2019年经济学人 约翰逊语言专栏--哪种语言最好?(2)

 

The many different things a language can and must do are the subject of “Are Some Languages Better than Others?”, a book from 2016 by R.M.W. Dixon of James Cook University in Australia. Mr Dixon dispels¹ old colonialist prejudices that European languages are sophisticated and indigenous² ones primitive³. Indeed, many of the most nuanced discriminations are required not by French or German but among isolated⁴ traditional communities.

一门语言可以而且必须做的许多不同的事情都围绕《一些语言比其他语言好吗?》，这也是澳大利亚詹姆斯·库克大学的R.M.W.迪克森于2016年出版的一本书。迪克森消除了殖民主义者的偏见，即欧洲语言是复杂的，本土语言是原始的。事实上，许多最微妙的歧视并不是法国或德国所要求的，而是在孤立的传统社区中。

In answering his title’s provocative⁵ question, Mr Dixon finds that requiring distinctions (formal or informal “you”, inclusive or exclusive “we”, evidentiality), is useful. The more information, the better. But not every language can require every distinction: a language that had them all would be too hard for members of the community to learn, to say nothing of outsiders. There may be an outer limit to how complex languages can get, constrained⁶ by the brain’s processing power.

迪克森发现，在回答题目中提出的这个颇具争议的问题时，要求区分(实据，正式或非正式的“你”、包括听讲者或不包括听讲者的“我们”)是有用的。信息越多越好。但并不是每一种语言都需要每一种区别:一种拥有所有这些区别的语言对社区成员来说太难学了，更不用说社区之外的了。大脑的处理能力可能会限制复杂语言的发展。

Into the argument about whether some languages are superior comes a recent paper on information density⁷ in speech, by Fran?ois Pellegrino and his colleagues at the University of Lyon. Some languages, like Japanese, have few distinct sounds and tight rules on how syllables⁹ may be structured, so that the number of possible syllables is low (think ka, ru, to, etc). Other languages (like English) have fewer constraints¹⁰, so that a single syllable⁸ may be as complicated as strengths. All things being equal, one syllable chosen among English’s thousands will carry more information than one picked from Japanese’s dozens. But the study finds that this imbalance is counteracted¹¹ by speech rate: speakers of Japanese get in many of their simple syllables more quickly than English-speakers do their complicated ones. Overall information density turns out to be the same across hugely different tongues.

最近，里昂大学的弗朗索瓦·佩莱格里诺和他的同事们发表了一篇关于演讲中信息密度的论文，讨论了一些语言是否更好。有些语言，比如日语，很少有清晰的发音，音节的结构也有严格的规则，所以可能的音节数量很低(比如ka, ru, to等等)。其他语言(如英语)的限制较少，因此一个音节可能和 ”strength” 这个词一样复杂。在所有条件相同的情况下，从英语的数千个音节中选择一个音节所包含的信息比从日语的几十个音节中选择一个音节所包含的信息要多。但研究发现，这种不平衡被语速抵消了：说日语的人比说英语的人更快地进入许多简单音节。在不同的语言中，总体信息密度是相同的。

1 dispels   

v.驱散，赶跑( dispel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This landmark case dispels the absolute finality of this dreaded disease. 这个划时代的病例终于改观了这可怕疾病的绝对结局。 来自辞典例句
• Charles's experience--and that of all other researchers I have met--dispels many myths about water buffaloes. 查尔斯以及我所见到的其他研究人员的经验破除了关于水牛的许多奇谈。 来自辞典例句

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

4 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

5 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

6 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

7 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

8 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

9 syllables   

n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a word with two syllables 双音节单词
• 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓，它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

10 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 counteracted   

对抗，抵消( counteract的过去式 )

参考例句：

• This can be counteracted only by very effective insulation. 这只能用非常有效的绝缘来防止。
• The effect of his preaching was counteracted by the looseness of his behavior. 他讲道的效果被他放荡的生活所抵消了。