sometimes they look at you funny...

有時候他們會以很有趣的眼光看著你

like, they have no idea what you do.

就好像是，他們其實根本不知道你是做什麼的

Even worse, you get

甚至更慘的是，你會聽到

"You're a linguist? Oh, I hate grammar..."

「你是語言學家唷？喔！我超討厭文法的......」

or "How many languages do you speak?"

或者是「你會說幾種語言呀？」

People have some strange ideas about linguistics.

人們對於語言學有一些奇怪的想法

So, let's clear up these misconceptions.

所以，讓我們一起來釐清一下這些誤解

[♪] [MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT LINGUISTICS]

[♪] [對語言學的迷思與誤解]

Hi, Welcome to Snap Language. I'm Marc Franco,

哈囉，歡迎來到「語言很容易」，我是馬克法蘭克

the resident linguist here.

是這裡的常駐語言學家

Misconception Number 1: "Linguists love formal grammar."

迷思1：「語言學家熱愛正式文法」

Actually, what's interesting in language is *not*

事實上，語言有趣的部分*不是*

the rules set by some panel of grammarians.

語法專家小組所規範出來的規則

That's prescriptivism.

那是所謂的規範性語法

Instead, most linguists follow the practice of descriptivism.

反而，大部分的語言學家都是遵循描寫性語法的做法

They try to describe and understand the language that people actually use it.

他們試著要描述並了解是人類真正在使用的語言

It doesn't matter if the grammar a group of speakers uses is considered "incorrect."

就算有一群使用者所使用的文法被認為是錯誤的也沒關係

We know there's a standard language, and we follow

我們都知道有所謂的標準語言，然且我們遵守

grammar rules (for example, when we write or give a lecture).

文法規則（像是當我們在寫作或是要演講的時候）

Formal grammar's appropriate in those situations.

正式文法在這些情境中就很適合

But, to understand language, we want to understand how people

但是，要了解語言，我們想要知道人們如何

actually use it in all contexts .

在各種情境中實際運用語言

So, if a linguist corrects your grammar,

所以，如果一個語言學家糾正你的文法

it's not because he or she is a linguist.

並不是因為他/她是語言學家

Maybe, they're just being kind of obnoxious.

或許他們只是很討人厭的人

Misconception Number 2:

迷思2：

"A linguist knows everything about language."

「語言學家知道關於語言的所有事。」

OK. All medical doctors study medicine, but they specialize

OK。所有醫生都讀醫學，但是他們會專精

in a particular field, right?

在一個特定領域，對吧？

If you have stomach problems, you don't go to a cardiologist, do you?

如果你胃出了問題，你不會去找心臟科醫生吧！你會嗎？

The same way, linguists study language

同理可證，語言學家研究語言

but specialize in a particular field.

但是會專精在特定領域

You can specialize in historical linguistics,

你可以專精歷史語言學

language acquisition, phonetics, syntax,

語言習得、語音學、句法學

sociolinguistics... and so on.

社會語言學......等等

Also, language is so central to being human that

同時，語言對於人類是非常重要的，以至於

linguistics overlaps with many other disciplines.

語言學會與許多其他領域涵蓋到

That's why you might study some linguistics in education,

這就是為什麼你或許會研究語言學，在教育、

sociology, literature, computer science, and so on.

社會學、文學、電腦科學等其他學門之中

So, if you ask your favorite linguist a question about language,

所以，如果你問你最愛的語言學家一個語言的問題

don't make them feel bad if they don't know the answer.

如果他們不知道答案，別讓他們尷尬

(I don't feel bad; I just look it up...)

（我不會覺得尷尬；我就會快去查一查......）

Misconception Number 3:

迷思3：

"Linguists are translators or interpreters."

「語言學家就是（筆）譯者或口譯員呀。」

No... A few linguists may go on to become translators

才不是......有一些語言學家可能會成為（筆）譯者

or interpreters, but these are just two possible career paths.

