ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Murray Gell-Mann - Physicist
Murray Gell-Mann brings visibility to a crucial aspect of our existence that we can't actually see: elemental particles. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics for introducing quarks, one of two fundamental ingredients for all matter in the universe.

Why you should listen

He's been called "the man with five brains" -- and Murray Gell-Mann has the resume to prove it. In addition to being a Nobel laureate, he is an accomplished physicist who's earned numerous awards, medals and honorary degrees for his work with subatomic particles, including the groundbreaking theory that the nucleus of an atom comprises 100 or so fundamental building blocks called quarks.

Gell-Mann's influence extends well beyond his field: He's a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He also serves on the board of the Wildlife Conservation Society and is a director of Encyclopedia Britannica. Gell-Mann, a professor emeritus of Caltech, now heads the evolution of human languages program at the Santa Fe Institute, which he cofounded in 1984.

A prolific writer -- he's penned scores of academic papers and several books, including The Quark and the Jaguar -- Gell-Mann is also the subject of the popular science biography Strange Beauty: Murray Gell-Mann and the Revolution in 20th-Century Physics.

More profile about the speaker
Murray Gell-Mann | Speaker | TED.com
TED2007

Murray Gell-Mann: The ancestor of language

مورای جێڵ-مان: بنەڕەتی زمان

Filmed:
944,446 views

دوای ئەوەی لە تێدی ٢٠٠٧ مورای جێڵ-مان باسی شکۆی فیزیا کرد، ئەمجارە بە خێرایی باسی بابەتێکی جێی بایەخ .دەکات کە بریتییە لە دۆزینەوەی باوانێکی هاوبەشی زمانە هاوچەرخەکان
- Physicist
Murray Gell-Mann brings visibility to a crucial aspect of our existence that we can't actually see: elemental particles. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics for introducing quarks, one of two fundamental ingredients for all matter in the universe. Full bio

