ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Pagel - Evolutionary biologist
Using biological evolution as a template, Mark Pagel wonders how languages evolve.

Why you should listen

Mark Pagel builds statistical models to examine the evolutionary processes imprinted in human behavior, from genomics to the emergence of complex systems -- to culture. His latest work examines the parallels between linguistic and biological evolution by applying methods of phylogenetics, or the study of evolutionary relatedness among groups, essentially viewing language as a culturally transmitted replicator with many of the same properties we find in genes. He’s looking for patterns in the rates of evolution of language elements, and hoping to find the social factors that influence trends of language evolution.
 
At the University of Reading, Pagel heads the Evolution Laboratory in the biology department, where he explores such questions as, "Why would humans evolve a system of communication that prevents them with communicating with other members of the same species?" He has used statistical methods to reconstruct features of dinosaur genomes, and to infer ancestral features of genes and proteins.

He says: "Just as we have highly conserved genes, we have highly conserved words. Language shows a truly remarkable fidelity."

More profile about the speaker
Mark Pagel | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2011

Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity

Mark Pagel: hizkuntzak nola aldatu zuen gizadia

Filmed:
1,708,914 views

Mark Pagel biologoak jakin-mina eragiten duen teoria bat azaltzen du, gizakiok gure hizkuntza-sistema konplexua zergatik garatu genuen gaitzat harturik. Iradokitzen du hizkuntza "teknologia sozialeko" zerbait dela, antzinako giza tribuei beste tresna ahaltsu bat eskuratzea ahalbidetu ziona: lankidetza
- Evolutionary biologist
Using biological evolution as a template, Mark Pagel wonders how languages evolve. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
Each of you possesses
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Zuetako bakoitzak badu
00:17
the most powerful, dangerous and subversive trait
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hautapen naturalak inoiz asmatu duen
00:20
that natural selection has ever devised.
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ezaugarri ahaltsuen, arriskutsuen eta subertsiboena.
00:23
It's a piece of neural audio technology
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Audio teknologia neuronala den zerbait da,
00:26
for rewiring other people's minds.
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beste pertsona batzuen gogamenak birprogramatzeko.
00:28
I'm talking about your language, of course,
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Zuen mintzamenaz ari naiz, jakina,
00:31
because it allows you to implant a thought from your mind
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horrek ahalbidetzen baitizue zuen gogameneko pentsamendu bat
00:34
directly into someone else's mind,
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zuzenean beste norbaiten gogamenean landatzea,
00:37
and they can attempt to do the same to you,
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eta haiek ere beste hainbeste saiatuko dira egiten zurekin,
00:39
without either of you having to perform surgery.
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zuetako inork kirurgiaz baliatu beharrik gabe.
00:42
Instead, when you speak,
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Ostera, hitz egiten duzuenean,
00:44
you're actually using a form of telemetry
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telemetria moduko zerbait erabiltzen ari zarete
00:46
not so different
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zuen telebistaren urrutiko agintearekiko
00:48
from the remote control device for your television.
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oso diferentea ez dena.
00:50
It's just that, whereas that device
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Gertatzen dena da,
00:52
relies on pulses of infrared light,
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argi infragorrizko pultsuez baliatzen dela tresna,
00:54
your language relies on pulses,
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eta zuen hizkuntza pultsuetan oinarritzen dela,
00:57
discrete pulses, of sound.
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baina soinuzko pultsu diskretuetan.
00:59
And just as you use the remote control device
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Eta zuen telebistaren barruko konfigurazioa aldatzeko
01:02
to alter the internal settings of your television
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urrutiko agintea erabiltzen duzuen bezalaxe,
01:04
to suit your mood,
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zuen gustura moldatzeko,
01:06
you use your language
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beste norbaiten garunaren barruko
01:08
to alter the settings inside someone else's brain
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konfigurazioa aldatzeko erabiltzen duzue zuen hizkuntza,
01:10
to suit your interests.
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zuen interesetara egokitzeko.
01:12
Languages are genes talking,
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Hizkuntzak geneak hizketan dira,
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getting things that they want.
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nahi dituzten gauzak lortzen.
01:16
And just imagine the sense of wonder in a baby
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Eta imajina ezazue haurtxo baten harridura-sentimendua
01:19
when it first discovers that, merely by uttering a sound,
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lehenbiziko aldiz ohartzen denean, soinu bat egite hutsaz,
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it can get objects to move across a room
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lor dezakeela gauzak gelan zehar mugitzea
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as if by magic,
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magiaz bezala,
01:26
and maybe even into its mouth.
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eta agian baita bere ahoaren barruan ere.
01:29
Now language's subversive power
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Hizkuntzaren ahalmen subertsiboa
01:31
has been recognized throughout the ages
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antzeman izan da mendetan zehar
01:33
in censorship, in books you can't read,
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zentsuran, irakur ez ditzakezuen liburuetan,
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phrases you can't use
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erabil ez ditzakezuen esaldietan
01:37
and words you can't say.
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eta esan ez ditzakezuen hitzetan.
01:39
In fact, the Tower of Babel story in the Bible
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Azken finean, Bibliako Babelgo Dorrearen istorioa
01:42
is a fable and warning
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alegia bat da eta
01:44
about the power of language.
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ohartarazpen bat hizkuntzaren ahalmenaz.
01:46
According to that story, early humans developed the conceit
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Istorio horren arabera, antzinako gizakiak iritsi ziren pentsatzera,
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that, by using their language to work together,
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beren hizkuntza elkarlanean jarduteko erabiliz,
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they could build a tower
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zeruraino iristeko aukera emango
01:53
that would take them all the way to heaven.
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zien dorre bat eraiki zezaketela.
01:55
Now God, angered at this attempt to usurp his power,
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Orduan Jainkoak, berari boterea kentzeko saio horrek haserreturik,
01:58
destroyed the tower,
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dorrea eraitsi egin zuen,
02:01
and then to ensure
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eta, gero inoiz ez zela
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that it would never be rebuilt,
