ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Steven Pinker - Psychologist
Steven Pinker is a professor of cognitive science (the study of the human mind) who writes about language, mind and human nature.

Why you should listen

Steven Pinker grew up in the English-speaking community of Montreal but has spent his adult life bouncing back and forth between Harvard and MIT. He is interested in all aspects of human nature: how we see, hear, think, speak, remember, feel and interact.

To be specific: he developed the first comprehensive theory of language acquisition in children, used verb meaning as a window into cognition, probed the limits of neural networks and showed how the interaction between memory and computation shapes language. He has used evolution to illuminate innuendo, emotional expression and social coordination. He has documented historical declines in violence and explained them in terms of the ways that the violent and peaceable components of human nature interact in different eras. He has written books on the language instinct, how the mind works, the stuff of thought and the doctrine of the blank slate, together with a guide to stylish writing that is rooted in psychology.

In his latest book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, he writes about progress -- why people are healthier, richer, safer, happier and better educated than ever. His other books include The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, The Stuff of Thought, and The Better Angels of Our Nature.

More profile about the speaker
Steven Pinker | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2005

Steven Pinker: What our language habits reveal

Steven Pinker: Steven Pinker fala sobre linguaxe e pensamento

Filmed:
2,457,061 views

Nun adianto en exclusiva do seu libro "The Stuff of Thought", Steven Pinker analiza a linguaxe, como expresa o que ocorre nas nosas mentes e como as palabras que escollemos comunican moito máis do que percibimos.
- Psychologist
Steven Pinker is a professor of cognitive science (the study of the human mind) who writes about language, mind and human nature. Full bio

