This is Alex, the best computer voice

下面的話是我說的，但卻不是我的聲音

I've been able to find,

聲音的名字叫 Alex，是我能找到的

which comes as standard equipment on every Macintosh.

最好的電腦發音，

For most of my life,

每台蘋果電腦上都有的基本功能

I never gave a second thought to my ability to speak.

我的前半生，

It was like breathing.

從未擔心過自己說話的能力，

In those days, I was living in a fool's paradise.

說話就像呼吸一樣自然。

After surgeries for cancer

那些日子裡，我無憂無慮。

took away my ability to speak, eat or drink,

抗癌治療後，

I was forced to enter this virtual world

我失去了講話、咀嚼和喝水的能力。

in which a computer does some of my living for me.

我被迫進入了

For several days now,

電腦發音的虛擬世界。

we have enjoyed brilliant and articulate speakers here at TED.

幾天來﹐ 在TED，

I used to be able to talk like that.

我們聆聽那些精彩的、抑揚頓挫的演講。

Maybe I wasn't as smart,

曾經，我也可以那樣演講。

but I was at least as talkative.

就算我沒那麼聰敏，

I want to devote my talk today

但也算侃侃而談。

to the act of speaking itself,

我多麼想用自己的聲音

and how the act of speaking or not speaking

來做今天的演講，

is tied so indelibly to one's identity

然而，講與不能講，

as to force the birth of a new person

是兩種極不同的身份，

when it is taken away.

當你不能發出聲音，

However, I've found that listening to a computer voice

你被強迫變成另一個人。

for any great length of time

而我覺得聆聽電腦發音，

can be monotonous.

不論長短，

So I've decided to recruit some of my TED friends

都很單調。

to read my words aloud for me.

所以我邀請一些我在TED的朋友，

I will start with my wife, Chaz.

來口述我所想說的話。

Chaz Ebert: It was Chaz who stood by my side

先由我太太Chaz開始。

through three attempts to reconstruct my jaw

Chaz Ebert：“在我三次重建下巴，

and restore my ability to speak.

和重建談話能力的期間，

Going into the first surgery

都是 Chaz 陪在我身旁。

for a recurrence of salivary cancer

我的第一次手術，

in 2006,

是唾液腺癌復發時，

I expected to be out of the hospital

當時是2006，

in time to return to my movie review show,

當時電視台在等我出院

'Ebert and Roeper at the Movies.'

回去主持我的影評節目

I had pre-taped enough shows

‘艾伯特和羅特論電影’

to get me through six weeks of surgery

為了應付我為期六週的手術，

and recuperation.

和之後的恢復期，

The doctors took a fibula bone from my leg

已經預先錄了六週的節目。

and some tissue from my shoulder

醫生從我腿上取走了一塊腓骨，

to fashion into a new jaw.

從我肩膀裡取走了一些組織，

My tongue, larynx and vocal cords

來重建我的下巴。

were still healthy and unaffected.

我的舌頭，喉嚨和聲帶，

(Laughter)

不受影響，仍然健康。

(Laughter)

（觀眾笑）

CE: I was optimistic,

（觀眾笑）

and all was right with the world.

當時我很樂觀，

The first surgery was a great success.

覺得一切都好。

I saw myself in the mirror

第一次手術很成功。

and I looked pretty good.

我看看鏡子裡的自己，

Two weeks later, I was ready to return home.

看上去還不錯。

I was using my iPod

兩周後，我準備回家時，

to play the Leonard Cohen song

我用我的iPod，

'I'm Your Man'

播放了Leonard Cohen的一首歌，

for my doctors and nurses.

叫“我是你的男人”，

Suddenly, I had an episode of catastrophic bleeding.

放給我的醫生和護士聽。

My carotid artery had ruptured.

突然我開始大出血

Thank God I was still in my hospital room

我的頸動脈爆裂了。

and my doctors were right there.

謝天謝地，當時我還在醫院房間，

Chaz told me

我的醫生都還在，

that if that song hadn't played for so long,

太太Chaz告訴我，

I might have already been in the car, on the way home,

要不是那首歌播的時間夠久，

and would have died right there and then.