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berreraikiko bermatzeko,
02:05
he scattered the people by giving them different languages --
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jendea sakabanatu egin zuen, hizkuntza diferenteak emanez --
02:08
confused them by giving them different languages.
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nahastu egin zituen hizkuntza diferenteak emanez.
02:11
And this leads to the wonderful irony
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Eta horrek ironia izugarri bat ekarri zuen:
02:13
that our languages exist to prevent us from communicating.
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gure hizkuntzak elkarrekin komunikatzea eragozteko existitzen direla.
02:16
Even today,
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Orain ere,
02:18
we know that there are words we cannot use,
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badakigu badirela erabil ez ditzakegun hitzak,
02:20
phrases we cannot say,
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esan ez ditzakegun esaldiak,
02:22
because if we do so,
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zeren eta hori egiten badugu,
02:24
we might be accosted, jailed,
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gogait eragin, kartzelatu eta
02:27
or even killed.
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baita hil ere gaitzaketela.
02:29
And all of this from a puff of air
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Eta hori guztia gure ahotetatik irtendako
02:31
emanating from our mouths.
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aire-bafada bategatik.
02:33
Now all this fuss about a single one of our traits
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Gure ezaugarri bakar bati buruzko istilu horrek guztiak
02:36
tells us there's something worth explaining.
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adierazten digu badela hor azalpen bat merezi duen zerbait.
02:38
And that is how and why
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Kontua hauxe da: nola eta zergatik
02:40
did this remarkable trait evolve,
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garatu zen ezaugarri garrantzitsu hori,
02:42
and why did it evolve
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eta zergatik garatu zen
02:44
only in our species?
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gure espeziean soilik?
02:46
Now it's a little bit of a surprise
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Ezusteko txiki bat dator orain.
02:48
that to get an answer to that question,
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Izan ere, galdera horri erantzuteko,
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we have to go to tool use
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txinpantzeek tresnak nola
02:52
in the chimpanzees.
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erabiltzen dituzten aztertzera jo behar dugu.
02:54
Now these chimpanzees are using tools,
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Txinpantze horiek orain tresnak erabiltzen ari dira
02:56
and we take that as a sign of their intelligence.
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eta haiek adimena duten seinaletzat hartzen dugu hori.
02:59
But if they really were intelligent,
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Baina haiek benetan adimena balute,
03:01
why would they use a stick to extract termites from the ground
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zergatik erabiltzen dute makila bat, lurretik termitak ateratzeko,
03:04
rather than a shovel?
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pala bat erabili ordez?
03:06
And if they really were intelligent,
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Eta benetan adimenik badute
03:09
why would they crack open nuts with a rock?
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zergatik hausten dituzte intxaurrak harri batez?
03:11
Why wouldn't they just go to a shop and buy a bag of nuts
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Zergatik ez dira denda batera joaten eta
03:14
that somebody else had already cracked open for them?
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beste norbaitek hautsi dituen intxaurren poltsakada bat erosten?
03:17
Why not? I mean, that's what we do.
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Zergatik ez? Esan nahi dut, hori guk egiten dugula.
03:19
Now the reason the chimpanzees don't do that
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Txinpantzeek hori ez egiteko arrazoia da,
03:21
is that they lack what psychologists and anthropologists call
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psikologoek eta antropologoek
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social learning.
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ikaskuntza soziala deitzen dutena falta zaiela.
03:26
They seem to lack the ability
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Badirudi kopiatuz edo imitatuz edo
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to learn from others
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besterik gabe begiratuz
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by copying or imitating
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besteengandik ikasteko
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or simply watching.
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gaitasuna falta zaiela.
03:34
As a result,
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Horren ondorioz,
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they can't improve on others' ideas
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ezin dituzte hobetu besteen ideiak
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or learn from others' mistakes --
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edo ikasi besteen hutsegiteetatik --
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benefit from others' wisdom.
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besteen jakinduriaz baliatu.
03:42
And so they just do the same thing
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Eta horrela beti gauza berbera egiten dute
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over and over and over again.
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behin eta berriz.
03:46
In fact, we could go away for a million years and come back
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Joan gintezke milioi bat urte atzera eta itzuli
03:50
and these chimpanzees would be doing the same thing
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eta txinpantze horiek gauza bera
03:53
with the same sticks for the termites
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egiten ariko lirateke termitak ateratzeko makilaz
03:55
and the same rocks to crack open the nuts.
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eta harri berberekin intxaurrak hausten.
03:58
Now this may sound arrogant, or even full of hubris.
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Baliteke horrek harropuzkeria hutsaren itxura izatea.
04:01
How do we know this?
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Nola dakigu hori?
04:03
Because this is exactly what our ancestors, the Homo erectus, did.
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Gure arbasoak, Homo erectusak, egin zuen gauza berbera delako.
04:06
These upright apes
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Zutik ibiltzen ziren tximino haiek
04:08
evolved on the African savanna
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Afrikako sabanan eboluzionatu zuten
04:10
about two million years ago,
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duela bi milioi urte inguru,
04:12
and they made these splendid hand axes
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eta zuen eskuetara ederki egokitzen diren
04:14
that fit wonderfully into your hands.
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aizkora bikain horiek egin zituzten.
04:16
But if we look at the fossil record,
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Baina fosilak behatzen baditugu,
04:18
we see that they made the same hand axe
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ikusten dugu aizkora berbera
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over and over and over again
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egin zutela behin eta berriz.
04:23
for one million years.
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milioi bat urtean.
04:25
You can follow it through the fossil record.