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

00:26
This is a picture of Maurice Druon,
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Esta é unha foto de Maurice Druon,
00:28
the Honorary Perpetual Secretary of L'Academie francaise,
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o Secretario Honorario a Perpetuidade
de L'Academie Française,
00:32
the French Academy.
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a Academia Francesa.
00:34
He is splendidly attired in his 68,000-dollar uniform,
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Está moi elegante co seu uniforme
de 68.000 dólares,
00:39
befitting the role of the French Academy
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como corresponde á función
da Academia Francesa
00:42
as legislating the
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como órgano lexislador
00:45
correct usage in French
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dos usos correctos do francés
00:47
and perpetuating the language.
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e garante da continuidade do idioma.
00:49
The French Academy has two main tasks:
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A Academia Francesa ten
dúas tarefas principais:
00:52
it compiles a dictionary of official French.
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Compila un dicionario oficial de francés.
00:55
They're now working on their ninth edition,
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Agora están traballando
na novena edición,
00:58
which they began in 1930, and they've reached the letter P.
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que comezaron en 1930,
e van pola letra P.
01:02
They also legislate on correct usage,
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Tamén lexislan sobre usos correctos,
01:05
such as the proper term for what the French call "email,"
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como, por exemplo, cal é o termo apropiado
para o que os franceses chaman "email",
01:09
which ought to be "courriel."
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que debería ser "courriel".
01:11
The World Wide Web, the French are told,
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Aos franceses dinlles
que a World Wide Web
01:13
ought to be referred to as
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debería ser
01:15
"la toile d'araignee mondiale" -- the Global Spider Web --
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"toile d’araignée mondiale",
a arañeira global,
01:19
recommendations that the French gaily ignore.
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recomendacións que os franceses
ignoran alegremente.
01:24
Now, this is one model of how language comes to be:
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Este é un modelo de como é a lingua:
01:28
namely, it's legislated by an academy.
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é dicir, está lexislada por unha academia.
01:31
But anyone who looks at language realizes
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Pero calquera que observa
as linguas dáse de conta
01:34
that this is a rather silly conceit,
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de que é unha vaidade
bastante inútil,
01:38
that language, rather, emerges from human minds interacting from one another.
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que a lingua xorde da interacción
entre as mentes humanas.
01:41
And this is visible in the unstoppable change in language --
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E isto é visible no cambio
imparable da lingua,
01:45
the fact that by the time the Academy finishes their dictionary,
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no feito de que cando a Academia
acabe o seu dicionario,
01:48
it will already be well out of date.
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xa estará caducado.
01:50
We see it in the
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Vémolo
01:52
constant appearance of slang and jargon,
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na aparición constante de xerga,
01:56
of the historical change in languages,
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no cambio histórico das linguas,
01:58
in divergence of dialects
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na diverxencia de dialectos
02:00
and the formation of new languages.
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e na formación de novas linguas.
02:03
So language is not so much a creator or shaper of human nature,
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Así que máis ca unha creadora
ou formadora da natureza humana,
02:06
so much as a window onto human nature.
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a lingua é unha ventá
cara á natureza humana.
02:09
In a book that I'm currently working on,
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Nun libro no que estou traballando,
02:12
I hope to use language to shed light on
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espero utilizar a linguaxe para botar luz
02:15
a number of aspects of human nature,
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sobre diversos aspectos
da natureza humana,
02:17
including the cognitive machinery
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incluíndo a maquinaria cognitiva
02:19
with which humans conceptualize the world
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coa que os humanos conceptualizan o mundo
02:22
and the relationship types that govern human interaction.
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e os tipos de relacións que
gobernan a interacción humana.
02:25
And I'm going to say a few words about each one this morning.
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E esta mañá vou falar
destes dous aspectos.
02:28
Let me start off with a technical problem in language
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Comezarei cun problema técnico
da linguaxe
02:30
that I've worried about for quite some time --
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do que me ocupei durante algún tempo
02:32
and indulge me
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e desculpade
02:36
in my passion for verbs and how they're used.
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a miña paixón polos verbos e os seus usos.
02:39
The problem is, which verbs go in which constructions?
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O problema é: que verbos van
en que construcións?
02:42
The verb is the chassis of the sentence.
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O verbo é o chasis da oración.
02:45
It's the framework onto which the other parts are bolted.
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É o marco no cal encaixan
as outras partes.
02:49
Let me give you a quick reminder
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Deixádeme lembrarvos rapidamente
02:51
of something that you've long forgotten.
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algo que seguramente esquecestes.
02:53
An intransitive verb, such as "dine," for example,
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Un verbo intransitivo como
"enfermar" por exemplo,
02:56
can't take a direct object.
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non pode levar obxecto directo.
02:58
You have to say, "Sam dined," not, "Sam dined the pizza."
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Dicimos "Sam enfermou" pero non
"enfermou unha enfermidade".
03:01
A transitive verb mandates
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Un verbo transitivo ordena
03:03
that there has to be an object there:
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que ten que haber un obxecto aí:
03:05
"Sam devoured the pizza." You can't just say, "Sam devoured."
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"Sam devorou a pizza". Non
podedes dicir "Sam devorou".
03:08
There are dozens or scores of verbs of this type,
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Hai ducias ou vintenas
de verbos deste tipo,
03:12
each of which shapes its sentence.
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cada un forma a frase á súa maneira.
03:14
So, a problem in explaining how children learn language,
