Mark Pagel: How language transformed humanity

Prevodilac: Radica Stojanović Lektor: Dragana Trivanovic

Each of you possesses

Svako od vas poseduje

the most powerful, dangerous and subversive trait

najmoćniju, najopasniju i najsubverzivniju osobinu

that natural selection has ever devised.

koju je prirodna selekcija ikada razvila.

It's a piece of neural audio technology

To je deo neuralne audio tehnologije

for rewiring other people's minds.

za međusobno povezivanje misli drugih ljudi.

I'm talking about your language, of course,

Govorim o vašem jeziku, naravno,

because it allows you to implant a thought from your mind

jer on omogućava da direktno usadite misao

directly into someone else's mind,

iz svog u um druge osobe,

and they can attempt to do the same to you,

i drugi to isto mogu pokušati sa vama,

without either of you having to perform surgery.

bez potrebe za hirurškom intervencijom pri tom.

Instead, when you speak,

Zapravo, dok govorite,

you're actually using a form of telemetry

koristite jedan oblik telemetrije

not so different

ne toliko različit

from the remote control device for your television.

od daljinskog upravljača za vaš televizor.

It's just that, whereas that device

Samo je razlika u tome što, dok se taj uređaj

relies on pulses of infrared light,

oslanja na impulse infracrvenog svetla,

your language relies on pulses,

vaš jezik se oslanja na impulse,

discrete pulses, of sound.

diskretne impulse, zvuka.

And just as you use the remote control device

I baš kao što koristite daljinski upravljač

to alter the internal settings of your television

da podesite unutrašnje parametre televizora

to suit your mood,

tako da vam odgovara,

you use your language

vi koristite jezik

to alter the settings inside someone else's brain

da podesite svojstva unutrašnjosti nečijeg mozga

to suit your interests.

tako da odgovaraju vašim interesima.

Languages are genes talking,

Jezici su geni koji govore,

getting things that they want.

tako da sve bude po njihovom.

And just imagine the sense of wonder in a baby

I samo zamislite začuđenost bebe

when it first discovers that, merely by uttering a sound,

kada prvi put to otkrije, samo izgovaranjem zvuka,

it can get objects to move across a room

može pomerati objekte po sobi

as if by magic,

kao magijom,

and maybe even into its mouth.

a možda ih čak uzeti i u svoja usta.

Now language's subversive power

Subverzivna moć jezika

has been recognized throughout the ages

je bila prepoznavana vekovima unazad

in censorship, in books you can't read,

preko cenzura, preko knjiga koje ne smete čitati,

phrases you can't use

izraza koje ne smete upotrebljavati

and words you can't say.

i reči koje ne možete izgovoriti.

In fact, the Tower of Babel story in the Bible

Zapravo, Vavilonska kula, priča iz Biblije

is a fable and warning

upozorava

about the power of language.

na moć jezika.

According to that story, early humans developed the conceit

Prema toj priči, prvi ljudi su razvili uobrazilju

that, by using their language to work together,

da će, ukoliko zajednički budu radili koristeći svoj jezik,

they could build a tower

sagraditi kulu

that would take them all the way to heaven.

koja će ih odvesti direktno na nebo.

Now God, angered at this attempt to usurp his power,

Bog, razljućen ovim pokušajem da se uzurpira njegova moć,

destroyed the tower,

srušio je kulu,

and then to ensure

i kako bi se osigurao

that it would never be rebuilt,

da se nikada ponovo neće izgraditi,

he scattered the people by giving them different languages --

razdvojio je ljude tako što im je dao različite jezike --

confused them by giving them different languages.

zbunio ih dajući im različite jezike.

And this leads to the wonderful irony

I ovo vodi ka zadivljujućoj ironiji

that our languages exist to prevent us from communicating.

da jezici postoje kako bi nam onemogućili komunikaciju.

Even today,

Čak i danas,

we know that there are words we cannot use,

znamo da postoje reči koje ne možemo koristiti,

phrases we cannot say,

fraze koje ne možemo reći,

because if we do so,

jer ako to uradimo,

we might be accosted, jailed,

mogli bismo biti zatvoreni,

or even killed.

ili čak ubijeni.

And all of this from a puff of air

I sve to samo od daška vazduha

emanating from our mouths.

koji izađe iz naših usta.

Now all this fuss about a single one of our traits

E sada, sva ova buka oko jedne od naših svojstava

tells us there's something worth explaining.

govori nam da je tu nešto vredno objašnjavanja.

