhood for social, emotional and cognitive development. 我们认为通过研究这些被婴儿学会的声音, 我们会给学习其他语言一个模式, 或许关键期也出现在孩童期 也为了研究社会,情感 和认知发展。
childhood:n.童年;幼年;孩童时期 emotional:adj.情绪的;易激动的;感动人的; cognitive:adj.认知的,认识的;
So we've been studying the babies using a technique that we're using all over the world and the sounds of all languages. 我们一直研究婴儿 使用的技巧,也是全世界使用的语言技巧 和所有语言的声音技巧。
technique:n.技巧,技术;手法;
The baby sits on a parent's lap, and we train them to turn their heads when a sound changes -- like from "ah" to "ee." 婴儿坐在父母的膝上, 我们训练他们,当听到一个声音 从“ah”到 “ee” 他们就转头。
If they do so at the appropriate time, the black box lights up and a panda bear pounds a drum . 如果他们一听到就转头, 黑盒子就会亮 会出现一只敲鼓的熊猫。
appropriate:adj.适当的;恰当的;v.占用,拨出; black box:黑箱;(装在飞机上记录飞行情况等的)密封仪器; drum:n.鼓; v.打鼓;
A six-monther adores the task. 六个月大的婴儿喜欢这个测试。
What have we learned? 我们从中了解到什么呢？
Well, babies all over the world are what I like to describe as "citizens of the world." 全世界的婴儿 就如我所述的 是世界公民;
They can discriminate all the sounds of all languages, no matter what country we're testing and what language we're using, and that's remarkable because you and I can't do that. 他们能区分所有语言的所有声音 不管测试在哪一国,用哪种语言。 令人惊讶的是你我却做不到这点。
discriminate:vt.歧视;区别;辨别;vi.区别;辨别; no matter what:不管什么…; remarkable:adj.卓越的;非凡的;值得注意的;
We're culture-bound listeners . 我们是受制于文化局限的听众。
culture-bound:局限性; listeners:n.听众;监听器(listener的复数);
We can discriminate the sounds of our own language, but not those of foreign languages. 我们只能区分我们自己语言的声音, 但分不清外语的那些声音。
So the question arises : when do those citizens of the world turn into the language-bound listeners that we are? 所以问题随之产生, 这些小小世界公民在什么时候 变成受制于文化局限的听众？
arises:v.出现;发生;站立;
And the answer: before their first birthdays. 答案是:一岁之前
What you see here is performance on that head-turn task for babies tested in Tokyo and the United States, here in Seattle , as they listened to "ra" and "la" -- sounds important to English, but not to Japanese. 这里看到的是扭转头测试效果 用来测试日本东京 和美国西雅图的婴儿, 让他们听ra和la的发音 这两个发音在英文里很重要,在日语里却没有
performance:n.性能;表现;业绩;表演; United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式) Seattle:n.西雅图(美国一港市);
So at six to eight months the babies are totally equivalent . 对于6到8个月的婴儿,他们的测试结果完全相似
equivalent:adj.等价的,相等的;同意义的;n.等价物,相等物;
Two months later something incredible occurs . 2个月之后便产生明显变化
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; occurs:v.重现(occur的第三人称单数);
The babies in the United States are getting a lot better, babies in Japan are getting a lot worse, but both of those groups of babies are preparing for exactly the language that they are going to learn. 在美国的婴儿掌握这些发音比较好, 在日本的婴儿却差很多 但是这两组的婴儿 均蓄势待发地要学习语言。
So the question is: what's happening during this critical two-month period? 问题在于,在这个2个月的关键期 发生了什么？
This is the critical period for sound development, but what's going on up there? 在声音开发的这关键期 到底发生什么了？
So there are two things going on. 主要是两件事。
The first is that the babies are listening intently to us, and they're taking statistics as they listen to us talk -- they're taking statistics. 第一婴儿不断地专心听我们说话, 并且做统计 他们统计这些声音。
intently:adv.专心地;一心一意地;心无旁骛地; statistics:n.统计数字;统计资料;统计学;(statistic的复数)