我可能已經在回家的車上，

So thank you, Leonard Cohen,

當場就把命丟了。

for saving my life.

唉，謝謝 Leonard Cohen，

(Applause)

謝謝你救了我的命啊。

There was a second surgery --

（觀眾鼓掌）

which held up for five or six days

再來是第二次手術，

and then it also fell apart.

持續了五六天

And then a third attempt,

但後來還是失敗了。

which also patched me back together pretty well,

第三次手術，

until it failed.

嘗試將我下巴修復，

A doctor from Brazil said

但仍以失敗告終。

he had never seen anyone survive

一個來自巴西的醫生說

a carotid artery rupture.

他從沒見過我這種

And before I left the hospital,

頸動脈爆裂還活下來的人。

after a year of being hospitalized,

我在醫院整整待了一年

I had seven ruptures

才出院

of my carotid artery.

總共經歷過7次

There was no particular day

頸動脈爆裂。

when anyone told me

再也沒有

I would never speak again;

任何人告訴我

it just sort of became obvious.

我能重新講話；

Human speech

因為大家都看得出是怎麼回事。

is an ingenious manipulation of our breath

人類的聲音

within the sound chamber of our mouth

是由精密控制口腔

and respiratory system.

和呼吸系統裡的呼吸

We need to be able to hold and manipulate that breath

而發出的。

in order to form sounds.

講話時，我們需要控制呼吸

Therefore, the system

從而發聲。

must be essentially airtight

因而，發聲系統

in order to capture air.

必須緊密

Because I had lost my jaw,

才能控制空氣。

I could no longer form a seal,

而我失去了下顎，

and therefore my tongue

我的口腔漏氣，

and all of my other vocal equipment

因此我的舌頭

was rendered powerless.

以及其他的發聲器官

Dean Ornish: At first for a long time,

都無力回天。

I wrote messages in notebooks.

Dean Ornish: "有挺長的一段時間，

Then I tried typing words on my laptop

我只能在本子上寫話。

and using its built in voice.

後來我試著在手提電腦上打字

This was faster,

讓電腦裡的發音軟體來念。

and nobody had to try to read my handwriting.

這快多了，

I tried out various computer voices that were available online,

別人也不用再嘗試閱讀我的筆跡了。

and for several months I had a British accent,

我試遍了所有網上的電腦發音軟體，

which Chaz called Sir Lawrence."

有段時間用的是英式發音的，

(Laughter)

Chaz尊稱它Lawrence先生。

"It was the clearest I could find.

（觀眾笑）

Then Apple released the Alex voice,

那是當時最清楚的一款發音了。

which was the best I'd heard.

隨後，蘋果發佈了Alex版發音軟體，

It knew things like the difference

是我認為效果最好的一款

between an exclamation point and a question mark.

Alex知道

When it saw a period, it knew how to make a sentence

驚歎號和問號的句子讀出來不一樣。

sound like it was ending instead of staying up in the air.

看到句號時，它知道怎麼斷句

There are all sorts of html codes you can use

讀出來的聲音就是降調的而不是繼續懸在空中。

to control the timing and inflection of computer voices,

有各種HTML編碼

and I've experimented with them.

用來管理電腦發聲的時間和音調，

For me, they share a fundamental problem: they're too slow.

那些我都試過。

When I find myself in a conversational situation,

但是對我來說，他們的共同問題是太慢了。

I need to type fast and to jump right in.

比如我在跟人交流時，

People don't have the time or the patience

我就得打字飛快反應迅速。

to wait for me to fool around with the codes

但是別人沒時間或者耐心

for every word or phrase.

等著我和那些代碼玩

But what value do we place on the sound of our own voice?

每個字每句話都得那樣

How does that affect who you are as a person?

但是我們自己的聲音價值何在呢？

When people hear Alex speaking my words,

它對我們的形象有什麽影響？

do they experience a disconnect?

每次人們聽到電腦Alex替我說話時，

Does that create a separation or a distance

他們會不會覺得很遙遠生硬？

from one person to the next?

