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仅做 整合 / 美化 处理
The language I'm speaking right now
[AI] 我现在说的语言
is on its way to becoming the world's universal language.
[AI] 正在成为世界通用语言。
for better or for worse.
[AI] 不管是好是坏。
Let's face it.
[AI] 让我们面对现实吧。
it's the language of the internet.
[AI] 这是互联网的语言。
it's the language of finance.
[AI] 这是金融的语言。
it's the language of air traffic control.
[AI] 这是空中交通管制的语言。
of popular music.
[AI] 流行音乐。
diplomacy --
[AI] 外交--
English is everywhere.
[AI] 英语无处不在。
Now. Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more people.
[AI] 现在越来越多的人说普通话。
but more Chinese people are learning English
[AI] 但是越来越多的中国人在学习英语
than English speakers are learning Chinese.
[AI] 比说英语的人都在学习汉语。
Last I heard.
[AI] 我最后一次听到。
there are two dozen universities in China right now
[AI] 目前中国有二十多所大学
teaching all in English.
[AI] 全部用英语教学。
English is taking over.
[AI] 英语正在接管一切。
And in addition to that.
[AI] 除此之外。
it's been predicted that at the end of the century
[AI] 据预测，在本世纪末
almost all of the languages that exist now --
[AI] 几乎所有现存的语言--
there are about 6.000 --
[AI] 大约有6000人--
will no longer be spoken.
[AI] 将不再有人发言。
There will only be some hundreds left.
[AI] 只剩下几百个了。
And on top of that.
[AI] 除此之外。
it's at the point where instant translation of live speech
[AI] 这是即时翻译现场演讲的关键
is not only possible. but it gets better every year.
[AI] 这不仅是可能的。但它一年比一年好。
The reason I'm reciting those things to you
[AI] 我向你背诵这些东西的原因
is because I can tell that we're getting to the point
[AI] 因为我知道我们已经说到点子上了
where a question is going to start being asked.
[AI] 一个问题将从哪里开始被问。
which is: Why should we learn foreign languages --
[AI] 这就是：我们为什么要学习外语--
other than if English happens to be foreign to one?
[AI] 除了英语对一个人来说是陌生的以外？
Why bother to learn another one when it's getting to the point
[AI] 说到点子上，为什么还要费心学另一个呢
where almost everybody in the world will be able to communicate in one?
[AI] 世界上几乎每个人都能在一个地方进行交流？
I think there are a lot of reasons.
[AI] 我认为有很多原因。
but I first want to address
[AI] 但我首先要说的是
the one that you're probably most likely to have heard of.
[AI] 你很可能听说过的那个。
because actually it's more dangerous than you might think.
[AI] 因为事实上它比你想象的更危险。
And that is the idea
[AI] 这就是我的想法
that a language channels your thoughts.
[AI] 语言能引导你的思想。
that the vocabulary and the grammar of different languages
[AI] 不同语言的词汇和语法
gives everybody a different kind of acid trip.
[AI] 给每个人一种不同的刺激。
so to speak.
[AI] 可以这么说。
That is a marvelously enticing idea.
[AI] 这是一个非常诱人的想法。
but it's kind of fraught.
[AI] 但这有点令人担忧。
So it's not that it's untrue completely.
[AI] 所以这并不是说它完全不真实。
So for example. in French and Spanish
[AI] 比如说。法语和西班牙语
the word for table is. for some reason. marked as feminine.
[AI] 桌子的意思是。出于某种原因。以女性为特点。
So. "la table." "la mesa." you just have to deal with it.
[AI] 所以“桌子。”“拉梅萨。”你只需要处理它。
It has been shown
[AI] 它已经被展示出来了
that if you are a speaker of one of those languages
[AI] 如果你说的是其中一种语言
and you happen to be asked
[AI] 碰巧有人问你
how you would imagine a table talking.
[AI] 你会怎么想象一张桌子在说话。
then much more often than could possibly be an accident.
[AI] 然后比可能发生的事故要频繁得多。
a French or a Spanish speaker
[AI] 说法语或西班牙语的人
says that the table would talk with a high and feminine voice.
[AI] 说这张桌子会用一种高而女性化的声音说话。
So if you're French or Spanish. to you. a table is kind of a girl.