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Así que un problema que xorde ao explicar
como os nenos aprenden unha lingua,
03:18
a problem in teaching language to adults so that they don't make grammatical errors,
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ou cando se lles ensina a adultos
para que non teñan erros gramaticais,
03:23
and a problem in programming computers to use language is
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ou ao programar ordenadores
para usar a linguaxe é
03:26
which verbs go in which constructions.
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que verbos van en que construcións.
Por exemplo, a construción dativa
en inglés.
03:29
For example, the dative construction in English.
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Pódese dicir "Dálle unha madalena
ao rato", o dativo preposicional.
03:31
You can say, "Give a muffin to a mouse," the prepositional dative.
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03:34
Or, "Give a mouse a muffin," the double-object dative.
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Ou "Dálle ao rato unha madalena",
o dativo de dobre obxecto.
03:37
"Promise anything to her," "Promise her anything," and so on.
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"Promételle calquera cousa a ela",
"Promételle a ela calquera cousa", etc.
Centos de verbos poden
aparecer das dúas maneiras.
03:41
Hundreds of verbs can go both ways.
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03:43
So a tempting generalization for a child,
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Así que unha xeneralización
tentadora para un rapaz,
03:45
for an adult, for a computer
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para un adulto ou para un ordenador
03:47
is that any verb that can appear in the construction,
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é que calquera verbo que
pode aparecer na estrutura
03:49
"subject-verb-thing-to-a-recipient"
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"suxeito-verbo-obxecto-destinatario"
03:52
can also be expressed as "subject-verb-recipient-thing."
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pódese expresar tamén como
"suxeito-verbo-destinatario-obxecto".
03:55
A handy thing to have,
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Algo moi útil
porque a lingua é infinita
03:57
because language is infinite,
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03:59
and you can't just parrot back the sentences that you've heard.
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e non podemos limitarnos a repetir
as oracións que oímos.
04:02
You've got to extract generalizations
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Temos que extraer xeneralizacións
04:04
so you can produce and understand new sentences.
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para producir e entender outras novas.
04:07
This would be an example of how to do that.
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Isto pode ser un exemplo de como facelo.
04:09
Unfortunately, there appear to be idiosyncratic exceptions.
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Por desgraza, semella que hai
certas idiosincrasias.
04:12
You can say, "Biff drove the car to Chicago,"
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Pódese dicir "Biff levou o coche
a Chicago"
04:15
but not, "Biff drove Chicago the car."
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pero non "Biff levou Chicago ao coche"
04:18
You can say, "Sal gave Jason a headache,"
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Podedes dicir "Sal deulle a
Jason dor de cabeza"
pero é raro dicir: "Sal deulle
unha dor de cabeza a Jason."
04:21
but it's a bit odd to say, "Sal gave a headache to Jason."
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04:24
The solution is that these constructions, despite initial appearance,
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A solución está en que esas construcións,
a pesar da aparencia inicial,
04:27
are not synonymous,
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non son sinónimas,
04:29
that when you crank up the microscope
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e cando miramos ao microscopio
04:31
on human cognition, you see that there's a subtle difference
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a cognición humana, vemos
unha diferenza sutil
04:33
in meaning between them.
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de significado entre elas.
04:35
So, "give the X to the Y,"
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Así que "dar X a Y",
04:37
that construction corresponds to the thought
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esa construción correspóndese
co pensamento
04:40
"cause X to go to Y." Whereas "give the Y the X"
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"causar que X vaia ata Y".
Mentres que "Dar a Y X"
04:43
corresponds to the thought "cause Y to have X."
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corresponde ao pensamento
"causar que Y teña X".
04:47
Now, many events can be subject to either construal,
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Moitos eventos poden
recibir as dúas interpretacións,
04:51
kind of like the classic figure-ground reversal illusions,
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como a clásica ilusión óptica figura-fondo
04:54
in which you can either pay attention
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na que ou ben prestades atención
04:57
to the particular object,
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ao obxecto particular,
04:59
in which case the space around it recedes from attention,
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en cuxo caso o espazo ao redor
queda excluído da atención,
05:03
or you can see the faces in the empty space,
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ou vedes as caras no espazo baleiro,
05:05
in which case the object recedes out of consciousness.
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en cuxo caso o obxecto queda
excluído da nosa consciencia.
05:09
How are these construals reflected in language?
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Como se reflicten esas
construcións na linguaxe?
05:11
Well, in both cases, the thing that is construed as being affected
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Ben, en ambos os casos, a cousa que
se interpreta como obxecto afectado
05:15
is expressed as the direct object,
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exprésase co obxecto directo,
05:17
the noun after the verb.
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o nome despois do verbo.
05:19
So, when you think of the event as causing the muffin to go somewhere --
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Así que cando pensades na acción como
provocar que a madalena vaia a algún lado,
05:23
where you're doing something to the muffin --
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é dicir, facédeslle algo á madalena,
05:25
you say, "Give the muffin to the mouse."
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dicides "Dálle a madalena ao rato".
05:27
When you construe it as "cause the mouse to have something,"
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Cando o interpretades como
"provocar que o rato teña algo",
05:30
you're doing something to the mouse,
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estades facéndolle algo ao rato,
05:32
and therefore you express it as, "Give the mouse the muffin."
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e polo tanto expresádelo
como "Dálle ao rato a madalena".
05:35
So which verbs go in which construction --
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Entón, que verbos van en cada construción?
05:37
the problem with which I began --
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O problema co que comecei
05:39
depends on whether the verb specifies a kind of motion
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depende de se o verbo
especifica un tipo de movemento
05:43
or a kind of possession change.
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ou un tipo de cambio de posesión.
05:45
To give something involves both causing something to go
