TEDGlobal 2011
Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity
马克·佩格尔：语言如何改变人类
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生物学家马克·佩格尔与我们分享了一个关于人类如何发展复杂的语言系统的有趣理论。他认为，语言是一种社会技术，它帮助人类早期部落获得了一个强有力的新工具：合作。
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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每一个人都拥有
00:17
the most powerful, dangerous and subversive trait
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一个最强大，危险并具有颠覆性的特性
00:20
that natural selection has ever devised.
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这一特性是自然选择前所未有的设计
00:23
It's a piece of neural audio technology
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它是一个神经声频技术
00:26
for rewiring other people's minds.
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用于与他人交流思想
00:28
I'm talking about your language, of course,
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我说的当然就是语言
00:31
because it allows you to implant a thought from your mind
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因为通过语言你可以将自己的想法
00:34
directly into someone else's mind,
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直接灌输进别人脑子里
00:37
and they can attempt to do the same to you,
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而他们亦可这样对你
00:39
without either of you having to perform surgery.
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双方都不用动手术
00:42
Instead, when you speak,
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实际上，当你讲话的时候
00:44
you're actually using a form of telemetry
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使用的是一种遥测技术
00:46
not so different
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这跟遥控器
00:48
from the remote control device for your television.
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遥控电视的差别并不大
00:50
It's just that, whereas that device
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差别仅是遥控器
00:52
relies on pulses of infrared light,
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借助红外光
00:54
your language relies on pulses,
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而你依靠的是脉冲
00:57
discrete pulses, of sound.
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声音的不连续脉冲
00:59
And just as you use the remote control device
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就如同使用遥控器
01:02
to alter the internal settings of your television
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去修改电视机内部设定
01:04
to suit your mood,
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迎合自己口味一样
01:06
you use your language
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你使用语言
01:08
to alter the settings inside someone else's brain
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来转变别人大脑内部的设定
01:10
to suit your interests.
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以满足你的需要
01:12
Languages are genes talking,
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语言是用来表达的基因
01:14
getting things that they want.
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得到它们想要的表述
01:16
And just imagine the sense of wonder in a baby
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试想从婴儿不可思议的视角来看
01:19
when it first discovers that, merely by uttering a sound,
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当婴儿发现仅仅通过发出声音
01:22
it can get objects to move across a room
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他/她就能使音频穿过房间
01:24
as if by magic,
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如魔法一样
01:26
and maybe even into its mouth.
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甚至从他/她嘴里蹦出。
01:29
Now language's subversive power
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如今，语言的颠覆性能力
01:31
has been recognized throughout the ages
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已经在那些舆论审查的年代
01:33
in censorship, in books you can't read,
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以及你无法读到的书籍
01:35
phrases you can't use
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你不能使用的敏感词
01:37
and words you can't say.
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和字眼中得到了印证
01:39
In fact, the Tower of Babel story in the Bible
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事实上，圣经里巴别塔的故事
01:42
is a fable and warning
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就是关于语言能力的
01:44
about the power of language.
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一个寓言和警示
01:46
According to that story, early humans developed the conceit
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这个故事说，远古的人类变得自以为是
01:49
that, by using their language to work together,
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他们以为通过同一种语言一起合作
01:51
they could build a tower
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可以建起一座
01:53
that would take them all the way to heaven.
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带他们通往天堂的塔
01:55
Now God, angered at this attempt to usurp his power,
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上帝为此大逆不道的篡夺行为震怒
01:58
destroyed the tower,
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因此毁了这座通天塔
02:01
and then to ensure
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并为了确保
02:03
that it would never be rebuilt,
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人类无法再建
02:05
he scattered the people by giving them different languages --
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他通过赋予人们不同的语言将之拆散--
02:08
confused them by giving them different languages.
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用不同的语言使他们迷惑
02:11
And this leads to the wonderful irony
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所以这导致一个奇妙而讽刺的结果
02:13
that our languages exist to prevent us from communicating.
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正是语言阻碍我们的交流
02:16
Even today,
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甚至在今天
02:18
we know that there are words we cannot use,
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仍有些字词我们不能用
02:20
phrases we cannot say,
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有些短语不能说
02:22
because if we do so,
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因为这样做
02:24
we might be accosted, jailed,
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我们也许会锒铛入狱
02:27
or even killed.
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甚至招来杀身之祸
02:29
And all of this from a puff of air
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这一切只因为
02:31
emanating from our mouths.