或是口譯員，但是這兩個只是有可能的生涯選項

Speaking of careers:

說到生涯：

Misconception Number 4:

迷思4：

"Linguists are academics who work in universities."

「語言學家都很學術，都在大學裡面工作。」

Yes, we can all imagine the lonesome linguist...

式的，我們大家都可以想的到那些孤單的語言學家......

sitting in a dark office cluttered with old books...

坐在黑暗的辦公室內，堆著舊書在桌上......

that old-book smell in the air.

舊書的味道在空氣中就聞的到

Nah... Many linguists do research in universities but, remember,

才不是......許多語言學家都是在大學進行研究工作，但是，記住了

there are many fields in linguistics.

語言學有許多不同的領域

A linguist can also have a career in industry, for example,

語言學家也可以在一個產業中擁有自己的事業，舉例來說

working on speech recognition or natural language processing for a company.

為一家公司工作致力於語音辨識或是自然語言處理

You could work in education, designing literacy programs

你也可以在教育產業工作，設計讀寫課程

or teaching English as a second language.

或是以英語為第二語言的英語教學工作

Some linguists work in the field,

有一些語言學家是在這個領域工作

sometimes even in the middle of a jungle,

有時候甚至是在叢林之中工作

documenting and analyzing an indigenous language.

紀錄並分析一種原住民語言

You may find a linguist (or two) working in the government,

你或許也可以在政府部分裡面找到一兩個在那工作的語言學家

working as a voice coach in the film industry, or

在電影產業裡面擔任聲音教練的工作，或者是

specializing in speech pathology.

專精言語病理學的語言學家

Misconception Number 5:

迷思5：

"Linguists speak many foreign languages."

「語言學家可以說多國語言。」

(I hate this one.)

（我討厭這個。）

What do you call someone who speaks several languages?

你們都怎麼叫一個可以說多國語言的人呢？

A polyglot... not a linguist.

「polyglot（通曉多種語言者）」，才不是「linguist（語言學家）」

In fact, many linguists work in their own native language,

事實上，許多語言學家研究他們自己的母語

so they don't need to know a foreign language at all.

所以他們完全不需要會另外一種語言

Of course, there are many foreign-language buffs among linguists.　

當然在眾多語言學家之中，也有許多外語愛好者

(We can't help it! We love languages!)

（我們沒辦法控制呀！我們那麼熱愛語言！）

But learning or speaking a foreign language

但是學習或會說一種外語

is not a requirement to be a linguist.

並不是語言學家的必要條件

So, what is linguistics, and what do linguists do?

所以，什麼語言學？語言學家又是在做什麼的？

Linguistics is the study of language.

語言學是對於語言的研究

Linguists study how language works,

語言學家研究語言如何運作

how it evolves over time, how it is perceived,

如何與時俱變，如何被理解

how it affects social behavior...

語言又是如何影響社會行為......

essentially, linguists study some aspect of this amazing thing

基本上，語言學家研究人類精彩的所做所為之中的一些

humans do that we call "language."

面向，就是我們所謂的「語言」

It doesn't even have to be spoken language.

也不一定要是口語

There are linguists who study sign language, for example.

也有語言學家專門研究手語，舉例來說

If it's a language, chances are a linguist will want to study it.

如果這是語言，就會有語言學家想要去研究的可能性

And chances are you found this video

還有你會看到這部影片的可能性

because you like languages yourself, so

因為你自己一定也喜歡語言，所以

if there's something you'd like to add or know

如果有什麼你想要補充或是想要知道的

about this topic, please leave a comment.

關於這個主題，請留下你的回應

And don't forget to like and share this video,

同時也別忘了給我們一個讚，並分享這支影片

and subscribe.

還要訂閱唷！

And thanks for stopping by and watching this video.

謝謝你在網路的影片海中停下來觀賞這部影片

Does my office smell like old books?

我的辦公室有聞起來像舊書嗎？

Nah...

才沒有勒.......

Bye!

拜拜！

[♪] [MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT LINGUISTICS]

[♪] [對語言學的迷思與誤解]

[♫]

[♫]