TEDGlobal 2011
Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity
Mark Pagel: Como as linguas transformaron a humanidade
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Biologist Mark Pagel comparte unha intrigante teoría sobre a razon pola que evolucionou o complexo sistema da lingua nos seres humanos. El suxire que a linguaxe é unha peza de "tecnoloxía social" que permitiu as primeiras tribus humanas acceder a unha nova e poderosa ferramenta: a coperación.
Mark Pagel - Evolutionary biologist
Using biological evolution as a template, Mark Pagel wonders how languages evolve. Full bio
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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Cada un de nós posúe
00:17
the most powerful, dangerous and subversive trait
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o trazo máis poderoso, perigoso e subversivo
00:20
that natural selection has ever devised.
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deseñado pola selección natural.
00:23
It's a piece of neural audio technology
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É un peza de tecnoloxía audio-neuronal
00:26
for rewiring other people's minds.
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para conectármonos coas mentes doutras persoas.
00:28
I'm talking about your language, of course,
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Estou a falar da súa linguaxe, por suposto,
00:31
because it allows you to implant a thought from your mind
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porque permite implantar un pensamento desde as súas mentes
00:34
directly into someone else's mind,
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directamente na doutra persoa,
00:37
and they can attempt to do the same to you,
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e eles poden facer o mesmo a vostedes,
00:39
without either of you having to perform surgery.
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sen ninguén ter que practicar a cirurxía.
00:42
Instead, when you speak,
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Pola contra, cando vostedes falan,
00:44
you're actually using a form of telemetry
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empregan unha forma de telemetría
00:46
not so different
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non tan diferente
00:48
from the remote control device for your television.
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do mando a distancia da súa televisión.
00:50
It's just that, whereas that device
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Simplemente, mentres ese trebello
00:52
relies on pulses of infrared light,
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funciona en base a impulsos de luz infravermella,
00:54
your language relies on pulses,
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a súa linguaxe funciona en base a impulsos,
00:57
discrete pulses, of sound.
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impulsos individualizados, de son.
00:59
And just as you use the remote control device
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E así como usan o mando a distancia
01:02
to alter the internal settings of your television
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para alterar a configuración interna do seu televisor
01:04
to suit your mood,
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para a súa completa satisfacción,
01:06
you use your language
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vostedes usan a súa linguaxe
01:08
to alter the settings inside someone else's brain
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para alterar a configuración interna do cerebro doutra persoa
01:10
to suit your interests.
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para satisfacer os nosos intereses.
01:12
Languages are genes talking,
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As linguaxes son xenes que falan,
01:14
getting things that they want.
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para conseguir aquilo que desexan.
01:16
And just imagine the sense of wonder in a baby
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Imaxinen o senso de abraiarse que un meniño ten
01:19
when it first discovers that, merely by uttering a sound,
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cando por primeira vez descobre que ao emitir un son,
01:22
it can get objects to move across a room
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pode conseguir que obxectos se movan na habitación
01:24
as if by magic,
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como por arte de maxia,
01:26
and maybe even into its mouth.
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e quizais incluso dentro da súa boca.
01:29
Now language's subversive power
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O poder subversivo da linguaxe
01:31
has been recognized throughout the ages
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ten sido recoñecido ao longo da Historia
01:33
in censorship, in books you can't read,
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na censura, en libros que non podiamos ler,
01:35
phrases you can't use
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frases que non podiamos usar
01:37
and words you can't say.
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e palabras que non podiamos dicir.
01:39
In fact, the Tower of Babel story in the Bible
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De feito, a historia bíblica da Torre de Babel
01:42
is a fable and warning
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é unha fábula e un aviso
01:44
about the power of language.
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sobre o poder da linguaxe.
01:46
According to that story, early humans developed the conceit
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Segundo nos conta a lenda, os primeiros humanos pensaron
01:49
that, by using their language to work together,
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que se usaban a linguaxe para traballaren xuntos,
01:51
they could build a tower
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poderían construír unha torre
01:53
that would take them all the way to heaven.
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que os levaría até o ceo.
01:55
Now God, angered at this attempt to usurp his power,
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Deus, encabuxado ante este intento de usurpar o seu poder,
01:58
destroyed the tower,
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destruíu a torre,
02:01
and then to ensure
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e daquela para asegurarse
02:03
that it would never be rebuilt,
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de que nunca sería reconstruída,
02:05
he scattered the people by giving them different languages --
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dividiu a xente dándolles distintas linguaxes --
02:08
confused them by giving them different languages.
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e confundilos así dándolles diferentes linguas.
02:11
And this leads to the wonderful irony
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E isto non leva a unha ironía marabillosa:
02:13
that our languages exist to prevent us from communicating.
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as linguas existen para evitar que nos comuniquemos
02:16
Even today,
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Incluso hoxe,
02:18
we know that there are words we cannot use,
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sabemos que hai palabras que non podemos usar,
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phrases we cannot say,
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frases que non podemos dicir,
02:22
because if we do so,
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porque se o facemos,
02:24
we might be accosted, jailed,
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poderiamos ser acosados, arrestados,
02:27
or even killed.
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ou incluso asasinados.