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口吐一口气而已
02:33
Now all this fuss about a single one of our traits
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我们刚刚这番关于语言这一特性的长篇大论
02:36
tells us there's something worth explaining.
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无非是要说有些东西值得去解释
02:38
And that is how and why
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那就是语言这一奇妙特性
02:40
did this remarkable trait evolve,
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是如何演变的及其原因
02:42
and why did it evolve
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并且为什么
02:44
only in our species?
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只在人类中演变？
02:46
Now it's a little bit of a surprise
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为获得以上问题的答案
02:48
that to get an answer to that question,
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先要做点意料外的工作
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we have to go to tool use
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我们必须先研究
02:52
in the chimpanzees.
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黑猩猩使用工具的能力
02:54
Now these chimpanzees are using tools,
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这些黑猩猩正在利用工具
02:56
and we take that as a sign of their intelligence.
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这被认为是它们智力的一个表现
02:59
But if they really were intelligent,
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但是如果它们真的聪明的话
03:01
why would they use a stick to extract termites from the ground
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为什么它们要用根棍子把白蚁从地面里取出
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rather than a shovel?
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而不是用铲子挖呢？
03:06
And if they really were intelligent,
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如果它们真的聪明
03:09
why would they crack open nuts with a rock?
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为什么自己要用石头砸开坚果呢？
03:11
Why wouldn't they just go to a shop and buy a bag of nuts
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为什么它们不去商店买上一袋坚果
03:14
that somebody else had already cracked open for them?
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在那里已经有砸好的坚果为它们准备好了？
03:17
Why not? I mean, that's what we do.
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为什么呢？因为那些是人类才能做的
03:19
Now the reason the chimpanzees don't do that
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黑猩猩不那么做的原因
03:21
is that they lack what psychologists and anthropologists call
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是它们缺乏心理学家和人类学家所谓的
03:24
social learning.
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社会学习能力
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They seem to lack the ability
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它们似乎缺乏
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to learn from others
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向别人学习的能力
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by copying or imitating
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通过照搬或模仿
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or simply watching.
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或者仅仅观察
03:34
As a result,
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理所当然
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they can't improve on others' ideas
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它们无法改进他人的想法
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or learn from others' mistakes --
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或者从别人错误中吸取教训
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benefit from others' wisdom.
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汲取别人的智慧
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And so they just do the same thing
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所以它们只是单纯做同一件事
03:44
over and over and over again.
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重复一遍又一遍
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In fact, we could go away for a million years and come back
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事实上，如果我们能跨越一百万年，然后再追溯回来
03:50
and these chimpanzees would be doing the same thing
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这些黑猩猩肯定还在做着同样的事
03:53
with the same sticks for the termites
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用同样的棍子抓着白蚁
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and the same rocks to crack open the nuts.
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用同样的石头砸着坚果
03:58
Now this may sound arrogant, or even full of hubris.
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也许这听上去有些傲慢，甚至狂妄自大
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How do we know this?
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我们怎么知道这些的？
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Because this is exactly what our ancestors, the Homo erectus, did.
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因为我们的祖先--直立人就是这样
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These upright apes
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约二百万年前
04:08
evolved on the African savanna
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这些直立猿人
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about two million years ago,
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在非洲的热带稀树草原进化
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and they made these splendid hand axes
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他们造出了精巧的手斧
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that fit wonderfully into your hands.
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能完全贴合手形
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But if we look at the fossil record,
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但如果我们查看化石
04:18
we see that they made the same hand axe
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会发现他们造着同样的手斧
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over and over and over again
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重复着
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for one million years.
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持续了一百万年
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You can follow it through the fossil record.
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你可以通过各年代的化石看到
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Now if we make some guesses about how long Homo erectus lived,
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现在我们可以做几个关于猿人生存时间
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what their generation time was,
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和他们的世代的猜想
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that's about 40,000 generations
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在约四万代的时间里
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of parents to offspring, and other individuals watching,
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从父辈到子辈，以及周围人的观察中
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in which that hand axe didn't change.
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手斧没有任何改进
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It's not even clear
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我们甚至不太清楚
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that our very close genetic relatives, the Neanderthals,
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我们的近亲--尼安德特人是否
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had social learning.
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具备社会学习能力
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Sure enough, their tools were more complicated
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当然他们的工具
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than those of Homo erectus,
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比猿人要复杂得多
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but they too showed very little change
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但在30万年时间里
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over the 300,000 years or so
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他们也只表现出很少变化
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that those species, the Neanderthals,
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那些尼安德特人
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lived in Eurasia.
