赏析版2011年7-12月经济学人文章(英汉双语对照)汇(10)

Guinness world record for 58 languages. But when surprised on a Chilean television show by native speakers, he utterly flubbed questions in Finnish, Mandarin, Farsi and Russian (including ―What day is it today?‖ in Russian), a failure that lives in infamy on YouTube. Perhaps he was a fraud; perhaps he simply had a miserable day. Hyperpolyglots must warm up or ―prime‖ their weaker languages, with a few hours‘ or days‘ practice, to use them comfortably. Switching quickly between more than around six or seven is near-impossible even for the most gifted.

Erard先生称真正的精通超多语言者应从掌握11门语言算起，而且尽管传言四起，能经受住考验的实例确少之甚少。成长于黎巴嫩现居于巴西的Ziad Fazah曾因会58种语言而被载入吉尼斯世界纪录，却在一台智利的电视节目中在无准备状态下受到母语使用的突袭，以至于完全弄错了用芬兰语、普通话、波斯语和俄语问的问题（包括俄语的―今天周几？‖），这个失败带了的耻辱在因YouTube得以长存。也许Ziad Fazah是个骗子，也许他那天只是特别倒霉。精通超多语言者必须对他较薄弱的语言进行几小时甚至是几天的热身或者说是―事先准备‖，才能自如运用这些语言。而迅速地在六、七种语言之间来回切换，即使对于那些天赋异禀者来说，也几乎是不可能的。

Does that mean they don‘t really know them? Is instant availability of native-like competence the only standard for ―knowing‖ a language? How should partly knowing a tongue be tallied? What if you can only read in it? Mr Erard repeatedly peppers his text with such questions, feeling his way through his story as a thoughtful observer, rather than banging about like an academic with a theory to defend or a pitchman with a technique to sell.

这就意味着他们并非真正知晓这些语言么？拥有与母语使用者那样呼之即来来之能用的能力即是―知晓‖一种语言的唯一标准吗？该如何评估部分知晓一门语言呢？又如果你仅能阅读呢？Erard先生在他的文章中接二连三地提出问题，如一个善思考的观察者根据故事寻找线索，而非言辞激烈地如同一个专家用理论来辩解或像个宣传员以技巧来销售自己的观点。

Hyperpolyglots are more likely to be introverted than extroverted, which may come as a surprise to some. Hale‘s son always said that, in his father‘s case, languages were a cloak for a shy man. Another, Alexander Arguelles, has learned dozens of languages only to read them, saying ―It‘s rare that you have an interesting conversation in English. Why do I think it would be any better in another language?‖ Emil Krebs, an early-20th-century German diplomat who was also credited with knowing dozens of languages, was boorish in all of them. He once refused to speak to his wife for several months because she told him to put on a winter coat.

令很多人感到惊奇的是，精通超多语言者们的性格更趋于内向。Hale的儿子总是说，在他父亲看来，语言是腼腆者的伪装。另一个名为Alexander Arguelles的人会许多种语言却都仅限于阅读，他解释说―如果你对用英语交谈都罕有兴趣的话，又怎会对说其他语言有更多好感呢？‖20世纪上半叶的德国外交官Emil Krebs也被公认会几十种语言，但不管说哪一种都是生硬无礼。他曾有一次几个月都拒绝跟他妻子说话仅因为她让他添一件冬衣。

Different hypotheses may explain part of the language-learner‘s gift. Some hyperpolyglots seem near-autistic. In support, Mr Erard points to the theory of Simon Baron-Cohen, of Cambridge University, that autists have an ―extreme male brain‖ that seeks to master systems. Another hypothesis is the ―Geschwind-Galaburda‖ cluster of traits. Supposedly resulting from abnormal antenatal exposure to hormones, this cluster includes maleness, homosexuality, left-handedness, poor visual-spatial skills, immune disorders, and perhaps also language-learning talent. Brain areas are also keyed to certain skills. The left Heschl‘s gyrus is bigger than average in professional phoneticians. People who learn new