[AI] 如果你是法国人或西班牙人。谢谢你。桌子有点像女孩。
as opposed to if you are an English speaker.
[AI] 而不是说英语的人。
It's hard not to love data like that.
[AI] 很难不喜欢这样的数据。
and many people will tell you that that means
[AI] 很多人会告诉你这意味着
that there's a worldview that you have if you speak one of those languages.
[AI] 如果你说其中一种语言，你就会有一种世界观。
But you have to watch out.
[AI] 但是你必须小心。
because imagine if somebody put us under the microscope.
[AI] 因为想象一下如果有人把我们放在显微镜下。
the us being those of us who speak English natively.
[AI] 美国是那些母语为英语的人。
What is the worldview from English?
[AI] 英语的世界观是什么？
So for example. let's take an English speaker.
[AI] 比如说。让我们以一位说英语的人为例。
Up on the screen. that is Bono.
[AI] 出现在屏幕上。那是波诺。
He speaks English.
[AI] 他说英语。
I presume he has a worldview.
[AI] 我想他有世界观。
Now. that is Donald Trump.
[AI] 现在这就是唐纳德·特朗普。
In his way. he speaks English as well.
[AI] 以他的方式。他也会说英语。
(Laughter)
[AI] （众笑）
And here is Ms. Kardashian.
[AI] 这是卡戴珊女士。
and she is an English speaker. too.
[AI] 她说英语。也
So here are three speakers of the English language.
[AI] 这里有三位讲英语的人。
What worldview do those three people have in common?
[AI] 这三个人有什么共同的世界观？
What worldview is shaped through the English language that unites them?
[AI] 什么样的世界观是通过把他们联系在一起的英语形成的？
It's a highly fraught concept.
[AI] 这是一个非常令人担忧的概念。
And so gradual consensus is becoming that language can shape thought.
[AI] 因此逐渐形成共识，语言可以塑造思想。
but it tends to be in rather darling. obscure psychological flutters.
[AI] 但它往往是在相当亲爱的。模糊的心理波动。
It's not a matter of giving you a different pair of glasses on the world.
[AI] 这不是给你一副世界上不同的眼镜的问题。
Now. if that's the case.
[AI] 现在如果是这样的话。
then why learn languages?
[AI] 那为什么要学语言呢？
If it isn't going to change the way you think.
[AI] 如果这不会改变你的思维方式。
what would the other reasons be?
[AI] 其他原因是什么？
There are some.
[AI] 有一些。
One of them is that if you want to imbibe a culture.
[AI] 其中之一是，如果你想吸收一种文化。
if you want to drink it in. if you want to become part of it.
[AI] 如果你想喝的话。如果你想成为它的一部分。
then whether or not the language channels the culture --
[AI] 那么语言是否引导了文化--
and that seems doubtful --
[AI] 这似乎值得怀疑--
if you want to imbibe the culture.
[AI] 如果你想吸收这种文化。
you have to control to some degree
[AI] 你必须在某种程度上控制自己
the language that the culture happens to be conducted in.
[AI] 文化恰好用的语言。
There's no other way.
[AI] 没有别的办法了。
There's an interesting illustration of this.
[AI] 这有一个有趣的例子。
I have to go slightly obscure. but really you should seek it out.
[AI] 我得走了。但你真的应该找到它。
There's a movie by the Canadian film director Denys Arcand --
[AI] 有一部加拿大电影导演丹尼斯·阿坎德的电影--
read out in English on the page. "Dennis Ar-cand."
[AI] 在页面上用英语朗读。“丹尼斯·阿坎德。”
if you want to look him up.
[AI] 如果你想找他。
He did a film called "Jesus of Montreal."
[AI] 他拍了一部电影叫《蒙特利尔的耶稣》
And many of the characters
[AI] 还有很多角色
are vibrant. funny. passionate. interesting French-Canadian.
[AI] 它们充满活力。有趣的热情的有趣的法裔加拿大人。
French-speaking women.
[AI] 讲法语的妇女。
There's one scene closest to the end.
[AI] 有一个场景离结尾最近。
where they have to take a friend to an Anglophone hospital.
[AI] 他们必须带朋友去英语医院。
In the hospital. they have to speak English.
[AI] 在医院里。他们必须说英语。
Now. they speak English but it's not their native language.