02:29
And all of this from a puff of air
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E todo isto a causa dun sopro de ar
02:31
emanating from our mouths.
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que sae das nosas bocas.
02:33
Now all this fuss about a single one of our traits
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Toda esta lea sobre un dos nosos trazos
02:36
tells us there's something worth explaining.
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din que paga a pena dar explicacións.
02:38
And that is how and why
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E iso é o como e o por que
02:40
did this remarkable trait evolve,
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esta importante trazo evoluíu,
02:42
and why did it evolve
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e por que evolúe
02:44
only in our species?
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só na nosa especie?
02:46
Now it's a little bit of a surprise
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É un pouco sorprendente
02:48
that to get an answer to that question,
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que para ter unha resposta a esta pregunta,
02:50
we have to go to tool use
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temos que estudar o uso de ferramentas
02:52
in the chimpanzees.
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nos chimancés.
02:54
Now these chimpanzees are using tools,
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Estes chimpacés están usando ferramentas,
02:56
and we take that as a sign of their intelligence.
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e tomamos iso como un signo de intelixencia.
02:59
But if they really were intelligent,
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Mais se eles fosen en verdade intelixentes,
03:01
why would they use a stick to extract termites from the ground
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porque usan un garabullo para extraer térmites do chan
03:04
rather than a shovel?
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e non unha pa?
03:06
And if they really were intelligent,
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E se fosen en verdade intelixentes,
03:09
why would they crack open nuts with a rock?
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por que escachan as noces cun croio?
03:11
Why wouldn't they just go to a shop and buy a bag of nuts
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Por que non van a unha tenda e mercan unha bolsa de noces
03:14
that somebody else had already cracked open for them?
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que previamente alguén llelas escachou?
03:17
Why not? I mean, that's what we do.
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Por que non? Iso é o que nós facemos.
03:19
Now the reason the chimpanzees don't do that
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A razón pola que os chimpacés non o fan
03:21
is that they lack what psychologists and anthropologists call
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é porque carecen do que os psicólogos e antropólogos chaman
03:24
social learning.
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aprendizaxe social.
03:26
They seem to lack the ability
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Seica carecen da capacidade
03:28
to learn from others
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de aprenderen dos outros
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by copying or imitating
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copiando ou imitando
03:32
or simply watching.
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ou simplemente observando.
03:34
As a result,
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En consecuencia,
03:36
they can't improve on others' ideas
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non poden mellorar grazas ás ideas dos demais
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or learn from others' mistakes --
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ou aprenderen dos erros dos outros --
03:40
benefit from others' wisdom.
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beneficiárense da sabedoría dos demais.
03:42
And so they just do the same thing
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Non fan máis que repetir o mesmo
03:44
over and over and over again.
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unha e outra vez.
03:46
In fact, we could go away for a million years and come back
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De feito, poderíamos ausentarnos durante un millón de anos e regresarmos
03:50
and these chimpanzees would be doing the same thing
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e estes chimpancés estarían facendo o mesmo
03:53
with the same sticks for the termites
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co mesmo garabullo para as térmites
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and the same rocks to crack open the nuts.
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e o mesmo croio para escacharen as noces.
03:58
Now this may sound arrogant, or even full of hubris.
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Isto pode soar arrogante, ou incluso petulante.
04:01
How do we know this?
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Como sabemos todo isto?
04:03
Because this is exactly what our ancestors, the Homo erectus, did.
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porque isto é exactamento o que os nosos devanceiros, o Homo erectus, fixeron.
04:06
These upright apes
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Estes monos ergueitos
04:08
evolved on the African savanna
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evolucionaron na sabana africana
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about two million years ago,
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hai aproximadamente dous millóns de anos,
04:12
and they made these splendid hand axes
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fixeron estas impresionantes machadas
04:14
that fit wonderfully into your hands.
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que se adaptan marabillosamente nas nosas mans.
04:16
But if we look at the fossil record,
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Mais se estudamos os restos fósiles,
04:18
we see that they made the same hand axe
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vemos que fixeron a mesma machada
04:21
over and over and over again
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unha e outra vez
04:23
for one million years.
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durante un millón de anos.
04:25
You can follow it through the fossil record.
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Podemos comprobalo a través dos restos fósiles.
04:27
Now if we make some guesses about how long Homo erectus lived,
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Se estimamos durante cantos anos viviu o Home erectus,
04:29
what their generation time was,
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cal foi o tempo da súa xeración,
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that's about 40,000 generations
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pois unhas 40.000 xeracións
04:34
of parents to offspring, and other individuals watching,
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de pais a crianzas, mais outros individuos observando,
04:37
in which that hand axe didn't change.
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durante o que esta machada non foi alterou.
04:39
It's not even clear
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Nin siquera está claro
04:41
that our very close genetic relatives, the Neanderthals,
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se os nosos parentes xeneticamente próximos, os neardentais,
04:43
had social learning.
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tiveran aprendizaxe social.
04:45
Sure enough, their tools were more complicated
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Sen dúbida, as súas ferramentas eran máis complexas
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than those of Homo erectus,
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ca as dos Homo erectus,
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but they too showed very little change
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mais non se aprecian moitos cambios
04:52
over the 300,000 years or so
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durante os 300.000 anos ou así
04:55
that those species, the Neanderthals,
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que a especie dos Neandertais,
04:57
lived in Eurasia.
