TEDGlobal 2009
James Geary: Metaphorically speaking
James Geary：暗喻言说
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格言爱好者及作家 James Geary 将对人类语言中的暗喻，这一引人入胜的现象进行阐述。Geary 还说，从亚里士多德到猫王都是暗喻之友，暗喻也能微妙地影响到我们的决策。
James Geary - Aphorist
Lost jobs, wayward lovers, wars and famine -- come to think of it, just about any of life's curveballs -- there's an aphorism for it, and James Geary's got it. Full bio
Lost jobs, wayward lovers, wars and famine -- come to think of it, just about any of life's curveballs -- there's an aphorism for it, and James Geary's got it. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
Metaphor lives a secret life all around us.
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暗喻秘密地生活在我们中间。
00:19
We utter about six metaphors a minute.
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于我们的言谈中，每分钟大约会出现六个暗喻。
00:23
Metaphorical thinking is essential
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暗喻思维是一把钥匙，
00:25
to how we understand ourselves and others,
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它可以开启我们相互理解
00:28
how we communicate, learn, discover
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沟通、学习、发现
00:31
and invent.
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和创新的大门。
00:33
But metaphor is a way of thought before it is a way with words.
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首先，暗喻是一种思维方式。
00:38
Now, to assist me in explaining this,
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为了说明这一点，
00:41
I've enlisted the help of one of our greatest philosophers,
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我请教了一位当代最伟大的哲学家，
00:44
the reigning king of the metaphorians,
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当权的暗喻皇帝，
00:48
a man whose contributions to the field
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一位因其对暗喻学的巨大贡献
00:50
are so great that he himself
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而自身成了一位暗喻的
00:53
has become a metaphor.
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人物。
00:55
I am, of course, referring to none other
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当然，我指的不是别人，
00:59
than Elvis Presley.
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正是猫王埃尔维斯-普雷斯利。
01:01
(Laughter)
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（众笑）
01:02
Now, "All Shook Up" is a great love song.
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好，《神魂颠倒》（意即整个人都被动摇了）是一首经典情歌。
01:05
It's also a great example of how
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也是一个极好的暗喻范例，
01:07
whenever we deal with anything abstract --
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它诠释了当我们面临抽象事物时，
01:09
ideas, emotions, feelings, concepts, thoughts --
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无论是主意、情绪、感觉、概念亦或是思想，
01:13
we inevitably resort to metaphor.
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都不得不求助于暗喻。
01:15
In "All Shook Up," a touch is not a touch, but a chill.
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在《神魂颠倒》中，触摸不再是触摸，而是寒气。
01:20
Lips are not lips, but volcanoes.
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嘴唇不再是嘴唇，而是火山。
01:23
She is not she, but a buttercup.
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她不再是她，而是毛茛花（一种小黄花）。
01:26
And love is not love, but being all shook up.
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爱情也不再是爱情，而是变得神魂颠倒了。
01:31
In this, Elvis is following Aristotle's classic definition of metaphor
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在这里，埃尔维斯采用的完全是亚里士多德对暗喻的经典定义，
01:35
as the process of giving the thing
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亦即是把B事物的名称
01:38
a name that belongs to something else.
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赋予给A事物的过程。
01:41
This is the mathematics of metaphor.
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这就是暗喻的数学公式。
01:44
And fortunately it's very simple.
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幸好它很简单。
01:46
X equals Y.
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X等于Y。
01:48
(Laughter)
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（众笑）
01:51
This formula works wherever metaphor is present.
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这个公式适用于所有的暗喻。
01:54
Elvis uses it, but so does Shakespeare
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埃尔维斯用到它，莎士比亚也同样用到它。
01:57
in this famous line from "Romeo and Juliet:"
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于《罗密欧与朱丽叶》中有这样的名句—
01:59
Juliet is the sun.
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朱丽叶是太阳。
02:02
Now, here, Shakespeare gives the thing, Juliet,
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在这里莎士比亚赋予朱丽叶
02:06
a name that belongs to something else, the sun.
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一个属于其它事物的名称，太阳。
02:11
But whenever we give a thing a name that belongs to something else,
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但是当我们赋予A事物以B事物的名称时，
02:14
we give it a whole network of analogies too.
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我们也赋予它一整套的类比。
02:17
We mix and match what we know about the metaphor's source,
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我们把对喻体的认知，
02:20
in this case the sun,
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此处是太阳，
02:22
with what we know about its target, Juliet.