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生活在欧亚大陆
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Okay, so what this tells us
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这与我们所知的
05:01
is that, contrary to the old adage,
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“有样学样”（猴子见什么学什么）的谚语
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"monkey see, monkey do,"
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完全相反
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the surprise really is
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令人惊讶的事实是
05:09
that all of the other animals
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其他的所有动物
05:11
really cannot do that -- at least not very much.
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都无法做到有样学样，至少做到很少
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And even this picture
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甚至这张图片
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has the suspicious taint of being rigged about it --
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虽然它有人为操纵之嫌--
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something from a Barnum & Bailey circus.
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“不会是来自巴纳姆贝利马戏团吧”
05:21
But by comparison,
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但是相比之下
05:23
we can learn.
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我们有学习能力
05:25
We can learn by watching other people
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我们可以通过观察别人
05:28
and copying or imitating
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以及照搬或模仿
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what they can do.
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别人所做的来学习
05:32
We can then choose, from among a range of options,
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然后我们可以在一系列选择中挑选
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the best one.
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最好的选择
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We can benefit from others' ideas.
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我们可以汲取别人的想法
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We can build on their wisdom.
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可以发展他人的智慧
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And as a result, our ideas do accumulate,
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所以我们的智慧可以累积
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and our technology progresses.
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技术得以进步
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And this cumulative cultural adaptation,
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这种人类学家所称
05:53
as anthropologists call
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累积性的文化适应
05:55
this accumulation of ideas,
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这种想法的积累
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is responsible for everything around you
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是你周围所有一切的根源
05:59
in your bustling and teeming everyday lives.
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并存在于你繁忙和与人合作的日常生活中
06:01
I mean the world has changed out of all proportion
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这个世界
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to what we would recognize
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跟一千或者两千年前相比
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even 1,000 or 2,000 years ago.
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已经发生了翻天覆地的变化
06:08
And all of this because of cumulative cultural adaptation.
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这一切都归因于累积性文化适应
06:11
The chairs you're sitting in, the lights in this auditorium,
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你们坐着的椅子，礼堂里的灯
06:13
my microphone, the iPads and iPods that you carry around with you --
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我的手机，你们携带的iPad和iPod
06:16
all are a result
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这些都是
06:18
of cumulative cultural adaptation.
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累积性文化适应的结果
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Now to many commentators,
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对许多评论者来说
06:24
cumulative cultural adaptation, or social learning,
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累积性文化适应，或者说社会学习
06:27
is job done, end of story.
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已经大功告成
06:30
Our species can make stuff,
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人类这一物种可以创造事物
06:33
therefore we prospered in a way that no other species has.
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所以我们比任何其他物种都要繁荣先进
06:36
In fact, we can even make the "stuff of life" --
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事实上我们甚至可以创造“生命本身的东西”--
06:39
as I just said, all the stuff around us.
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如我所说，我们周围的一切
06:41
But in fact, it turns out
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实际上
06:43
that some time around 200,000 years ago,
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大约二十万年前
06:46
when our species first arose
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当我们的祖先开始直立行走
06:48
and acquired social learning,
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并获得社会学习的能力
06:50
that this was really the beginning of our story,
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这的确是故事的开始，
06:52
not the end of our story.
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但不是结尾
06:54
Because our acquisition of social learning
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因为社会学习能力的获得
06:57
would create a social and evolutionary dilemma,
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会令社会和进化陷入一个进退两难的地步
07:00
the resolution of which, it's fair to say,
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其解决方法
07:03
would determine not only the future course of our psychology,
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不但决定了未来人类心理的轨迹
07:07
but the future course of the entire world.
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也决定了整个世界的未来走向
07:09
And most importantly for this,
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最重要的是
07:12
it'll tell us why we have language.
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它告诉我们为什么我们有语言
07:15
And the reason that dilemma arose
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两难局面的出现是因为
07:17
is, it turns out, that social learning is visual theft.
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社会学习实际是一种观察性窃取
07:20
If I can learn by watching you,
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如果我可以通过观察你而学习
07:23
I can steal your best ideas,
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我就可以窃取你最好的想法
07:25
and I can benefit from your efforts,
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从你的努力中坐收渔利
07:28
without having to put in the time and energy that you did
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而不用像你一样投入时间和精力
07:30
into developing them.