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viviron en Eurasia.
04:59
Okay, so what this tells us
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Daquela, o que isto nos di
05:01
is that, contrary to the old adage,
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é que, ao contrario do vello adaxio,
05:04
"monkey see, monkey do,"
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"o que o mono ve, o mono fai",
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the surprise really is
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a sorpresa está
05:09
that all of the other animals
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en que todos os demais animais
05:11
really cannot do that -- at least not very much.
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non poden facer o mesmo -- candomenos non moito.
05:14
And even this picture
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E incluso esta foto
05:16
has the suspicious taint of being rigged about it --
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podemos sospeitar que foi manipulada --
05:19
something from a Barnum & Bailey circus.
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algún asuntiño do circo Barnum & Bailey.
05:21
But by comparison,
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Mais en comparación,
05:23
we can learn.
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nosoutros podemos aprender.
05:25
We can learn by watching other people
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Podemos aprender observando os outros
05:28
and copying or imitating
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e copiando ou remedando
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what they can do.
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o que poden facer.
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We can then choose, from among a range of options,
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Podemos daquela escoller, entre un abano de opcións,
05:35
the best one.
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a mellor.
05:37
We can benefit from others' ideas.
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Podemos beneficiarnos das ideas dos outros.
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We can build on their wisdom.
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Podemos construír a nosa propia sabedoría.
05:41
And as a result, our ideas do accumulate,
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E como resultado, acumulamos as nosas ideas,
05:44
and our technology progresses.
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e a nosa tecnoloxía progresa.
05:48
And this cumulative cultural adaptation,
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E esta adaptación cultural acumulativa,
05:53
as anthropologists call
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así é como o chaman os antropólogos
05:55
this accumulation of ideas,
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esta acumulación de ideas,
05:57
is responsible for everything around you
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é reponsabel de todo o que nos rodea
05:59
in your bustling and teeming everyday lives.
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na nosa axetreada vida cotiá
06:01
I mean the world has changed out of all proportion
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O mundo cambiou enormemente
06:03
to what we would recognize
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con aquel que recoñeceriamos
06:05
even 1,000 or 2,000 years ago.
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incluso hai 1000 ou 2000 anos.
06:08
And all of this because of cumulative cultural adaptation.
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E todo isto debémosllo á adaptacion cultural acumulativa.
06:11
The chairs you're sitting in, the lights in this auditorium,
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As cadeiras sobre as que están sentados, as luces neste auditorio
06:13
my microphone, the iPads and iPods that you carry around with you --
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o meu micrófono, os iPads e iPods que portades --
06:16
all are a result
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todos son resultado
06:18
of cumulative cultural adaptation.
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da adaptación cultural acumulativa.
06:20
Now to many commentators,
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Agora para moitos comentaristas,
06:24
cumulative cultural adaptation, or social learning,
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a adaptación cultural acumulativa, ou aprendizaxe social,
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is job done, end of story.
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está xa o traballo feito, fin da historia.
06:30
Our species can make stuff,
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A nosa especie pode facer cousas,
06:33
therefore we prospered in a way that no other species has.
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daquela prosperamos nun xeito que outras especies non poden.
06:36
In fact, we can even make the "stuff of life" --
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De feito, incluso podemos facer a "materia da vida" --
06:39
as I just said, all the stuff around us.
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como xa dixen, todo o que nos rodea.
06:41
But in fact, it turns out
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Pero en realidade, resulta
06:43
that some time around 200,000 years ago,
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que hai arredor de 200.000 anos
06:46
when our species first arose
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cando apareceu a nosa especie
06:48
and acquired social learning,
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e adquiriu a aprendizaxe social,
06:50
that this was really the beginning of our story,
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así foi realmente o principio da nosa historia,
06:52
not the end of our story.
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non o final da nosa historia.
06:54
Because our acquisition of social learning
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Porque a nosa adquisición da aprendizaxe social
06:57
would create a social and evolutionary dilemma,
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crearía un dilema social e evolutivo,
07:00
the resolution of which, it's fair to say,
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a súa resolución, é xusto dicilo,
07:03
would determine not only the future course of our psychology,
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determinaría non só o curso futuro da nosa psicoloxía,
07:07
but the future course of the entire world.
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senón o curso futuro do mundo enteiro.
07:09
And most importantly for this,
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E máis importante que todo isto,
07:12
it'll tell us why we have language.
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diríanos por que temos linguaxe.
07:15
And the reason that dilemma arose
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e a razón que este dilema provoca
07:17
is, it turns out, that social learning is visual theft.
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é que a aprendizaxe social é un roubo visual.
07:20
If I can learn by watching you,
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Se eu podo aprender observándote,
07:23
I can steal your best ideas,
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podo roubar as túas mellores ideas,
07:25
and I can benefit from your efforts,
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e podo beneficiarme dos teus esforzos,
07:28
without having to put in the time and energy that you did
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sen ter que poñer a tempo e enerxía que ti puxeches
07:30
into developing them.
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para desenvolvelas.