So listen to two mothers speaking motherese -- the universal language we use when we talk to kids -- first in English and then in Japanese. 听听2位母亲说的亲情用语 这是我们对孩子说的通用语言妈妈语 首先是英语,然后是日语。
universal:adj.普遍的;全体的;全世界的;共同的;
(Video) English Mother: Ah, I love your big blue eyes -- so pretty and nice. （视频）说英语的妈妈:啊,我多爱你大大的蓝眼睛 这么漂亮,这么好看。
Japanese Mother: [Japanese] 说日语的妈妈:[日语]
Patricia Kuhl: During the production of speech, when babies listen, what they're doing is taking statistics on the language that they hear. 帕特里夏·库尔:在语言生成的期间, 当婴儿聆听时, 他们同时也在统计 他们听到的语言。
And those distributions grow. 区分这些声音的能力在变强。
distributions:n.分派;分派;分销(distribution的复数形式);
And what we've learned is that babies are sensitive to the statistics, and the statistics of Japanese and English are very, very different. 我们了解到的 是婴儿对统计很敏感, 日语和英语的声音统计是非常,非常不同的。
sensitive:adj.敏感的;感觉的;易受影响的;n.敏感的人;有灵异能力的人;
English has a lot of Rs and Ls. 英语有很多R和L音
The distribution shows. 如分布图所示
And the distribution of Japanese is totally different, where we see a group of intermediate sounds, which is known as the Japanese "R." 日语的分布图则是完全不同的 我们在这儿看到一组中间音, 它们是日语的R音。
intermediate:adj.中间的; v.起调解作用; n.中级学生;
So babies absorb the statistics of the language and it changes their brains; it changes them from the citizens of the world to the culture-bound listeners that we are. 婴儿吸收 语言的统计数据 这改变了他们的大脑; 这就是把他们从世界公民 变成像我们一样受文化局限的听众。
absorb:v.吸收;使并入;吞并;同化;理解;吸收;耗费;承受;
But we as adults are no longer absorbing those statistics. 但我们成年人 不再吸收这些统计。
absorbing:adj.引人入胜的;精彩的;v.吸收;吞并;同化;理解;(absorb的现在分词)
We're governed by the representations in memory that were formed early in development. 我们受我们早期形成的 记忆性语言的影响。
representations:代表;表现(representation的复数);
So what we're seeing here is changing our models of what the critical period is about. 所以我们在这儿看到的 关键期是如何改变我们的语言模式。
We're arguing from a mathematical standpoint that the learning of language material may slow down when our distributions stabilize . 我们从数学角度争论 学习语言材料的能力会放慢下来 当我们语言分布的能力趋于稳定时。
mathematical:adj.数学的,数学上的;精确的; standpoint:n.立场;观点; stabilize:vt.使稳固,使安定;vi.稳定,安定;
It's raising lots of questions about bilingual people. 这也引出很多关于双语者的问题。
bilingual:adj.双语的;n.通两种语言的人;
Bilinguals must keep two sets of statistics in mind at once and flip between them, one after the other , depending on who they're speaking to. 双语者在脑中同时必须记住2组统计 并能任意切换 决定于他们与谁交流
Bilinguals:能说两种语言的人(bilingual的复数); flip:n.浏览;空翻;轻抛;捻掷;v.迅速翻动;按(开关);按(按钮);开(或关)(机器等); one after the other:相继地,一个接一个地;
So we asked ourselves, can the babies take statistics on a brand new language? 那么我们自问, 婴儿能不能统计一种全新的语言？
brand new:adj.崭新的;最近获得的;
And we tested this by exposing American babies who'd never heard a second language to Mandarin for the first time during the critical period. 我们测试了这个,通过给美国婴儿 听他们从没听过的第二种语言 这是在关键期时他们第一次听到普通话。
exposing:v.暴露;显露;揭露;揭穿;使面临;(expose的现在分词) Mandarin:n.(中国)普通话;国语;官话;满清官吏;柑橘;adj.紧身马褂的;
We knew that, when monolinguals were tested in Taipei and Seattle on the Mandarin sounds, they showed the same pattern. 我们得知,当我们让台北和西雅图的单语者 接触普通话声音, 他们显示同样的模式。
Six to eight months, they're totally equivalent. 在6到8个月大时他们辨音能力几乎相同
Two months later, something incredible happens. 2个月之后,一些不可思议的事情发生了。