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去开发想法
07:32
If I can watch which lure you use to catch a fish,
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如果我可以观察你用什么饵钓鱼
07:35
or I can watch how you flake your hand axe
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如何削薄手斧
07:37
to make it better,
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改进它
07:39
or if I follow you secretly to your mushroom patch,
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或者偷偷跟踪你去你的蘑菇地
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I can benefit from your knowledge and wisdom and skills,
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我就可以从你的知识，智慧和技能中获益
07:45
and maybe even catch that fish
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甚至在你之前
07:47
before you do.
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就抓走鱼
07:49
Social learning really is visual theft.
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社会学习确实是种观察性窃取
07:52
And in any species that acquired it,
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任何具备该能力的物种
07:54
it would behoove you
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必然都会
07:56
to hide your best ideas,
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隐藏自己最好的点子
07:58
lest somebody steal them from you.
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以防别人偷走
08:02
And so some time around 200,000 years ago,
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大约二十万年前
08:05
our species confronted this crisis.
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人类遇到了这一困境
08:08
And we really had only two options
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我们只有两种选择
08:11
for dealing with the conflicts
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来解决
08:13
that visual theft would bring.
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观察性窃取导致的冲突
08:15
One of those options
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一个选择是
08:17
was that we could have retreated
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我们可以退回到
08:20
into small family groups.
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小的家庭单位
08:22
Because then the benefits of our ideas and knowledge
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如此一来我们的想法和知识
08:25
would flow just to our relatives.
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仅仅在亲属间交流
08:27
Had we chosen this option,
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假如我们在大约二十万年前的时候
08:29
sometime around 200,000 years ago,
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选择了这个方法
08:32
we would probably still be living like the Neanderthals were
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那也许4万年前我们进入欧洲的时候
08:35
when we first entered Europe 40,000 years ago.
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还过着尼安德特人一样的生活
08:38
And this is because in small groups
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这是因为小团体
08:40
there are fewer ideas, there are fewer innovations.
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只能产生很少的想法和发明
08:43
And small groups are more prone to accidents and bad luck.
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却更有发生事故和厄运的倾向
08:46
So if we'd chosen that path,
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所以如果我们选择了那条路
08:48
our evolutionary path would have led into the forest --
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我们的进化之路就会通向森林
08:51
and been a short one indeed.
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并且是短命之路
08:53
The other option we could choose
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另一个选择
08:55
was to develop the systems of communication
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就是发展交流的系统
08:58
that would allow us to share ideas
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从而分享想法
09:00
and to cooperate amongst others.
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和相互合作
09:03
Choosing this option would mean
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选择这条路意味着
09:05
that a vastly greater fund of accumulated knowledge and wisdom
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积累起来的海量知识和智慧
09:08
would become available to any one individual
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向每一个个体开放
09:11
than would ever arise from within an individual family
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而不仅仅是单个家庭的
09:14
or an individual person on their own.
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或者个人的积累
09:18
Well, we chose the second option,
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我们选了第二条路
09:21
and language is the result.
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语言就是产物
09:24
Language evolved to solve the crisis
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语言的进化解决了
09:26
of visual theft.
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观察性窃取的危机
09:28
Language is a piece of social technology
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语言是社会技术
09:31
for enhancing the benefits of cooperation --
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用于加强合作的益处
09:34
for reaching agreements, for striking deals
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达成共识，买卖交易
09:37
and for coordinating our activities.
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以及协调活动
09:41
And you can see that, in a developing society
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你可以看到，处于发展中形态的社会
09:43
that was beginning to acquire language,
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刚刚开始习得语言
09:45
not having language
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还没有完全掌握
09:47
would be a like a bird without wings.
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就像一个没有翅膀的鸟儿
09:49
Just as wings open up this sphere of air
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就像翅膀之于鸟儿
09:52
for birds to exploit,
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扇动空气去探索天空
09:54
language opened up the sphere of cooperation
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语言之于人类
09:56
for humans to exploit.
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开启合作来探索未来
09:58
And we take this utterly for granted,
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我们以为这是理所当然
10:00
because we're a species that is so at home with language,
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因为我们是纯熟掌握语言的物种
10:03
but you have to realize
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但是你应当意识到
10:05
that even the simplest acts of exchange that we engage in
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甚至我们最简单的交换行为
10:08
are utterly dependent upon language.
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也完全依赖于语言
10:11
And to see why, consider two scenarios
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为了弄清为什么
10:13
from early in our evolution.
