Who counts as a speaker of a language? | Anna Babel

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Camille Martínez

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

人们说，很久很久以前，

地球上的所有人都说着同一语言，

属于同一种族。

我猜那时候的人们太闲了，

People say that a long, long time ago,

因为他们打算一起努力，

everybody on earth spoke the same language

and belonged to the same tribe.

达到上帝的高度。

于是他们开始建造一座通天塔。

And I guess people had a little too much time on their hands,

because they decided they were going to work together

上帝看见了，很生气，

决定惩罚一下人类的傲慢。

to become as great as God.

上帝摧毁了这座塔，

So they started to build a tower up into the heavens.

把人们分散到了世界的各个角落，

God saw this and was angry,

让人们说着不同的语言。

and to punish the people for their arrogance,

这就是巴别塔 （The Tower of Babel）的故事，

God destroyed the tower

and scattered the people to the ends of the earth

应该也不是真实的正史，

and made them all speak different languages.

但是它确实告诉了我们

理解语言和说话者的方式。

This is the story of the Tower of Babel,

and it's probably not a literal historical truth,

值得一提是，我们总是会认为 说着不同的语言

but it does tell us something

意味着我们无法和谐相处 或者会产生矛盾，

about the way that we understand languages and speakers.

说着相同的语言意味着 我们属于同一个群体，

So for one thing, we often think about speaking different languages

可以相互合作。

as meaning that we don't get along or maybe we're in conflict,

现代语言学家认为

语言和社会群体类别之间的关系

and speaking the same language as meaning that we belong to the same group

错综复杂，

and that we can work together.

在理解语言的道路上困难重重，

Modern linguists know

that the relationship between language and social categories

以至于如此简单的一个问题：

is intricate and complex,

“如何才算一门语言的使用者？”

and we bring a lot of baggage to the way that we understand language,

都变得非常、非常难以回答。

to the point that even a seemingly simple question,

我是俄亥俄州立大学的 一名西班牙语教授。

like, "What makes a person a speaker of a language?"

我通常教授高阶课程，

can turn out to be really, really complicated.

学生已经上了 4 到 5 年的

大学程度西班牙语课程。

I'm a Spanish professor at Ohio State.

所以我班上的学生 整个学期都会和我说西班牙语，

I teach mostly upper-level courses,

where the students have taken four to five years

他们听我说西班牙语， 他们交西班牙语的书面作业。

of university-level Spanish courses.

但是，开学的时候我问同学们：

So students who are in my class speak Spanish with me all semester long.

“谁觉得自己 是一个说西班牙语的人？”

They listen to me speak in Spanish. They turn in written work in Spanish.

没有几个人举手。

And yet, when I asked my students at the beginning of the semester,

你可以把一门语言说得非常非常好，

"Who considers themselves a Spanish speaker?"

但是你也不会认为 自己就是说那门语言的人。

not very many of them raise their hands.

So you can be a really, really good speaker of a language

也许这和你说得有多好无关，

and still not consider yourself a language speaker.

也许取决于你是几岁 开始学这门语言的。

Maybe it's not just about how well you speak a language.

但是如果我们关注一下 在家说西班牙语，

但是在工作上或者学校里 基本说英语的孩子，

Maybe it's also about what age you start learning that language.

他们一般会觉得 自己两门语言都说得不是很好。

But when we look at kids who speak Spanish at home

有时候他们会觉得 自己身处“无语言之境”，

but mostly English at work or in school,

因为他们在学校 说西班牙语不太舒服，

they often feel like they don't speak either language really well.

在家说英语也不太舒服。

They sometimes feel like they exist in a state of languagelessness,

我们很清醒地意识到， 如果要成为一个好的双语者，

because they don't feel fully comfortable in Spanish at school,

就得在一个身体里承载两个单语者，

and they don't feel fully comfortable in English at home.

但是语言学家知道双语能力 并不是这样的。

We have this really strong idea that in order to be a good bilingual,

比较常见的情况是人们擅长

we have to be two monolinguals in one body.

在一个语境使用一种语言， 在另一处用另一种语言。

But linguists know that's not really how bilingualism works.

It's actually much more common for people to specialize,

如今，并不只是 我们如何看待自己的问题，

to use one language in one place and another language in another place.

还牵涉到他人如何看待我们。

我在玻利维亚——

Now, it's not always only about how we see ourselves.

一个南美国家做了研究。

It can also be about how other people see us.

在玻利维亚，就和美国一样，

有着不同的社会群体和种族。

I do my research in Bolivia,

which is a country in South America.

有一个种族叫做 盖丘亚族（Quechua），

And in Bolivia, as in the United States,

是南美土著。

there are different social groups and different ethnic categories.

盖丘亚族族人说的西班牙语与

One of those ethnic categories is a group known as Quechua,

普通的西班牙语使用者 说的略有不同。

尤其是很多盖丘亚族族人说的

who are Indigenous people.

And people who are Quechua speak Spanish a little bit differently

有一些发音会更加相像。

than your run-of-the-mill Spanish speaker.

我和我的同事设计了一项研究，

In particular, there are some sounds that sound a little bit more alike

我们选取了一系列 发音非常相像的词组，

when many Quechua speakers use them.