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Dar algo implica tanto causar
que algo cambie de lugar
05:48
and causing someone to have.
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como causar que alguén teña algo.
05:50
To drive the car only causes something to go,
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Levar o coche só causa
que algo cambie de lugar,
05:53
because Chicago's not the kind of thing that can possess something.
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porque Chicago non é o tipo
de cousa que poida posuír algo.
05:55
Only humans can possess things.
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Só os humanos posúen cousas.
E darlle a alguén dor de cabeza é
causar que teña dor de cabeza
05:58
And to give someone a headache causes them to have the headache,
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06:00
but it's not as if you're taking the headache out of your head
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pero non é coma se vós
colledes a dor da vosa cabeza,
06:03
and causing it to go to the other person,
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provocades que vaia cara a outra persoa
06:05
and implanting it in them.
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e implantádela nela.
Podedes ser ruidosos ou insoportables,
06:07
You may just be loud or obnoxious,
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ou calquera outra cousa
que cause dor de cabeza.
06:09
or some other way causing them to have the headache.
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06:11
So, that's
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Así que, este é
un exemplo do tipo de cousas
que fago nun día de traballo.
06:15
an example of the kind of thing that I do in my day job.
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06:17
So why should anyone care?
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E por que había de importarlle a ninguén?
06:19
Well, there are a number of interesting conclusions, I think,
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Ben, hai unha serie de
conclusións interesantes, creo,
06:22
from this and many similar kinds of analyses
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derivadas deste e de moitos tipos
semellantes de análise
06:26
of hundreds of English verbs.
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de centos de verbos en inglés.
06:28
First, there's a level of fine-grained conceptual structure,
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Primeiro, hai un nivel de estrutura
conceptual complexa,
06:31
which we automatically and unconsciously compute
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que procesamos de xeito automático
e inconsciente
06:34
every time we produce or utter a sentence, that governs our use of language.
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cada vez que producimos unha frase
e que rexe o noso uso da lingua.
06:38
You can think of this as the language of thought, or "mentalese."
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Podemos pensar nisto como a linguaxe
do pensamento ou "mentalés".
06:42
It seems to be based on a fixed set of concepts,
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Parece que está baseada nun
conxunto fixo de conceptos,
06:45
which govern dozens of constructions and thousands of verbs --
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que regula ducias de construcións
e miles de verbos
06:48
not only in English, but in all other languages --
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non só en inglés senón tamén
no resto das linguas,
06:51
fundamental concepts such as space,
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conceptos fundamentais como espazo,
06:53
time, causation and human intention,
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tempo, causa e intención humana,
06:56
such as, what is the means and what is the ends?
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como cal é o medio e cal é o fin?
06:59
These are reminiscent of the kinds of categories
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Lémbrannos os tipos de categorías
07:01
that Immanuel Kant argued
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que Immanuel Kant propuxo
07:03
are the basic framework for human thought,
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como o marco básico para o
pensamento humano,
07:06
and it's interesting that our unconscious use of language
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e é interesante que o noso
uso inconsciente da linguaxe
07:09
seems to reflect these Kantian categories.
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parece reflectir
esas categorías kantianas.
Non lle interesan as calidades
da percepción
07:12
Doesn't care about perceptual qualities,
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07:14
such as color, texture, weight and speed,
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como cor, textura, peso e velocidade,
07:16
which virtually never differentiate
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que practicamente nunca distinguen
07:18
the use of verbs in different constructions.
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o uso dos verbos
en distintas construcións.
07:21
An additional twist is that all of the constructions in English
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Unha cuestión adicional é que
todas as construcións en inglés
07:24
are used not only literally,
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úsanse non só literalmente
07:26
but in a quasi-metaphorical way.
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senón tamén nun xeito case metafórico.
07:29
For example, this construction, the dative,
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Por exemplo, esta construción, o dativo,
07:31
is used not only to transfer things,
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úsase non só para transferir cousas,
07:33
but also for the metaphorical transfer of ideas,
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senón tamén para a transferencia
metafórica de ideas,
07:36
as when we say, "She told a story to me"
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como cando dicimos "Ela
contoume un conto a min"
07:38
or "told me a story,"
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ou "contoume un conto",
"Max ensinou español aos estudantes" ou
"ensinou aos estudantes español".
07:40
"Max taught Spanish to the students" or "taught the students Spanish."
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07:43
It's exactly the same construction,
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É exactamente a mesma construción,
07:45
but no muffins, no mice, nothing moving at all.
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pero non hai madalenas
nin ratos. Non se move nada.
07:49
It evokes the container metaphor of communication,
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Evoca a metáfora da comunicación
na cal concibimos as ideas como obxectos,
07:52
in which we conceive of ideas as objects,
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07:54
sentences as containers,
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as frases como envases
e a comunicación como un tipo de envío.
07:56
and communication as a kind of sending.
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Como ao dicirmos que "recollemos" ideas,
para "poñelas" en palabras
07:58
As when we say we "gather" our ideas, to "put" them "into" words,
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08:01
and if our words aren't "empty" or "hollow,"
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e, se as palabras
non están "baleiras" ou "ocas"
08:03
we might get these ideas "across" to a listener,
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poderiamos levalas "ata" un oínte
que "abra" as nosas palabras
para "extraer" o seu "contido".
08:06
who can "unpack" our words to "extract" their "content."
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08:09
And indeed, this kind of verbiage is not the exception, but the rule.
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E ese tipo de verbosidade non
é a excepción, é a regra.