07:32
If I can watch which lure you use to catch a fish,
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Se podo observar que isca usas para pescar,
07:35
or I can watch how you flake your hand axe
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ou podo observar como fas lascas coa túa machada
07:37
to make it better,
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para perfeccionala,
07:39
or if I follow you secretly to your mushroom patch,
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ou se secretamente te sigo até o teu roteiro de cogomelos
07:42
I can benefit from your knowledge and wisdom and skills,
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podo beneficiarme do teu coñecemento, sabedoría e habilidades
07:45
and maybe even catch that fish
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e incluso pescar ese peixe
07:47
before you do.
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antes ca ti.
07:49
Social learning really is visual theft.
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A aprendizaxe social en realidade é un roubo visual.
07:52
And in any species that acquired it,
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E en calquera especie que a adquirise,
07:54
it would behoove you
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sería moi oportuno
07:56
to hide your best ideas,
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ocultar as túas mellores ideas,
07:58
lest somebody steal them from you.
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para que ninguén poida roubarchas.
08:02
And so some time around 200,000 years ago,
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Hai arredor de 200.000 anos,
08:05
our species confronted this crisis.
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a nosa especie afrontou esta crise.
08:08
And we really had only two options
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E tivemos só dúas opcións
08:11
for dealing with the conflicts
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para lidar cos conflitos
08:13
that visual theft would bring.
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que o roubo visual podería causarnos.
08:15
One of those options
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Unha desas opcións
08:17
was that we could have retreated
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foi que tiñamos que vivir
08:20
into small family groups.
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en pequenos grupos familiares.
08:22
Because then the benefits of our ideas and knowledge
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Porque así os beneficios das nosas ideas e coñecemento
08:25
would flow just to our relatives.
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só sería transmitido aos nosos parentes.
08:27
Had we chosen this option,
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Se escollésemos esta opción,
08:29
sometime around 200,000 years ago,
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hai aproximadamente uns 200,000 anos,
08:32
we would probably still be living like the Neanderthals were
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probabelmente estariamos vivindo como os Neandertais
08:35
when we first entered Europe 40,000 years ago.
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cando por primeira vez entramos en Europa hai 40.000 anos.
08:38
And this is because in small groups
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Porque en grupos pequenos
08:40
there are fewer ideas, there are fewer innovations.
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hai menos ideas, hai menos innovacións.
08:43
And small groups are more prone to accidents and bad luck.
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E os grupos pequenos son máis propensos a accidentes e mala sorte.
08:46
So if we'd chosen that path,
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Daquela se escollésemos ese camiño,
08:48
our evolutionary path would have led into the forest --
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a nosa liña evolutiva nos levaría ao bosque --
08:51
and been a short one indeed.
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e sen dúbida sería moi curta.
08:53
The other option we could choose
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A outra opción a escoller
08:55
was to develop the systems of communication
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foi desenvolvermos uns sistemas de comunicación
08:58
that would allow us to share ideas
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que nos permitiría compartir ideas
09:00
and to cooperate amongst others.
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e cooperar con outros.
09:03
Choosing this option would mean
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Escollermos esta opcións significaría
09:05
that a vastly greater fund of accumulated knowledge and wisdom
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que unha inxente bolsa de coñecemento e sabedoría acumulada
09:08
would become available to any one individual
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estaría ao dispor de calquera individuo
09:11
than would ever arise from within an individual family
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en comparación co que xurdiría desde dentro dunha pequena familia
09:14
or an individual person on their own.
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ou un individuo en particular.
09:18
Well, we chose the second option,
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Pois ben, escollimos esta segunda opción,
09:21
and language is the result.
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e o resultado é a linguaxe.
09:24
Language evolved to solve the crisis
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A linguaxe desenvolveuse para solucionar a crise
09:26
of visual theft.
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do roubo visual.
09:28
Language is a piece of social technology
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A linguaxe é unha peza de tecnoloxía social
09:31
for enhancing the benefits of cooperation --
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para mellorar os beneficios da cooperación --
09:34
for reaching agreements, for striking deals
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para acadar acordos, para pechar negocios
09:37
and for coordinating our activities.
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e para coordinar as nosas actividades.
09:41
And you can see that, in a developing society
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Podedes ver que, nunha sociedade en desenvolvemento
09:43
that was beginning to acquire language,
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que estaba empezando a adquirir a linguxe,
09:45
not having language
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non ter linguaxe
09:47
would be a like a bird without wings.
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sería como un paxaro sen as.
09:49
Just as wings open up this sphere of air
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Como as as que abren esta esfera de ar
09:52
for birds to exploit,
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para que os paxaros o utilicen,
09:54
language opened up the sphere of cooperation
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a linguaxe abre a esfera da comunicación
09:56
for humans to exploit.
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para que os humanos a utilicen.
09:58
And we take this utterly for granted,
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E tomamos isto como algo xa dado,
10:00
because we're a species that is so at home with language,
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porque somos unha especie que se sente como na casa coa linguxe
10:03
but you have to realize
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mais teñen vostedes que decatarse de
10:05
that even the simplest acts of exchange that we engage in
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que incluso os máis cativos actos de intercambio en que intervimos
10:08
are utterly dependent upon language.
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son completamente dependentes da linguaxe.
