4 reasons to learn a new language | John McWhorter

Translator: Aisya Rifki Reviewer: Lanny Yunita

The language I'm speaking right now

Bahasa yang saya gunakan sekarang

is on its way to becoming the world's universal language,

akan menjadi bahasa umum di dunia,

for better or for worse.

disadari atau pun tidak.

Let's face it,

Mari kita terima,

it's the language of the internet,

inilah bahasa internet,

it's the language of finance,

inilah bahasa keuangan,

it's the language of air traffic control,

inilah bahasa pengontrol lalu lintas udara,

of popular music,

atau musik populer,

diplomacy --

diplomasi --

English is everywhere.

bahasa Inggris ada di mana-mana.

Now, Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more people,

Saat ini lebih banyak orang berbicara bahasa Mandarin,

but more Chinese people are learning English

tapi lebih banyak orang Cina yang belajar Bahasa Inggris

than English speakers are learning Chinese.

daripada orang berbahasa Inggris yang belajar bahasa Cina.

Last I heard,

Terakhir saya dengar,

there are two dozen universities in China right now

ada dua lusin universitas di China

teaching all in English.

yang mengajar dalam bahasa Inggris.

English is taking over.

Bahasa Inggris telah mengambil alih.

And in addition to that,

Dan selain itu,

it's been predicted that at the end of the century

diprediksikan bahwa akhir abad ini,

almost all of the languages that exist now --

sekitar 6000 bahasa yang ada sekarang

there are about 6,000 --

will no longer be spoken.

tidak akan digunakan lagi.

There will only be some hundreds left.

Hanya akan ada beberapa ratus yang tersisa.

And on top of that,

Tak hanya itu,

nantinya terjemahan pidato langsung,

it's at the point where instant translation of live speech

is not only possible, but it gets better every year.

bukan hanya mungkin, tapi menjadi makin baik.

The reason I'm reciting those things to you

Saya menyampaikan ini,

is because I can tell that we're getting to the point

karena kita mendekati saat,

where a question is going to start being asked,

di mana sebuah pertanyaan akan muncul,

which is: Why should we learn foreign languages --

yaitu: Mengapa kita mempelajari bahasa asing --

other than if English happens to be foreign to one?

selain bahasa Inggris?

Why bother to learn another one when it's getting to the point

Kenapa kita harus mempelajari bahasa lain,

where almost everybody in the world will be able to communicate in one?

jika hampir semua orang di dunia akan bisa berkomunikasi dalam satu bahasa?

I think there are a lot of reasons,

Saya rasa ada banyak alasan,

but I first want to address

tapi pertama saya mau menyampaikan

the one that you're probably most likely to have heard of,

sesuatu yang mungkin sudah lazim,

because actually it's more dangerous than you might think.

karena kemungkinan, itu lebih berbahaya dari perkiraan.

And that is the idea

Dan itu adalah ide,

that a language channels your thoughts,

bahwa bahasa menyalurkan pikiranmu,

that the vocabulary and the grammar of different languages

bahwa kata dan tata bahasa masing-masing bahasa

gives everybody a different kind of acid trip,

memberi pengalaman bahasa yang berbeda bagi setiap orang.

so to speak.

That is a marvelously enticing idea,

Itu adalah penyampaian ide yang indah,

but it's kind of fraught.

tapi berlebihan.

So it's not that it's untrue completely.

Bukan sepenuhnya salah.

So for example, in French and Spanish

Sebagai contoh dalam bahasa Prancis dan Spanyol,

the word for table is, for some reason, marked as feminine.

kata meja, dianggap sebagai feminim.

So, "la table," "la mesa," you just have to deal with it.

Jadi "la table", "la mesa", memang begitu.

It has been shown

Itu menunjukkan,

that if you are a speaker of one of those languages

jika Anda berbicara dalam salah satu bahasa itu,

and you happen to be asked

dan Anda ditanyai,

how you would imagine a table talking,

bagaimana mungkin membayangkan sebuah meja berbicara,

then much more often than could possibly be an accident,

maka biasanya,

a French or a Spanish speaker

penutur Bahasa Prancis atau Spanyol

says that the table would talk with a high and feminine voice.

mengatakan bahwa meja akan berbicara dengan suara tinggi dan feminim.

