Name: 【TED】萊菈·布洛狄斯基: 語言如何形塑出我們的思考方式 (How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky)
Uploaded: 2018-06-10T21:01:03.000Z
Duration: 14 min 13 s

未來進行式

So, I'll be speaking to you using language ...

好的，我會運用語言對你們說話

This is one of these magical abilities that we humans have.

這是我們人類擁有的其中一項神奇能力

We can transmit really complicated thoughts to one another.

我們能夠把複雜的想法傳達給他者

So what I'm doing right now is, I'm making sounds with my mouth

我現在在做的，其實就是在用嘴巴發出聲音

and those are creating air vibrations in the air.

這些都會在空氣中造成空氣震動

Those air vibrations are traveling to you,

and then your brain takes those vibrations from your eardrums

然後你的大腦透過鼓膜接收到震動

So because of this ability, we humans are able to transmit our ideas

因著這項能力，我們人類能夠傳遞想法

We're able to transmit knowledge across minds.

I can put a bizarre new idea in your mind right now.

我現在就能將一個詭異的新想法植入你的心裡

"Imagine a jellyfish waltzing in a library

「想像一隻水母在圖書館邊跳華爾滋，

Now, if everything has gone relatively well in your life so far,

嗯，如果目前為止你的人生都還正常

you probably haven't had that thought before.

Now of course, there isn't just one language in the world,

當然，那並非全世界唯一一種語言

there are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world.

世界上約有 7,000 個被使用的語言

And all the languages differ from one another in all kinds of ways.

and they also have different structures --

Does the language we speak shape the way we think?

我們使用的語言是否會形塑我們思考的方式？

People have been speculating about this question forever.

神聖羅馬帝國的皇帝查理曼大帝曾說過

"To have a second language is to have a second soul" --

「擁有第二語言就如同擁有第二靈魂。」

strong statement that language crafts reality.

But on the other hand, Shakespeare has Juliet say,

但另一方面，莎士比亞的茱麗葉說

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

玫瑰不叫玫瑰，依然芬芳如故。」

Well, that suggests that maybe language doesn't craft reality.

這又或許聲明了語言不能構成現實

These arguments have gone back and forth for thousands of years.

But until recently, there hasn't been any data

但直到最近為止，還沒有任何資料

Recently, in my lab and other labs around the world,

最近，在我的實驗室以及其他遍佈世界各地的實驗室中

and now we have actual scientific data to weigh in on this question.

而現在，我們有了確切的科學數據能夠參與解答這道問題

So let me tell you about some of my favorite examples.

讓我來告訴你們一些我最喜歡的例子

I'll start with an example from an Aboriginal community in Australia

我會從這個例子開始，我曾經有幸能夠

和澳洲一個原住民部落一起工作

They live in Pormpuraaw at the very west edge of Cape York.

他們居住在 Pormpuraaw ，位於約克角的最西邊

有關 Kuuk Thaayorre 族很酷的一點是

in Kuuk Thaayorre, they don't use words like "left" and "right,"

在他們的語言裡，並沒有「左」和「右」這類詞彙

and instead, everything is in cardinal directions:

取而代之地，所有東西都是用方位標明：

And when I say everything, I really mean everything.

我指的所有東西真的就是所有東西

"Oh, there's an ant on your southwest leg."

「噢，在你的西南腳上有一隻螞蟻。」

Or, "Move your cup to the north-northeast a little bit."

或「把你的杯子往北北東移一點。」

In fact, the way that you say "hello" in Kuuk Thaayorre is you say,

事實上在 Kuuk Thaayorre 語中，你說「你好」的方式是

So imagine as you're walking around your day,

所以想像看看，當你走來走去時

you have to report your heading direction.

But that would actually get you oriented pretty fast, right?

但那其實可以幫助你迅速找到方向感，對吧？

Because you literally couldn't get past "hello,"

因為要是你不知道你要走的方向

if you didn't know which way you were going.

In fact, people who speak languages like this stay oriented really well.

事實上，這類語言的使用者擁有很好的方向感

They stay oriented better than we used to think humans could.

他們擁有更好的定位能力，比我們過去以為人類所能達到的還要好

We used to think that humans were worse than other creatures

"Oh, we don't have magnets in our beaks or in our scales."

「噢，我們沒有帶有磁力的喙或是鱗片呀。」

No; if your language and your culture trains you to do it,

不，若是你的語言及你的文化訓練你

There are humans around the world who stay oriented really well.

世界上有很多方向感很好的人類

about how different this is from the way we do it,

I want you all to close your eyes for a second

I see you guys pointing there, there, there, there, there ...

看得出你們有些人指這裡、那裡，還有好多不同方向

我自己其實也不知道到底是哪裡

So let's just say the accuracy in this room was not very high.

那我們就說這間房裡的人們方位精確程度不是很高

This is a big difference in cognitive ability across languages, right?

不同語言之間的感知能力還真是不一樣，是吧？

Where one group -- very distinguished group like you guys --

對於一群人來說，比如你們特定一群

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【TED】萊菈·布洛狄斯基: 語言如何形塑出我們的思考方式 (How language shapes the way we think | Lera Boroditsky)

cognitive

trick

exact

describe