And I couldn't be more… psyched about it.

而我真的超... 期待的！

Now, onto the science.

現在，就讓我們進入科學吧！

We all know that having a little bit to drink can make you a little… loose lipped.

我們都知道小酌幾杯會讓你有點... 講話隨便。

Like, you're having a few beers while watching the Packers game with your buddies.

就像是，你跟你的好友們邊看綠灣包裝工隊的美式足球比賽。

And before you know it, you're screaming :"Tom Brady is no Aaron Rodgers!" at the top of your lungs.

在你意會過來以前，你高聲吶喊「 Tom Brady (新英格蘭愛國者隊的四分衛) 才比不上 Aaron Rodgers (綠灣包裝工隊的四分衛) 呢！」

Whoops. Well, we all know that last statement is true.

哎呀。嗯，我們都知道這個是對的。

Even if some people don't want to accept it.

就算有人不想接受這個論點。

And it turns out a bit of booze might actually improve your language skills more generally; that is, if you're speaking a foreign tongue.

一切事實指出小酌幾杯可能可以更平均地提升你的語言能力，也就是說提升外語能力。

Drunk people aren't exactly known for their language skills, since, you know, slurring doesn't count as articulate speech.

喝醉的人的語言能力並不會特別被人注意到，畢竟口齒不清並不算是一段真正清晰的話語。

But, strangely enough, studies do suggest that drinking might help you master the complexities of speaking that new language you've been trying to pick up.

但奇怪的是，研究的確指出喝酒或許可以幫助你去掌握最近正努力學習的語言中複雜的口說方面。

For instance, take a study first published online in 2017 in The Journal of Psychopharmacology, which looked at the language abilities of 50 students in the Netherlands.

舉例來說，有一份 2017 年於網路發表在精神藥物學期刊的研究來說，他們研究了 50 位荷蘭學生的語言能力。

All of the participants natively spoke German, but were trying to learn Dutch, and had to pass an exam showing they could speak the language to get into their course.

所有參與者母語為德語，但正在學習荷蘭語，他們需要通過一項測試證明他們可以說荷蘭語以成功選課。

As part of the study, they were asked to rate how good they thought their Dutch language skills were, and complete the Rosenburg self-esteem scale, designed to measure, you guessed it, self-esteem.

研究中，參與者被要求為自己的荷蘭語能力評分，然後完成 Rosenburg 自尊量表，設計為量測，對你沒猜錯，量測自尊心。

Then, they either got a healthy glass of water or a vodka with bitter lemon; enough booze to give them a blood alcohol concentration of around 0.04%.

隨後，他們會拿到一杯水或一杯伏特加搭配一點苦檸檬；足夠量的量讓血液中的酒精含量達到 0.04%。

Once served, they had 10 minutes to finish the drink.

一旦送上了，參與者有 10 分鐘的時間把飲料喝完。

Then, 15 minutes later, when the alcohol had started to make its way into their bloodstream, the language test began.

接著 15 分鐘後，當酒精開始進入血液中，語言測驗就開始了。

They were told to verbally argue for or against animal testing, in Dutch, for two minutes.

他們被要求用荷蘭語以正反兩方為動物實驗辯論兩分鐘。

And it turned out that the group that drank spoke Dutch better.

而結果顯示有喝酒的那組荷蘭語講得比較好。

Now I know what you're thinking.

我知道你現在在想什麼。

But no, they didn't just think they did better because they were buzzed, like your friend "thinks" they're so much better at karaoke after three tequila shots.

但不對，他們並不覺得自己因為微醺之後語言能力變好，就像你朋友「以為」自己在喝完三杯龍舌蘭唱歌狀態超好一樣。

They rated their own language skills about the same as when they weren't drunk, and the self-esteem scores weren't significantly different, either.

他們對自己語言能力的評分跟他們沒喝醉時相同，自尊量表的分數也沒有顯著不同。

It was actually other, native Dutch speakers who said they spoke the language better, and in particular, those judges noted the tipsy participants sounded more natively Dutch.

情況正好與想像不同，比起自認為說荷蘭語比較好的荷蘭語母語者，評審認為微醺的受試者聽起來更像母語者。

And though there isn't a ton of work on this topic specifically, other research does seem to confirm this idea that pronunciation of a foreign language improves with a little buzz.

雖然並沒有大量的相關研究，有其他研究似乎可以佐證微醺可以增加語言能力。

Or, at least, it doesn't get worse, like pronunciation in your native tongue does.

或至少喝醉語言能力變差，就像你喝醉講母語時含糊不清的狀況。

That might sound kind of ridiculous, but when we think about some of the relaxing qualities of alcohol, it kinda makes sense.

這聽起來很無厘頭，但當我們想到喝酒放鬆的那一部分，這一切似乎又很合理。

You see, you went off about Aaron Rodgers being better than Tom Brady after a few drinks, still no argument there, because booze acts as a multipurpose wet blanket in the brain.