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Fosilen segida jarrituz ikus dezakegu hori.
04:27
Now if we make some guesses about how long Homo erectus lived,
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Homo erectusa zenbat denbora bizi izan zen igartzen saiatzen bagara,
04:29
what their generation time was,
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zenbat belaunaldi iraun zuen,
04:31
that's about 40,000 generations
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ikusiko dugu gurasoengandik umeetarako 40.000
04:34
of parents to offspring, and other individuals watching,
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belaunaldi inguru izan zirela, eta beste indibiduo batzuk begira egon zirenak,
04:37
in which that hand axe didn't change.
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eta horietan guztietan aizkora ez zen aldatu.
04:39
It's not even clear
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Eta ez dago argi
04:41
that our very close genetic relatives, the Neanderthals,
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gure ahaide genetiko oso hurbilekoak ziren Neanderthalek
04:43
had social learning.
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ikaskuntza sozialik bazuten ere.
04:45
Sure enough, their tools were more complicated
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Aski segurua da haien tresnak konplikatuagoak zirela
04:48
than those of Homo erectus,
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Homo erectusarenak baino,
04:50
but they too showed very little change
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baina haiek ere, Neanderthalak Eurasian bizi izan ziren
04:52
over the 300,000 years or so
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300.000 urte inguruan,
04:55
that those species, the Neanderthals,
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aldaketa txikia izan zutela
04:57
lived in Eurasia.
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ikusten da.
04:59
Okay, so what this tells us
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Ondo da, beraz horrek adierazten diguna
05:01
is that, contrary to the old adage,
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da, esaera zaharrak dioenaren kontra,
05:04
"monkey see, monkey do,"
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"tximinoak ikusi, tximinoak egin, "
05:07
the surprise really is
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benetako ezustekoa da
05:09
that all of the other animals
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beste animalia guztiek
05:11
really cannot do that -- at least not very much.
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ezin dutela hori egin -- askorik ez behintzat.
05:14
And even this picture
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Eta irudi honek ere
05:16
has the suspicious taint of being rigged about it --
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iruzur itxura susmagarria du --
05:19
something from a Barnum & Bailey circus.
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Barnum & Bailey zirkuko zerbaitena.
05:21
But by comparison,
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Baina, konparazio baterako,
05:23
we can learn.
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guk ikas dezakegu.
05:25
We can learn by watching other people
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Guk ikas dezakegu beste batzuei begiratuz
05:28
and copying or imitating
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eta haiek egiten dutena
05:30
what they can do.
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kopiatuz edo imitatuz.
05:32
We can then choose, from among a range of options,
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Eta gero hauta dezakegu, hainbat aukeraren artetik,
05:35
the best one.
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onena.
05:37
We can benefit from others' ideas.
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Balia gaitezke besteen ideiez.
05:39
We can build on their wisdom.
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Eraiki dezakegu haien jakinduriaren gainean.
05:41
And as a result, our ideas do accumulate,
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Eta horren ondorioz gure ideiak metatu egiten dira
05:44
and our technology progresses.
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eta gure teknologia aitzinatu egiten da.
05:48
And this cumulative cultural adaptation,
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Eta egokitzapen kultural metakor horri,
05:53
as anthropologists call
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antropologoek esaten dioten bezala,
05:55
this accumulation of ideas,
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ideien metaketa horri,
05:57
is responsible for everything around you
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zor zaio zuen eguneroko jardunean eta
05:59
in your bustling and teeming everyday lives.
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elkarlanean inguruan duzuen guztia.
06:01
I mean the world has changed out of all proportion
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Esan nahi dut mundua proportzio guztiez haratago
06:03
to what we would recognize
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aldatu zela
06:05
even 1,000 or 2,000 years ago.
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duela 1.000 edo 2.000 urte ere.
06:08
And all of this because of cumulative cultural adaptation.
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Eta hori guztia gertatu da egokitzapen kultural metakorrari esker.
06:11
The chairs you're sitting in, the lights in this auditorium,
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Esertzeko erabiltzen dituzuen aulkiak, areto honetako argiak,
06:13
my microphone, the iPads and iPods that you carry around with you --
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nire mikrofonoa, aldean daramatzazuen iPadak eta iPodak,
06:16
all are a result
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horiek guztiak
06:18
of cumulative cultural adaptation.
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egokitzapen kultural metakorraren ondorio dira.
06:20
Now to many commentators,
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Orain iruzkingile askorentzat,
06:24
cumulative cultural adaptation, or social learning,
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egokitzapen kultural metakorra, edo ikaskuntza soziala,
06:27
is job done, end of story.
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egina da; akabo.
06:30
Our species can make stuff,
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Gure espezieak gauzak egin ditzake,
06:33
therefore we prospered in a way that no other species has.
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beraz, beste inolako espeziek ez bezalako aitzinapena izan dugu.
06:36
In fact, we can even make the "stuff of life" --
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"Bizitzako gauzak" ere egin ditzakegu --
06:39
as I just said, all the stuff around us.
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esan dudan bezala, inguruan ditugun gauza guztiak.
06:41
But in fact, it turns out
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Baina gertatzen da
06:43
that some time around 200,000 years ago,
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duela 200.000 urte inguruko uneren batean
06:46
when our species first arose
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gure espeziea sortu zenean
06:48
and acquired social learning,
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eta ikaskuntza soziala bereganatu zuenean,
06:50
that this was really the beginning of our story,
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hasi zela benetan gure istorioa
06:52
not the end of our story.
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eta ez gure istorioaren amaiera
06:54
Because our acquisition of social learning
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Zeren eta guk ikaskuntza soziala geureganatu izanak
06:57
would create a social and evolutionary dilemma,
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dilema sozial eta ebolutibo bat sortuko zuen,
07:00
the resolution of which, it's fair to say,
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eta hura soluzionatzeak, bidezkoa da esatea,
07:03
would determine not only the future course of our psychology,
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zertuko zuen, gure psikologiaren etorkizuneko bilakaera ez ezik,
07:07
but the future course of the entire world.