10:11
And to see why, consider two scenarios
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E para vermos o por que, consideren estes dous escenarios
10:13
from early in our evolution.
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desde os inicios da nosa evolución.
10:15
Let's imagine that you are really good
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Imaxinen que son vostedes moi bos
10:17
at making arrowheads,
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facendo puntas de frecha,
10:19
but you're hopeless at making the wooden shafts
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mais son incapaces de facer o corpo de madeira
10:22
with the flight feathers attached.
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coas prumas incluídas.
10:25
Two other people you know are very good at making the wooden shafts,
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Coñecen dúas persoas moi boas facendo a frecha de madeira,
10:28
but they're hopeless at making the arrowheads.
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mais son negados ao faceren as puntas.
10:31
So what you do is --
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O que hai que facer é --
10:33
one of those people has not really acquired language yet.
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unha desas persoas non ten adquirida aínda a linguaxe.
10:36
And let's pretend the other one is good at language skills.
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E poñamos que a outra é boa coas habilidades lingüísticas.
10:38
So what you do one day is you take a pile of arrowheads,
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Así que o que facemos un día é coller un feixe de puntas de frecha,
10:41
and you walk up to the one that can't speak very well,
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e camiñarmos até aquel que non sabe falar moi ben,
10:43
and you put the arrowheads down in front of him,
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e poñemos as puntas diante del,
10:45
hoping that he'll get the idea that you want to trade your arrowheads
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desexando que se figure que queremos trocar as puntas de frecha
10:48
for finished arrows.
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polos corpos de madeira das frechas.
10:50
But he looks at the pile of arrowheads, thinks they're a gift,
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Mais el olla para o feixe de puntas, pensa que son un agasallo,
10:52
picks them up, smiles and walks off.
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recólleas, sorrí e marcha.
10:55
Now you pursue this guy, gesticulating.
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Agora vostedes perseguen a este fulano, xesticulando.
10:57
A scuffle ensues and you get stabbed
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Hai unha disputa e vostede é ferido
10:59
with one of your own arrowheads.
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cunha das súas puntas de frecha.
11:02
Okay, now replay this scene now, and you're approaching the one who has language.
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Moi ben, rebobinemos a escena, e agora dirímonos a persoa capaz de falar.
11:05
You put down your arrowheads and say,
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Pousamos as puntas e dicimos,
11:07
"I'd like to trade these arrowheads for finished arrows. I'll split you 50/50."
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"Gustaríame trocar estas puntas polo corpo de madeira rematados. Imos ao 50%."
11:10
The other one says, "Fine. Looks good to me.
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O outro di, "De acordo. Paréceme ben.
11:12
We'll do that."
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Fagámolo."
11:15
Now the job is done.
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E o choio está feito.
11:18
Once we have language,
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Unha vez que temos a linguaxe,
11:20
we can put our ideas together and cooperate
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podemos compartir as nosas ideas e cooperar
11:22
to have a prosperity
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para ter a prosperidade
11:24
that we couldn't have before we acquired it.
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que non podiamos ter antes de saber falar.
11:27
And this is why our species
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Isto explica por que a nosa especie
11:29
has prospered around the world
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ten prosperado ao longo do mundo
11:31
while the rest of the animals
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mentres o resto dos animais
11:33
sit behind bars in zoos, languishing.
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están detrás dos barrotes dun zoo, esmorecendo.
11:36
That's why we build space shuttles and cathedrals
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É a razón de que construamos lanzadeiras espaciais e catedrais
11:39
while the rest of the world sticks sticks into the ground
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mentres o resto do mundo fica chantado no chan
11:41
to extract termites.
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para extraer térmites.
11:43
All right, if this view of language
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De acordo, se esta visión da linguaxe
11:46
and its value
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e o seu valor
11:48
in solving the crisis of visual theft is true,
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para resolver a crise do roubo visual é certa,
11:51
any species that acquires it
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calquera especie que a adquira
11:53
should show an explosion of creativity and prosperity.
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debería amosar unha explosión de creatividade e prosperidade.
11:56
And this is exactly what the archeological record shows.
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E isto é exactamente o que proba o estudo arqueolóxico.
11:59
If you look at our ancestors,
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Se observan os nosos devanceiros,
12:01
the Neanderthals and the Homo erectus, our immediate ancestors,
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os Neandertais e os Homo erectus, os nosos devanceiros máis próximos,
12:04
they're confined to small regions of the world.
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Eles ficaron confinados a pequenas rexións do mundo.
12:07
But when our species arose
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Mais cando a nosa especie aparece
12:09
about 200,000 years ago,
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hai uns 200.000 anos,
12:11
sometime after that we quickly walked out of Africa
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algo máis tarde de que rapidamente abandonásemos África
12:14
and spread around the entire world,
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e nos espallásemos polo mundo enteiro,
12:17
occupying nearly every habitat on Earth.
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ocupando case todos os hábitats do mundo.
12:20
Now whereas other species are confined
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Agora en calquera lugar en que outras especies estivesen confinadas
12:23
to places that their genes adapt them to,
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en lugares para os que os seus xenes estives adaptados,
12:26
with social learning and language,
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coa aprendizaxe social e a linguaxe,
12:28
we could transform the environment
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poderiamos transformar o noso entorno
12:30
to suit our needs.