And that is how and why

I to kako se

did this remarkable trait evolve,

ovo neverovatno svojstvo razvilo,

and why did it evolve

i zašto se razvilo

only in our species?

samo među našom vrstom?

Now it's a little bit of a surprise

Malo je iznenađujuće

that to get an answer to that question,

to da bi dobili odgovor na ovo pitanje,

we have to go to tool use

moramo da upotrebimo sredstvo

in the chimpanzees.

koje ćemo naći kod šimpanzi.

Now these chimpanzees are using tools,

Šimpanze upotrebljavaju oruđa,

and we take that as a sign of their intelligence.

i to uzimamo kao znak njihove inteligencije.

But if they really were intelligent,

Ali ako su oni zaista inteligentni,

why would they use a stick to extract termites from the ground

zašto onda upotrebljavaju štap da izvade termite iz zemlje

rather than a shovel?

a ne ašov?

And if they really were intelligent,

I ako su zaista inteligentni,

why would they crack open nuts with a rock?

zašto razbijaju orah kamenom?

Why wouldn't they just go to a shop and buy a bag of nuts

Zašto jednostavno ne odu do prodavnice i kupe kesicu oraha

that somebody else had already cracked open for them?

koje je neko drugi već očistio za njih?

Why not? I mean, that's what we do.

Zašto ne? Pa mislim, to je ono što mi radimo.

Now the reason the chimpanzees don't do that

Razlog zbog kog šimpanze to ne rade

is that they lack what psychologists and anthropologists call

je u tome što psiholozi i antropolozi zovu

social learning.

socijalno učenje.

They seem to lack the ability

Izgleda da im nedostaje sposobnost

to learn from others

da uče od drugih

by copying or imitating

kopiranjem ili imitacijom

or simply watching.

ili jednostavno gledanjem.

As a result,

Kao rezultat,

they can't improve on others' ideas

oni ne mogu da napreduju upijajući tuđe ideje

or learn from others' mistakes --

niti učiti na tuđim greškama --

benefit from others' wisdom.

niti se okoristiti o mudrost drugih.

And so they just do the same thing

I tako oni rade jednu te istu stvar

over and over and over again.

iznova i iznova.

In fact, we could go away for a million years and come back

Zapravo, mogli bismo otići i vratiti se za milion godina

and these chimpanzees would be doing the same thing

i šimpanze bi i dalje radile istu stvar

with the same sticks for the termites

sa istim štapom za termite

and the same rocks to crack open the nuts.

i sa istim kamenom za tucanje oraha.

Now this may sound arrogant, or even full of hubris.

E sad, ovo može zvučati arogantno, ili čak jako oholo.

How do we know this?

Kako mi to znamo?

Because this is exactly what our ancestors, the Homo erectus, did.

Jer to je upravo ono što je naš predak, Homo erektus, radio.©

These upright apes

Ovi uspravni majmuni

evolved on the African savanna

evoluirali su u Afričkoj savani

about two million years ago,

pre oko dva miliona godina,

and they made these splendid hand axes

i oni su napravili ove izuzetne ručne sekire

that fit wonderfully into your hands.

koje savršeno odgovaraju vašim rukama.

But if we look at the fossil record,

Ali ako pogledamo u fosilne zapise,

we see that they made the same hand axe

vidimo da su oni pravili istu ručnu sekiru

over and over and over again

iznova i iznova

for one million years.

tokom milion godina.

You can follow it through the fossil record.

Možete to pratiti pomoću fosilnih zapisa.

Now if we make some guesses about how long Homo erectus lived,

Sad, ako pretpostavimo koliko dugo je Homo erektus živeo,

what their generation time was,

koliki je bio životni vek generacija,

that's about 40,000 generations

to bi značilo da se kroz oko 40 000 generacija

of parents to offspring, and other individuals watching,

posmatralo i prenosilo sa roditelja na potomke i druge pojedince

in which that hand axe didn't change.

tokom kojih se ta ručna sekira nije menjala.

It's not even clear

Nije čak ni jasno

that our very close genetic relatives, the Neanderthals,

da li je naš blizak srodnik, Neandertalac,

had social learning.

posedovao sposobnost socijalnog učenja.

Sure enough, their tools were more complicated

Zasigurno, njegovo oruđe je bilo mnogo složenije

than those of Homo erectus,

od onih koje je koristio Homo erektus,

but they too showed very little change

ali je i on takođe pokazivao vrlo malo promena

over the 300,000 years or so

tokom tih 300 000 godina

that those species, the Neanderthals,

koliko je ta vrsta, Neandertalci,

lived in Eurasia.