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请假想进化早期的两个场景
10:15
Let's imagine that you are really good
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假设
10:17
at making arrowheads,
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你擅长制造箭头
10:19
but you're hopeless at making the wooden shafts
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但是完全不会
10:22
with the flight feathers attached.
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制造嵌着飞羽的箭杆
10:25
Two other people you know are very good at making the wooden shafts,
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你知道另外两人擅长制箭杆
10:28
but they're hopeless at making the arrowheads.
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但他们不会造箭头
10:31
So what you do is --
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那么
10:33
one of those people has not really acquired language yet.
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那两人中一个还没真正学会使用语言
10:36
And let's pretend the other one is good at language skills.
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另外一个熟练语言技巧
10:38
So what you do one day is you take a pile of arrowheads,
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有一天你带了一堆箭头
10:41
and you walk up to the one that can't speak very well,
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去找那个不太会说话的人
10:43
and you put the arrowheads down in front of him,
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你把箭头放在他面前
10:45
hoping that he'll get the idea that you want to trade your arrowheads
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希望他明白你想用箭头
10:48
for finished arrows.
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交换做好的箭
10:50
But he looks at the pile of arrowheads, thinks they're a gift,
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但他看着一堆箭头，以为是礼物
10:52
picks them up, smiles and walks off.
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就捡起来冲你一笑就走了
10:55
Now you pursue this guy, gesticulating.
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你追上他连比带划地解释
10:57
A scuffle ensues and you get stabbed
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结果打起来了
10:59
with one of your own arrowheads.
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被他用你自己的箭头捅伤了
11:02
Okay, now replay this scene now, and you're approaching the one who has language.
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好的，现在再重复这个场景， 你去找有语言的那个人
11:05
You put down your arrowheads and say,
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你放下箭头说
11:07
"I'd like to trade these arrowheads for finished arrows. I'll split you 50/50."
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“我想用这些跟你交换做好的箭，我们对半分”
11:10
The other one says, "Fine. Looks good to me.
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那人说：“没问题。”
11:12
We'll do that."
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“就这么办。”
11:15
Now the job is done.
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交易做成了。
11:18
Once we have language,
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一旦我们有了语言
11:20
we can put our ideas together and cooperate
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我们可以分享想法并合作
11:22
to have a prosperity
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从而创造繁荣
11:24
that we couldn't have before we acquired it.
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没有语言这是无法完成的
11:27
And this is why our species
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这就是为什么人类
11:29
has prospered around the world
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在全世界繁衍发展
11:31
while the rest of the animals
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而其他的动物
11:33
sit behind bars in zoos, languishing.
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只能干坐在动物园的笼子里，怨断愁肠
11:36
That's why we build space shuttles and cathedrals
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这就是为什么我们建起航天飞机和大教堂
11:39
while the rest of the world sticks sticks into the ground
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而它们用棍子捅地
11:41
to extract termites.
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抓白蚁
11:43
All right, if this view of language
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如果这个角度看语言
11:46
and its value
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及其价值
11:48
in solving the crisis of visual theft is true,
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对解决观察性窃取是无可争议的
11:51
any species that acquires it
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任何物种获得了它
11:53
should show an explosion of creativity and prosperity.
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都应该有创造和繁荣昌盛的表现
11:56
And this is exactly what the archeological record shows.
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考古学记录证实了这一点
11:59
If you look at our ancestors,
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如果研究我们的祖先--
12:01
the Neanderthals and the Homo erectus, our immediate ancestors,
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尼安德特人和猿人，我们的直系祖先
12:04
they're confined to small regions of the world.
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他们活动于世界的小范围区域
12:07
But when our species arose
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而人类在
12:09
about 200,000 years ago,
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大约二十万年前
12:11
sometime after that we quickly walked out of Africa
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迅速地走出了非洲
12:14
and spread around the entire world,
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分布到了全世界
12:17
occupying nearly every habitat on Earth.
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占据了地球几乎每一处栖息地
12:20
Now whereas other species are confined
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现在当其他物种还受限于
12:23
to places that their genes adapt them to,
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他们基因适应的地方
12:26
with social learning and language,
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拥有社会学习能力和语言的我们
12:28
we could transform the environment
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已经可以改造环境
12:30
to suit our needs.
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满足我们的需求了
12:32
And so we prospered in a way
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所以我们的文明
12:34
that no other animal has.
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比其他任何动物都要繁荣
12:36
Language really is
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语言确实是
12:39
the most potent trait that has ever evolved.