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

00:13
Well, I'm involved in other things, besides physics.
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باشە، جگە لە فیزیا، من خەریکی شتی تریشم.
00:17
In fact, mostly now in other things.
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لە راستیدا، ئێستا زیاتر خەریکی شتی ترم.
00:19
One thing is distant relationships among human languages.
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یەکێکیان بریتییە لە پەیوەندییە دورەکان
لە نێوان زمانەکانی مرۆڤدا.
و زمانناسە پیشەیی و مێژوییەکان لە ئەمریکا
00:24
And the professional, historical linguists in the U.S.
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و لە ئەوروپای رۆژئاوا بەشێوەيەكى گشتی
هەوڵ دەدەن خۆیان بە دور بگرن
00:28
and in Western Europe mostly try to stay away
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لە هەمو پەیوەندییە دوورەکان
و لە بەکۆمەڵکردنی گەورە
00:31
from any long-distance relationships, big groupings,
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00:35
groupings that go back a long time,
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بەکۆمەڵکردن بە جۆرێک کە
بگەڕێتەوە بۆ سەردەمێکی زۆر لەمەوبەر
00:38
longer than the familiar families.
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دورتر لە خێزانە ناسراوەکانی ئەمڕۆ.
,ئەوان حەزیان لەوە نیە
.وا دەزانن ئەمە ئاڵۆزییە
00:41
They don't like that. They think it's crank. I don't think it's crank.
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من ئەمە بە ئاڵۆزی نازانم
و هەندێ زمانناسی بلیمەت هەن،
زۆربەیان روسین
00:45
And there are some brilliant linguists, mostly Russians,
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00:48
who are working on that, at Santa Fe Institute and in Moscow,
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کە کار لەسەر ئەم بابەتە دەکەن،
لە پەیمانگای سانتا فی لە مۆسکۆ
00:52
and I would love to see where that leads.
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و حەز دەکەم بزانم بەکوێ دەگات.
00:56
Does it really lead to a single ancestor
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ئایا بەڕاستی دەگاتە یەک باوان
00:59
some 20, 25,000 years ago?
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کە بیست، بیست و پێنج هەزار ساڵ
لەمەوبەر ژیابێت؟
01:02
And what if we go back beyond that single ancestor,
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ئەی چی رودەدات ئەگەر
بگەڕێینەوە بۆ پێش ئەو باوانەش
01:05
when there was presumably a competition among many languages?
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بۆ ئەو سەردەمەی کە گریمانە وایە
کێبڕکێ يەك لە نێوان زمانەکاندا هەبوبێت؟
ئایا ئەمە تا کوێ دەگەڕێتەوە؟
01:09
How far back does that go? How far back does modern language go?
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ئایا زمانە هاوچەرخەکان
تا کوێ دەگەرێنەوە بۆ دواوە؟ئایا چەند
01:13
How many tens of thousands of years does it go back?
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دەهان هەزار ساڵ
دەگەڕێتەوە بۆ دواوە؟
کریس ئەندێرسۆن: ئایا پێشبینی يەك
01:16
Chris Anderson: Do you have a hunch or a hope for what the answer to that is?
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یان هیوایەکت هەیە بۆ وەڵامی ئەم پرسیارە؟
01:19
Murray Gell-Mann: Well, I would guess that modern language must be older
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مورای جێڵ مان: من وا دادەنێم کە
زمانە هاوچەرخەکان کۆنترن
01:22
than the cave paintings and cave engravings and cave sculptures
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لە وێنەی سەر ئەشکەوتەکان و هەڵکۆڵینەکانی
ناو ئەشکەوتەکان و پەیکەری ناو ئەشکەوتەکان
01:26
and dance steps in the soft clay in the caves in Western Europe,
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و هەنگاوەکانی سەماکردن لەسەر قوڕێکی نەرم
لە ئەشکەوتەکانی ئەوروپای رۆژئاوا،
01:31
in the Aurignacian Period some 35,000 years ago, or earlier.
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لە سەردەمی ئۆریگناسیان،
نزیکەی ٣٥٠٠٠ ساڵ لەمەوبەر، یان پێشتر.
من بڕوا ناکەم ئەوان
ئەم شتانە هەمویان کردبێت
01:37
I can't believe they did all those things and didn't also have a modern language.
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و هەروەها زمانێکی هاوچەرخیان نەبوبێت.
01:40
So, I would guess that the actual origin goes back at least that far and maybe further.
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بۆیە، من وا دادەنێم کە رەگە راستەقینەکەی
دەگەڕێتەوە بۆ ئەو کاتە و تەنانەت کۆنتریش.
01:45
But that doesn't mean that all, or many, or most
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بەڵام ئەمە مانای وا نیە کە هەمو،
یان زۆربەی، یان زۆرێک لە
01:48
of today's attested languages couldn't descend perhaps
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زمانەکانی ئەمڕۆ ناگەڕێنەوە بۆ سەردەمی
01:52
from one that's much younger than that, like say 20,000 years,
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زۆر نوێتر، بۆ نمونە
, بۆ ٢٠٠٠٠ ساڵێک لەمەوبەر
01:56
or something of that kind. It's what we call a bottleneck.
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یان کاتێکی لەو نزیکانە.
ئێمە بەمە دەڵێین تەنگەبەر.
کریس ئەندێرسۆن: باشە، فلیپ ئەندێرسۆن
رەنگە راستی کردبێت.
02:00
CA: Well, Philip Anderson may have been right.
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02:01
You may just know more about everything than anyone.
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رەنگە تۆ لە هەمو کەسێک زیاتر
. بزانیت دەربارەى هەمو شتێك
02:04
So, it's been an honor. Thank you Murray Gell-Mann.
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بۆیە شەرەفمەند بوم. سوپاس مورای جێڵ مان.
02:06
(Applause)
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(چەپڵە)
Translated by Zhigger Abozaid
Reviewed by Ahmed Yousify

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Murray Gell-Mann - Physicist
Murray Gell-Mann brings visibility to a crucial aspect of our existence that we can't actually see: elemental particles. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics for introducing quarks, one of two fundamental ingredients for all matter in the universe.

Why you should listen

He's been called "the man with five brains" -- and Murray Gell-Mann has the resume to prove it. In addition to being a Nobel laureate, he is an accomplished physicist who's earned numerous awards, medals and honorary degrees for his work with subatomic particles, including the groundbreaking theory that the nucleus of an atom comprises 100 or so fundamental building blocks called quarks.

Gell-Mann's influence extends well beyond his field: He's a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He also serves on the board of the Wildlife Conservation Society and is a director of Encyclopedia Britannica. Gell-Mann, a professor emeritus of Caltech, now heads the evolution of human languages program at the Santa Fe Institute, which he cofounded in 1984.

A prolific writer -- he's penned scores of academic papers and several books, including The Quark and the Jaguar -- Gell-Mann is also the subject of the popular science biography Strange Beauty: Murray Gell-Mann and the Revolution in 20th-Century Physics.

More profile about the speaker
Murray Gell-Mann | Speaker | TED.com