So if you're French or Spanish, to you, a table is kind of a girl,

Jika Anda orang Prancis atau Spanyol, sebuah meja adalah sebuah anak perempuan,

as opposed to if you are an English speaker.

yang berbeda dengan penutur Inggris.

It's hard not to love data like that,

Data seperti itu sangat menarik,

and many people will tell you that that means

dan banyak orang akan mengatakan,

that there's a worldview that you have if you speak one of those languages.

bahwa jika berbicara dalam salah satu bahasa itu, gambaran dunia muncul.

But you have to watch out,

Tapi harus hati hati,

because imagine if somebody put us under the microscope,

karena bayangkan jika seseorang meletakkan kita di bawah mikroskop,

the us being those of us who speak English natively.

mereka yang bahasa ibunya bahasa Inggris.

What is the worldview from English?

Bagaimana gambaran dunia dari bahasa Inggris?

So for example, let's take an English speaker.

Contohnya, penutur bahasa Inggris.

Up on the screen, that is Bono.

Gambar di atas, dia adalah Bono.

He speaks English.

Dia berbicara bahasa Inggris.

I presume he has a worldview.

Saya anggap dia mempunyai gambaran dunia.

Now, that is Donald Trump.

Dia adalah Donald Trump.

In his way,

Dengan gayanya,

he speaks English as well.

dia berbicara bahasa Inggris juga.

(Laughter)

(Tertawa)

And here is Ms. Kardashian,

Ini Nona Kardashian,

and she is an English speaker, too.

dan dia juga berbicara Inggris.

So here are three speakers of the English language.

Sekarang ada tiga penutur bahasa Inggris.

What worldview do those three people have in common?

Apakah gambaran dunia mereka sama?

What worldview is shaped through the English language that unites them?

Kesamaan gambaran apa yang dimiliki ketiganya?

It's a highly fraught concept.

Ini adalah konsep yang merepotkan.

And so gradual consensus is becoming that language can shape thought,

Secara umum bahasa bisa membentuk pikiran,

but it tends to be in rather darling, obscure psychological flutters.

tapi ini cenderung faktor psikologi.

It's not a matter of giving you a different pair of glasses on the world.

Bukan faktor sudut pandang yang berbeda.

Now, if that's the case,

Jika itu masalahnya,

then why learn languages?

mengapa belajar bahasa?

If it isn't going to change the way you think,

Jika tidak akan mengubah cara pikir,

what would the other reasons be?

apa yang menjadi alasannya?

There are some.

Ada beberapa alasan.

One of them is that if you want to imbibe a culture,

Salah satunya, jika belajar budaya,

if you want to drink it in, if you want to become part of it,

jika ingin mendalaminya, jika ingin menjadi bagiannya,

then whether or not the language channels the culture --

apakah bahasa adalah bagian dari budaya --

and that seems doubtful --

itu tidak dapat dipungkiri --

if you want to imbibe the culture,

jika ingin mempelajari budaya,

you have to control to some degree

Anda harus mengendalikan

the language that the culture happens to be conducted in.

bahasa yang membentuk budaya.

There's no other way.

Tidak ada cara lain.

There's an interesting illustration of this.

Ada ilustrasi yang menarik.

I have to go slightly obscure, but really you should seek it out.

Agak tidak biasa, tapi Anda akan memahaminya.

There's a movie by the Canadian film director Denys Arcand --

Ada sebuah film Canada, sutradaranya: Denys Arcand --

read out in English on the page, "Dennis Ar-cand,"

dalam bahasa Inggris, "Dennis Ar-cand",

if you want to look him up.

jika Anda ingin melihatnya.

He did a film called "Jesus of Montreal."

Dia membuat film "Jesus of Montreal".

And many of the characters

Dan banyak tokohnya

are vibrant, funny, passionate, interesting French-Canadian,

bersemangat, lucu, ekspresif, campuran Kanada-Prancis yang menarik,

French-speaking women.

wanita berbahasa Prancis.

There's one scene closest to the end,

Di akhir film ada satu adegan,

where they have to take a friend to an Anglophone hospital.

mereka membawa teman mereka ke rumah sakit Anglophone.

In the hospital, they have to speak English.

Mereka harus bicara bahasa Inggris.

