Name: 【TED-Ed】語言是如何發展的呢？ (How languages evolve - Alex Gendler)
Uploaded: 2014-06-16T15:13:14.000Z
Duration: 4 min 3 s

In the biblical story of the Tower of Babel,

all of humanity once spoke a single language

情態副詞

until they suddenly split into many groups

一直到他們突然分裂成許多不同的語言個體

We don't really know if such an original language ever existed,

我們無法確知人類是否曾有過共同的語言

but we do know that the thousands of languages existing today

但我們知道現今世上成千的語言

can be traced back to a much smaller number.

然而，為何現今存在著如此多種語言呢？

Groups of people that shared a single language and culture

不過有著同樣語言與文化的群體

going separate ways in search of fresh game and fertile land.

分道揚鑣以找尋新的獵物與肥沃的土地

As they migrated and settled in new places,

當他們遷徙並在定居在新處所時

Centuries of living in different conditions,

turned similar dialects with varied pronunciation and vocabulary

原先僅在發音與字彙上有些許差異的方言

continuing to divide as populations grew and spread out further.

人口更進一步地成長，向外擴展

Like genealogists, modern linguists try to map this process

從系譜來看，現代語言學家試著將語言的發展情況描繪出來

by tracing multiple languages back as far as they can

to their common ancestor, or protolanguage.

語言共同的起源或是語言的原型

A group of all languages related in this way is called a language family,

有著共同起源的語言可稱作一個語言家族

which can contain many branches and sub-families.

它包含許多語言分支與次語言家族

So how do we determine whether languages are related in the first place?

但我們要如何確定哪些語言原先是彼此相關的呢?

Similar sounding words don't tell us much.

我們無法從發音相似的字彙得到答案

They could be false cognates or just directly borrowed terms

由於發音相似的字彙，或許是誤用的同源字，抑或直接借用的術語

Grammar and syntax are a more reliable guide,

such as pronouns, numbers or kinship terms,

上述這些語言用語由其他語言借來的可能性較低

By systematically comparing these features

and looking for regular patterns of sound changes

語言學家較能夠確定語言彼此的關係

在語言演變的過程中追溯其特定演變階段

and even reconstruct earlier languages with no written records.

甚至是重建早期沒有書寫文字的語言

Linguistics can even reveal other important historical clues,

語言學家甚至可以找出與語言相關的重要歷史因素

such as determining the geographic origins and lifestyles of ancient peoples

based on which of their words were native,

去找尋出其地理上的淵源與早期人類的生活方式

There are two main problems linguists face

when constructing these language family trees.

One is that there is no clear way of deciding

where the branches at the bottom should end,

that is, which dialects should be considered separate languages or vice versa.

換句話說，方言是某語言的一支，抑或方言本身是一種語言

Chinese is classified as a single language,

but its dialects vary to the point of being mutually unintelligible,

但是其中的方言卻彼此相異，無法互通

Languages actually spoken by living people

其實語言是由「活」的人類所用

do not exist in neatly divided categories,

Often the difference between languages and dialects

很多時候，語言與方言的差異僅在於

is a matter of changing political and national considerations,

This is why the answer to, "How many languages are there?"

所以，「世界上有幾種語言?」的答案

The other problem is that the farther we move back in time

另一個問題是，我們越往前追溯

the less evidence we have about the languages there.

我們所能得到有關語言的語料越少

The current division of major language families

represents the limit at which relationships can be established

meaning that languages of different families

意思是，在不同語言樹上的語言

are presumed not to be related on any level.

在任何層面上是被視為互不相關的

While many proposals for higher level relationships --

或是較天馬行空的概念: 超級語言樹

especially for native languages with small speaker populations

We may never be able to determine how language came about,

或許我們永遠無法確知語言是如何誕生的

or whether all human languages did in fact have a common ancestor

或確實全人類是否有過共同的語言始祖

scattered through the babel of migration.

只是因為遷徙後，彼此分道揚鑣變得不同

But the next time you hear a foreign language, pay attention.

但下次當你耳聞到外國語言時，注意囉