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baita mundu osoaren etorkizuneko bilakaera ere.
07:09
And most importantly for this,
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Eta horretarako garrantzitsuagoa dena,
07:12
it'll tell us why we have language.
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horrek esaten digu zergatik dugun hizkuntza.
07:15
And the reason that dilemma arose
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Eta dilema agertzeko arrazoia
07:17
is, it turns out, that social learning is visual theft.
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ikaskuntza soziala ikusizko lapurreta izatea da.
07:20
If I can learn by watching you,
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Nik ikas badezaket zuri begira,
07:23
I can steal your best ideas,
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ostu ditzaket zure ideiarik onenak,
07:25
and I can benefit from your efforts,
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eta balia naiteke zure ahaleginez,
07:28
without having to put in the time and energy that you did
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zuk haiek garatzeko jarri zenituen denbora eta energia
07:30
into developing them.
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jarri beharrik gabe.
07:32
If I can watch which lure you use to catch a fish,
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Nik ikus badezaket zer beita erabiltzen duzun arrainak harrapatzeko,
07:35
or I can watch how you flake your hand axe
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edo ikus badezaket nola lantzen duzun zure aizkora
07:37
to make it better,
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hobetzeko,
07:39
or if I follow you secretly to your mushroom patch,
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edota jarraitzen badizut ezkutuan zure perretxiko-lekura,
07:42
I can benefit from your knowledge and wisdom and skills,
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ni balia naiteke zure ezagutzaz eta jakinduriaz eta trebetasunez,
07:45
and maybe even catch that fish
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eta agian zuk baino lehen
07:47
before you do.
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harrapa dezaket arrain hura.
07:49
Social learning really is visual theft.
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Ikaskuntza soziala benetan ikusizko lapurreta da.
07:52
And in any species that acquired it,
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Eta bereganatu duen edozein espezietan,
07:54
it would behoove you
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hobe duzu
07:56
to hide your best ideas,
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zure ideia hoberenak ezkutatzea,
07:58
lest somebody steal them from you.
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inork ez diezazun ostu.
08:02
And so some time around 200,000 years ago,
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Eta horrela duela 200.000 urte inguruko uneren batean,
08:05
our species confronted this crisis.
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gure espezieak krisi horri aurre egin behar izan zion.
08:08
And we really had only two options
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Eta benetan bi aukera baizik ez ditugu
08:11
for dealing with the conflicts
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ikusizko lapurretak ekar ditzakeen
08:13
that visual theft would bring.
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gatazkei aurre egiteko.
08:15
One of those options
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Aukera horietako bat
08:17
was that we could have retreated
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famili talde txikitan
08:20
into small family groups.
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banantzea izan zitekeen.
08:22
Because then the benefits of our ideas and knowledge
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Zeren eta orduan gure ideien eta ezagutzen onurak
08:25
would flow just to our relatives.
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gure ahaideengana soilik joango lirateke.
08:27
Had we chosen this option,
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Aukera hori hautatu izan bagenu,
08:29
sometime around 200,000 years ago,
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duela 200.000 urte inguru uneren batean,
08:32
we would probably still be living like the Neanderthals were
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seguru asko lehenbiziko Neanderthala Europan
08:35
when we first entered Europe 40,000 years ago.
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duela 40.000 urte sartu zenean bezala biziko ginateke.
08:38
And this is because in small groups
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Eta hori gertatuko zen talde txikietan
08:40
there are fewer ideas, there are fewer innovations.
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ideia gutxiago daudelako, berrikuntza gutxiago daudelako.
08:43
And small groups are more prone to accidents and bad luck.
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Eta talde txikietan ohikoagoak dira istripuak eta zorigaiztoa,
08:46
So if we'd chosen that path,
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Beraz, bide hori jarraitu izan bagenu,
08:48
our evolutionary path would have led into the forest --
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gure bilakabideak oihanera eramango gintuen --
08:51
and been a short one indeed.
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eta ondo laburra izango zen.
08:53
The other option we could choose
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Hauta genezakeen beste aukera
08:55
was to develop the systems of communication
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ideiak partekatzea eta beste batzuekin lankidetzan jardutea
08:58
that would allow us to share ideas
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ahalbidetuko zigun komunikazio-sistema
09:00
and to cooperate amongst others.
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garatzea zen.
09:03
Choosing this option would mean
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Aukera hori hautatzeak esan nahiko zuen
09:05
that a vastly greater fund of accumulated knowledge and wisdom
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edozein gizabanakok irispidean izango zuela
09:08
would become available to any one individual
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ezagutza eta jakinduria metatuzko funts askoz handiago hori,
09:11
than would ever arise from within an individual family
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inoiz familia bakartu baten barruan
09:14
or an individual person on their own.
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edo pertsona bakar batengan sortuko zena baino.
09:18
Well, we chose the second option,
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Ondo, bigarren aukera hautatu genuen,
09:21
and language is the result.
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eta hizkuntza da emaitza.
09:24
Language evolved to solve the crisis
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Hizkuntza ikusizko lapurretaren krisia
09:26
of visual theft.
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konpontzeko garatu zen.
09:28
Language is a piece of social technology
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Hizkuntza teknologia sozialeko zerbait da,
09:31
for enhancing the benefits of cooperation --
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lankidetzaren onurak hobetzeko --
09:34
for reaching agreements, for striking deals
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hitzarmenetara iristeko, kontratuak egiteko
09:37
and for coordinating our activities.
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eta gure jarduerak koordinatzeko.
09:41
And you can see that, in a developing society
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Eta ikus dezakezue garatze-bidean zihoan gizarte bat
09:43
that was beginning to acquire language,
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hizkuntza bereganatzen hasten zena,
09:45
not having language
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hizkuntzarik izan gabe,
09:47
would be a like a bird without wings.
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hegorik gabeko txori baten antzekoa izango zela.
09:49
Just as wings open up this sphere of air
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Hegoek txoriei aire-esfera bat ustiatzeko