會不會因此讓我

How did I feel not being able to speak?

和人們產生距離或隔閡？

I felt, and I still feel,

不能講話的感受是怎樣的？

a lot of distance from the human mainstream.

我能一直感覺到，

I've become uncomfortable when I'm separated from my laptop.

跟人群、社會脫節。

Even then, I'm aware that most people have little patience

一離開我的手提電腦我就不自在。

for my speaking difficulties.

即使那樣，我也能感覺到人們對我講話障礙

So Chaz suggested finding a company that could make a customized voice

沒啥耐心

using my TV show voice

之後我的太太Chaz建議最好能找一家公司給我量身打造我的聲音

from a period of 30 years.

從30年來

At first I was against it.

我做的節目裡選我的聲音。

I thought it would be creepy

最開始我反對。

to hear my own voice coming from a computer.

我覺得會害怕

There was something comforting about a voice that was not my own.

聽到自己的聲音從電腦裡出來。

But I decided then to just give it a try.

我還是習慣電腦發出的聲音不是我自己的。

So we contacted a company in Scotland

但最後我還是決定試試。

that created personalized computer voices.

於是我們聯絡了一家在蘇格蘭的公司

They'd never made one from previously-recorded materials.

他們的專業是個人化電腦發音。

All of their voices had been made by a speaker

他們從來沒有從錄製資料裡提取過語音。

recording original words in a control booth.

他們所用的一般都是

But they were willing to give it a try.

直接在他們的錄音室錄製的談話。

So I sent them many hours of recordings of my voice,

但他們決定一試。

including several audio commentary tracks

於是我把以前我節目裡的的聲音發給他們，

that I'd made for movies on DVDs.

包括一些電影DVD

And it sounded like me, it really did.

裏面的一些我的評論。

There was a reason for that; it was me.

確實聽著像我自己的聲音。

But it wasn't that simple.

因為那就是我啊。

The tapes from my TV show weren't very useful

那是製作也沒那麼簡單。

because there were too many other kinds of audio involved --

那些來自我電視節目的資料並不好用

movie soundtracks, for example, or Gene Siskel arguing with me --

因為裏面夾雜太多別的聲音--

(Laughter)

比如電影背景音或者Gene Siskel和我爭吵的聲音。

and my words often had a particular emphasis

（觀眾笑）

that didn't fit into a sentence well enough.

因為有時我說一些字句時特別用力

I'll let you hear a sample of that voice.

不太適合重新組合成新句子。

These are a few of the comments I recorded for use

我讓大家先聽聽當時製作的聲音。

when Chaz and I appeared on the Oprah Winfrey program.

來自我和太太

And here's the voice we call Roger Jr.

有次參加Oprah Winfrey的節目。

or Roger 2.0.

下面這段聲音我叫他 羅傑初級版，

Roger 2.0: Oprah, I can't tell you how great it is

或者羅傑2.0版。

to be back on your show.

羅傑2.0版：Oprah，我無法形容

We have been talking for a long time,

回到你節目有多麼棒。

and now here we are again.

我們以前聊過很多，

This is the first version of my computer voice.

現在又開聊啦。

It still needs improvement,

這是我電腦發音的初級版。

but at least it sounds like me

還需改進，

and not like HAL 9000.

但是至少聽著像我了

When I heard it the first time,

而不是什麽HAL 9000。

it sent chills down my spine.

我第一次聽的時候，

When I type anything,

一身雞皮疙瘩。

this voice will speak whatever I type.

我打字輸入，

When I read something, it will read in my voice.

它就按我打的開始念。

I have typed these words in advance,

我讀什麽，它就用我的聲音讀什麽。

as I didn't think it would be thrilling

我把要說的提前打出來，

to sit here watching me typing.

因為我覺得看一個人坐在那裡打字

The voice was created by a company in Scotland

不是什麼令人興奮的畫面。

named CereProc.

這個聲音是蘇格蘭一家公司為我定制，

It makes me feel good

公司叫CereProc.

that many of the words you are hearing were first spoken

我感覺還不錯

while I was commenting on "Casablanca"

而且很多你們現在聽到的發音都是合成的

and "Citizen Kane."