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para satisfacer as nosas necesidades.
12:32
And so we prospered in a way
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E así prosperamos dun xeito
12:34
that no other animal has.
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único entre os animais.
12:36
Language really is
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A linguaxe é realmente
12:39
the most potent trait that has ever evolved.
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o trazo máis potente de toda a Evolución..
12:42
It is the most valuable trait we have
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É o trazo máis valioso que temos
12:45
for converting new lands and resources
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para convertir novos territorios e recursos
12:48
into more people and their genes
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en máis xente e os seus xenes
12:51
that natural selection has ever devised.
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desde que a Evolución está operativa.
12:53
Language really is
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A linguaxe é realmente
12:55
the voice of our genes.
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a voz dos nosos xenes.
12:57
Now having evolved language, though,
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Agora unha vez evolucionada a linguaxe, daquela,
12:59
we did something peculiar,
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fixemos algo peculiar,
13:01
even bizarre.
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incluso raro.
13:03
As we spread out around the world,
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Durante o noso espallamente polo mundo,
13:05
we developed thousands of different languages.
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desenvolvemos milleiros de diferentes linguas.
13:08
Currently, there are about seven or 8,000
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Seica hai entre sete e 8000
13:10
different languages spoken on Earth.
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linguas diferentes faladas na Terra.
13:13
Now you might say, well, this is just natural.
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Vostedes dirán, pois ben, isto é algo natural.
13:15
As we diverge, our languages are naturally going to diverge.
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Ao tempo que nós diverxemos, as nosas linguas naturalmente tamén diverxirán.
13:18
But the real puzzle and irony
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Máis o realmente complicado e irónico
13:20
is that the greatest density of different languages on Earth
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é que a densidade máis grande de diferentes linguas na Terra
13:23
is found where people are most tightly packed together.
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atópase onde a xente está máis xunta.
13:27
If we go to the island of Papua New Guinea,
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Se imos á illa de Papua Nova Guinea,
13:29
we can find about 800 to 1,000
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Podemos atopar entre 800 e 1000
13:32
distinct human languages,
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linguas distintas,
13:34
different human languages,
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linguas humanas diferentes,
13:36
spoken on that island alone.
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faladas só nesa illa.
13:38
There are places on that island
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Hai lugares nesa illa
13:40
where you can encounter a new language
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onde podemos descubrir unha nova lingua
13:42
every two or three miles.
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cada 3 ou 4,5 Km.
13:44
Now, incredible as this sounds,
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Claro, por incríbel que pareza,
13:46
I once met a Papuan man, and I asked him if this could possibly be true.
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coñecín unha vez a un Papuano e pregunteille se isto podía ser certo.
13:49
And he said to me, "Oh no.
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Díxome, "Non oh.
13:51
They're far closer together than that."
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Están moito máis preto ca iso."
13:54
And it's true; there are places on that island
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E é verdade; hai lugares na illa
13:56
where you can encounter a new language in under a mile.
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onde podemos topar cunha nova lingua sen saír dun 1,5 km.
13:59
And this is also true of some remote oceanic islands.
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E isto tamén sucede nalgunhas remotas illas oceánicas.
14:03
And so it seems that we use our language,
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Daquela parece que usamos a nosa linguaxe,
14:05
not just to cooperate,
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non só para cooperar,
14:07
but to draw rings around our cooperative groups
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senón para trazar aneis arredor dos nosos grupos coorporativos
14:10
and to establish identities,
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e para establecer identidades,
14:12
and perhaps to protect our knowledge and wisdom and skills
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e se cadra para protexer o noso coñecemento, sabedoría e habilidades
14:15
from eavesdropping from outside.
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da curiosidade dos estraños.
14:18
And we know this
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Sabemos todo isto
14:20
because when we study different language groups
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porque cando estudamos diferentes grupos de linguas
14:22
and associate them with their cultures,
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e asociámolas coas súas culturas,
14:24
we see that different languages
348
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vemos que linguas diferentes
14:26
slow the flow of ideas between groups.
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frean a transmisión de ideas entre os grupos.
14:29
They slow the flow of technologies.
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Frean a transmisión de tecnoloxías.
14:32
And they even slow the flow of genes.
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E incluso frean a transmisión de xenes.
14:35
Now I can't speak for you,
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Non podo falar por vostedes,
14:37
but it seems to be the case
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mais parece ser o caso
14:39
that we don't have sex with people we can't talk to.
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de que non temos sexo con xente coa que non podemos falar.
14:43
(Laughter)
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(Risas)
14:45
Now we have to counter that, though,
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Debemos telo en conta, pois,
14:47
against the evidence we've heard
357
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en contra da evidencia que ouvimos
14:49
that we might have had some rather distasteful genetic dalliances
358
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sobre que puidemos ter algunhas desagradábeis alianzas xenéticas
14:52
with the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.
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cos Neardentais e os homínidos de Denisova.
14:54
(Laughter)
360
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(Risos)
14:56
Okay, this tendency we have,
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Ben, esta tendencia que temos,
14:58
this seemingly natural tendency we have,
362
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2000
esta aparente tendencia natural que temos,
15:00
towards isolation, towards keeping to ourselves,
363
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cara ao illamento, cara mirar para nosoutros,
15:03
crashes head first into our modern world.