Now, they speak English but it's not their native language,

Mereka bisa bahasa Inggris, tapi itu bukan bahasa ibunya,

they'd rather not speak English.

mereka enggan berbahasa Inggris.

And they speak it more slowly,

Perkataannya makin melambat,

they have accents, they're not idiomatic.

mereka punya aksen, ungkapannya tidak sama.

Suddenly these characters that you've fallen in love with

Tiba tiba tokoh yang membuat orang jatuh cinta ini,

become husks of themselves, they're shadows of themselves.

menjadi lemah, mereka menjadi tak berdaya.

To go into a culture

Saat masuk dalam sebuah budaya,

and to only ever process people through that kind of skrim curtain

dan memproses orang melalui pertunjukan sederhana itu,

is to never truly get the culture.

maka pengalaman budaya tak akan optimal.

And so to the extent that hundreds of languages will be left,

Jika hanya akan tersisa ratusan bahasa,

one reason to learn them

maka satu alasan mempelajari bahasa,

is because they are tickets to being able to participate

karena bahasa adalah tiket untuk berpartisipasi

in the culture of the people who speak them,

dalam budaya orang yang diajak bicara,

just by virtue of the fact that it is their code.

semata-mata karena itu adalah kode mereka.

So that's one reason.

Jadi itu alasan pertama.

Second reason:

Alasan kedua:

it's been shown

riset menunjukkan,

that if you speak two languages, dementia is less likely to set in,

bahwa jika berbicara dua bahasa, kemungkinan penyakit demensia berkurang,

and that you are probably a better multitasker.

dan cekatan melakukan beberapa aktivitas secara bersamaan.

And these are factors that set in early,

Inilah faktor yang sudah banyak diketahui,

and so that ought to give you some sense

dan mungkin mudah diterima,

of when to give junior or juniorette lessons in another language.

jika belajar bahasa lain sejak kecil.

Bilingualism is healthy.

Bilingual itu sehat.

And then, third --

Dan yang ketiga --

languages are just an awful lot of fun.

Bahasa adalah sesuatu yang seru.

Much more fun than we're often told.

Jauh lebih menyenangkan dari kata orang.

So for example, Arabic: "kataba," he wrote,

Contohnya, dalam bahasa Arab "kataba" = dia menulis,

"yaktubu," he writes, she writes.

"yaktubu" = dia menulis.

"Uktub," write, in the imperative.

"Uktub" = menulis, bentuk kata perintah.

What do those things have in common?

Apa kesamaan ketiga hal tersebut?

All those things have in common

Ketiganya mempunyai kesamaan.

the consonants sitting in the middle like pillars.

Konsonannya ada di tengah seperti pilar.

They stay still,

Tidak berubah,

and the vowels dance around the consonants.

dan huruf vokal ada di antara konsonan.

Who wouldn't want to roll that around in their mouths?

Siapa yang tak ingin mengucapkannya?

You can get that from Hebrew,

Hal itu ada dalam bahasa Ibrani,

you can get that from Ethiopia's main language, Amharic.

dalam bahasa utama Etopia, bahasa Amharic.

That's fun.

Itu seru.

Or languages have different word orders.

Masing-masing bahasa memiliki susunan kata yang berbeda.

Learning how to speak with different word order

Belajar mengucapkannya dengan susunan kata yang berbeda

is like driving on the different side of a street if you go to certain country,

bagai menyetir di sisi jalan yang berbeda, saat mengunjungi negara lain,

or the feeling that you get when you put Witch Hazel around your eyes

atau perasaan saat meletakkan daun Witch Hazel di mata,

and you feel the tingle.

terasa adanya sensasi.

A language can do that to you.

Suatu bahasa juga bisa terasa seperti itu.

So for example,

Contohnya,

"The Cat in the Hat Comes Back,"

"The Cat in the Hat Comes Back,"

a book that I'm sure we all often return to,

sebuah buku yang pasti Anda tahu,

like "Moby Dick."

seperti halnya "Moby Dick."

One phrase in it is, "Do you know where I found him?

Satu kalimat, "Di mana mencari dia?

Do you know where he was? He was eating cake in the tub,

Di mana dia? Dia sedang makan kue di bak mandi.

Ya, betul!"

Yes he was!"