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与对本体的认知-- 朱丽叶联系在一起，
02:25
And metaphor gives us a much more vivid understanding of Juliet
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这样的暗喻可使我们更生动地理解朱丽叶，
02:28
than if Shakespeare had literally described what she looks like.
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强过莎士比亚忠实地描述她的相貌。
02:33
So, how do we make and understand metaphors?
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那我们如何运用和理解暗喻呢？
02:35
This might look familiar.
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大家对此并不陌生。
02:37
The first step is pattern recognition.
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第一步就是模式识别。
02:39
Look at this image. What do you see?
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请看这张图。你看到了什么？
02:42
Three wayward Pac-Men,
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其实只有三个在外沿的吃豆人(Pac Man)，
02:44
and three pointy brackets are actually present.
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和三个尖角括号而已。
02:47
What we see, however,
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但我们实际看到的是
02:49
are two overlapping triangles.
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两个重叠的三角形。
02:51
Metaphor is not just the detection of patterns;
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暗喻不仅仅是模式辨识，
02:54
it is the creation of patterns.
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也是模式创造。
02:56
Second step, conceptual synesthesia.
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第二步，概念联觉。
02:59
Now, synesthesia is the experience of a stimulus in once sense organ
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联觉是指一种感官受到的刺激引起
03:04
in another sense organ as well,
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另一种感官的感受，
03:06
such as colored hearing.
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例如色彩听觉。
03:08
People with colored hearing
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有色彩听觉的人
03:10
actually see colors when they hear the sounds
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就会在听到词语的声音时
03:13
of words or letters.
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将会看到色彩。
03:15
We all have synesthetic abilities.
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我们都拥有联觉的能力。
03:17
This is the Bouba/Kiki test.
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这是Bouba/Kiki测试。
03:20
What you have to do is identify which of these shapes
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请你说出哪个形状叫Bouba，
03:22
is called Bouba, and which is called Kiki.
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哪个叫Kiki。
03:26
(Laughter)
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（众笑）
03:27
If you are like 98 percent of other people,
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如果你象其余百分之九十八的人一样，
03:29
you will identify the round, amoeboid shape as Bouba,
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你会把这个圆圆的，变形虫形状的叫做Bouba，
03:33
and the sharp, spiky one as Kiki.
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把尖尖的，刺猬状的叫做Kiki。
03:36
Can we do a quick show of hands?
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是这样的请举手？
03:38
Does that correspond?
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是不是象我说的那样？
03:40
Okay, I think 99.9 would about cover it.
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好，我想大概99.9%是那样。
03:44
Why do we do that?
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这是为什么？
03:46
Because we instinctively find, or create,
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因为我们本能地去找寻，或者创造
03:50
a pattern between the round shape
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一个模式，把圆的图形与
03:52
and the round sound of Bouba,
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Bouba这个圆的声音联系起来。
03:55
and the spiky shape and the spiky sound of Kiki.
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对尖的图形和尖的声音Kiki 也是如此。
04:00
And many of the metaphors we use everyday are synesthetic.
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我们日常生活中的暗喻多是联觉性的：
04:04
Silence is sweet.
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沉默是甜的（抑或沉默是金）。
04:06
Neckties are loud.
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领结是花骚的。
04:08
Sexually attractive people are hot.
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性感的人是火辣的。
04:11
Sexually unattractive people leave us cold.
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而不性感的人让我们觉得冷冰冰的。
04:14
Metaphor creates a kind of conceptual synesthesia,
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暗喻构筑了一个概念联觉的空间，
04:17
in which we understand one concept
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我们在其中用一种概念的情境
04:19
in the context of another.
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来理解另一种概念。
04:22
Third step is cognitive dissonance.
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第三步是认知失调。
04:24
This is the Stroop test.
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这是Stroop测试，
04:26
What you need to do here is identify
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请你尽快指出
04:28
as quickly as possible
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构成这些词的字母
04:30
the color of the ink in which these words are printed.
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在图片中实际的颜色。
04:33
You can take the test now.
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就从现在开始。
04:37
If you're like most people, you will experience
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如果你和大多数人一样，
04:39
a moment of cognitive dissonance
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颜色的名称
04:41
when the name of the color
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和图片中实际的颜色不符
04:44
is printed in a differently colored ink.
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会使你暂时地认知失调。
04:46
The test shows that we cannot ignore the literal meaning of words
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这个测试表明我们无法忽视这些词的字面意义，
04:49
even when the literal meaning gives the wrong answer.
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尽管字面意义上的答案是错误的。
04:52
Stroop tests have been done with metaphor as well.
