Or maybe you feel confident when expressing yourself via text message, but you just can't seem to find the words when it's time to make a phone call.

或者，你在表達自己時感到自信通過簡訊，但你似乎找不到合適的詞句 打電話的時候。

But it isn't just about who you're communicating with or whether there's a screen separating you.

但這不僅僅是與誰交流的問題或者你們之間是否隔著一道屏風。

The TIME that passes between each chunk of language makes a huge impact.

流逝的時光每組語言之間的銜接都會產生巨大的影響。

See, I'm Dr. Erica Brozovsky and this is "Other Words."

我是艾麗卡-布羅佐夫斯基博士，這裡是《Other Words》。

Think about speaking or signing face-to-face or talking on the phone.

想想面對面發言或簽名或打電話。

These are forms of synchronous communication, conversations where all the speakers are participating at the same time.

這些是同步通訊的形式，所有發言者同時參與的對話。

Asynchronous communication, on the other hand involves time passing between conversational turns.

另一方面，非同步通訊涉及會話輪次之間的時間傳遞。

That could be a few minutes when you shoot a quick reply back to an email or even weeks between sending and receiving a letter.

當您快速回覆電子郵件時，這可能需要幾分鐘，甚至發送和接收信件之間可能需要幾週的時間。

Synchronous communication tends to use signed or spoken language while most asynchronous conversation happens in written form.

同步交流傾向於使用手語或口語，而大多數非同步對話以書面形式進行。

It would be pretty weird if I said "Hi to you" and then waited around a few hours for you to respond.

如果我說「你好」然後等你幾個小時才回复，那會很奇怪。

This difference allows synchronous communication to carry layers of meaning that asynchronous conversation can't do as easily.

這種差異使得同步通訊能夠承載非同步會話無法輕鬆實現的多層意義。

Intonation or altering the pitch of our voices can convey emotion, add emphasis and even indicate whether something's a question or a declaration.

語調或改變聲音的音調可以傳達情感、強調重點，甚至表明某件事是問題還是聲明。

Sign Language users can express these messages in the speed and size of their signs, but intonation carries a lot of subtle context about what an utterance means.

手語使用者可以透過手語的速度和大小來表達這些訊息，但語調帶有很多關於話語含義的微妙上下文。

It's the difference between "Come see me in my office!" and "Come see me in my office."

這就是「來我辦公室見我吧！」 和「來我的辦公室見我。」之間的差異。

Though incomplete, there are ways we try to replicate tone in asynchronous written communication.

雖然不完整，但我們嘗試透過一些方法在非同步書面交流中複製語氣。

Punctuation helps us denote that we're asking a question, where we might otherwise use up speak.

標點符號可以幫助我們表示我們正在問一個問題，否則我們可能會用掉說話的時間。

We can italicize words for emphasis, type in all caps to indicate shouting or even use mixed case to connote a sing-songy mocking tone.

我們可以用斜體字來強調，輸入全部大寫來表示喊叫，甚至使用混合大小寫來表示歌唱般的嘲諷語氣。

But written language doesn't perfectly replicate all the different nuances when we speak.

但書面語言並不能完美地複製我們說話時所有不同的細微差別。

Think about how hard it is to show sarcasm through writing, and when we don't all share the same ideas about how to visually represent tone, well,

想想透過寫作來表達諷刺是多麼困難，當我們對於如何在視覺上表現語氣的想法不同時，好吧，

that's why some people still send those ominous text messages with a period at the end.

這就是為什麼有些人仍然會發送那些末尾帶有句點的不祥短信。

Synchronous communication also gives us immediate feedback when our conversation partners use "backchanneling".

當我們的對話夥伴使用「反向通道」時，同步通訊還可以提供我們即時回饋。

Nodding, saying "Mm hm," "Okay," or "Really," while other people are speaking gives them real-time confirmation that they're being heard and understood.

當其他人說話時點頭、說“嗯嗯”、“好的”或“真的”，可以即時確認他們正在被傾聽和理解。

And speaking of nods, synchronous conversation is full of gesture.

而說到點頭，同步對話充滿了手勢。

The ways we move our bodies, especially our hands when speaking can add emotional context to the words we're saying and even convey ideas not easily expressed through speech,

我們移動身體的方式，尤其是說話時的手，可以為我們所說的話添加情感背景，甚至傳達難以透過言語表達的想法，

like when you're trying to come up with a word but you can't quite... y'know.

就像當你試圖想出一個詞但你不能完全......你知道的。

Some gestures which linguists call emblems carry meaning without us having to speak at all, like a thumbs up for yes or shaking your head for no.

一些被語言學家稱為「象徵」的手勢在我們根本不需要說話的情況下就具有意義，例如豎起大拇指表示「是」或搖頭表示「不」。

Gestures help a listener more fully understand what a speaker is trying to say.

手勢可以幫助聽眾更全面地理解演講者想要說的內容。

But research shows that gesture also helps the speaker with cognition and fluency.

但研究表明，手勢也有助於演講者的認知和流暢性。

Blind speakers, even those who have never seen gestures produced will regularly gesture when speaking.

盲人演講者，即使是那些從未見過手勢的人，在說話時也會經常做出手勢。

But even without these linguistic tools, asynchronous communication has its own advantages.

