Maybe you forget a word, or have mushy grammar, or your pronunciation is all wrong.

也許您是忘了那個字，模糊的語法規則，或者是你根本發錯音了。

There are a lot of things to keep track of!

有很多是需要持續了解的。

It seems like learning one language would be hard enough for babies, who already have trouble eating and not spitting up everywhere.

似乎，對嬰兒而言，學一個語言已經夠難了。畢竟嬰兒還有其它事情要忙， 像是如何吃東西的時候不把食物搞得一團糟！

But research has shown that infants are a lot more capable than you might think, especially when it comes to language.

但是研究表明，嬰兒比您想像的要強大得多，尤其是在語言方面。

In fact, a lot of babies from bilingual families grow up fluent in both languages.

實際上，很多來自雙語家庭的嬰兒兩種語言都很流利。

Many psychologists think language is what's called an innate ability, or something we're born knowing how to do, like grasping objects and sucking on things.

許多心理學家認為語言被稱為天生的能力，就像嬰兒天生知道如何做的事情一樣，像抓物體和吸吮東西。

Classic cute baby stuff!

都是寶寶會做的事情！

So right from the start, babies are primed to learn a language --any language.

所以從一開始， 嬰兒就已經準備好要學習任何一種語言。

Most of us adults have trouble hearing subtle inflections in foreign languages.

我們大多數成年人在學習外語時， 聽不出細微的發音差異。

Like, if you only speak English, it might be hard for you to hear the difference between certain sounds in Thai or Russian.

例如，如果您只會說英語，您可能很難聽得出泰語或俄語中的某些聲音。

But in their first few months of being alive, babies can tell really similar sounds apart.

但是在嬰兒剛出生後的幾個月， 嬰兒可以分辨出這些差異。

To figure this out, lots of researchers have done studies where they pick a sound from a foreign language and play it on loop for babies around four months old.

為了弄清楚這一點，許多研究人員做研究，他們從外語當中挑選聲音並循環播放給四個月大的嬰兒。

When the babies lose interest, the researchers switch to a new, similar sound.

當嬰兒失去興趣時，研究人員切換到類似的新聲音。

Usually, these really young infants notice the difference and perk up somehow, like by looking around or sucking harder on a pacifier.

通常，這些真正的年幼嬰兒會注意到差異並以某種方式表現起來，例如：環顧四周或用力的吮吸奶嘴。

But if scientists repeat this experiment around eight months later, one-year-old babies typically ignore the second sound because they don't notice a difference.

但是如果科學家們重複進行這個實驗至嬰兒八個月後，通常一歲的嬰兒就會忽略第二個聲音，因為他們無法發覺差異。

That's probably because as they get older, their brain cells make connections that help them focus on the sounds of their native language, and they get rid of unused connections related to recognizing other sounds.

那可能是因為隨著年齡的增長， 他們的腦細胞建立了聯繫，有助於讓他們專注於母語的聲音， 排除了未使用的相關連接，進而排除了那些用不到的聲音。

So, by the time an infant is one year old, its brain is already focusing on learning whatever language it's been exposed to most.

所以，當嬰兒一歲的時候， 它的大腦已經準備要專注地學習他/她曝露在最多的語言。

And, surprisingly, babies don't need any special training to be bilingual!

而且，令人驚訝的是，嬰兒不需要任何特殊培訓來擁有雙語能力！

But they need equal exposure to both languages.

但是只需要平等地曝露在兩種語言之中。

Now, you might have heard that bilingual kids develop more slowly than their monolingual counterparts, or are more likely to have speech delays.

或許，您可能聽說過雙語的孩子比單語小孩發展得慢，或者更有可能有語言延遲。

But, according to the research, that's just not true!

但是根據研究，這不是真的！

That even applies to babies who grow up with one spoken and one signed language – like English and American Sign Language.

這甚至適用於嬰兒學習 一種口語和一種手語的狀況上—例如：英文和美國手語。

As they get older, these kids keep their languages separate thanks to their awesome perception skills.

隨著年齡的增長，這些孩子會保持他們的語言能力，分別歸功於他們的真知灼見的技能。

Just by watching faces and listening to verbal patterns, they're able to figure out when they should be speaking which language by around the time they're three years old.

只是看臉部表情，聽口語表達模式，他們三歲的時候就能判斷何時應該說哪種語言。

And when they intentionally switch from speaking one language to another, like talking to their friends in English but to their mom in Cantonese, that's called code-switching.