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Stroop 测试也曾被用于暗喻上，
04:54
The participants had to identify, as quickly as possible,
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受试者需要尽快地辨识
04:58
the literally false sentences.
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那些字面上错误的句子，其中包括暗喻。
05:00
They took longer to reject metaphors as false
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他们要花更长的时间才能把包含暗喻的句子
05:03
than they did to reject literally false sentences.
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从中挑出来。
05:06
Why? Because we cannot ignore
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这是为什么？因为我们
05:09
the metaphorical meaning of words either.
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同样也不能忽视这些词暗喻的意义。
05:12
One of the sentences was, "Some jobs are jails."
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其中一句话是：“有些工作是监狱”
05:15
Now, unless you're a prison guard,
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当然，除非你是监狱看守，
05:18
the sentence "Some jobs are jails" is literally false.
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“有些工作是监狱”这句话字面上是错的。
05:21
Sadly, it's metaphorically true.
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不幸却在暗喻上是对的
05:24
And the metaphorical truth interferes with our ability
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而暗喻上的真实干扰了我们的辨识能力，
05:27
to identify it as literally false.
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以至于难于区分字面上的真假。
05:29
Metaphor matters because
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暗喻很重要，
05:31
it's around us every day, all the time.
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因它随时随地，无处不在。
05:34
Metaphor matters because it creates expectations.
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暗喻很重要，因它带来期待
05:37
Pay careful attention the next time you read the financial news.
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下次你看财经新闻可要注意，
05:41
Agent metaphors describe price movements
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拟人化的暗喻用来描述价格运动，
05:43
as the deliberate action of a living thing,
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就像是有人有意那么做。
05:45
as in, "The NASDAQ climbed higher."
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比如：“NASDAQ指数攀至新高”
05:49
Object metaphors describe price movements
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拟物化的暗喻用物体来描述
05:52
as non-living things,
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价格运动，
05:54
as in, "The Dow fell like a brick."
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比如：'道琼斯指数象砖头一样下跌。'
05:57
Researchers asked a group of people
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研究人员请一群人
05:59
to read a clutch of market commentaries,
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在读了一些股评之后
06:01
and then predict the next day's price trend.
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来预测第二天的股价走势。
06:04
Those exposed to agent metaphors
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那些读过拟人化暗喻的人
06:06
had higher expectations that price trends would continue.
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更多地期待股价走势会持续。
06:09
And they had those expectations because
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而他们这样期待是由于
06:11
agent metaphors imply the deliberate action
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拟人化的隐喻暗示了有人在刻意
06:14
of a living thing pursuing a goal.
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追逐一个目标。
06:17
If, for example, house prices
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如果房价总是
06:19
are routinely described as climbing and climbing,
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被说成是不断攀升，
06:22
higher and higher, people might naturally assume
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越走越高，人们自然会以为
06:24
that that rise is unstoppable.
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房价上升势不可挡。
06:26
They may feel confident, say,
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他们会感觉良好，
06:28
in taking out mortgages they really can't afford.
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以至于背负超过支付能力的按揭。
06:31
That's a hypothetical example of course.
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当然这只是个虚构的例子。
06:34
But this is how metaphor misleads.
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但是暗喻确实会这样误导人。
06:38
Metaphor also matters because it influences decisions
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暗喻很重要，因为它通过激活类比机制
06:41
by activating analogies.
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来影响决策。
06:44
A group of students was told that a small democratic country
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在一项研究中，一群学生被告知某个民主小国
06:46
had been invaded and had asked the U.S. for help.
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在遭到侵略后向美国寻求援助。
06:49
And they had to make a decision.
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学生们必须决定怎么办。
06:51
What should they do?
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他们该怎么做呢？
06:53
Intervene, appeal to the U.N., or do nothing?
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干预，向联合国申诉，还是袖手旁观？
06:56
They were each then given one of three
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这个假想的危机有三种不同的解释，
06:58
descriptions of this hypothetical crisis.
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他们每人听到其中的一种。
07:00
Each of which was designed to trigger
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每个解释意在引起
07:03
a different historical analogy:
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对不同历史事件的类比：
07:05
World War II, Vietnam,
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二战，越战，
07:07
and the third was historically neutral.
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或者一个中性的事件。
07:10
Those exposed to the World War II scenario
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听到二战类比的学生比其他学生
07:12
made more interventionist recommendations
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更多地建议美国干预
07:14
than the others.
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这场危机。
07:16
Just as we cannot ignore the literal meaning of words,
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正如我们不能忽视词语的字面意义，
07:19
we cannot ignore the analogies
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我们也无法忽视由暗喻
07:21
that are triggered by metaphor.