živela u Evroaziji.

Okay, so what this tells us

Dobro, ono na šta nam ovo ukazuje

is that, contrary to the old adage,

jeste da, suprotno od one stare izreke,

"monkey see, monkey do,"

"što majmun vidi, majmun uradi",

the surprise really is

iznenađujuće je

that all of the other animals

da sve ostale životinje

really cannot do that -- at least not very much.

ne mogu to da rade -- makar ne u većoj meri.

And even this picture

Pa čak i ova slika

has the suspicious taint of being rigged about it --

deluje nekako sumnjivo namešteno --

something from a Barnum & Bailey circus.

nešto kao iz Barnum & Bejli cirkusa.

But by comparison,

Ali zarad poređenja,

we can learn.

mi možemo učiti.

We can learn by watching other people

Mi možemo da učimo posmatrajući druge ljude

and copying or imitating

kopiranjem i imitacijom

what they can do.

onoga što oni rade.

We can then choose, from among a range of options,

Potom možemo birati, između više opcija,

the best one.

onu najbolju.

We can benefit from others' ideas.

Možemo imati koristi od tuđih ideja.

We can build on their wisdom.

Možemo nadograđivati njihovu mudrost.

And as a result, our ideas do accumulate,

I kao rezultat toga, naše ideje se akumuliraju,

and our technology progresses.

i naša tehnologija se razvija.

And this cumulative cultural adaptation,

Ova kumulativna kulturna adaptacija,

as anthropologists call

kako je antropolozi nazivaju

this accumulation of ideas,

ova akumulacija ideja,

is responsible for everything around you

odgovorna je za sve oko vas

in your bustling and teeming everyday lives.

u vašim užurbanim svakodnevnicama.

I mean the world has changed out of all proportion

Mislim, svet se toliko drastično promenio

to what we would recognize

od onoga što bismo prepoznali

even 1,000 or 2,000 years ago.

pre samo 1000 ili 2000 godina unazad.

And all of this because of cumulative cultural adaptation.

I sve to samo zbog kumulativne kulturalne adaptacije.

The chairs you're sitting in, the lights in this auditorium,

Stolice na kojima sedite, svetla u ovom auditorijumu,

my microphone, the iPads and iPods that you carry around with you --

moj mikrofon, iPads i iPods koje nosite svuda sa sobom

all are a result

su rezultat

of cumulative cultural adaptation.

kumulativne kulturalne adaptacije.

Now to many commentators,

E sada, za mnoge komentatore,

cumulative cultural adaptation, or social learning,

kumulativna kultralna adaptacija, ili socijalno učenje,

is job done, end of story.

je završen posao, kraj priče.

Our species can make stuff,

Naša vrsta može praviti stvari,

therefore we prospered in a way that no other species has.

stoga smo uznapredovali na način na koji ni jedna druga vrsta nije.

In fact, we can even make the "stuff of life" --

Zapravo, možemo praviti "stvari za život" --

as I just said, all the stuff around us.

kao što sam već rekao, sve stvari oko nas.

But in fact, it turns out

Ali, zapravo, ispostavlja se

that some time around 200,000 years ago,

da je nekad pre oko 200 000 godina,

when our species first arose

kada je naša vrsta nastala

and acquired social learning,

i usvojila socijalno učenje,

that this was really the beginning of our story,

to bio početak priče,

not the end of our story.

a ne kraj.

Because our acquisition of social learning

Jer naše usvajanje socijalnog učenja

would create a social and evolutionary dilemma,

će dovesti do socijalnih i evolucionih dilema,

the resolution of which, it's fair to say,

čije će razrešenje, može se reći,

would determine not only the future course of our psychology,

odrediti ne samo budući pravac psihologije,

but the future course of the entire world.

već budući pravac čitavog sveta.

And most importantly for this,

I što je najvažnije,

it'll tell us why we have language.

reći će nam zašto imamo jezik.

And the reason that dilemma arose

A razlog zbog kojeg je nastala ta dilema

is, it turns out, that social learning is visual theft.

jeste zapravo taj da socijalno učenje predstavlja vizuelnu krađu.