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我们进化出的最有利的特性
12:42
It is the most valuable trait we have
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这是我们拥有的最有价值的特性
12:45
for converting new lands and resources
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以此我们将新土地和资源
12:48
into more people and their genes
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转化成更多的人和他们的基因
12:51
that natural selection has ever devised.
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这比自然选择做的还要多
12:53
Language really is
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语言的确是
12:55
the voice of our genes.
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我们基因的声音
12:57
Now having evolved language, though,
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尽管我们有发达的语言
12:59
we did something peculiar,
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但我们也做了件特殊
13:01
even bizarre.
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甚至可以说是件奇怪的事
13:03
As we spread out around the world,
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当我们分散到全世界
13:05
we developed thousands of different languages.
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我们发展出成千上万种语言
13:08
Currently, there are about seven or 8,000
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目前，全球大约有
13:10
different languages spoken on Earth.
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七千到八千种在使用的语言
13:13
Now you might say, well, this is just natural.
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也许你觉得这是很自然的事
13:15
As we diverge, our languages are naturally going to diverge.
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当我们越分散，语言也越高度分化
13:18
But the real puzzle and irony
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但真正令人困惑并且讽刺的是
13:20
is that the greatest density of different languages on Earth
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世界上最密集的语言分布区域
13:23
is found where people are most tightly packed together.
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恰恰是人口最密集聚居的地方
13:27
If we go to the island of Papua New Guinea,
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在巴布新几内亚
13:29
we can find about 800 to 1,000
325
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那里有八百到一千种
13:32
distinct human languages,
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独特的人类语言
13:34
different human languages,
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不同的人类语言
13:36
spoken on that island alone.
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仅仅在那一座岛上
13:38
There are places on that island
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岛上一些地方
13:40
where you can encounter a new language
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你每走上两三英里
13:42
every two or three miles.
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就能碰上一种新语言
13:44
Now, incredible as this sounds,
332
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更神奇的是
13:46
I once met a Papuan man, and I asked him if this could possibly be true.
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有次我碰上一个巴布人，问他这是不是真的
13:49
And he said to me, "Oh no.
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他说：“不，不是。”
13:51
They're far closer together than that."
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3000
“比这要近多了。”
13:54
And it's true; there are places on that island
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这是真的，岛上有些地方
13:56
where you can encounter a new language in under a mile.
337
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一英里之内就能发现另一语言的使用
13:59
And this is also true of some remote oceanic islands.
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同样在一些遥远的大洋小岛上也是这样
14:03
And so it seems that we use our language,
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这样看来我们利用语言
14:05
not just to cooperate,
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不仅仅是为了合作
14:07
but to draw rings around our cooperative groups
341
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也是在集团周围划分界限
14:10
and to establish identities,
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确立身份
14:12
and perhaps to protect our knowledge and wisdom and skills
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也许是保护我们的知识，智慧和技能
14:15
from eavesdropping from outside.
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以防落入外人之手
14:18
And we know this
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我们也深知如此
14:20
because when we study different language groups
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因为当我们研究不同的语言群落
14:22
and associate them with their cultures,
347
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他们有着各自的文化
14:24
we see that different languages
348
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会发现不同的语言
14:26
slow the flow of ideas between groups.
349
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减缓了群落间想法的交流
14:29
They slow the flow of technologies.
350
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也阻碍了技术交流
14:32
And they even slow the flow of genes.
351
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甚至是基因交流
14:35
Now I can't speak for you,
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虽然我不能完全代表你们
14:37
but it seems to be the case
353
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但可以这样说
14:39
that we don't have sex with people we can't talk to.
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我们不会跟无法交流的人去做爱
14:43
(Laughter)
355
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2000
（笑声）
14:45
Now we have to counter that, though,
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不过也许现在得算上这种情况
14:47
against the evidence we've heard
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基于已有证据表明
14:49
that we might have had some rather distasteful genetic dalliances
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我们曾与尼安德特人和丹尼索夫人有些不甚美好的浪漫史
14:52
with the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.
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（早期现代人类与尼安德特人及丹尼索夫人杂交的科学发现）
14:54
(Laughter)
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2000
（笑声）
14:56
Okay, this tendency we have,
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我们发现的趋势
14:58
this seemingly natural tendency we have,
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2000
这种看似自然的趋势
15:00
towards isolation, towards keeping to ourselves,
363
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即这种趋向分离，趋向自我孤立的势头
15:03
crashes head first into our modern world.