你看，當你喝了幾杯後發表了 Aaron Rodgers 比 Tom Brady 優秀的言論，我對這個還是沒有爭論的，因為微醺扮演了大腦裡多用途掃興者的角色。

Specifically, it increases the effectiveness of GABA, a neurotransmitter that generally quiets the chatter between neurons.

特別是增加了 GABA，一種神經傳導物質的工作效率，它通常可以抑制神經元間雜亂吵鬧的訊息來往。

That includes the neurons you need to activate to stop yourself from saying something you'll regret.

包括抑制了會制止你講出令人後悔的話的神經元。

But such signal dampening can also lessen anxiety.

如此抑制神經傳導可以紓緩焦慮。

For example, a 2008 study found that self-reported ratings of intoxication negatively correlated with the activation of brain areas associated with fear response, namely, the limbic system.

舉例來說，一份 2008 年的研究發現關於喝醉的自我報告指數與大腦產生恐懼反應，名為邊緣系統的部位活動呈現負相關。

Many language learners suffer from foreign language anxiety, which is a feeling of tension or apprehension associated with second-language contexts.

許多語言學習者因為「外語學習焦慮症」而感到痛苦，會因為學習第二外語感到緊繃。

Basically, they think they're terrible, so they get discouraged and subsequently do worse.

基本上，他們會覺得自己很差，所以會覺得沒自信而因此表現不好。

In severe cases, they might even shy away from speaking the language entirely.

甚至某些極端例子，他們甚至會避而不談這個語言。

And it seems like a bit of booze can dull your fears about making mistakes, which might mean you make fewer of them.

所以似乎有些微醺可以麻木犯錯的恐懼，或許也可以認為你會犯比較少錯。

Or, there might be some other, as of yet unidentified reason drinking helps you sound more natural.

或者，或許有其他尚且無法確定的原因幫助你講話聽起來更自然。

But that will take more research.

這部分仍需要更多的研究來佐證。

Alcohol might be able to help you learn the language, too.

酒精或許也可以幫助你學習語言。

Of course, conventional wisdom would say drinking isn't great for learning for, well... a lot of reasons.

當然，保守的說法當然會說飲酒對於學習不好，就各種原因而言都是。

But perhaps the biggest is its reputation for impairing memory.

但或許最主要喝酒無助益於學習的原因是在於毀損記憶力。

I mean, there are whole Hollywood blockbusters with plots centered around binge drinking-induced blackouts.

就像有一大堆好萊塢賣座的影片出現關於狂飲後斷片的劇情。

And research has shown that even at lower levels, alcohol can mess with memory storage.

研究顯示，甚至是低劑量的酒精都可以擾亂記憶。

But that's not the whole story.

但並不是只有這樣。

Some research suggests that a drink might actually help you remember things; specifically, things you did before you started to drink.

有些研究提出喝酒可以幫助你記憶，尤其是你喝酒之前做的事。

A surprising study published in 2017 found that people who drank to their hearts' content after a memorizing task remembered more than those who stayed sober.

一個令人驚訝的研究發表於 2017 年發現，在一場記憶測驗之後暢快喝酒人們記得的東西比保持清醒的人多。

And that seemed to be because of alcohol's memory-tampering abilities, or what psychologists refer to as a period of "reduced memory encoding".

而這似乎是因為酒精削弱記憶的能力，或心理學家稱之為一段「削弱記憶編碼」。

The basic gist is that because you remember less when you're wasted, your brain does an extra good job locking in the stuff that happened before alcohol started interfering with your memory.

最基本的要領是你在喝醉時記得的東西比較少，你腦子在會在酒精開始干擾你的記憶之前，更加記住你喝酒前做過的事。

Which is basically an argument for following your study sessions with a couple of well deserved beers.

讀書時搭配幾瓶上好的啤酒基本上也是個爭議。

But, it's important to note that even if a little drinking can improve your pronunciation or even help you remember what was on those flashcards, this is definitely not a case where more is better.

但也有很重要需要注意的點，小酌些許可以改善你的發英或甚至幫助你記住那些單字卡，不代表喝越多成效越好。

These studies all used pretty low doses of alcohol.

這些研究都只採用少劑量的酒精。

So, if you're hoping to get a linguistic boost, just a drink or two will do.

所以如果你希望找到一個學習加速器，或許小酌一兩杯就行了。

Besides, you should always drink responsibly!

再來，你應該保持負責任的飲酒習慣！

Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!

謝謝收看本集的 SciShow Psych！

And thanks for joining me on my first episode!

還有，謝謝你們來參與我的第一集節目！

This channel wouldn't exist without the support of our SciShow patrons.

這個頻道如果沒有你們的支持不會存在。

If you wanna support the show, go to Patreon.com/SciShow.

如果想要支持這個節目，請到 Patreon.com/SciShow。