08:12
It's very hard to find any example of abstract language
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É moi difícil atopar exemplos de
linguaxe abstracta
08:15
that is not based on some concrete metaphor.
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que non se basee
nalgunha metáfora concreta.
08:18
For example, you can use the verb "go"
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Por exemplo, podedes usar o verbo "ir"
08:21
and the prepositions "to" and "from"
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e as preposicións "a" e "de"
08:23
in a literal, spatial sense.
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nun sentido literal, espacial:
08:25
"The messenger went from Paris to Istanbul."
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"O mensaxeiro foi de París a Istanbul."
08:27
You can also say, "Biff went from sick to well."
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Podedes dicir tamén "Biff
pasou de grave a estable "
08:30
He needn't go anywhere. He could have been in bed the whole time,
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Non precisou de ir a ningures.
Puido estar na cama todo o tempo
08:33
but it's as if his health is a point in state space
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pero é coma se a súa saúde
fose un punto nun espazo
08:35
that you conceptualize as moving.
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conceptualizado como movemento.
08:37
Or, "The meeting went from three to four,"
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Ou "a reunión foi de dúas a tres"
08:39
in which we conceive of time as stretched along a line.
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onde concibimos o tempo como
algo despregado nunha liña.
08:42
Likewise, we use "force" to indicate
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Da mesma maneira, usamos "forza"
para indicar
08:45
not only physical force,
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non só forza física,
08:47
as in, "Rose forced the door to open,"
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como en "Rose forzou a porta para abrila",
08:49
but also interpersonal force,
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senón tamén forza interpersoal,
08:51
as in, "Rose forced Sadie to go," not necessarily by manhandling her,
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como en "Rosa forzou a Sadie a marchar"
non necesariamente agarrándoa
08:55
but by issuing a threat.
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senón ameazándoa.
08:57
Or, "Rose forced herself to go,"
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Ou "Rose forzouse a marchar"
08:59
as if there were two entities inside Rose's head,
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coma se houbera dúas entidades
dentro da cabeza de Rose
09:02
engaged in a tug of a war.
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nun tira e afrouxa.
09:04
Second conclusion is that the ability to conceive
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A segunda conclusión é
que a capacidade para concibir
09:07
of a given event in two different ways,
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un determinado evento
de dúas maneiras diferentes,
09:10
such as "cause something to go to someone"
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como "causar que algo vaia a alguén"
09:12
and "causing someone to have something,"
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e "causar que alguén teña algo"
09:14
I think is a fundamental feature of human thought,
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creo que é unha característica
fundamental do pensamento humano
09:18
and it's the basis for much human argumentation,
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e é a base da maioría
da argumentación humana
09:21
in which people don't differ so much on the facts
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na que a xente non difire moito nos feitos
senón en como deben de ser interpretados.
09:24
as on how they ought to be construed.
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Só para darvos un par de exemplos:
09:26
Just to give you a few examples:
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"poñer fin a un embarazo" fronte
a "matar un feto"
09:28
"ending a pregnancy" versus "killing a fetus;"
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09:30
"a ball of cells" versus "an unborn child;"
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"un conxunto de células" fronte a
"un neno que non naceu"
09:33
"invading Iraq" versus "liberating Iraq;"
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"invadindo Iraq" fronte a "liberando Iraq"
09:35
"redistributing wealth" versus "confiscating earnings."
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"redistribuíndo riqueza" fronte a
"confiscando bens"
09:39
And I think the biggest picture of all
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E eu penso que a imaxe
máis grande de todas
09:41
would take seriously the fact
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tomaría en serio o feito
09:44
that so much of our verbiage about abstract events
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de que moitas das nosas expresións
sobre verbos abstractos
09:47
is based on a concrete metaphor
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baséanse en metáforas concretas.
09:49
and see human intelligence itself
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Concibiría a intelixencia
humana en si mesma
09:51
as consisting of a repertoire of concepts --
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como formada por un repertorio
de conceptos
09:54
such as objects, space, time, causation and intention --
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como obxectos, espazo, tempo,
causa e intención
09:57
which are useful in a social, knowledge-intensive species,
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que son útiles para unha especie social
con grandes cantidades de coñecemento
10:01
whose evolution you can well imagine,
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cuxa evolución podedes imaxinar
10:03
and a process of metaphorical abstraction
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e un proceso de abstracción metafórica
10:06
that allows us to bleach these concepts
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que nos permite despoxar estes conceptos
10:08
of their original conceptual content --
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do seu contido conceptual orixinal:
10:11
space, time and force --
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espazo, tempo e forza
10:14
and apply them to new abstract domains,
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e aplicalos a novos dominios abstractos,
10:16
therefore allowing a species that evolved
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permitindo así que unha especie
que evolucionou
10:19
to deal with rocks and tools and animals,
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para manexar rocas,
ferramentas e animais
10:21
to conceptualize mathematics, physics, law
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puidese conceptualizar
matemáticas, física, dereito
10:24
and other abstract domains.
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e outros dominios abstractos.
10:27
Well, I said I'd talk about two windows on human nature --
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Dixen que falaría de dúas ventás
abertas á natureza humana:
10:30
the cognitive machinery with which we conceptualize the world,
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a maquinaria cognitiva coa que
conceptualizamos o mundo
10:33
and now I'm going to say a few words about the relationship types
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e agora vou falar un pouco
acerca dos tipos de relacións
10:35
that govern human social interaction,
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que gobernan a interacción social humana,
10:37
again, as reflected in language.
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outra vez, como se reflicte na lingua.
10:40
And I'll start out with a puzzle, the puzzle of indirect speech acts.