364
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3000
一头撞上了现代社会，就被击破
15:06
This remarkable image
365
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2000
这幅令人影响深刻的图片
15:08
is not a map of the world.
366
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2000
并不是世界地图
15:10
In fact, it's a map of Facebook friendship links.
367
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4000
而是Facebook脸谱朋友群分布的一副地图
15:14
And when you plot those friendship links
368
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2000
当你把朋友的位置
15:16
by their latitude and longitude,
369
901000
2000
依照他们所在的经纬度连起来
15:18
it literally draws a map of the world.
370
903000
3000
就画出了一副世界地图
15:21
Our modern world is communicating
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2000
现代社会在不停地
15:23
with itself and with each other
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2000
与自身和其他人交流
15:25
more than it has
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2000
这种交流
15:27
at any time in its past.
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2000
比历史上任何时候都频繁
15:29
And that communication, that connectivity around the world,
375
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3000
这种交流，这种世界性的连接
15:32
that globalization
376
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2000
也就是全球化下
15:34
now raises a burden.
377
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3000
正在渐渐浮起的隐忧
15:37
Because these different languages
378
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2000
因为这些不同的语言
15:39
impose a barrier, as we've just seen,
379
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2000
变成一道屏障
15:41
to the transfer of goods and ideas
380
926000
2000
阻碍了货物和思想的交流
15:43
and technologies and wisdom.
381
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2000
技术和智慧的交流
15:45
And they impose a barrier to cooperation.
382
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3000
在合作上施加了障碍
15:48
And nowhere do we see that more clearly
383
933000
3000
比起其他地方
15:51
than in the European Union,
384
936000
2000
这在欧盟尤为显著
15:53
whose 27 member countries
385
938000
3000
欧盟有27个盟国
15:56
speak 23 official languages.
386
941000
3000
23种官方语言
15:59
The European Union
387
944000
2000
欧盟
16:01
is now spending over one billion euros annually
388
946000
4000
现在每年要花费超过十亿欧元
16:05
translating among their 23 official languages.
389
950000
3000
用于互翻23种官方语言
16:08
That's something on the order
390
953000
2000
这大约是
16:10
of 1.45 billion U.S. dollars
391
955000
2000
十四亿五千万美元的
16:12
on translation costs alone.
392
957000
3000
翻译开销
16:15
Now think of the absurdity of this situation.
393
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2000
现在试想下这种奇怪的状况：
16:17
If 27 individuals
394
962000
2000
如果27个
16:19
from those 27 member states
395
964000
2000
来自各个盟国的人
16:21
sat around table, speaking their 23 languages,
396
966000
3000
围坐在桌边，说着23种语言
16:24
some very simple mathematics will tell you
397
969000
2000
简单计算就可以知道
16:26
that you need an army of 253 translators
398
971000
4000
你需要一个253人的翻译队伍
16:30
to anticipate all the pairwise possibilities.
399
975000
4000
来保证配对说话的可能性
16:34
The European Union employs a permanent staff
400
979000
3000
欧盟雇了
16:37
of about 2,500 translators.
401
982000
2000
大约2500名永久编制的翻译
16:39
And in 2007 alone --
402
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2000
仅2007年一年--
16:41
and I'm sure there are more recent figures --
403
986000
2000
当然应该有最新的数据可查
16:43
something on the order of 1.3 million pages
404
988000
3000
仅是翻译成英文的文件
16:46
were translated into English alone.
405
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就大约为一百三十万页
16:49
And so if language really is
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如果语言真是
16:52
the solution to the crisis of visual theft,
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观察性窃取的解决方法
16:55
if language really is
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如果语言真是
16:57
the conduit of our cooperation,
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我们合作的媒介
16:59
the technology that our species derived
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是人类发明的
17:02
to promote the free flow and exchange of ideas,
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用于促进思想无障碍流通和交换的技术
17:06
in our modern world,
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那么在现代社会
17:08
we confront a question.
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我们碰上了难题
17:10
And that question is whether
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这就是
17:12
in this modern, globalized world
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在这个全球化的现代社会
17:14
we can really afford to have all these different languages.
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我们是否承担得起使用如此多语言的代价
17:17
To put it this way, nature knows no other circumstance
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可以这样说，自然的法则是
17:20
in which functionally equivalent traits coexist.
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具有同等功能的特性是难以共存的
17:25
One of them always drives the other extinct.
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其中的一个往往战胜其他的而存活下去
17:28
And we see this in the inexorable march
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我们在向着标准化的大步前进中
17:30
towards standardization.