If I can learn by watching you,

Ukoliko ja mogu da učim posmatrajući te,

I can steal your best ideas,

ja mogu da ukradem tvoje najbolje ideje,

and I can benefit from your efforts,

i mogu prosperirati od tvojih napora,

without having to put in the time and energy that you did

bez potrebe da uložim vreme i energiju koju si ti uložio

into developing them.

da ih razviješ.

If I can watch which lure you use to catch a fish,

Ako mogu da vidim kakav mamac si koristio da upecaš ribu,

or I can watch how you flake your hand axe

ili ako mogu da gledam kako obrađuješ svoju ručnu sekiru

to make it better,

kako bi je poboljšao,

or if I follow you secretly to your mushroom patch,

ili ako bih te krišom pratio do tvog skladišta pečuraka,

I can benefit from your knowledge and wisdom and skills,

mogu imati koristi od tvog znanja i mudrosti i sposobnosti,

and maybe even catch that fish

možda čak i da upecam ribu

before you do.

pre tebe.

Social learning really is visual theft.

Socijalno učenje je zaista vizuelna krađa.

And in any species that acquired it,

I ako bi ga neka vrsta usvojila,

it would behoove you

to bi vas nateralo

to hide your best ideas,

da krijete vaše najbolje ideje,

lest somebody steal them from you.

jer bi vam ih neko mogao ukrasti.

And so some time around 200,000 years ago,

I tako se pre nekih 200 000 godina

our species confronted this crisis.

naša vrsta suočila sa ovom krizom.

And we really had only two options

I mi zaista imamo samo dve opcije

for dealing with the conflicts

da se izborimo sa konfliktima

that visual theft would bring.

koje bi vizuelna krađa donela.

One of those options

Jedna od tih opcija

was that we could have retreated

je bila da se povučemo

into small family groups.

u male porodične grupe.

Because then the benefits of our ideas and knowledge

Jer u tom slučaju prednosti naših ideja i saznanja

would flow just to our relatives.

zadržale bi se samo u okviru naše zajednice

Had we chosen this option,

Da smo izabrali tu opciju,

sometime around 200,000 years ago,

nekada pre oko 200 000 godina,

we would probably still be living like the Neanderthals were

danas bismo verovatno i dalje živeli kao što su živeli Neandertalci

when we first entered Europe 40,000 years ago.

kada smo prvi put došli u Evropu pre 40 000 godina.

And this is because in small groups

I to je zbog toga što u malim grupama

there are fewer ideas, there are fewer innovations.

postoji malo ideja, a samim tim i malo inovacija.

And small groups are more prone to accidents and bad luck.

A male grupe su sklonije nezgodama i lošoj karmi.

So if we'd chosen that path,

I tako, da smo izabrali taj put,

our evolutionary path would have led into the forest --

naš evolucioni put bi nas odveo u šumu --

and been a short one indeed.

i bio bi zbilja kratak.

The other option we could choose

Druga opcija koju smo mogli izabrati

was to develop the systems of communication

bila je ta da razvijemo sistem komunikacije

that would allow us to share ideas

koji bi nam omogućio da delimo ideje

and to cooperate amongst others.

i da međusobno sarađujemo.

Choosing this option would mean

Izbor ove opcije bi značio

that a vastly greater fund of accumulated knowledge and wisdom

da bi mnogo veći fond akumuliranog znanja i mudrosti

would become available to any one individual

bio dostupan svakoj osobi

than would ever arise from within an individual family

nego što bi on ikada narastao u okvirima jedne porodice

or an individual person on their own.

ili jedne osobe.

Well, we chose the second option,

Pa, izabrali smo drugu opciju,

and language is the result.

i rezultat toga je jezik.

Language evolved to solve the crisis

Jezik se razvio da bi rešio krizu

of visual theft.

vizuelne krađe.

Language is a piece of social technology

Jezik je deo socijalne tehnologije

for enhancing the benefits of cooperation --

za poboljšanje prednosti saradnje --

for reaching agreements, for striking deals

za postizanje dogovora i ugovaranje poslova

and for coordinating our activities.

i za koordinisanje aktivnosti.

And you can see that, in a developing society

I možete videti da u društvu u razvoju

that was beginning to acquire language,

koje je počelo da usvaja jezik,

not having language

nemati ga

would be a like a bird without wings.

bilo bi isto kao pticama bez krila.

Just as wings open up this sphere of air

Baš kao što se krila otvaraju sferi vazduha

for birds to exploit,

pticama da istražuju,

language opened up the sphere of cooperation

jezik se otvara sferi saradnje

for humans to exploit.

ljudima da istražuju.