But the Taiwanese babies are getting better, not the American babies. 但这次台湾婴儿表现好,而不是美国的婴儿。
Taiwanese:adj.台湾的;台湾人的;n.台湾人;
What we did was expose American babies during this period to Mandarin. 我们所做的是在这关键期让美国的婴儿 多接触普通话。
expose:v.揭露,揭发;使曝光;显示;
It was like having Mandarin relatives come and visit for a month and move into your house and talk to the babies for 12 sessions . 这就好像说普通话的亲戚来拜访了一个月 住到你家 和婴儿上了12节普通话课。
relatives:n.亲戚;亲属;同类事物;(relative的复数) sessions:n.会议;会期(session的复数);
Here's what it looked like in the laboratory . 在实验室它看起来就像这样。
laboratory:n.实验室,研究室;
(Video) Mandarin Speaker: [Mandarin] （视频）普通话说者:[普通话]
PK: So what have we done to their little brains? 所以我们对他们的小脑袋瓜都做了什么？
(Laughter) （笑声）
We had to run a control group to make sure that just coming into the laboratory didn't improve your Mandarin skills. 我们还得有一个对照组 确保来到实验室 并不能提高普通话的水平。
improve:v.改进;改善;
So a group of babies came in and listened to English. 所以这组婴儿来这儿只听英语。
And we can see from the graph that exposure to English didn't improve their Mandarin. 我们从这图表看出 在英语条件下的婴儿没有提高他们的汉语。
exposure:n.暴露;显露;揭露;面临;
But look at what happened to the babies exposed to Mandarin for 12 sessions. 但看看上过12次普通话课的婴儿的身上 都发生了什么。
exposed:adj.无遮蔽的; v.暴露; (expose的过去分词和过去式)
They were as good as the babies in Taiwan who'd been listening for 10-and-a-half months. 他们和那些曾听普通话有 10个半月大的台湾婴儿一样棒。
What it demonstrated is that babies take statistics on a new language. 这说明了 婴儿对一种新语言也能做统计。
demonstrated:v.证明;证实;论证;说明;表达;(demonstrate的过去分词和过去式)
Whatever you put in front of them, they'll take statistics on. 不管你在他们面前说了什么,他们就会统计这语言。
But we wondered what role the human being played in this learning exercise. 我们也好奇 在这一学习过程中 人起了什么样的作用。
So we ran another group of babies in which the kids got the same dosage , the same 12 sessions, but over a television set and another group of babies who had just audio exposure and looked at a teddy bear on the screen. 所以我们设置了另一组婴儿 让他们如法炮制地上12节课, 但是在电视机前上课 和另一组婴儿只是通过音频上课 看电视屏幕上的玩具熊。
dosage:n.剂量,用量; audio:adj.声音的;录音的; teddy bear:泰迪熊
What did we do to their brains? 我们又对他们的脑袋瓜做什么了？
What you see here is the audio result -- no learning whatsoever -- and the video result -- no learning whatsoever. 我们这儿看到的是音频结果 没有任何学习效果 视频结果 也是没有任何学习效果。
whatsoever:pron.无论什么;
It takes a human being for babies to take their statistics. 只有人才能 帮助婴儿统计他们的声音数据。
The social brain is controlling when the babies are taking their statistics. 当婴儿在统计时 社会大脑在控制着。
We want to get inside the brain and see this thing happening as babies are in front of televisions, as opposed to in front of human beings. 我们想了解大脑内部 观察各种变化 探究电视前的婴儿 和与人在一起的婴儿有何不同
opposed:adj.强烈反对; v.反对(计划、政策等); (oppose的过去分词和过去式)
Thankfully , we have a new machine, magnetoencephalography, that allows us to do this. 多亏我们有了这台新机器, 脑磁图显示机, 它可以让我们做到这个。
Thankfully:adv.感谢地;感激地;
It looks like a hair dryer from Mars . 它看上去就像来自火星的吹风机。
dryer:n.烘干机;[助剂]干燥剂; Mars:n.火星
But it's completely safe, completely non-invasive and silent. 但它是完全安全的, 完全对人无害,而且是静音的。
non-invasive:adj.非侵入性的;非入侵的;
We're looking at millimeter accuracy with regard to spatial and millisecond accuracy using 306 SQUIDs -- these are Superconducting 我们的要求是 在空间上精确到毫米 时间上精确到毫秒 使用306 SQUIDs 即是超导
