TED演讲：单词的诞生(4)

 　　So he didn't just learn water. 而他并不只是学会了水

　　Over the course of the 24 months, the first two years that we really focused on, 在24个月里，在最初的2年里，这才是我真正关注的

　　this is a map of every word he learned in chronological¹ order. 这里有一张图按照时序列出了他所学到的词汇

　　And because we have full transcripts², 因为我们有全部的记录

　　we've identified each of the 503 words that he learned to produce by his second birthday. 我们为他到两岁前学会的503个单词都做了辨认和分析

　　He was an early talker. And so we started to analyze³ why. 他算是说话早的。所以我们开始分析其原因

　　Why were certain words born before others? 为什么有些词他学得早

　　This is one of the first results that came out of our study a little over a year ago that really surprised us. 这是其中的一个研究结果，是一年多前出来的，让我们很吃惊

　　The way to interpret this apparently⁴ simple graph 解读这张看似简单的图表的方式

　　is, on the vertical⁵ is an indication of how complex caregiver utterances⁶ are based on the length of utterances. 是横坐标表示，照顾者的话语复杂程度基于话语的长度

　　And the axis⁷ is time. And all of the data, we aligned⁸ based on the following idea: 纵坐标代表了时间。所有的数据我们都用下述的方法排列：

　　Every time my son would learn a word, 每次我们发现儿子学了一个新的词

　　we would trace back and look at all of the language he heard that contained that word. 我们就会回溯他听过的这个词的所有的语言记录

　　And we would plot the relative length of the utterances. 然后我们绘制这些语言的长度

　　And what we found was this curious phenomena⁹, that caregiver speech would systematically¹⁰ dip to a minimum, 我们发现了一个奇特的现象，照顾者的讲话会系统地将语言简化

　　making language as simple as possible, and then slowly ascend¹¹ back up in complexity¹². 简化到最简单的程度，然后渐渐地回升到更复杂的句子

　　And the amazing thing was that bounce, that dip, lined up almost precisely¹³ with when each word was born -- word after word, systematically. 而惊奇的事是这种回升和下降，正好精确的吻合了每个词的诞生过程--一个词接一个词，很有系统规律

　　So it appears that all three primary caregivers -- myself, my wife and our nanny -- 似乎三个主要的照顾他的人--我，我妻子，和我们的保姆--

　　were systematically and, I would think, subconsciously¹⁴ restructuring our language 都是有系统的，我想，也是下意识的重新构建我们的用语

　　to meet him at the birth of a word and bring him gently into more complex language. 去迎合他的新的词汇的诞生，带他渐渐学习更为复杂的语言。

1 chronological   

adj.按年月顺序排列的，年代学的

参考例句：

• The paintings are exhibited in chronological sequence.这些画是按创作的时间顺序展出的。
• Give me the dates in chronological order.把日期按年月顺序给我。

2 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

3 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 vertical   

adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置

参考例句：

• The northern side of the mountain is almost vertical.这座山的北坡几乎是垂直的。
• Vertical air motions are not measured by this system.垂直气流的运动不用这种系统来测量。

6 utterances   

n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论

参考例句：

• John Maynard Keynes used somewhat gnomic utterances in his General Theory. 约翰·梅纳德·凯恩斯在其《通论》中用了许多精辟言辞。 来自辞典例句
• Elsewhere, particularly in his more public utterances, Hawthorne speaks very differently. 在别的地方，特别是在比较公开的谈话里，霍桑讲的话则完全不同。 来自辞典例句

7 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

8 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

9 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

10 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

11 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

12 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

13 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

14 subconsciously   

ad.下意识地，潜意识地

参考例句：

• In choosing a partner we are subconsciously assessing their evolutionary fitness to be a mother of children or father provider and protector. 在选择伴侣的时候，我们会在潜意识里衡量对方将来是否会是称职的母亲或者父亲，是否会是合格的一家之主。
• Lao Yang thought as he subconsciously tightened his grasp on the rifle. 他下意识地攥紧枪把想。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译