And we take this utterly for granted,

A mi to uzimamo zdravo za gotovo,

because we're a species that is so at home with language,

jer smo mi kao vrsta potpuno odomaćeni sa jezikom.

but you have to realize

Ali morate da shvatite

that even the simplest acts of exchange that we engage in

da je čak i najmanji akt razmene u kom učestvujemo

are utterly dependent upon language.

duboko zavisan od jezika.

And to see why, consider two scenarios

I da bismo videli kako, razmotrite dva scenarija

from early in our evolution.

iz naše najranije evolucije.

Let's imagine that you are really good

Zamislimo da ste jako dobri

at making arrowheads,

u pravljenju vrhova strela,

but you're hopeless at making the wooden shafts

ali ste beznadežni u pravljenju drvenih delova

with the flight feathers attached.

sa prikačenim perima.

Two other people you know are very good at making the wooden shafts,

Dva čoveka koje poznajete su veoma dobri u praveljnju tih drvenih delova strele,

but they're hopeless at making the arrowheads.

ali su beznadežni u pravljenju vrhova.

So what you do is --

I ono što vi radite je --

one of those people has not really acquired language yet.

jedan od ljudi nije još usvojio jezik.

And let's pretend the other one is good at language skills.

I hajde da zamislimo da je drugi jako dobar u jezičkim sposobnostima.

So what you do one day is you take a pile of arrowheads,

I tako vi jednog dana uzmete gomilu vrhova strela,

and you walk up to the one that can't speak very well,

i odete do onog koji ne zna da priča baš dobro,

and you put the arrowheads down in front of him,

i stavite tu gomilu ispred njega,

hoping that he'll get the idea that you want to trade your arrowheads

nadajući se da će dobiti ideju da želite da razmenite svoje vrhove strela

for finished arrows.

za završene drvene delove.

But he looks at the pile of arrowheads, thinks they're a gift,

Ali on gleda u tu gomilu, misleći da je to poklon,

picks them up, smiles and walks off.

pokupi ih, nasmeje se i ode.

Now you pursue this guy, gesticulating.

Sada vi počnete da mu objašnjavate gestikulacijom.

A scuffle ensues and you get stabbed

Nastaje kavga i vi bivate izbodeni

with one of your own arrowheads.

jednom od svojih strela.

Okay, now replay this scene now, and you're approaching the one who has language.

Dobro, vratite sada scenu nazad, i zamislite da ste prišli onom ko zna jezik.

You put down your arrowheads and say,

Spustite vaše vrhove strela i kažete,

"I'd like to trade these arrowheads for finished arrows. I'll split you 50/50."

"Želeo bih da razmenim ove vrhove strela za završene strele. Podelimo ih 50/50".

The other one says, "Fine. Looks good to me.

On odgovori, "U redu. Dogovoreno.

We'll do that."

Tako ćemo."

Now the job is done.

I posao je gotov.

Once we have language,

Onog trenutka kada imamo jezik,

we can put our ideas together and cooperate

možemo izneti svoje ideje i sarađivati

to have a prosperity

kako bismo napredovali

that we couldn't have before we acquired it.

kako nikada ranije ne bismo uspeli.

And this is why our species

I to je razlog zašto je naša vrsta

has prospered around the world

napredovala širom sveta

while the rest of the animals

dok ostale životinje

sit behind bars in zoos, languishing.

čežnjivo čame iza rešetaka u zoološkim vrtovima,

That's why we build space shuttles and cathedrals

Zato smo uspeli da izgradimo rakete i katedrale

while the rest of the world sticks sticks into the ground

dok ostatak sveta zabada štapove u zemlju

to extract termites.

da izvuče insekte.

All right, if this view of language

U redu, ako je ovaj pogled na jezik

and its value

i njegovu vrednost

in solving the crisis of visual theft is true,

u rešavanju problema vizuelne krađe ispravan,

any species that acquires it

bilo koja vrsta da ga usvoji

should show an explosion of creativity and prosperity.

trebala bi da pokaže eksploziju kreativnosti i prosperiteta.

And this is exactly what the archeological record shows.

To je upravo ono što arheološki nalazi pokazuju.

If you look at our ancestors,

Ako pogledate naše pretke,

the Neanderthals and the Homo erectus, our immediate ancestors,

Neandertalce i Homo erektus, naše neposredne pretke,

they're confined to small regions of the world.

oni su bili ograničeni na male oblasti sveta.