millimeter:n.毫米; accuracy:n.[数]精确度,准确性; spatial:adj.空间的;存在于空间的;受空间条件限制的; millisecond:n.毫秒; SQUIDs:n.鱿鱼(squid的复数); Superconducting:adj.[低温]超导的;v.起超导体作用;(superconduct的现在分词)
QUantum Interference Devices -- to pick up the magnetic fields that change as we do our thinking. 量子干涉磁量仪 用来检测 我们大脑变化的磁场。
QUantum:n.量子论;额;美国昆腾公司(世界领先的硬盘生产商); Interference:n.干扰,冲突;干涉; Devices:n.[机][计]设备;[机]装置;[电子]器件(device的复数); magnetic:adj.像磁铁的;有磁性的;磁的;富有吸引力的;
We're the first in the world to record babies in an MEG machine while they are learning. 我们是世界上第一个 记录婴儿 在脑磁图显示机下的 学习的脑图。
So this is little Emma. 所以这是小爱玛
She's a six-monther. 她有6个月大。
And she's listening to various languages in the earphones that are in her ears. 她正通过耳机 聆听多种语言
earphones:n.[电讯]耳机(earphone的复数);
You can see, she can move around . 大家可以看到,她可以移动。
move around:v.走来走去;绕着…来回转;
We're tracking her head with little pellets in a cap, so she's free to move completely unconstrained . 我们用她帽子上的小球 来记录她的脑图 所以她完全不受束缚地自由地移动。
tracking:n.追踪,跟踪;v.跟踪;(track的现在分词) pellets:n.芯块,小球(pellet的复数);靶丸;v.使形成小球(pellet的第三人称单数); unconstrained:adj.不受约束的;自由的;不受限制;不受拘束的;
It's a technical tour de force . 这是一个技术上的杰作。
technical:adj.工艺的,科技的;技术上的;专门的; tour de force:n.绝技;特技;杰作;
What are we seeing? 我看到什么了？
We're seeing the baby brain. 我们看到婴儿的大脑。
As the baby hears a word in her language the auditory areas light up, and then subsequently areas surrounding it that we think are related to coherence , 当婴儿听到语言中的一个词 大脑中听觉区域亮起来, 然后在它周围的其它区域也亮起来 我们认为这是有关联贯性的
auditory:n.听众;礼堂;adj.听觉的;耳朵的; subsequently:adv.随后,其后;后来; coherence:n.一致;连贯性;凝聚;
getting the brain coordinated with its different areas, and causality , one brain area causing another to activate . 让大脑和其他不同脑区域相协调, 一前一后, 一片脑区域激活另一片脑区域。
coordinated:v.使协调;使相配合;搭配,协调;(coordinate的过去分词和过去式) causality:n.因果关系; activate:vt.刺激;使活动;使活泼;使产生放射性;vi.激活;有活力;
We are embarking on a grand and golden age of knowledge about child's brain development. 我们开启了 一个开发儿童大脑知识的 宏伟的黄金年代。
embarking:v.着手;登机(embark的现在分词); golden age:n.鼎盛时期;
We're going to be able to see a child's brain as they experience an emotion, as they learn to speak and read, as they solve a math problem, as they have an idea. 我们能够观察他们的大脑 当儿童体验到感情, 学着说和读, 解决一个数学问题, 或当他们有个想法的时候
And we're going to be able to invent brain-based interventions for children who have difficulty learning. 我们也能为学习有障碍的孩童 发明基于脑的治疗方法。
interventions:n.[法]干预,干涉;处置(intervention的复数);
Just as the poets and writers described, we're going to be able to see, I think, that wondrous openness, utter and complete openness, of the mind of a child. 正如诗人和作家所描述的, 我想我们能够看到 一种奇妙的融通开放, 一个孩子心智的 完全开放
wondrous:adj.奇妙的;令人惊奇的;非常的; utter:v.说;出声;讲;adj.完全的;十足的;彻底的;
In investigating the child's brain, we're going to uncover deep truths about what it means to be human, and in the process , we may be able to help keep our own minds open to learning for our entire lives. 在对儿童大脑的研究中, 我们会深刻揭示 这对人类来说意味着什么的事实, 在这一过程中, 我们或许能帮助我们自身开放心智 在我们一生中不断地学习。
investigating:v.调查;研究;审查;(investigate的现在分词) uncover:v.揭开盖子;发现;揭露;揭发; process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的;
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （掌声）