09:52
for birds to exploit,
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aukera ematen dieten bezala,
09:54
language opened up the sphere of cooperation
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hizkuntzak lankidetzaren esfera ustiatzeko
09:56
for humans to exploit.
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aukera ireki zien gizakiei.
09:58
And we take this utterly for granted,
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Eta baieztapen hori segurutzat hartzen dugu,
10:00
because we're a species that is so at home with language,
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gu hizkuntzarekin hain gustura aurkitzen den espezie bat garelako.
10:03
but you have to realize
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Baina ohartu behar duzue
10:05
that even the simplest acts of exchange that we engage in
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truke-ekintzarik sinpleenari ekiteak ere
10:08
are utterly dependent upon language.
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hizkuntzaren premia duela.
10:11
And to see why, consider two scenarios
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Eta zergatik den hori ikusteko, azter ditzagun bi agertoki
10:13
from early in our evolution.
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gure eboluzioaren hasierakoak.
10:15
Let's imagine that you are really good
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Demagun benetan onak zaretela
10:17
at making arrowheads,
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gezi-muturrak egiten,
10:19
but you're hopeless at making the wooden shafts
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baina baldarrak zaretela hegan joanarazteko zurezko makila
10:22
with the flight feathers attached.
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lumadunak egiten.
10:25
Two other people you know are very good at making the wooden shafts,
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Beste bi pertsona ezagun oso onak dira zurezko makilak egiten,
10:28
but they're hopeless at making the arrowheads.
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baina traketsak gezi-muturrak egiten.
10:31
So what you do is --
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Egingo duzuena da -- pentsa pertsona horietako batek ez
10:33
one of those people has not really acquired language yet.
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duela oraindik hizkuntza bereganatu.
10:36
And let's pretend the other one is good at language skills.
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Eta demagun bestea ona dela hizkutza-trebetasunetan.
10:38
So what you do one day is you take a pile of arrowheads,
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Egun batean egingo duzuena izango da, hartuko duzuela gezi-mutur
10:41
and you walk up to the one that can't speak very well,
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mordo bat eta joango zaretela ondo hitz egin ez dezakeenarengana,
10:43
and you put the arrowheads down in front of him,
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eta gezi-muturrak haren aurrean jarriko dituzuela,
10:45
hoping that he'll get the idea that you want to trade your arrowheads
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gezi bukatuekin trukatu nahi dituzuela zuen gezi-muturrak
10:48
for finished arrows.
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hari adierazteko asmoz.
10:50
But he looks at the pile of arrowheads, thinks they're a gift,
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Baina hark begiratzen dio gezi-muturren pilari eta uste du opari bat direla,
10:52
picks them up, smiles and walks off.
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hartzen ditu, irribarre egiten du eta badoa.
10:55
Now you pursue this guy, gesticulating.
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Orduan zuek haren atzetik joaten zarete imintzioka.
10:57
A scuffle ensues and you get stabbed
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Istilua sortzen da eta
10:59
with one of your own arrowheads.
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zeuon gezi-muturretako batez zauritzen zaituzte.
11:02
Okay, now replay this scene now, and you're approaching the one who has language.
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Ondo da, orain joka dezagun berriro antzespena, eta zuek hiztunarengana hurbilduko zarete.
11:05
You put down your arrowheads and say,
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Jartzen dizkiozue gezi-muturrak aurrean eta esaten diozue:
11:07
"I'd like to trade these arrowheads for finished arrows. I'll split you 50/50."
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"Gezi-mutur hauek trukatu nahi ditugu bukaturiko geziekin. Erdibana egingo dugu"
11:10
The other one says, "Fine. Looks good to me.
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Besteak dio, "Ados. Ondo iruditzen zait.
11:12
We'll do that."
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Horixe egingo dugu."
11:15
Now the job is done.
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Listo.
11:18
Once we have language,
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Behin hizkuntza izanez gero,
11:20
we can put our ideas together and cooperate
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junta ditzakegu gure ideiak eta lankidetzan jardun
11:22
to have a prosperity
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hura izan aurretik lor ez genezakeen
11:24
that we couldn't have before we acquired it.
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oparotasuna lortzeko.
11:27
And this is why our species
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Eta horregatik aitzinatu da
11:29
has prospered around the world
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gure espeziea mundu osoan
11:31
while the rest of the animals
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gainerako animaliak
11:33
sit behind bars in zoos, languishing.
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zoologikoetan erreja tartean, makalduta dauden bitartean.
11:36
That's why we build space shuttles and cathedrals
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Horregatik eraikitzen ditugu espazio-ontziak eta katedralak,
11:39
while the rest of the world sticks sticks into the ground
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eta gainerakoak, aldiz, ari dira makilez jo eta jo egurra,
11:41
to extract termites.
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termitak ateratzeko.
11:43
All right, if this view of language
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Ederki, hizkuntzaren eta hark
11:46
and its value
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ikusizko lapurretaren krisia konpontzeko
11:48
in solving the crisis of visual theft is true,
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duen balioaren ikuspegi hori zuzena baldin bada,
11:51
any species that acquires it
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hura bereganatzen duen espezie orok
11:53
should show an explosion of creativity and prosperity.
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sormen- eta oparotasun-eztanda bat izango du.
11:56
And this is exactly what the archeological record shows.
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Eta horixe da erregistro arkeologikoek erakusten dutena.
11:59
If you look at our ancestors,
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Gure arbasoei begiratzen badiezue,
12:01
the Neanderthals and the Homo erectus, our immediate ancestors,
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Nenderthalei eta Homo erectusei, gure hurbileneko arbasoei,
12:04
they're confined to small regions of the world.
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ikusiko duzue haiek munduko eskualde txiki mugatuetan bizi zirela.
12:07
But when our species arose
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Baina gure espeziea sortu zenean
12:09
about 200,000 years ago,
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duela 200.000 urte inguru,
12:11
sometime after that we quickly walked out of Africa
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handik pixka batera agudo irten ginen Afrikatik
12:14
and spread around the entire world,
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eta zabaldu ginen mundu osoan,
12:17
occupying nearly every habitat on Earth.
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ia Lurreko habitat guztiak okupatuz.
12:20
Now whereas other species are confined
