How languages evolve - Alex Gendler

语言进化史——亚历克斯·詹德勒

翻译人员: Xinrong Li 校对人员: Peipei Xiang

In the biblical story of the Tower of Babel,

在圣经故事巴别塔中，

all of humanity once spoke a single language

所有人类都讲同一种语言，

until they suddenly split into many groups

直到他们突然分裂成多个

unable to understand each other.

相互之间都听不懂的族群。

We don't really know if such an original language ever existed,

我们不知道是否曾经存在过 这么一种初始语言，

but we do know that the thousands of languages existing today

但我们知道如今的成千上万种语言

can be traced back to a much smaller number.

可以追溯到有限的几种。

So how did we end up with so many?

那么我们是如何最终形成这么多语言的呢？

In the early days of human migration,

在早期人类迁徙的时候，

the world was much less populated.

地球上人烟稀少。

Groups of people that shared a single language and culture

拥有同一种语言文化的族群

often split into smaller tribes,

通常分裂为更小的部落，

going separate ways in search of fresh game and fertile land.

分头各自寻找野味和肥沃的土地。

As they migrated and settled in new places,

当他们迁移定居在新的地方后，

they became isolated from one another

相互之间变得疏远

and developed in different ways.

并以各自不同的方式发展。

Centuries of living in different conditions,

几个世纪的不同生活条件，

eating different food

不同食物，

and encountering different neighbors

不同邻居，

turned similar dialects with varied pronunciation and vocabulary

使原本相似而只是发音和词汇有所不同的方言

into radically different languages,

变成了完全不同的语言，

continuing to divide as populations grew and spread out further.

并随着人口的增长和迁移不断分化。

Like genealogists, modern linguists try to map this process

系谱学家、现代语言学家等 试图重现这个过程，

by tracing multiple languages back as far as they can

他们尽力追溯不同语言的

to their common ancestor, or protolanguage.

共同的起源，也称为原始母语。

A group of all languages related in this way is called a language family,

以同一原始母语演化而来的 不同语言称为一个语系，

which can contain many branches and sub-families.

它可能包括很多分支和子系。

So how do we determine whether languages are related in the first place?

那么我们如何确定不同语言 在开始的时候是有关联的呢？

Similar sounding words don't tell us much.

相似的发音并不能说明什么。

They could be false cognates or just directly borrowed terms

它们可能是被误解的同源词 或者只是外来语

rather than derived from a common root.

而不是源于同根。

Grammar and syntax are a more reliable guide,

语法和句法有更可靠的指导意义，

as well as basic vocabulary,

基本词汇也是，

such as pronouns, numbers or kinship terms,

像代词、数字或亲属称谓，

that's less likely to be borrowed.

这些都不太可能是外来语。

By systematically comparing these features

通过系统地比较这些特征，

and looking for regular patterns of sound changes

查找读音变化的常见形式

and correspondences between languages,

和不同语言的对应关系，

linguists can determine relationships,

语言学家能们够确定它们之间的关系，

trace specific steps in their evolution

追溯它们发展演变的详细过程，

and even reconstruct earlier languages with no written records.

甚至重建 没有文字记录的早期语言。

Linguistics can even reveal other important historical clues,

语言学家们甚至可以 发现其他重要的历史线索，

such as determining the geographic origins and lifestyles of ancient peoples

比如确定地理起源 和古代人的生活方式，

based on which of their words were native,

这是基于他们的语言 哪些是母语，

and which were borrowed.

哪些是外来语。

There are two main problems linguists face

语言学家们在重建这些语言系谱时

when constructing these language family trees.

主要面临两大问题。

One is that there is no clear way of deciding

一个是没有清晰定义

where the branches at the bottom should end, that is,

系谱树的枝干末端在哪里，

which dialects should be considered separate languages or vice versa.

也就是说，哪种方言应该被认为是 不同语言或只是方言。

Chinese is classified as a single language,

汉语被归类为一门语言，

but its dialects vary to the point of being mutually unintelligible,

但它的不同方言之间 差别大到完全听不懂，

while speakers of Spanish and Portuguese

然而讲西班牙语和葡萄牙语的人们

can often understand each other.

通常可以听懂对方。

Languages actually spoken by living people

正在被人类使用的语言

do not exist in neatly divided categories,

不存在严格的种类划分，

but tend to transition gradually,

而是逐渐过渡，

crossing borders and classifications.

跨越界限和分类。

Often the difference between languages and dialects

通常语言和方言的不同之处

is a matter of changing political and national considerations,

在于多变的政治和国家格局，

rather than any linguistic features.

而不是语言学特征。

This is why the answer to, "How many languages are there?"

这就是为什么“这个世界上究竟有多少种语言”的答案

can be anywhere between 3,000 and 8,000,

可能是3000-8000之间某个数，

depending on who's counting.

它取决于谁来数。

The other problem is that the farther we move back in time

另一个问题是我们沿着系谱树回溯

towards the top of the tree,

越接近树的顶端，

the less evidence we have about the languages there.

关于语言的证据就越少。

The current division of major language families

现在对主要语系的划分，

represents the limit at which relationships can be established

在合理的可能性内， 不同语言之间的关系

with reasonable certainty,

仅限于这几种，

meaning that languages of different families

就意味着不同语系的语言

are presumed not to be related on any level.

在任一层面上都没有交集。

But this may change.

但这种情况可能会变。

While many proposals for higher level relationships --

很多人推测存在更高层面的关系

or super families -- are speculative,

也就是超级语系，

some have been widely accepted

一些说法已经被广泛认同

and others are being considered,

另一些还有争议，

especially for native languages with small speaker populations

特别是对只有较少人使用的语言

that have not been extensively studied.

还没有全面研究。

We may never be able to determine how language came about,

我们也许永远不会知道语言从何而来，

or whether all human languages did in fact have a common ancestor

也不知道人类语言是否真有共同的 原始母语

scattered through the babel of migration.

并通过移民们散落于各处。

But the next time you hear a foreign language, pay attention.

不过当你下一次听到一门外语的时候， 留意一下。

It may not be as foreign as you think.

它也许并没有你想象的那么不同。