But when our species arose

Ali kada je naša vrsta nastala

about 200,000 years ago,

pre od prilike 200 000 godina,

sometime after that we quickly walked out of Africa

ubrzo nakon toga smo otišli iz Afrike

and spread around the entire world,

i proširili se po čitavom svetu,

occupying nearly every habitat on Earth.

okupirajući skoro svako stanište na Zemlji.

Now whereas other species are confined

Dok su druge vrste ograničene

to places that their genes adapt them to,

na mesta na kojima su se njihovi geni adaptirali,

with social learning and language,

sa socijalnim učenjem i jezikom,

we could transform the environment

mi smo mogli transformisati okruženje

to suit our needs.

i prilagoditi ga našim potrebama.

And so we prospered in a way

I tako smo prosperirali na način

that no other animal has.

na koji nije ni jedna druga životinja.

Language really is

Jezik je zaista

the most potent trait that has ever evolved.

najmoćnije svojstvo koje je ikada razvijeno.

It is the most valuable trait we have

To je najvrednija osobina koju imamo

for converting new lands and resources

za preoblikovanje novih predela i resursa

into more people and their genes

u još više ljudi i njihovih gena

that natural selection has ever devised.

nego što je to prirodna selekcija ikad uspela.

Language really is

Jezik je zaista

the voice of our genes.

glas naših gena.

Now having evolved language, though,

Ipak, sada kada imamo razvijen jezik

we did something peculiar,

uradili smo nešto čudno,

even bizarre.

čak bizarno.

As we spread out around the world,

Kako smo se raširili po celom svetu,

we developed thousands of different languages.

razvili smo na hiljade različitih jezika.

Currently, there are about seven or 8,000

Trenutno, postoji oko sedam ili osam hiljada

different languages spoken on Earth.

različitih govornih jezika na Zemlji.

Now you might say, well, this is just natural.

Sada, možete reći, pa, to je prirodno.

As we diverge, our languages are naturally going to diverge.

Kako se razdvajamo, prirodno je i da se naši jezici razlikuju.

But the real puzzle and irony

Ali prava zagonetka i ironija

is that the greatest density of different languages on Earth

je da je najveća gustina različitih jezika na Zemlji

is found where people are most tightly packed together.

pronađena tamo gde su ljudi najtešnje povezani.

If we go to the island of Papua New Guinea,

Ako odemo na ostrvo Papua Nova Gvineja,

we can find about 800 to 1,000

možemo naći oko 800 do 1000

distinct human languages,

različitih jezika,

different human languages,

različitih ljudskih jezika,

spoken on that island alone.

koji se govore samo na tom ostrvu.

There are places on that island

Postoje mesta na ovom ostrvu

where you can encounter a new language

gde možete naići na novi jezik

every two or three miles.

nakon dve ili tri milje.

Now, incredible as this sounds,

Koliko god to neverovatno zvučalo,

I once met a Papuan man, and I asked him if this could possibly be true.

jednom sam sreo čoveka sa Papue, i pitao ga kako je moguće da je to tako.

And he said to me, "Oh no.

A on mi je rekao: "O ne.

They're far closer together than that."

Oni su mnogo bliži od toga."

And it's true; there are places on that island

I to je tačno; postoje mesta na tom ostrvu

where you can encounter a new language in under a mile.

gde možete naići na nov jezik i na manje od jedne milje.

And this is also true of some remote oceanic islands.

A tako je i na nekim zabačenim okeanskim ostrvima.

And so it seems that we use our language,

I deluje da koristimo naš jezik,

not just to cooperate,

ne samo da sarađujemo,

but to draw rings around our cooperative groups

već i da povlačimo granice među našim kooperativnim grupama

and to establish identities,

i da izgradimo identitete,

and perhaps to protect our knowledge and wisdom and skills

i možda da zaštitimo naše znanje i mudrost i veštine

from eavesdropping from outside.

od prisluškivanja sa strane.

And we know this

A to znamo

because when we study different language groups

jer, proučavajući različite grupe jezika

and associate them with their cultures,

i povezujući ih sa njihovim kulturama,

we see that different languages

vidimo da različiti jezici

slow the flow of ideas between groups.

usporavaju tok ideja među grupama.

They slow the flow of technologies.

Usporavaju tok tehnologija.

And they even slow the flow of genes.

Usporavaju čak i tok gena.