用的是我在《卡撒布蘭卡》

This is the first voice they've created for an individual.

和《大國民》的錄音。

There are several very good voices available for computers,

這也是他們公司第一次為專人製作聲音。

but they all sound like somebody else,

雖然電腦發音好幾個版本都很好聽，

while this voice sounds like me.

但是都是別人的聲音啊。

I plan to use it on television, radio

只有這個是我自己的。

and the Internet.

於是我打算在電視、廣播

People who need a voice should know

還有網上用。

that most computers already come with built-in speaking systems.

大家應該知道，

Many blind people use them

很多電腦都自帶發音系統。

to read pages on the Web to themselves.

很多盲人也用

But I've got to say, in first grade,

有助於他們瀏覽網頁。

they said I talked too much,

但我得說，一年级的时候

and now I still can.

他們抱怨我話多，

(Laughter)

我現在還是這樣。

Roger Ebert: As you can hear, it sounds like me,

（觀眾笑）

but the words jump up and down.

你聽，確實聽著像我，

The flow isn't natural.

但是發音忽高忽低，

The good people in Scotland are still improving my voice,

語調不自然。

and I'm optimistic about it.

蘇格蘭公司的人還在改進我的聲音，

But so far, the Apple Alex voice

我也很樂觀。

is the best one I've heard.

但目前，蘋果的Alex發音

I wrote a blog about it

是我聽到的最好的了。

and actually got a comment from the actor who played Alex.

我發表過一篇部落格

He said he recorded many long hours in various intonations

給Alex語音錄製聲音的人留言給我。

to be used in the voice.

他說他錄製了很久，各種語調都錄

A very large sample is needed.

以備各種情況。

John Hunter: All my life I was a motormouth.

需要大量發音樣本。

Now I have spoken my last words,

John Hunter: "曾經的我多麼健談，

and I don't even remember for sure

而我也不記得何時，

what they were.

我說出了最後一句話

I feel like the hero of that Harlan Ellison story

也不記得說了什麽。

titled "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream."

我感覺像Harlan Ellison故事里的主人公

On Wednesday, David Christian explained to us

“我沒有嘴，卻必須喊”

what a tiny instant the human race represents

週三的時候，David Christian還給我們講過

in the time-span of the universe.

和浩翰的宇宙相比

For almost all of its millions and billions of years,

人類文明史多麼短暫

there was no life on Earth at all.

在它數百萬年﹐ 數十億年的歷史中

For almost all the years of life on Earth,

地球上沒有生命。

there was no intelligent life.

而在地球有生命的時間裡，

Only after we learned to pass knowledge

也沒有高等生物。

from one generation to the next,

而當人類開始傳承知識後

did civilization become possible.

一代又一代，

In cosmological terms,

人類文明才得以發展。

that was about 10 minutes ago.

要是跟浩翰的宇宙比，

Finally came mankind's most advanced and mysterious tool,

那也不過是10分鐘之前的事。

the computer.

而現在居然誕生了人類最進步和神秘的工具，

That has mostly happened in my lifetime.

就是電腦。

Some of the famous early computers

基本上是我長大後才有。

were being built in my hometown of Urbana,

著名的早期電腦

the birthplace of HAL 9000.

在我故鄉厄巴纳製造，

When I heard the amazing talk

也是HAL 9000誕生之地。

by Salman Khan on Wednesday,

週三時，

about the Khan Academy website

聽到Salman Khan的演講，

that teaches hundreds of subjects to students all over the world,

關於Khan學院網站

I had a flashback.

給世界各地的學生傳授各種知識

It was about 1960.

是我回憶起

As a local newspaper reporter still in high school,

在1960年的時候

I was sent over to the computer lab of the University of Illinois

當時我是一名新聞記者，仍在上高中

to interview the creators

我去了伊利諾伊大學的電腦室

of something called PLATO.

進行採訪

The initials stood for Programmed Logic

PLATO的開發者

for Automated Teaching Operations.

PLATO是自動教學程式的編寫邏輯