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Orain beste espezie batzuk beren geneek
12:23
to places that their genes adapt them to,
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egokitzen diren leku mugatuetan bizi diren bezala,
12:26
with social learning and language,
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ikaskuntza soziala eta hizkuntza baliatuz,
12:28
we could transform the environment
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guk eralda dezakegu ingurumena
12:30
to suit our needs.
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gure beharretara egokitzeko.
12:32
And so we prospered in a way
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Eta horrela beste animaliek ez bezalako
12:34
that no other animal has.
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oparotasuna lortu dugu.
12:36
Language really is
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Hizkuntza benetan
12:39
the most potent trait that has ever evolved.
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inoiz eboluzionatu duen ezaugarririk ahaltsuena da.
12:42
It is the most valuable trait we have
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Hura da dugun ezaugarririk baliagarriena
12:45
for converting new lands and resources
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lur berriak eta baliabideak
12:48
into more people and their genes
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pertsona gehiago eta inoiz hautespen naturalak
12:51
that natural selection has ever devised.
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asmatu ez dituen haien geneak bihurtzeko.
12:53
Language really is
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Hizkuntza benetan
12:55
the voice of our genes.
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gure geneen ahotsa da.
12:57
Now having evolved language, though,
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Hizkuntza garatuz, ordea,
12:59
we did something peculiar,
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zerbait berezia
13:01
even bizarre.
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eta are bitxia egin genuen.
13:03
As we spread out around the world,
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Munduan zehar barreiatu ahala,
13:05
we developed thousands of different languages.
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milaka hizkuntza diferente garatu genituen.
13:08
Currently, there are about seven or 8,000
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gaur egun, zazpi edo zortzi mila
13:10
different languages spoken on Earth.
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hizkuntza diferente inguru hitz egiten dira munduan.
13:13
Now you might say, well, this is just natural.
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Orain esan dezakezue, ondo da, hori naturala da.
13:15
As we diverge, our languages are naturally going to diverge.
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Urrundu ahala, gure hizkuntzek ere urruntzera joko dute.
13:18
But the real puzzle and irony
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Baina benetako puzzlea eta ironia da
13:20
is that the greatest density of different languages on Earth
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munduko hizkuntza diferenteen dentsitaterik handiena
13:23
is found where people are most tightly packed together.
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jendea trinkoen bilduta dagoen lekuetakoa dela.
13:27
If we go to the island of Papua New Guinea,
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Papua Ginea Berriko uhartera joaten bagara,
13:29
we can find about 800 to 1,000
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800 edo 1000 hizkuntza
13:32
distinct human languages,
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diferente
13:34
different human languages,
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aurkituko ditugu,
13:36
spoken on that island alone.
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uharte horretan soilik hitz egiten dituztenak.
13:38
There are places on that island
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Uharte horretako zenbait lekutan
13:40
where you can encounter a new language
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bizpahiru miliatik behin
13:42
every two or three miles.
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beste hizkuntza bat aurkituko duzu.
13:44
Now, incredible as this sounds,
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Harrigarria badirudi ere,
13:46
I once met a Papuan man, and I asked him if this could possibly be true.
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behin topo egin nuen Papuako gizon batekin eta galdetu nion hori egia ote zen.
13:49
And he said to me, "Oh no.
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Eta erantzun zidan, "O ez.
13:51
They're far closer together than that."
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Hori baino hurbilago daude oraindik elkarrengandik."
13:54
And it's true; there are places on that island
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Eta egia da; uharte horretako zenbait lekutan
13:56
where you can encounter a new language in under a mile.
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beste hizkuntza bat aurkituko duzu mila baten barruan.
13:59
And this is also true of some remote oceanic islands.
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Eta hori egia da halaber ozeanoko zenbait uharte galdutan ere.
14:03
And so it seems that we use our language,
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Eta, beraz, badirudi gure hizkuntza erabiltzen dugula
14:05
not just to cooperate,
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ez lankidetzan jarduteko, hain zuzen,
14:07
but to draw rings around our cooperative groups
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baizik eta eraztunak marrazteko gure lankidetza-taldeen inguruan
14:10
and to establish identities,
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eta identitateak ezartzeko,
14:12
and perhaps to protect our knowledge and wisdom and skills
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eta agian gure ezagutza eta jakinduria eta trebetasunak babesteko
14:15
from eavesdropping from outside.
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kanpokoen espioitzaren kontra.
14:18
And we know this
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Eta hori badakigu honako arrazoi honengatik:
14:20
because when we study different language groups
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hizkuntza-talde diferenteak aztertzen ditugunean
14:22
and associate them with their cultures,
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eta haien kulturekin batera hartzen ditugunean,
14:24
we see that different languages
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ikusten dugulako hizkuntza diferenteak izateak
14:26
slow the flow of ideas between groups.
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taldeen arteko ideia-trukeak moteldu egiten dituela.
14:29
They slow the flow of technologies.
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Teknologien trukeak moteltzen dituzte.
14:32
And they even slow the flow of genes.
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Eta geneen trukeak ere moteltzen dituzte.
14:35
Now I can't speak for you,
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Orain ezin dut zuengatik hitz egin
14:37
but it seems to be the case
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baina badirudi ez dugula sexu-harremanik izaten
14:39
that we don't have sex with people we can't talk to.
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gurekin hitz egin ezin dutenekin.
14:43
(Laughter)
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(Barreak)
14:45
Now we have to counter that, though,
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Orain, gezurtatu egin behar dugu, halere,
14:47
against the evidence we've heard
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entzuna dugun baieztapen bat:
14:49
that we might have had some rather distasteful genetic dalliances
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guk agian izango genituela Neanderthalekin eta Denisovatarrekin
14:52
with the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.
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nahaste genetiko nardagarri samarrak.
14:54
(Laughter)
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(Barreak)
14:56
Okay, this tendency we have,
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Ondo da, guk dugun bakartzeko, geure baitan biltzeko,