Now I can't speak for you,

Ne mogu govoriti u vaše ime,

but it seems to be the case

ali izgleda da

that we don't have sex with people we can't talk to.

da ne možemo imati ni seks sa osobama sa kojima ne možemo da pričamo.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Now we have to counter that, though,

Morali bismo to uporediti

against the evidence we've heard

sa dokazima koje smo čuli

that we might have had some rather distasteful genetic dalliances

da smo možda imali neke prilično neukusne genetičke igre

with the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.

sa Neandertalcima i Sibirskim ljudima.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Okay, this tendency we have,

Dobro, ta sklonost koju imamo,

this seemingly natural tendency we have,

ova naizgled prirodna sklonost koju posedujemo,

towards isolation, towards keeping to ourselves,

ka izoalciji, ka zadržavanju za sebe,

crashes head first into our modern world.

direktno se kosi sa modernim svetom.

This remarkable image

Ova zadivljujuća slika

is not a map of the world.

nije mapa sveta.

In fact, it's a map of Facebook friendship links.

Zapravo, to je mapa veza prijateljstava na Fejsbuku.

And when you plot those friendship links

I kada se prikažu veze tih prijateljstava

by their latitude and longitude,

njihovom dužinom i širinom,

it literally draws a map of the world.

to bukvalno ocrtava mapu sveta.

Our modern world is communicating

Naš moderni svet komunicira

with itself and with each other

međusobno

more than it has

više nego što je ikada

at any time in its past.

u prošlosti.

And that communication, that connectivity around the world,

I ta komunikacija, ta povezanost širom sveta,

that globalization

ta globalizacija

now raises a burden.

sada predstavlja teret.

Because these different languages

Jer različiti jezici

impose a barrier, as we've just seen,

stvaraju barijeru, kao što smo videli,

to the transfer of goods and ideas

prenosu dobara i ideja

and technologies and wisdom.

i tehnologija i mudrosti.

And they impose a barrier to cooperation.

I predstavljaju prepreku saradnji.

And nowhere do we see that more clearly

I nigde se to tako dobro ne vidi

than in the European Union,

kao u Evropskoj Uniji,

whose 27 member countries

gde 27 zemalja članica

speak 23 official languages.

ima 23 zvanična jezika.

The European Union

Evropska Unija

is now spending over one billion euros annually

trenutno troši preko milijardu evra godišnje

translating among their 23 official languages.

prevodeći na svaki od svoja 23 jezika.

That's something on the order

To je nešto

of 1.45 billion U.S. dollars

oko 1,45 milijardi američkih dolara

on translation costs alone.

samo na troškove prevođenja.

Now think of the absurdity of this situation.

Pomislite samo kako je to apsurdno.

If 27 individuals

Ako 27 osoba

from those 27 member states

iz 27 zemalja članica

sat around table, speaking their 23 languages,

sede za stolom, i govore svoja 23 jezika,

some very simple mathematics will tell you

jednostavna matematika će vam reći

that you need an army of 253 translators

da vam treba vojska od 253 prevodioca

to anticipate all the pairwise possibilities.

da bi pokrila sve moguće jezičke parove.

The European Union employs a permanent staff

Evropska Unija zapošljava

of about 2,500 translators.

oko 2 500 stalnih prevodilaca.

And in 2007 alone --

A samo u 2007. --

and I'm sure there are more recent figures --

a siguran sam da ima i novijih statistika --

something on the order of 1.3 million pages

nešto oko 1.3 miliona stranica

were translated into English alone.

je prevedeno samo na engleski jezik.

And so if language really is

Pa ako je jezik zaista

the solution to the crisis of visual theft,

rešenje za krizu vizuelne krađe,

if language really is

ako je jezik zaista

the conduit of our cooperation,

ključ za našu saradnju,

the technology that our species derived

tehnologija koju je naša vrsta proizvela

to promote the free flow and exchange of ideas,

da bi omogućila slobodan tok i razmenu ideja,

in our modern world,

u našem modernom svetu,

we confront a question.

suočavamo se sa pitanjem.

And that question is whether

A to pitanje je da li

in this modern, globalized world

u ovom modernom, globalizovanom svetu

we can really afford to have all these different languages.

možemo sebi priuštiti postojanje toliko različitih jezika.

To put it this way, nature knows no other circumstance

Da postavimo ovako, priroda ne poznaje druge okolnosti

in which functionally equivalent traits coexist.

u kojima koegzistiraju funkcionalno ekvivalentne sposobnosti.