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促发的类比。
07:25
Metaphor matters because it opens the door to discovery.
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暗喻很重要，因为它开启了发现的大门。
07:28
Whenever we solve a problem, or make a discovery,
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每当我们要解决问题，或做新的探索时，
07:31
we compare what we know with what we don't know.
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我们就把已知和未知进行比较。
07:34
And the only way to find out about the latter
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而我们发现未知的唯一途径
07:36
is to investigate the ways it might be like the former.
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就是探讨未知和已知有何相似性。
07:40
Einstein described his scientific method as combinatory play.
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爱因斯坦曾把他的科学方法描述为组合的游戏。
07:44
He famously used thought experiments,
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他在其有名的思想实验中，
07:46
which are essentially elaborate analogies,
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实质上就是复杂的类比中，
07:49
to come up with some of his greatest discoveries.
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成就了一些最伟大的科学发现。
07:52
By bringing together what we know
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当我们用类比把已知
07:54
and what we don't know through analogy,
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和未知联系在一起时，
07:56
metaphorical thinking strikes the spark
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暗喻的思维就会点燃
07:58
that ignites discovery.
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发现的火花。
08:02
Now metaphor is ubiquitous, yet it's hidden.
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暗喻虽然无处不在，却是隐藏身形。
08:06
But you just have to look at the words around you
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而你只要注意周围的用词
08:09
and you'll find it.
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就可以找到它。
08:11
Ralph Waldo Emerson described language
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诗人艾默生曾将语言
08:13
as "fossil poetry."
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描述为“化石般的诗”。
08:15
But before it was fossil poetry
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但是在它成为化石般的诗之前，
08:17
language was fossil metaphor.
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语言是化石般的暗喻。
08:20
And these fossils still breathe.
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而这些化石现在仍具有生气。
08:23
Take the three most famous words in all of Western philosophy:
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就拿在西方哲学中最有名的三个词来说：
08:28
"Cogito ergo sum."
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"Cogito ergo sum."
08:30
That's routinely translated as, "I think, therefore I am."
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通常被翻译为“我思故我在。”
08:34
But there is a better translation.
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但是有一种更好的译法。
08:36
The Latin word "cogito"
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这里拉丁文"cogito"
08:38
is derived from the prefix "co," meaning "together,"
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是从前缀"co"而来，意思是"在一起"
08:41
and the verb "agitare," meaning "to shake."
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而动词"agitare"是“摇动” 的意思
08:44
So, the original meaning of "cogito"
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所以"cogito"的原意是
08:47
is to shake together.
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一起摇动。
08:49
And the proper translation of "cogito ergo sum"
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而"cogito ergo sum"的适切的翻译
08:52
is "I shake things up, therefore I am."
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是"我摇动事物, 故我在."
08:56
(Laughter)
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(众笑)
08:58
Metaphor shakes things up,
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暗喻摇动事物，
09:00
giving us everything from Shakespeare to scientific discovery in the process.
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它带给我们从莎士比亚到科学发现的各样事情。
09:05
The mind is a plastic snow dome,
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我们的思想是一个圣诞节的雪花球，
09:08
the most beautiful, most interesting,
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它最美丽、最有趣，
09:10
and most itself, when, as Elvis put it,
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也最本色的时候，就是它被使劲摇动的时候，
09:13
it's all shook up.
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象埃尔维斯所说的一样。
09:15
And metaphor keeps the mind shaking,
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暗喻让我们的思想不住的摇动，
09:17
rattling and rolling, long after Elvis has left the building.
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叮当作响，滚动不已，尽管埃尔维斯早已离开。
09:20
Thank you very much.
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谢谢各位。
09:22
(Applause)
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(掌声)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
James Geary - AphoristLost jobs, wayward lovers, wars and famine -- come to think of it, just about any of life's curveballs -- there's an aphorism for it, and James Geary's got it.
Why you should listen
One of a handful of the world's professional aphorists, James Geary has successfully fused early creative endeavors in performance art, poetry and juggling with his childhood fascination with the "Quotable Quotes" column in Reader's Digest. His books Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists and the bestselling The World in a Phrase are invaluable journeys through the often-ignored art of the witty (and memorably brief) summation.
His next book is about the secret life of metaphors, and how metaphorical thinking drives invention and creativity. Geary is a former writer for Time Europe and is now an editor for Ode magazine, a print and online publication devoted to optimism and positive news.
James Geary | Speaker | TED.com