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E vou comezar cun problema,
o dos actos de fala indirectos.
Seguro que a maioría de vós vistes
a película "Fargo".
10:44
Now, I'm sure most of you have seen the movie "Fargo."
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10:46
And you might remember the scene in which
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Se cadra lembrades a escena en que
10:48
the kidnapper is pulled over by a police officer,
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un oficial de policía detén o secuestrador
10:51
is asked to show his driver's license
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e pídelle o carné de conducir
10:53
and holds his wallet out
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e este sostén a carteira
10:55
with a 50-dollar bill extending
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cun billete de 50 dólares asomando
10:58
at a slight angle out of the wallet.
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nun ángulo fóra da carteira.
11:00
And he says, "I was just thinking
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E di "Eu estaba pensando
11:02
that maybe we could take care of it here in Fargo,"
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que se cadra poderiamos
resolvelo aquí en Fargo"
11:04
which everyone, including the audience,
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o que todo o mundo, incluíndo a audiencia,
11:07
interprets as a veiled bribe.
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interpreta como un suborno encuberto.
11:10
This kind of indirect speech is rampant in language.
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Este tipo de discurso indirecto
é moi común na lingua.
11:14
For example, in polite requests,
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Por exemplo, en peticións formais
11:16
if someone says, "If you could pass the guacamole,
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se alguén di "Se puideras
pasarme o guacamole
11:18
that would be awesome,"
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sería estupendo"
11:20
we know exactly what he means,
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sabemos exactamente o que significa
11:22
even though that's a rather bizarre
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aínda que é un concepto
11:24
concept being expressed.
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un pouco estraño ao poñelo en palabras.
11:26
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
11:29
"Would you like to come up and see my etchings?"
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"Gustaríache vir ver os meus gravados?"
11:31
I think most people
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Penso que a maioría da xente
11:33
understand the intent behind that.
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entende a intención detrás disto.
11:36
And likewise, if someone says,
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E da mesma maneira, se alguén di
11:38
"Nice store you've got there. It would be a real shame if something happened to it" --
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"Tes unha tenda ben bonita.
Sería unha pena que lle pasase algo"
11:41
(Laughter) --
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(Risos)
11:42
we understand that as a veiled threat,
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entendémolo como unha ameaza encuberta
11:44
rather than a musing of hypothetical possibilities.
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máis que unha reflexión sobre
posibilidades hipotéticas.
11:47
So the puzzle is, why are bribes,
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Así que o enigma é, por que os subornos,
peticións formais, solicitudes
e ameazas son a miúdo algo encuberto?
11:50
polite requests, solicitations and threats so often veiled?
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11:53
No one's fooled.
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Ninguén se engana.
11:55
Both parties know exactly what the speaker means,
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Ambas as partes saben exactamente
que quere dicir o falante
11:58
and the speaker knows the listener knows
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e o falante sabe que o oínte sabe
12:00
that the speaker knows that the listener knows, etc., etc.
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que o falante sabe
que o oínte sabe, etc., etc.
12:03
So what's going on?
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Entón, que está a pasar?
12:05
I think the key idea is that language
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Eu penso que a idea clave é que a linguaxe
12:07
is a way of negotiating relationships,
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é unha maneira de negociar relacións
12:09
and human relationships fall into a number of types.
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e as relacións humanas poden ser
de varios tipos.
12:12
There's an influential taxonomy by the anthropologist Alan Fiske,
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Hai unha importante taxonomía creada
polo antropólogo Alan Fiske,
12:16
in which relationships can be categorized, more or less,
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na que as relacións poden ser
categorizadas máis ou menos
12:19
into communality, which works on the principle
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en comunitarismo, que se basea no principio
12:21
"what's mine is thine, what's thine is mine,"
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"O que é meu é teu, o que é teu é meu"
12:24
the kind of mindset that operates within a family, for example;
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o tipo de pensamento que opera,
por exemplo, nunha familia;
12:28
dominance, whose principle is "don't mess with me;"
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dominio, cuxo principio é
"non te metas conmigo",
12:31
reciprocity, "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours;"
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reciprocidade, "ti rascas as
miñas costas, eu rasco as túas";
12:35
and sexuality, in the immortal words of Cole Porter, "Let's do it."
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e sexualidade, nas palabras
inmortais de Cole Porter "Fagámolo".
12:40
Now, relationship types can be negotiated.
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Agora ben, os tipos de relacións
pódense negociar.
12:43
Even though there are default situations
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Aínda que hai situacións prototípicas
12:46
in which one of these mindsets can be applied,
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nas que se pode aplicar un
destes esquemas mentais,
12:48
they can be stretched and extended.
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pódense despregar e estender.
12:51
For example, communality applies most naturally
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Por exemplo, o comunitarismo aplícase
12:54
within family or friends,
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en familia ou con amigos
12:56
but it can be used to try to transfer
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pero pode ser usado para transferir
12:58
the mentality of sharing
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a mentalidade de compartir
13:00
to groups that ordinarily would not be disposed to exercise it.
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a grupos que normalmente non estarían
dispostos a practicalo.
13:04
For example, in brotherhoods, fraternal organizations,
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Por exemplo, en irmandades,
organizacións fraternais,
13:08
sororities, locutions like "the family of man,"
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irmandades femininas,
expresións como "a familia do home"
inténtase que xente que
non está emparentada
13:11
you try to get people who are not related
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13:13
to use the relationship type that would ordinarily
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use os tipos de relacións