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可以清楚地看到这一点
17:32
There are lots and lots of ways of measuring things --
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在许多测量物体的方法中
17:35
weighing them and measuring their length --
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包括称重和量长
17:37
but the metric system is winning.
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公制计量制度赢了
17:39
There are lots and lots of ways of measuring time,
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在许多计量时间的方法中
17:42
but a really bizarre base 60 system
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古怪的60进制制度
17:45
known as hours and minutes and seconds
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也就是时分秒计量单位
17:47
is nearly universal around the world.
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几乎被全世界采用
17:50
There are many, many ways
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有很多很多方法
17:52
of imprinting CDs or DVDs,
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压印CD和DVD
17:54
but those are all being standardized as well.
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但它们也同样标准化了
17:57
And you can probably think of many, many more
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也许你可以想到更多
18:00
in your own everyday lives.
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生活中的例子
18:02
And so our modern world now
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那么现代社会
18:05
is confronting us with a dilemma.
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面临着一个困境
18:07
And it's the dilemma
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这个困境
18:09
that this Chinese man faces,
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也是这个中国人面临的
18:11
who's language is spoken
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他的口头语言
18:13
by more people in the world
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比起世界上任何其他的单一语言
18:15
than any other single language,
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都有更多的使用者
18:18
and yet he is sitting at his blackboard,
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但是他坐在黑板前
18:22
converting Chinese phrases
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把中文词组
18:25
into English language phrases.
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翻译成英文词组
18:27
And what this does is it raises the possibility to us
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这个行为给我们提出了一种可能性
18:30
that in a world in which we want to promote
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在这世界上，我们想要促进
18:32
cooperation and exchange,
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合作和交流的可能性
18:34
and in a world that might be dependent more than ever before
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在一个史无前例地
18:37
on cooperation
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依赖于合作的世界上
18:39
to maintain and enhance our levels of prosperity,
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为了去维持和促进我们的繁荣程度
18:42
his actions suggest to us
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他的行为告诉我们
18:44
it might be inevitable
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也许
18:46
that we have to confront the idea
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我们不得不承认
18:48
that our destiny is to be one world with one language.
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我们的命运会是：一个世界一种语言。
18:51
Thank you.
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谢谢
18:53
(Applause)
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（鼓掌）
19:01
Matt Ridley: Mark, one question.
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马特·瑞德里：马克，我有个问题。
19:03
Svante found that the FOXP2 gene,
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斯万特发现FOXP2基因
19:06
which seems to be associated with language,
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好像它与语言有关
19:08
was also shared in the same form
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而尼安德特人
19:10
in Neanderthals as us.
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也像我们一样有此基因
19:12
Do we have any idea
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那么我们有没有什么办法
19:14
how we could have defeated Neanderthals
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能够打败尼安德特人
19:16
if they also had language?
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如果他们也有语言的话？
19:18
Mark Pagel: This is a very good question.
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马克·佩格尔：这是个很好的问题。
19:20
So many of you will be familiar with the idea that there's this gene called FOXP2
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很多人将会了解这个语言基因叫FOXP2
19:23
that seems to be implicated in some ways
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它应该是
19:26
in the fine motor control that's associated with language.
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在一个与语言有关的精巧的运动神经控制中
19:29
The reason why I don't believe that tells us
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我不相信这个发现足以说明
19:31
that the Neanderthals had language
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尼安德特人拥有语言的原因是
19:33
is -- here's a simple analogy:
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打个比方：
19:36
Ferraris are cars that have engines.
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法拉利是有引擎的汽车
19:39
My car has an engine,
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我的车也有引擎
19:41
but it's not a Ferrari.
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但它不是法拉利
19:43
Now the simple answer then
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简单来说就是
19:45
is that genes alone don't, all by themselves,
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基因本身
19:47
determine the outcome
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并不决定了
19:49
of very complicated things like language.
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如语言这样复杂的结果
19:51
What we know about this FOXP2 and Neanderthals
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我们对FOXP2基因和尼安德特人的了解是
19:53
is that they may have had fine motor control of their mouths -- who knows.
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也许他们口腔里具备这样一个精巧的运动神经控制--不过谁知道呢
19:57
But that doesn't tell us they necessarily had language.
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但这并不表明他们一定拥有语言
19:59
MR: Thank you very much indeed.
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马特·瑞德里：非常感谢
20:01
(Applause)
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（鼓掌）
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