[AI] 现在他们说英语，但不是他们的母语。
they'd rather not speak English.
[AI] 他们宁愿不说英语。
And they speak it more slowly.
[AI] 他们说得更慢。
they have accents. they're not idiomatic.
[AI] 他们有口音。它们不是惯用语。
Suddenly these characters that you've fallen in love with
[AI] 突然，你爱上了这些角色
become husks of themselves. they're shadows of themselves.
[AI] 变成自己的外壳。他们是自己的影子。
To go into a culture
[AI] 进入一种文化
and to only ever process people through that kind of skrim curtain
[AI] 只有通过这样的窗帘才能处理人们
is to never truly get the culture.
[AI] 就是永远不能真正了解文化。
And so to the extent that hundreds of languages will be left.
[AI] 因此，数百种语言将被保留下来。
one reason to learn them
[AI] 学习它们的一个原因
is because they are tickets to being able to participate in the culture of the people who speak them.
[AI] 因为它们是能够参与到讲它们的人的文化中去的门票。
just by virtue of the fact that it is their code.
[AI] 因为这是他们的密码。
So that's one reason.
[AI] 这就是原因之一。
Second reason:
[AI] 第二个原因：
it's been shown
[AI] 已经看过了
that if you speak two languages. dementia is less likely to set in.
[AI] 如果你说两种语言。痴呆症发生的可能性较小。
and that you are probably a better multitasker.
[AI] 而且你可能是一个更好的多任务者。
And these are factors that set in early.
[AI] 这些都是早期形成的因素。
and so that ought to give you some sense
[AI] 所以这应该给你一些感觉
of when to give junior or juniorette lessons in another language.
[AI] 什么时候用另一种语言给大三或大三学生上课。
Bilingualism is healthy.
[AI] 双语是健康的。
And then. third --
[AI] 然后。第三--
languages are just an awful lot of fun.
[AI] 语言是非常有趣的。
Much more fun than we're often told.
[AI] 比我们经常听到的有趣多了。
So for example. Arabic: "kataba." he wrote.
[AI] 比如说。阿拉伯语：“卡塔巴。”他写道。
"yaktubu." he writes. she writes.
[AI] “雅库布。”他写作。她写作。
"Uktub." write. in the imperative.
[AI] “Uktub。”写在命令中。
What do those things have in common?
[AI] 这些东西有什么共同点？
All those things have in common
[AI] 所有这些东西都有共同点
the consonants sitting in the middle like pillars.
[AI] 辅音像中间柱一样坐在中间。
They stay still.
[AI] 他们一动不动。
and the vowels dance around the consonants.
[AI] 元音围绕着辅音跳舞。
Who wouldn't want to roll that around in their mouths?
[AI] 谁不想在他们嘴里转来转去？
You can get that from Hebrew.
[AI] 你可以从希伯来语中得到。
you can get that from Ethiopia's main language. Amharic.
[AI] 你可以从埃塞俄比亚的主要语言中得到。阿姆哈拉语。
That's fun.
[AI] 那很有趣。
Or languages have different word orders.
[AI] 或者说语言有不同的语序。
Learning how to speak with different word order
[AI] 学习如何用不同的语序说话
is like driving on the different side of a street if you go to certain country.
[AI] 如果你去某个国家，就像在街道的另一边开车一样。
or the feeling that you get when you put Witch Hazel around your eyes
[AI] 或者当你在眼睛周围涂上金缕梅时的那种感觉
and you feel the tingle.
[AI] 你会感到刺痛。
A language can do that to you.
[AI] 一种语言可以做到这一点。
So for example.
[AI] 比如说。
"The Cat in the Hat Comes Back."
[AI] “戴帽子的猫回来了。”
a book that I'm sure we all often return to.
[AI] 我相信我们都会经常重温的一本书。
like "Moby Dick."
[AI] 比如《白鲸》
One phrase in it is. "Do you know where I found him?
[AI] 其中一个短语是。“你知道我在哪里找到他的吗？
Do you know where he was? He was eating cake in the tub.
[AI] 你知道他在哪里吗？他在浴缸里吃蛋糕。
Yes he was!"
[AI] 是的，他是！"
Fine. Now. if you learn that in Mandarin Chinese.
