TED演讲： 谈语言和思想(5)

 　　So why should anyone care?  那为什么有人要在乎这工作呢？

　　Well, there are a number of interesting conclusions, I think,  这是因为有许多有趣的结论

　　from this and many similar kinds of analyses of hundreds of English verbs. 从这个例子，还有类似的对很多英语动词的分析中可以得出。

　　First, there's a level of fine-grained conceptual structure,  首先，存在着一个精细的概念结构

　　which we automatically and unconsciously compute  我们自动、无意识地计算产生它

　　every time we produce or utter a sentence, that governs our use of language.  每当我们想到或者说出一个主导我们对语言的使用的句子

　　You can think of this as the language of thought, or "mentalese."  你可以把它理解成“思想的语言”，或者“思想语”。

　　It seems to be based on a fixed¹ set of concepts,  它看上去是建立在一套固定的概念之上

　　which govern dozens of constructions and thousands of verbs --  这套概念管理着数十个构式和数千个动词

　　not only in English, but in all other languages --  不仅仅是英文的，而是所有语言的

　　fundamental concepts such as space, time, causation and human intention, 最基本概念，比如空间、时间、因果以及人的意愿

　　such as, what is the means and what is the ends?  比如，什么是手段，什么是目的？

　　These are reminiscent of the kinds of categories  这些跟康德所主张的，

　　that Immanuel Kant argued are the basic framework for human thought, 构成人类思想的基本框架的那些范畴很相似

　　and it's interesting that our unconscious use of language seems to reflect these Kantian categories. 很有趣的是，我们对语言的无意识的使用好像在折射着这些康德主义的范畴

　　Doesn't care about perceptual qualities, such as color, texture², weight and speed, 不在乎感官的性质，比如颜色、材质、重量和速度

　　which virtually never differentiate³ the use of verbs in different constructions. 上述这些都几乎从不区分动词在不同构式中的用法。

　　An additional twist is that all of the constructions in English are used not only literally⁴, but in a quasi-metaphorical⁵ way. 此外，英语中的所有构式不仅仅有字面意义，还有准隐喻的用法。

　　For example, this construction, the dative, is used not only to transfer things, 就拿与格来说，不仅用来转移事物，

　　but also for the metaphorical transfer of ideas,  还用来比喻思想的转移，

　　as when we say, "She told a story to me" or "told me a story," 比如，"She told a story to me"或者"told me a story"

　　"Max taught Spanish to the students" or "taught the students Spanish." "Max taught Spanish to the student"或者"taught the students Spanish."

　　It's exactly the same construction, but no muffins, no mice, nothing moving at all. 这都是完全一样的构式，但里面没有蛋糕或者老鼠，完全没有运动。

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

3 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。