364
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3000
esnáfrase contra o noso mundo moderno.
15:06
This remarkable image
365
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2000
Esta salientábel imaxe
15:08
is not a map of the world.
366
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2000
non é un mapa do mundo.
15:10
In fact, it's a map of Facebook friendship links.
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895000
4000
De feito, é o mapa de ligazóns de amizade en Facebook.
15:14
And when you plot those friendship links
368
899000
2000
E cando localizamos esas ligazóns de amizade
15:16
by their latitude and longitude,
369
901000
2000
na súa latitude e lonxitude,
15:18
it literally draws a map of the world.
370
903000
3000
vese con exactitude o mapa do mundo.
15:21
Our modern world is communicating
371
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2000
O noso mundo moderno é comunicación
15:23
with itself and with each other
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consigo mesmo e entre todos
15:25
more than it has
373
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2000
mais do que o fixo
15:27
at any time in its past.
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2000
en calquera momento do seu pasado.
15:29
And that communication, that connectivity around the world,
375
914000
3000
E esa comunicación, esa conectividade arredor do mundo,
15:32
that globalization
376
917000
2000
esa globalización
15:34
now raises a burden.
377
919000
3000
agora ten unha pexa.
15:37
Because these different languages
378
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2000
Porque esas diferentes linguas
15:39
impose a barrier, as we've just seen,
379
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2000
impoñen unha barreira, como acabamos de ver,
15:41
to the transfer of goods and ideas
380
926000
2000
para transferir bens e ideas
15:43
and technologies and wisdom.
381
928000
2000
e tecnoloxías e sabedoría.
15:45
And they impose a barrier to cooperation.
382
930000
3000
E impoñen unha barreira á cooperación.
15:48
And nowhere do we see that more clearly
383
933000
3000
E en ningures o vemos tan claro como
15:51
than in the European Union,
384
936000
2000
na Unión Europea,
15:53
whose 27 member countries
385
938000
3000
cuxos 27 membros
15:56
speak 23 official languages.
386
941000
3000
falan 23 linguas oficiais.
15:59
The European Union
387
944000
2000
A Unión Europea
16:01
is now spending over one billion euros annually
388
946000
4000
agora gasta uns 1000 millóns de euros ao ano
16:05
translating among their 23 official languages.
389
950000
3000
para a tradución entre as súas 23 linguas oficiais.
16:08
That's something on the order
390
953000
2000
Iso supón arredor
16:10
of 1.45 billion U.S. dollars
391
955000
2000
de 1.450 millóns de dólares
16:12
on translation costs alone.
392
957000
3000
só en gasto de tradución.
16:15
Now think of the absurdity of this situation.
393
960000
2000
Pensen no absurdo da situación.
16:17
If 27 individuals
394
962000
2000
Se 27 individuos
16:19
from those 27 member states
395
964000
2000
de cada un dos 27 estados membros
16:21
sat around table, speaking their 23 languages,
396
966000
3000
sentan arredor dunha mesa a falar nas súas 23 linguas,
16:24
some very simple mathematics will tell you
397
969000
2000
unha matemática moi simpre nos dirá
16:26
that you need an army of 253 translators
398
971000
4000
que necesitan vostedes un exército de 253 tradutores
16:30
to anticipate all the pairwise possibilities.
399
975000
4000
para cubrir todas as posibilidades de emparellamento.
16:34
The European Union employs a permanent staff
400
979000
3000
A Unión Europea emprega unha plantilla permanente
16:37
of about 2,500 translators.
401
982000
2000
de aproximadamente 2500 tradutores
16:39
And in 2007 alone --
402
984000
2000
E só en 2007 --
16:41
and I'm sure there are more recent figures --
403
986000
2000
e estou seguro de que hai cifras máis actualizadas --
16:43
something on the order of 1.3 million pages
404
988000
3000
arredor de 1,3 millóns de páxinas
16:46
were translated into English alone.
405
991000
3000
foron traducidas en concreto ao inglés.
16:49
And so if language really is
406
994000
3000
Se unha lingua realmente é
16:52
the solution to the crisis of visual theft,
407
997000
3000
a solución á crise do roubo visual,
16:55
if language really is
408
1000000
2000
se a lingua é realmente
16:57
the conduit of our cooperation,
409
1002000
2000
o medio para a nosa cooperación,
16:59
the technology that our species derived
410
1004000
3000
a tecnoloxía que a nosa especie creou
17:02
to promote the free flow and exchange of ideas,
411
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para incentivar a libre transferencia e troca de ideas,
17:06
in our modern world,
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no mundo moderno,
17:08
we confront a question.
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debemos afrontar unha pregunta.
17:10
And that question is whether
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A pregunta é se
17:12
in this modern, globalized world
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neste moderno, globalizado mundo
17:14
we can really afford to have all these different languages.
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podemos asumir ter todas estas linguas diferentes.
17:17
To put it this way, nature knows no other circumstance
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A natureza non coñece outra situación
17:20
in which functionally equivalent traits coexist.
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en que trazos funcionalmente equivalentes coexistan.