[AI] 好的现在如果你用普通话学的话。
then you have to master.
[AI] 那你必须掌握。
"You can know. I did where him find?
[AI] “你知道，我在哪里找到他的？
He was tub inside gorging cake.
[AI] 他在浴缸里狼吞虎咽地吃着蛋糕。
No mistake gorging chewing!"
[AI] 毫无疑问，大嚼特嚼！"
That just feels good.
[AI] 感觉真好。
Imagine being able to do that for years and years at a time.
[AI] 想象一下，一次能做这么多年。
Or. have you ever learned any Cambodian?
[AI] 或你学过柬埔寨语吗？
Me either. but if I did.
[AI] 我也是。但如果我这样做了。
I would get to roll around in my mouth not some baker's dozen of vowels
[AI] 我会在嘴里转来转去，而不是像面包师说的那么多元音
like English has.
[AI] 就像英语一样。
but a good 30 different vowels
[AI] 但是有30个不同的元音
scooching and oozing around in the Cambodian mouth
[AI] 在柬埔寨人的嘴里挖来挖去
like bees in a hive.
[AI] 就像蜂房里的蜜蜂。
That is what a language can get you.
[AI] 这就是语言能带给你的。
And more to the point.
[AI] 更重要的是。
we live in an era when it's never been easier to teach yourself another language.
[AI] 我们生活在一个教自己另一门语言从未如此容易的时代。
It used to be that you had to go to a classroom.
[AI] 过去你必须去教室。
and there would be some diligent teacher --
[AI] 而且会有一些勤奋的老师--
some genius teacher in there --
[AI] 里面有个天才老师--
but that person was only in there at certain times
[AI] 但那个人只是在某些时候在那里
and you had to go then.
[AI] 那你就得走了。
and then was not most times.
[AI] 那时候不是大多数时候。
You had to go to class.
[AI] 你必须去上课。
If you didn't have that. you had something called a record.
[AI] 如果你没有。你有一张唱片。
I cut my teeth on those.
[AI] 我的牙齿被那些割伤了。
There was only so much data on a record.
[AI] 记录上只有这么多数据。
or a cassette.
[AI] 或者一盒磁带。
or even that antique object known as a CD.
[AI] 甚至那个被称为CD的古董。
Other than that you had books that didn't work.
[AI] 除此之外，你的书不管用。
that's just the way it was.
[AI] 事情就是这样。
Today you can lay down --
[AI] 今天你可以躺下了--
lie on your living room floor.
[AI] 躺在客厅的地板上。
sipping bourbon.
[AI] 啜饮波旁威士忌。
and teach yourself any language that you want to
[AI] 教你自己想学的任何语言
with wonderful sets such as Rosetta Stone.
[AI] 有像罗塞塔石这样的奇妙的装置。
I highly recommend the lesser known Glossika as well.
[AI] 我强烈推荐鲜为人知的格洛西卡。
You can do it any time.
[AI] 你随时都可以做。
therefore you can do it more and better.
[AI] 因此，你可以做得更多更好。
You can give yourself your morning pleasures in various languages.
[AI] 你可以用各种语言给自己带来早晨的快乐。
I take some "Dilbert" in various languages every single morning;
[AI] 每天早上我都会用不同的语言学习一些“Dilbert”；
it can increase your skills.
[AI] 它可以提高你的技能。
Couldn't have done it 20 years ago
[AI] 20年前不可能做到的
when the idea of having any language you wanted
[AI] 当你想要任何语言的时候
in your pocket.
[AI] 在你的口袋里。
coming from your phone.
[AI] 来自你的电话。
would have sounded like science fiction to very sophisticated people.
[AI] 对于非常老练的人来说，听起来像科幻小说。
So I highly recommend
[AI] 所以我强烈推荐
that you teach yourself languages other than the one that I'm speaking.
[AI] 除了我说的语言，你还自学其他语言。
because there's never been a better time to do it.
[AI] 因为这是最好的时机。
It's an awful lot of fun.
[AI] 这真是太有趣了。
It won't change your mind.
[AI] 这不会改变你的想法。
but it will most certainly blow your mind.
[AI] 但这肯定会让你大吃一惊。
Thank you very much.
[AI] 非常感谢你。
(Applause)
[AI] （掌声）