14:58
this seemingly natural tendency we have,
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joera horrek, itxuraz naturala den joera horrek,
15:00
towards isolation, towards keeping to ourselves,
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aurrez aurre egiten du talka
15:03
crashes head first into our modern world.
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gure mundu modernoarekin.
15:06
This remarkable image
365
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Irudi berezi hori
15:08
is not a map of the world.
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ez da munduaren mapa bat.
15:10
In fact, it's a map of Facebook friendship links.
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Facebookeko adiskide-esteken mapa bat da.
15:14
And when you plot those friendship links
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Eta adiskide-esteka horiek latitudearen eta
15:16
by their latitude and longitude,
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longitudearen arabera kokatzen dituzunean,
15:18
it literally draws a map of the world.
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munduaren mapa marrazten duzu literalki.
15:21
Our modern world is communicating
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Gure mundu modernoa bere buruarekin
15:23
with itself and with each other
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eta gainerakoekin komunikatzen ari da,
15:25
more than it has
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inoiz iraganean
15:27
at any time in its past.
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egin duen baino gehiago.
15:29
And that communication, that connectivity around the world,
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Eta komunikazio horrek, munduan zeharreko konektibitate horrek,
15:32
that globalization
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globalizazio horrek
15:34
now raises a burden.
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orain zama bat sorrarazten du.
15:37
Because these different languages
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Hizkuntza diferente horiek hesi bat
15:39
impose a barrier, as we've just seen,
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ezartzen baitute, arestian ikusi dugun bezala,
15:41
to the transfer of goods and ideas
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ondasunak eta ideiak
15:43
and technologies and wisdom.
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eta teknologiak eta jakinduria trukatzeko.
15:45
And they impose a barrier to cooperation.
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Eta hesi bat ezartzen diote lankidetzari.
15:48
And nowhere do we see that more clearly
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Eta hori ez dugu inon ikusten argiago
15:51
than in the European Union,
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Europar Batasunean baino,
15:53
whose 27 member countries
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non 27 estatu kideetan
15:56
speak 23 official languages.
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23 hizkuntza ofizial hitz egiten baitira.
15:59
The European Union
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Europar Batasuna
16:01
is now spending over one billion euros annually
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orain mila milioi euro gastatzen ari da urtero
16:05
translating among their 23 official languages.
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23 hizkuntza horien artean itzulpenak egiten.
16:08
That's something on the order
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Hori gutxi gorabehera
16:10
of 1.45 billion U.S. dollars
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1.450 milioi dolar estatubatuar da,
16:12
on translation costs alone.
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itzulpen-kostuetan bakarrik.
16:15
Now think of the absurdity of this situation.
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Pentsa ezazue zeinen zentzugabea den egoera hori.
16:17
If 27 individuals
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27 estatu kide horietako
16:19
from those 27 member states
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27 gizabanako
16:21
sat around table, speaking their 23 languages,
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mahai baten inguruan jartzen badira, beren 23 hizkuntzetan hitz egiten,
16:24
some very simple mathematics will tell you
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matematika sinple batzuek esango dizuete
16:26
that you need an army of 253 translators
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253 itzultzailez osaturiko armada bat behar duzuela,
16:30
to anticipate all the pairwise possibilities.
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sor daitezkeen bikote guztiei aurre egiteko.
16:34
The European Union employs a permanent staff
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Europar Batasunak 2.500 itzultzaileko
16:37
of about 2,500 translators.
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2000
talde iraunkor bat du.
16:39
And in 2007 alone --
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Eta 2007an bakarrik --
16:41
and I'm sure there are more recent figures --
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eta ziur nago zifra berriagoak izango direla --
16:43
something on the order of 1.3 million pages
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ingelesera bakarrik 1,3 milioi orrialde
16:46
were translated into English alone.
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itzuli zituzten.
16:49
And so if language really is
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Eta hizkuntza baldin bada benetan
16:52
the solution to the crisis of visual theft,
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ikusizko lapurretaren krisiaren soluzioa,
16:55
if language really is
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hizkuntza benetan baldin bada
16:57
the conduit of our cooperation,
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gure lankidetzaren bideratzailea,
16:59
the technology that our species derived
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ideien fluxu eta truke librea sustatzeko,
17:02
to promote the free flow and exchange of ideas,
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gure espezieak garatu zuen teknologia,
17:06
in our modern world,
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gure mundu modernoan,
17:08
we confront a question.
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galdera baten aurrean aurkitzen gara.
17:10
And that question is whether
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Eta galdera hori da ea
17:12
in this modern, globalized world
415
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mundu moderno, globalizatu honetan
17:14
we can really afford to have all these different languages.
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merezi duen hizkuntza diferente horiek guztiak izatea.
17:17
To put it this way, nature knows no other circumstance
417
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Bestela esateko, naturak ez du beste egoera bat ezagutzen
17:20
in which functionally equivalent traits coexist.
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funtzio baliokideak dituzten tasunak aldi berean mantentzen dituenik.
17:25
One of them always drives the other extinct.
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Horietako batek beti bestea desagerrarazten du.
17:28
And we see this in the inexorable march
420
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Eta ikusten dugu hor estandarizazioranzko
17:30
towards standardization.
421
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nahitanahiezko martxa dela.
17:32
There are lots and lots of ways of measuring things --
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Gauzak neurtzeko modu asko eta asko daude --
17:35
weighing them and measuring their length --
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haien pisua eta luzera neurtzeko --
17:37
but the metric system is winning.
424
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baina sistema metrikoa irabazten ari da.
17:39
There are lots and lots of ways of measuring time,
425
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Era asko eta asko daude denbora neurtzeko,
17:42
but a really bizarre base 60 system
426
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baina benetan bitxia den sistema hirurogeitar bat,