17:25
One of them always drives the other extinct.
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Un deles sempre provoca a extinción do outro.
17:28
And we see this in the inexorable march
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Vémolo na inexorábel marcha
17:30
towards standardization.
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cara a estandarización.
17:32
There are lots and lots of ways of measuring things --
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Hai montes e moreas de xeitos para medir as cousas --
17:35
weighing them and measuring their length --
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pesando e medindo a súa lonxitude --
17:37
but the metric system is winning.
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máis o vencedor é o sistema métrico.
17:39
There are lots and lots of ways of measuring time,
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Hai moitas maneiras de medir o tempo,
17:42
but a really bizarre base 60 system
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máis o estrañísimo sistema de base 60
17:45
known as hours and minutes and seconds
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que mide as horas, minutos e segundos
17:47
is nearly universal around the world.
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é case universal en todo o mundo.
17:50
There are many, many ways
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Hai moitos, moitos xeitos
17:52
of imprinting CDs or DVDs,
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de imprimir CDs ou DVDs,
17:54
but those are all being standardized as well.
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mais todos estas xa estandarizados.
17:57
And you can probably think of many, many more
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Probablemente podemos pensar en moitos, moitos máis
18:00
in your own everyday lives.
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na nosa vida cotiá.
18:02
And so our modern world now
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O noso moderno mundo agora
18:05
is confronting us with a dilemma.
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colócanos antre un dilema.
18:07
And it's the dilemma
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O dilema é
18:09
that this Chinese man faces,
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o mesmo que este chinés ten que afrontar ,
18:11
who's language is spoken
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a súa é a lingua máis falada
18:13
by more people in the world
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en todo o mundo
18:15
than any other single language,
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máis que calquera outra,
18:18
and yet he is sitting at his blackboard,
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mais el está sentado ante o seu encerado,
18:22
converting Chinese phrases
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convertindo frases chinesas
18:25
into English language phrases.
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en inglesas.
18:27
And what this does is it raises the possibility to us
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O que isto fai é que nos ofrece a posibilidade
18:30
that in a world in which we want to promote
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de que nun mundo en que queremos incentivar
18:32
cooperation and exchange,
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a cooperación e o intercambio,
18:34
and in a world that might be dependent more than ever before
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e nun mundo que é máis dependente agora ca nunca
18:37
on cooperation
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na cooperación
18:39
to maintain and enhance our levels of prosperity,
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para manter e mellorar os nosos niveis de prosperidade,
18:42
his actions suggest to us
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as súas accións suxírennos
18:44
it might be inevitable
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que podería ser inevitábel
18:46
that we have to confront the idea
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que teñamos a asumir a idea
18:48
that our destiny is to be one world with one language.
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de que o noso destino é ser un único mundo cunha única lingua.
18:51
Thank you.
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Grazas.
18:53
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
19:01
Matt Ridley: Mark, one question.
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Matt Ridley: Mark, unha pregunta.
19:03
Svante found that the FOXP2 gene,
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Svante descubriu que o xene FOXP2
19:06
which seems to be associated with language,
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ao parecer asociado coa linguaxe,
19:08
was also shared in the same form
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é compartido dalgún xeito
19:10
in Neanderthals as us.
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entre os Neanderthais e nós.
19:12
Do we have any idea
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Tes algunha idea
19:14
how we could have defeated Neanderthals
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en como puidemos vencer os Neandertais
19:16
if they also had language?
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se eles tamén tiñan linguaxe?
19:18
Mark Pagel: This is a very good question.
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Mark Pagel: Esta é unha moi boa pregunta.
19:20
So many of you will be familiar with the idea that there's this gene called FOXP2
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Moitos estades familiarizados coa idea de que hai un xene chamado FOXP2
19:23
that seems to be implicated in some ways
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que parece implicado dalgún xeito
19:26
in the fine motor control that's associated with language.
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no control motor asociado coa linguaxe.
19:29
The reason why I don't believe that tells us
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A razón porque eu non creo en que nos indique
19:31
that the Neanderthals had language
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que os Neardentais tiñan linguaxe
19:33
is -- here's a simple analogy:
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é --permítanme unha simple analoxía:
19:36
Ferraris are cars that have engines.
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Ferraris son coches que teñen motores.
19:39
My car has an engine,
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O meu coche ten un motor,
19:41
but it's not a Ferrari.
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mais non é un Ferrari.
19:43
Now the simple answer then
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Agora a resposta simple é
19:45
is that genes alone don't, all by themselves,
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que os xenes por si sós non
19:47
determine the outcome
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determinan un resultado final
19:49
of very complicated things like language.
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tan complicado coma a linguaxe.
19:51
What we know about this FOXP2 and Neanderthals
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O que sabemos sobre o FOXP2 e os Neandertais
19:53
is that they may have had fine motor control of their mouths -- who knows.
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é que puideron ter o control motor das súas bocas --quen sabe.
19:57
But that doesn't tell us they necessarily had language.
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Mais iso non nos di que necesariamente tiñan linguaxe.
19:59
MR: Thank you very much indeed.
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MR: Moitas grazas de verdade.
20:01
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Mark Pagel - Evolutionary biologistUsing 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."
Mark Pagel | Speaker | TED.com