Fine. Now, if you learn that in Mandarin Chinese,

Jika dipelajari dalam bahasa Mandarin,

then you have to master,

maka Anda harus menguasai,

"You can know, I did where him find?

"Kau bisa tahu, aku di mana mencarinya?

He was tub inside gorging cake,

Dia di bak mandi mengunyah kue.

No mistake gorging chewing!"

Tak salah, mengunyah-ngunyah!"

That just feels good.

Itu sudah bagus.

Imagine being able to do that for years and years at a time.

Bayangkan jika bisa dilakukan bertahun tahun.

Or, have you ever learned any Cambodian?

Pernahkah belajar bahasa Kamboja?

Me either, but if I did,

Saya juga belum, tapi jika sudah,

I would get to roll around in my mouth not some baker's dozen of vowels

saya akan memutar lidah, bukan dengan puluhan huruf vokal,

like English has,

seperti dalam bahasa Inggris,

but a good 30 different vowels

tapi ada 30 huruf vokal,

scooching and oozing around in the Cambodian mouth

yang berputar-putar dalam mulut orang Kamboja,

like bees in a hive.

bagai kumpulan lebah.

That is what a language can get you.

Itulah manfaat bahasa bagi Anda.

And more to the point,

Hal lain lagi,

we live in an era when it's never been easier to teach yourself another language.

kita tinggal di masa saat mempelajari bahasa lain lebih mudah.

It used to be that you had to go to a classroom,

Dulu harus pergi ke sekolah untuk mempelajarinya,

and there would be some diligent teacher --

di sana ada guru yang rajin --

some genius teacher in there --

ada guru yang genius --

but that person was only in there at certain times

tapi cuma ada di sana pada jam tertentu,

and you had to go then,

kemudian Anda harus pulang,

and then was not most times.

kelas itu juga jarang.

You had to go to class.

Anda harus hadir di kelas.

If you didn't have that, you had something called a record.

Jika tidak, Anda bisa menggunakan rekaman,

I cut my teeth on those.

seperti saya.

There was only so much data on a record,

Ada banyak data dalam rekaman,

or a cassette,

atau sebuah kaset,

or even that antique object known as a CD.

atau barang antik bernama CD.

Other than that you had books that didn't work,

Atau buku-buku yang tidak berguna,

that's just the way it was.

itulah cara masa lalu.

Today you can lay down --

Sekarang Anda bisa santai,

lie on your living room floor,

rebahan di lantai ruang keluarga,

sipping bourbon,

minum coklat,

and teach yourself any language that you want to

dan belajar bahasa apa pun yang Anda mau

with wonderful sets such as Rosetta Stone.

dengan materi belajar bahasa dalam aplikasi Rosetta Stone.

I highly recommend the lesser known Glossika as well.

Saya juga merekomendasikan Glossika.

You can do it any time,

Bisa dilakukan kapan saja,

therefore you can do it more and better.

bisa sesering mungkin, sehingga cepat bisa.

You can give yourself your morning pleasures in various languages.

Setiap pagi, Anda bisa membiasakan diri dalam banyak bahasa.

I take some "Dilbert" in various languages every single morning;

Saya membaca komik " Dilbert" dalam berbagai bahasa setiap pagi.

it can increase your skills.

Kemampuan kita bisa meningkat.

Couldn't have done it 20 years ago

Andai bisa dilakukan 20 tahun yang lalu,

when the idea of having any language you wanted

saat ide mempunyai banyak bahasa

in your pocket,

dari dalam saku Anda,

coming from your phone,

dari telepon genggam Anda,

would have sounded like science fiction to very sophisticated people.

pasti terdengar bagai fiksi sains bagi kaum jetset.

So I highly recommend

Jadi, sangat saya sarankan

that you teach yourself languages other than the one that I'm speaking,

untuk mempelajari bahasa selain bahasa Inggris.

because there's never been a better time to do it.

Tidak ada kata terlambat.

It's an awful lot of fun.

Itu sangat seru.

It won't change your mind,

Itu tidak akan mengubah pikiran Anda,

but it will most certainly blow your mind.

tapi pasti akan memperkaya pikiran Anda.

Thank you very much.

Terima kasih banyak.

(Applause)

(Tepuk tangan)