que ordinariamente
13:17
be appropriate to close kin.
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serían apropiadas entre parentes.
13:19
Now, mismatches -- when one person assumes one relationship type,
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Pero as confusións, cando
unha persoa asume un tipo de relación
13:22
and another assumes a different one -- can be awkward.
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e a outra asume unha diferente,
poden ser estrañas.
13:25
If you went over and you helped yourself
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Se vós pasades e colledes
13:27
to a shrimp off your boss' plate,
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un lagostino do prato do voso xefe,
13:29
for example, that would be an awkward situation.
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por exemplo, sería unha situación incómoda
13:31
Or if a dinner guest after the meal
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ou se un convidado despois da comida
13:33
pulled out his wallet and offered to pay you for the meal,
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saca a súa carteira e ofrécese a pagar
13:36
that would be rather awkward as well.
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sería bastante incómodo tamén.
13:38
In less blatant cases,
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En casos menos obvios
13:41
there's still a kind of negotiation that often goes on.
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tamén se dá a miúdo
certo tipo de negociación.
13:44
In the workplace, for example,
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No traballo, por exemplo,
hai a miúdo unha tensión
sobre se un empregado
13:46
there's often a tension over whether an employee
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13:48
can socialize with the boss,
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pode socializar co xefe,
13:50
or refer to him or her
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ou dirixirse a el ou ela
13:52
on a first-name basis.
300
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atuándoo.
Se dous amigos participan nunha
13:54
If two friends have a
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13:56
reciprocal transaction, like selling a car,
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transacción recíproca,
como a venda dun coche
13:58
it's well known that this can be a source
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é ben sabido que isto pode ser unha fonte
14:00
of tension or awkwardness.
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de tensión ou incomodidade.
14:02
In dating, the transition
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Nas citas, a transición
14:04
from friendship to sex
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da amizade ao sexo
14:06
can lead to, notoriously, various forms of awkwardness,
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pode dar lugar a distintas formas
de incomodidade ben coñecidas,
14:09
and as can sex in the workplace,
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igual có sexo no traballo,
14:11
in which we call the conflict between a
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onde ao conflito entre unha relación
14:13
dominant and a sexual relationship "sexual harassment."
310
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4000
de dominación e unha sexual
chamámoslle "acoso sexual".
14:17
Well, what does this have to do with language?
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Ben, que ten que ver isto coa linguaxe?
14:19
Well, language, as a social interaction,
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Pois que a linguaxe,
como interacción social,
14:21
has to satisfy two conditions.
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ten que satisfacer dúas condicións.
14:23
You have to convey the actual content --
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Ten que expresar o contido real,
e aquí temos que volver
á metáfora do envase.
14:26
here we get back to the container metaphor.
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14:28
You want to express the bribe, the command, the promise,
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Queredes expresar un suborno,
unha petición, unha promesa,
14:31
the solicitation and so on,
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un requirimento e así...
14:33
but you also have to negotiate
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pero tamén tedes que negociar
14:35
and maintain the kind of relationship
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e manter o tipo de relación
14:37
you have with the other person.
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que tedes coa outra persoa.
14:39
The solution, I think, is that we use language at two levels:
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A solución, penso, é que usamos
a linguaxe en dous niveis:
14:42
the literal form signals
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a forma literal transmite
14:44
the safest relationship with the listener,
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a relación máis segura co oínte,
14:46
whereas the implicated content --
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mentres que o contido implícito,
a lectura entre liñas que
agardamos que faga o oínte
14:49
the reading between the lines that we count on the listener to perform --
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14:52
allows the listener to derive the interpretation
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permítelle deducir a interpretación
14:54
which is most relevant in context,
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máis pertinente no contexto,
14:56
which possibly initiates a changed relationship.
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o que posiblemente inicia
unha relación diferente.
14:59
The simplest example of this is in the polite request.
329
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O exemplo máis simple disto
é unha petición formal.
15:03
If you express your request as a conditional --
330
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Se expresades a vosa petición
cun condicional:
15:06
"if you could open the window, that would be great" --
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"Se puideras abrir
a ventá, sería estupendo",
aínda que o contido pode
ser un imperativo.
15:09
even though the content is an imperative,
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15:11
the fact that you're not using the imperative voice
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o feito de que non usedes
a voz do imperativo
significa que non actuades coma se
estiverades nunha relación de dominio
15:14
means that you're not acting as if you're in a relationship of dominance,
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15:18
where you could presuppose the compliance of the other person.
335
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onde poderiades presupoñer
a aceptación do outro.
15:21
On the other hand, you want the damn guacamole.
336
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2000
Por outra parte, queredes
o maldito guacamole.
15:23
By expressing it as an if-then statement,
337
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Ao expresalo como unha declaración
do tipo "Se... entón..."
15:26
you can get the message across
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transmitides a mensaxe
15:28
without appearing to boss another person around.
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sen parecer que queredes
mandar sobre a outra persoa.
E dun xeito máis sutil, penso,
isto funciona
15:32
And in a more subtle way, I think, this works
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15:34
for all of the veiled speech acts
341
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para todos os actos de fala encubertos
15:36
involving plausible deniability:
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que comportan un rexeitamento crible:
15:38
the bribes, threats, propositions,
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2000
subornos, ameazas, proposicións,
15:40
solicitations and so on.