但即使沒有這些語言工具，非同步通訊也有其自身的優勢。

A time gap between conversational turns can give us space to look up extra information, double check our spelling and read over our message a time or five to really perfect what we want to say.

會話之間的時間間隔可以給我們空間來查找額外的信息，仔細檢查我們的拼寫，並閱讀我們的信息一到五次，以真正完善我們想說的話。

Asynchronous communication can also do away with filler words, those ums and likes, and you knows, we use when we're trying to complete a thought.

非同步通訊還可以消除填充詞，那些“嗯”和“喜歡”，你知道，當我們試圖完成一個想法時，我們會使用這些填充詞。

Fillers serve a useful linguistic purpose when we're thinking, but not done speaking.

當我們在思考但未說話時，填充詞可以發揮有用的語言作用。

They let others know that it's still our conversational turn, but since no one is likely to interrupt you when you're writing a letter, there's no need to fill the pauses while you find the words you're looking for.

他們讓其他人知道這仍然是我們的對話輪，但由於在您寫信時沒有人可能打斷您，因此在您找到所需單字時無需填補停頓。

With all these differences in synchronous and asynchronous communication, it's no wonder that sending an email to your coworker feel so fraught.

由於同步和非同步通訊存在這些差異，難怪向同事發送電子郵件會讓人感到如此煩惱。

Especially in this always online, work from home era, written communication doesn't feel quite so asynchronous anymore.

尤其是在這個總是在線、在家工作的時代，書面交流不再感覺那麼異步。

Text messages may technically be asynchronous but if you've ever been left on read, you know that we send texts with the hope of getting quick replies and even having exchanges in real-time.

從技術上講，短信可能是異步的，但如果您曾經處於閱讀狀態，您就會知道我們發送短信是希望得到快速回复，甚至進行實時交流。

Same thing with instant messaging apps like Slack, Teams or Discord.

Slack、Teams 或 Discord 等即時通訊應用程式也是如此。

If your boss Slacks you a question instead of sending it in an email,

如果你的老闆給你一個問題而不是透過電子郵件發送給你，

it probably feels like they want an immediate response.

他們可能希望立即得到回應。

Conversely, supposedly synchronous forms like cell phone and Zoom calls tend to have a slight delay that can throw a wrench into the normal conversational flow.

相反，手機和 Zoom 通話等所謂的同步形式往往會有輕微的延遲，這可能會擾亂正常的對話流程。

People are more likely to talk over each other and backchanneling and filler words are less precise to use which means that the ways that, sorry.

人們更有可能互相交談，而反向渠道和填充詞的使用則不太精確，這意味著抱歉。

No, no, you go.

不，不，你走吧。

Oh, okay.

哦，好吧。

I was just gonna say that the ways we communicate start to blend our toolkits for asynchronous and synchronous communication.

我只是想說，我們的通訊方式開始混合非同步和同步通訊的工具包。

Take the length and formality of conversational turns.

以對話的長度和形式為例。

Some people message in long paragraphs with full punctuation while others send off several quick bursts of texts in a row.

有些人會用完整的標點符號發送長段落訊息，而有些人則連續發送幾段快速的文字。

Text reactions like pinning an exclamation point or a haha to another person's message can also function as a form of backchanneling.

諸如在另一個人的消息中添加感嘆號或哈哈之類的文本反應也可以作為反向傳播的一種形式。

According to linguists Lauren Gawne and Gretchen McCullough, we're even using emojis as a form of gesture, both literally like the thumbs up, clapping hands or fingers crossed emoji.

根據語言學家 Lauren Gawne 和 Gretchen McCullough 的說法，我們甚至使用表情符號作為一種手勢形式，就像豎起大拇指、拍手或手指交叉表情符號一樣。

And in more figurative and innovative ways.

並以更具象徵意義和創新的方式。

We don't have an IRL equivalent of the upside down smiley face, or a string of flame emojis but they have broadly understood meanings and text form.

我們沒有現實生活中的顛倒笑臉或一串火焰表情符號，但它們具有廣泛理解的含義和文字形式。

As McCullough writes, "These emojis don't stand in for individual words. Instead, they make writing feel a lot more like talking."

正如麥卡洛所寫，“這些表情符號並不代表單字。相反，它們讓寫作感覺更像是說話。”

We can take some of these semi-synchronous toolsinto other contexts where they can be useful.

我們可以將其中一些半同步工具應用到其他有用的環境。

Think voice notes, which add intonation back to asynchronous text conversations or a Zoom call where instead of taking yourself off mute just to say mmm, you can now react with an emoji.

想想語音筆記，它可以將語調添加到非同步文字對話或 Zoom 通話中，您現在可以用表情符號做出反應，而不是僅僅為了說「嗯」而讓自己保持靜音。

As the tools and timelines we use to communicate change, the ways we use language are evolving right along with them.

隨著我們用來溝通的工具和時間軸的變化，我們使用語言的方式也隨之變化。

And while we've all felt the friction of switching between asynchronous, asynchronous and semi-synchronous tools,

雖然我們都感受到了在非同步、非同步和半同步工具之間切換的摩擦，

we're developing our linguistic toolkits to be able to communicate more clearly all the time.

我們正在開發語言工具包，以便能夠始終更清晰地進行溝通。

See?

看到了嗎？