密歇根新闻广播 奶嘴真得是宝宝专用吗?

Pacifier, binkie, dummy¹; we have lots of words for that funny little gizmo babies suck on when they're teething. In the U.S., we use pacifier the most frequently, and while it might seem like the least funny of the set, the way we use it is kind of interesting.

"While we know theoretically that pacifiers can be people too," says University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan, "it's hard not to associate them with those little rubber gadgets³ for babies."

After a colleague asked Curzan to look into the word pacifier, she first wanted to make sure that there actually are two definitions for the word.

"When you look in American Heritage Dictionary, it only has the meaning of the little gadget² for babies," says Curzan. "[In] Merriam Webster, though, the first definition is 'one who pacifies⁴, or something that pacifies,' and then it has the baby's device."

Curzan found that the usage of pacifier as "something that pacifies" has a long history in English, dating back to the 16th century. She also found that its usage has become much more specific over time.

"I think at this point pacifier is so much about babies that to call someone a pacifier would sound almost insulting, instead of nice," says Curzan.

Although the rubber version of pacifier has become the more common usage, there are other places where you might use it without feeling self-conscious.

"I did realize one of places you'll still hear it is for something like a drug that is a mood pacifier," says Curzan.

While the spoken usage of pacifier might be pretty narrow, linguists⁵ have found a creative application for the device itself: to study how babies learn language.

"When babies are born, they can hear every sound in every language in the world," says Curzan. "And then at some point, they start to only pay attention to sounds that are important to them. And we want to figure out, okay, when does that happen?"

Since babies can't talk, they can't tell us how they learn. But by using special pacifiers, researchers can gauge⁶ whether or not a baby is paying attention to what's happening around them.

If the baby hears a sound that's new or different, they get excited and start sucking on the pacifier more quickly. If it's something that they don't register as different, then the baby mellows⁷ out and starts sucking on it more slowly. Eventually, the researchers change the sound and watch to see how the baby reacts: can the baby tell the difference, or does it sound the same?

When linguists compared the results between babies from different language backgrounds, they started to see that we internalize language very early on. Curzan mentions a study looking at how English and Japanese babies perceive the difference between "l" and "r" sounds.

"Now, English-speaking babies will continue to hear that distinction, but in Japanese, you don't have a distinction between 'l' and 'r,'" says Curzan. "So between about 10 and 12 months, the Japanese babies will hear 'ul-ul-ul' [and] their sucking will slow down. And then it changes to 'ur,' and they don't notice."

1 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

2 gadget   

n.小巧的机械，精巧的装置，小玩意儿

参考例句：

• This gadget isn't much good.这小机械没什么用处。
• She has invented a nifty little gadget for undoing stubborn nuts and bolts.她发明了一种灵巧的小工具用来松开紧固的螺母和螺栓。

3 gadgets   

n.小机械，小器具（ gadget的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Certainly. The idea is not to have a house full of gadgets. 当然。设想是房屋不再充满小配件。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• This meant more gadgets and more experiments. 这意味着要设计出更多的装置，做更多的实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

4 pacifies   

使（某人）安静( pacify的第三人称单数 )； 息怒； 抚慰； 在（有战争的地区、国家等）实现和平

参考例句：

• A gift given in secret soothes anger a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath. 暗中送的礼物，挽回怒气。怀中搋的贿赂，止息暴怒。

5 linguists   

n.通晓数国语言的人( linguist的名词复数 )；语言学家

参考例句：

• The linguists went to study tribal languages in the field. 语言学家们去实地研究部落语言了。 来自辞典例句
• The linguists' main interest has been to analyze and describe languages. 语言学家的主要兴趣一直在于分析并描述语言。 来自辞典例句

6 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

7 mellows   

（使）成熟( mellow的第三人称单数 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香

参考例句：

• A tart temper never mellows with age. 凶悍的性情，绝不会因为年龄增长而变得温和。
• Wine mellows with age. 酒陈则味醇。