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requirimentos e demais.
15:42
One way of thinking about it is to imagine what it would be like
345
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Un xeito de entender isto
é imaxinar como sería
15:44
if language -- where it could only be used literally.
346
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se a linguaxe só se
puidese usar literalmente.
15:47
And you can think of it in terms of a
347
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E podedes pensar en termos dunha
15:49
game-theoretic payoff matrix.
348
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matriz de recompensas na teoría de xogos.
15:52
Put yourself in the position of the
349
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Poñédevos no lugar do
15:54
kidnapper wanting to bribe the officer.
350
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secuestrador que quere subornar o oficial.
15:57
There's a high stakes
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Corredes un risco grande
15:59
in the two possibilities
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3000
nas dúas posibilidades:
16:02
of having a dishonest officer or an honest officer.
353
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3000
a de estar cun oficial deshonesto
ou cun oficial honesto.
16:05
If you don't bribe the officer,
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Se non subornades o oficial,
16:08
then you will get a traffic ticket --
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teredes unha multa de tráfico
16:10
or, as is the case of "Fargo," worse --
356
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ou, como no caso de Fargo, algo peor
16:12
whether the honest officer
357
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dependendo de se o oficial honesto
16:14
is honest or dishonest.
358
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2000
é honesto ou deshonesto:
16:16
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
359
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non arriscades nada pero
non gañades nada.
16:18
In that case, the consequences are rather severe.
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3000
Nese caso, as consecuencias
son bastante serias.
16:21
On the other hand, if you extend the bribe,
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Por outra parte, se intentades o suborno,
16:23
if the officer is dishonest,
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e o oficial é deshonesto,
16:25
you get a huge payoff of going free.
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tedes a recompensa de quedar libres.
16:28
If the officer is honest, you get a huge penalty
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Se o oficial é honesto,
tedes un gran castigo:
16:31
of being arrested for bribery.
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detéñenvos por suborno.
16:33
So this is a rather fraught situation.
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Polo tanto é unha situación perigosa.
16:35
On the other hand, with indirect language,
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Por outra parte, coa linguaxe indirecta,
16:37
if you issue a veiled bribe,
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se emitides un suborno encuberto
16:39
then the dishonest officer
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o oficial deshonesto
16:41
could interpret it as a bribe,
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podería interpretalo como un suborno
16:43
in which case you get the payoff of going free.
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en cuxo caso tedes a
recompensa de marchar libres.
16:46
The honest officer can't hold you to it as being a bribe,
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O oficial honesto non vos pode
acusar de suborno
16:49
and therefore, you get the nuisance of the traffic ticket.
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e quedades coa molestia
da multa de tráfico.
16:52
So you get the best of both worlds.
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Así que tedes o mellor dos dous mundos.
16:55
And a similar analysis, I think,
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E unha análise semellante, penso,
16:57
can apply to the potential awkwardness
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pódese aplicar á potencial incomodidade
16:59
of a sexual solicitation,
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dun requirimento sexual
17:01
and other cases where plausible deniability is an asset.
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e outros casos onde unha negación
verosímil é vantaxosa.
17:04
I think this affirms
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Penso que isto confirma
17:06
something that's long been known by diplomats --
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algo que os diplomáticos saben ben:
17:08
namely, that the vagueness of language,
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que a vaguidade da linguaxe,
17:10
far from being a bug or an imperfection,
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lonxe de ser un defecto
ou unha imperfección
17:13
actually might be a feature of language,
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podería ser unha característica
da linguaxe,
17:16
one that we use to our advantage in social interactions.
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que podemos usar na nosa vantaxe
en interaccións sociais.
Así que, para resumir, a linguaxe é
unha creación colectiva humana,
17:19
So to sum up: language is a collective human creation,
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17:22
reflecting human nature,
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que reflicte a natureza humana,
17:24
how we conceptualize reality,
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como conceptualizamos a realidade,
17:26
how we relate to one another.
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como nos relacionamos
17:28
And then by analyzing the various quirks and complexities of language,
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e despois de analizar a
complexidade da linguaxe
17:32
I think we can get a window onto what makes us tick.
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creo que temos unha ventá sobre o
que nos fai ser como somos.
17:35
Thank you very much.
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Moitas grazas
17:36
(Applause)
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Aplausos
Translated by Carme Paz
Reviewed by Mario Cal

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Steven Pinker - Psychologist
Steven Pinker is a professor of cognitive science (the study of the human mind) who writes about language, mind and human nature.

Why you should listen

Steven Pinker grew up in the English-speaking community of Montreal but has spent his adult life bouncing back and forth between Harvard and MIT. He is interested in all aspects of human nature: how we see, hear, think, speak, remember, feel and interact.

To be specific: he developed the first comprehensive theory of language acquisition in children, used verb meaning as a window into cognition, probed the limits of neural networks and showed how the interaction between memory and computation shapes language. He has used evolution to illuminate innuendo, emotional expression and social coordination. He has documented historical declines in violence and explained them in terms of the ways that the violent and peaceable components of human nature interact in different eras. He has written books on the language instinct, how the mind works, the stuff of thought and the doctrine of the blank slate, together with a guide to stylish writing that is rooted in psychology.

In his latest book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, he writes about progress -- why people are healthier, richer, safer, happier and better educated than ever. His other books include The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature, The Stuff of Thought, and The Better Angels of Our Nature.

More profile about the speaker
Steven Pinker | Speaker | TED.com
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