當他們有意從一種語言切換到另一種語言的時候，例如和朋友用英文交流，但對媽媽說廣東話， 這就是所謂的代碼切換。

Now, even though monolingual and bilingual babies develop at the same rate, one study from the University of Washington suggests that their brains process language a little differently.

現在，即使是單語和雙語 一項研究表明嬰兒的成長速度相同，華盛頓大學的研究指出他們的大腦處理語言的方式有點不一樣。

Psychologists used electroencephalograms, also known as EEGs, to detect electric brain activity in some six-month-old monolingual and bilingual babies as they played recordings of speech sounds in English and Spanish.

心理學家使用腦電圖 也稱為EEG，用於檢測嬰兒的腦部活動，對著大約六個月大的單語寶寶 和雙語寶寶播放英語和西班牙的聲音。

Babies in EEG caps?

嬰兒戴著腦電圖的帽子！

Super adorable.

超級可愛。

They found that monolingual babies caused a spike on the EEG whenever a mismatched sound popped up, like a Spanish sound thrown in among a bunch of English sounds or vice versa, which means they noticed a difference.

他們發現單語嬰兒的反應，每當聲音不匹配時，腦電圖就會出現尖峰彈出來，就像西班牙的聲音 在一系列英語聲音中，反之亦然，這意味著他們注意到了差異。

But bilingual baby brains didn't notice when the languages switched.

但是雙語嬰兒的大腦沒有注意到 語言切換了。

When the same babies were 10 to 12 months old, though, the results changed.

當相同的嬰兒10到12個月時， 結果變了：

The monolingual baby brains only responded when a sound in their native language interrupted a string of foreign sounds.

說單語的嬰兒大腦只會在母語被一串外語聲音中斷時做出反應。

But not the other way around.

但反之不亦然。

And the bilingual babies went from not noticing a difference, to hearing both kinds of mismatches.

雙語嬰兒從無法發現這兩種聲音的差異， 到後來聽得出異常。

According to the researchers, this means that monolingual baby brains seem to solidify connections faster, to get ready to speak their primary language.

根據研究人員的說法，這意味著 單語嬰兒大腦似乎鞏固聯繫更快，準備好要講他的母語了。

But the bilingual baby brains stayed more flexible and didn't develop that wiring until later on.

但是雙語嬰兒的大腦顯得更 靈活，沒有發展這種連結一直持續下去。

Turns out that this flexibility can have some developmental perks, too.

事實證明，這種靈活性可以有一些 發育優勢。

One study published in the journal Science found that bilingual babies may be better at learning rules and switching between them than monolingual babies.

發表在《科學》雜誌上的一項研究 發現雙語嬰兒比單語嬰兒來說，在學習語言規則與切換雙語，可能可以表現得更好。

In the study, one-year-old infants were taught that, when they heard a certain pattern of sounds, they should look at a specific spot on a screen to see a fun toy.

在這項研究中，對一歲嬰兒進行了引導， 當他們聽到某種形式的聲音，他們應該 在屏幕上特定的地方看到有趣的玩具。

When the psychologists changed the pattern and moved the toy picture, the bilingual babies were better at figuring out the new rules and looking for the toy in the right places.

當心理學家改變了模式 並移動了玩具圖片，雙語嬰兒善於找出新規則 並在正確的位置尋找玩具。

Multiple studies suggest that bilingual adults have similar benefits, like better focus and ability to switch between tasks, and even less cognitive decline when they get older.

多項研究表明雙語成人 有類似的好處，例如更好地專注於能夠在任務之間切換，甚至 當他們變老時，認知能力下降得更少。

But this doesn't mean all hope is lost if you're not bilingual – it's just one path a human brain can take.

但是，這並不意味著 如果你不是雙語人士，人生就失去希望—我們只是在訴說 人類的腦袋有很多可能性。

Our brains are really powerful, and even when you were a tiny, adorable baby, you were a lot smarter than you might think!

我們的大腦非常強大，即使 你是一個可愛的小嬰兒，你比你想像的還要聰明！

Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!

感謝您收看本期SciShow！

And special thanks to our patrons on Patreon who are helping us explain the human mind!

特別感謝我們在Patreon的顧客， 幫助我們解釋人類的思想！

If you'd like to support the show, just go to patreon.com/scishow.

如果您想支持我們頻道， 請訪問patreon.com/scishow。

And to be the first to see new episodes like this, be sure to visit youtube.com/scishowpsych and subscribe!

並成為第一個看到新劇集的人 為此，請務必訪問youtube.com/scishowpsych，並訂閱！