17:45
known as hours and minutes and seconds
427
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orduak, minutuak eta segundoak dituena
17:47
is nearly universal around the world.
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ia unibertsala da munduan zehar.
17:50
There are many, many ways
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Era asko eta asko daude
17:52
of imprinting CDs or DVDs,
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CDak edo DVDak grabatzeko,
17:54
but those are all being standardized as well.
431
1059000
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baina horiek guztiak ere estandarizatzen ari dira.
17:57
And you can probably think of many, many more
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1062000
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Eta, seguru asko, beste hainbat ere bururatzen zaizkizue
18:00
in your own everyday lives.
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1065000
2000
zeuon eguneroko bizitzakoak.
18:02
And so our modern world now
434
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Eta horrela gure mundu modernoa
18:05
is confronting us with a dilemma.
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1070000
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gaur dilema baten aurrean aurkitzen da.
18:07
And it's the dilemma
436
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Eta hori txinatarrak aurrean duen
18:09
that this Chinese man faces,
437
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dilema da,
18:11
who's language is spoken
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noren hizkuntza da munduan
18:13
by more people in the world
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2000
jende gehiagok hitz egiten duena
18:15
than any other single language,
440
1080000
3000
beste edozein hizkuntza baino,
18:18
and yet he is sitting at his blackboard,
441
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eta bere arbelean
18:22
converting Chinese phrases
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3000
txinerazko esaldiak itzultzen ari da
18:25
into English language phrases.
443
1090000
2000
ingelesera.
18:27
And what this does is it raises the possibility to us
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Eta hori egiteak dakarrena da,
18:30
that in a world in which we want to promote
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1095000
2000
lankidetza eta trukea sustatu nahi dugun mundu batean,
18:32
cooperation and exchange,
446
1097000
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inoiz baino gehiago
18:34
and in a world that might be dependent more than ever before
447
1099000
3000
gure oparotasun-mailak mantentzeko eta hobetzeko,
18:37
on cooperation
448
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2000
lankidetzaren mendeko izan daitekeen mundu batean,
18:39
to maintain and enhance our levels of prosperity,
449
1104000
3000
haren ekintzek
18:42
his actions suggest to us
450
1107000
2000
iradokitzen digutela
18:44
it might be inevitable
451
1109000
2000
ezinbestekoa izan daitekeela
18:46
that we have to confront the idea
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1111000
2000
gure etorkizuna hizkuntza bakarreko
18:48
that our destiny is to be one world with one language.
453
1113000
3000
mundu batean izango dugun ideiari aurre egin beharra
18:51
Thank you.
454
1116000
2000
Eskerrik asko.
18:53
(Applause)
455
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(Txaloak)
19:01
Matt Ridley: Mark, one question.
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Matt Ridley: Mark, galdera bat.
19:03
Svante found that the FOXP2 gene,
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Svante-k aurkitu zuen FOXP2 genea,
19:06
which seems to be associated with language,
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2000
dirudienez hizkuntzarekin erlazionaturik dagoena,
19:08
was also shared in the same form
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Neanderthalek eta guk
19:10
in Neanderthals as us.
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forma berean partekatu genuela.
19:12
Do we have any idea
461
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Ba al dakigu zergatik
19:14
how we could have defeated Neanderthals
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gainditu genituen Neanderthalak
19:16
if they also had language?
463
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haiek ere hizkuntza baldin bazuten?
19:18
Mark Pagel: This is a very good question.
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Mark pagel: oso galdera ona da hori.
19:20
So many of you will be familiar with the idea that there's this gene called FOXP2
465
1145000
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Zuetako askok jakingo duzue badela FOXP2 deritzon gene hori eta
19:23
that seems to be implicated in some ways
466
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3000
nola edo hala hizkuntzarekin erlazionaturik dagoen
19:26
in the fine motor control that's associated with language.
467
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kontrol motor finean parte hartzen duela.
19:29
The reason why I don't believe that tells us
468
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Honako arrazoi honegatik ez dut uste
19:31
that the Neanderthals had language
469
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2000
Neanderthalek hizkuntza zutenik --
19:33
is -- here's a simple analogy:
470
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analogia sinple bat dago hor:
19:36
Ferraris are cars that have engines.
471
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Ferrariak motorrak dituzten autoak dira.
19:39
My car has an engine,
472
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Nire autoak motorra du,
19:41
but it's not a Ferrari.
473
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baina ez da Ferrari bat.
19:43
Now the simple answer then
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Horri eman dakiokeen erantzun sinplea
19:45
is that genes alone don't, all by themselves,
475
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da geneek soilik, haiek bakarrik,
19:47
determine the outcome
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ez dituztela erabat zertzen
19:49
of very complicated things like language.
477
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2000
hizkuntza bezalako oso gauza konplikatuak.
19:51
What we know about this FOXP2 and Neanderthals
478
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FOXP2-az eta Neanderthalez dakiguna da,
19:53
is that they may have had fine motor control of their mouths -- who knows.
479
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beren ahoen kontrol motor fina izango zutela agian -- nork daki.
19:57
But that doesn't tell us they necessarily had language.
480
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baina horrek ez digunahitanahiez adierazten hzikuntza zutela.
19:59
MR: Thank you very much indeed.
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MR: Eskerrik asko.
20:01
(Applause)
482
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(Txaloak)
Translated by Andoni Sagarna
Reviewed by olatz mercader

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Pagel - Evolutionary biologist
Using biological evolution as a template, Mark Pagel wonders how languages evolve.

Why you should listen

Mark Pagel builds statistical models to examine the evolutionary processes imprinted in human behavior, from genomics to the emergence of complex systems -- to culture. His latest work examines the parallels between linguistic and biological evolution by applying methods of phylogenetics, or the study of evolutionary relatedness among groups, essentially viewing language as a culturally transmitted replicator with many of the same properties we find in genes. He’s looking for patterns in the rates of evolution of language elements, and hoping to find the social factors that influence trends of language evolution.
 
At the University of Reading, Pagel heads the Evolution Laboratory in the biology department, where he explores such questions as, "Why would humans evolve a system of communication that prevents them with communicating with other members of the same species?" He has used statistical methods to reconstruct features of dinosaur genomes, and to infer ancestral features of genes and proteins.

He says: "Just as we have highly conserved genes, we have highly conserved words. Language shows a truly remarkable fidelity."

More profile about the speaker
Mark Pagel | Speaker | TED.com