One of them always drives the other extinct.

Jedna od njih uvek dovodi do istrebljenja drugih.

And we see this in the inexorable march

I sve to vidimo u nezaustavljivom maršu

towards standardization.

ka standardizaciji.

There are lots and lots of ways of measuring things --

Postoje mnogi i mnogi načini merenja stvari --

weighing them and measuring their length --

merenje njihove težine, njihove dužine --

but the metric system is winning.

ali metrički sistem pobeđuje.

There are lots and lots of ways of measuring time,

Postoje mnogi načini merenja vremena,

but a really bizarre base 60 system

ali zaista bizaran način sa bazom 60

known as hours and minutes and seconds

poznat kao sati i minuti i sekunde

is nearly universal around the world.

je skoro univerzalan u svetu.

There are many, many ways

Postoji mnogo, mnogo načina

of imprinting CDs or DVDs,

snimanja CD-a ili DVD-a,

but those are all being standardized as well.

ali oni su takođe standardizovani.

And you can probably think of many, many more

I sigurno se možete prisetiti još mnogih primera

in your own everyday lives.

iz vašeg svakodnevnog života.

And so our modern world now

I tako se naš moderni svet sada

is confronting us with a dilemma.

suočava sa dilemom.

And it's the dilemma

A to je dilema

that this Chinese man faces,

sa kojom se ovaj Kinez suočava,

who's language is spoken

čiji jezik govori

by more people in the world

više ljudi na svetu

than any other single language,

nego ijedan drugi jezik,

and yet he is sitting at his blackboard,

pa ipak on sedi ispred svoje table,

converting Chinese phrases

prevodeći kineske fraze

into English language phrases.

na engleski jezik.

And what this does is it raises the possibility to us

Rezultat toga je da nam povećava mogućnost

that in a world in which we want to promote

da u svetu u kom želimo da podstičemo

cooperation and exchange,

saradnju i razmenu,

and in a world that might be dependent more than ever before

i u svetu koji više nego ikada zavisi

on cooperation

od saradnje

to maintain and enhance our levels of prosperity,

da održimo i povećamo nivo prosperiteta,

his actions suggest to us

njegova dela nam sugerišu

it might be inevitable

da je možda neizbežno

that we have to confront the idea

da se suočimo sa idejom

that our destiny is to be one world with one language.

da je naša sudbina da živimo u svetu sa jednim jezikom.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Matt Ridley: Mark, one question.

Met Ridli: Mark, jedno pitanje.

Svante found that the FOXP2 gene,

Svante je otkrio da se FOXP2 gen,

which seems to be associated with language,

koji izgleda da je povezan sa jezikom,

was also shared in the same form

takođe nalazio u istom obliku

in Neanderthals as us.

kod Neandertalaca kao i kod nas.

Do we have any idea

Da li imamo ikakvu ideju

how we could have defeated Neanderthals

kako smo uspeli pobediti Neandertalce

if they also had language?

ako su oni takođe imali jezik?

Mark Pagel: This is a very good question.

Mark Pagel: To je veoma dobro pitanje.

So many of you will be familiar with the idea that there's this gene called FOXP2

Mnogima od vas je poznata ideja da postoji gen nazvan FOXP2

that seems to be implicated in some ways

koji izgleda da je upleten na više načina

in the fine motor control that's associated with language.

u finu motornu kontrolu povezanu sa jezikom.

The reason why I don't believe that tells us

Razlog zbog kog ne verujem u to

that the Neanderthals had language

da su Neandertalci imali jezik

is -- here's a simple analogy:

je -- evo jednostavne analogije:

Ferraris are cars that have engines.

Ferari su auta koja imaju motor.

My car has an engine,

Moj auto ima motor,

but it's not a Ferrari.

ali nije Ferari.

Now the simple answer then

Prost odgovor na to je

is that genes alone don't, all by themselves,

da geni sami, samo od sebe,

determine the outcome

ne određuju ishode

of very complicated things like language.

toliko komplikovanih stvari kao što je jezik.

What we know about this FOXP2 and Neanderthals

Ono što znamo o tom FOXP2 i Neandertalcima

is that they may have had fine motor control of their mouths -- who knows.

je da su oni možda imali finu motoriku u ustima -- ko zna.

But that doesn't tell us they necessarily had language.

Ali to nam ne govori da su nužno imali jezik.

MR: Thank you very much indeed.

MR: Puno ti hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)