听起来非常相像，和盖丘亚族族人

So a colleague and I designed a study

where we took a series of very similar-sounding word pairs,

通常说西班牙语时相像的发音一致。

and they were similar-sounding in exactly the same sorts of ways

我们给一些听众播放了 这些发音相似的词组，

that Quechua speakers often sound similar when they speak Spanish.

告诉一半听众， 他们将要听到的录音来自

普通的西班牙语使用者，

We played those similar-sounding word pairs to a group of listeners,

另一半听众将听到 来自盖丘亚族族人的语音。

and we told half of the listeners that they were going to listen

所有人听的都是同一份录音，

to just your normal run-of-the-mill Spanish speaker

但是我们发现，以为自己听的是

and the other half of the listeners that they were going to hear a Quechua speaker.

普通西班牙语使用者语音的参与者

可以清晰分辨词组，

Everybody heard the same recording,

而以为自己听的是 盖丘亚族族人语音的

but what we found was that people who thought they were listening

参与者不太能分辨区别。

to a run-of-the-mill Spanish speaker

made clear differences between the word pairs,

在这里可以给大家看一下图表，

and people who thought they were listening to a Quechua speaker

展示了我们的研究成果。

你可以看到上面这条线 稍微有一些弧度，

really didn't seem to make clear differences.

这条线展示的是可以

So if a visual would help,

清晰分辨词组的参与者的结果，

here are the results of our study.

What you see here in the top line is a little bit of an arch.

这些人也就是

以为自己在听西班牙语 使用者录音的人。

That's what you would expect

下面这条线稍显平坦，

from people who are making clear differences between the word pairs,

展示了

and that's what you see for people

不太能清晰分辨区别的 参与者的结果，

who though they were listening to a Spanish speaker.

也就是那些以为自己在听 盖丘亚族族人录音的人。

What you see on the bottom is a little bit more of a flat line,

and that's what we expect to see

既然录音都是一样的，

when people are not making clear differences,

这就意味着是我们提示的社会类别

and that came from the group that thought they were listening to a Quechua speaker.

让人们对语言的感受不同。

Now, since nothing about the recording changed,

这可不是只发生在玻利维亚的怪事。

that means that it was the social categories that we gave the listeners

在美国、加拿大、

that changed the way they perceived language.

新西兰都进行了相似的研究，

This isn't just some funny thing that only happens in Bolivia.

结果都是一样的。

我们把社会类别 带入了我们对语言的理解。

Research has been carried out in the United States,

in Canada, in New Zealand,

甚至还有针对美国大学生的研究，

showing exactly the same thing.

We incorporate social categories into our understanding of language.

让这些大学生听一节大学课程。

一半的学生会看到他们的老师

There have even been studies carried out with American college students

是一张白人的照片。

另一半学生会看他们的老师

who listen to a university lecture.

是一张亚裔的照片。

Half of the students were shown a picture of a Caucasian face

看到亚裔照片的学生

as the instructor.

反馈说讲座不清晰、不好理解，

Half of the students were shown a picture of an Asian face

as the instructor.

而大家听的都是同一个录音。

And students who saw the Asian face

reported that the lecture was less clear and harder to understand,

社会类别真的会影响 我们对语言的理解。

even though everybody listened to the same recording.

我的孩子去上学的时候，

So social categories really influence the way that we understand language.

让我个人对此深有感触。

我的孩子们是拉丁美洲人，

我们在家说西班牙语，

And this is an issue that became especially personal to me

但是他们与外面的朋友和祖父母

when my children started school.

基本上都说英语。

My children are Latino,

他们刚开始上学的时候，

这个地区要求

and we speak Spanish at home,

but they speak mostly English with their friends out in the world,

如果学生家庭有一个人 说非英语的语言，

with their grandparents.

学生就得接受测试，

When they started school,

决定他们是否需要英语作为 第二语言（ESL）的服务。

I was told that the district requires

that any household that has a member who speaks a language other than English,

我当时觉得：“太棒了！ 我的孩子肯定搞得定这个测试。”

the children have to be tested

to see if they need English as a second language services.

但是事情并不是如此。

And I was like, "Yes! My kids are going to ace this test."

我身后是我女儿的 ESL 考试成绩。

理解部分和听读部分

But that's not what happened.

So you can see behind me the results from my daughter's ESL placement exam.

她得了满分 5 分。

但是口语和写作只拿了 3 分。

She got a perfect five out of five for comprehension,

我就想：“真奇怪，

for reading and listening.

这娃一直喋喋不休的。”

But she only got three out of five for speaking and writing.

（笑声）

但是我觉得这只是在一天里 考了一次，不算什么大事。

And I was like, "This is really weird,

because this kid talks my ear off all the time."

直到几年以后，我儿子上学了，

(Laughter)

But I figured it's just one test on one day, and it's not a big deal.

他也在考试中被评为

非英语母语使用者。

Until, several years later, my son started school,

我想：“真奇怪，

and my son also scored as a non-native speaker of English

不像是个巧合啊。”

然后我给老师发了条消息，

on the exam.

她人很不错。

她给我发了长长的消息， 解释为什么我儿子会被如此评价。

And I was like, "This is really weird,

and it doesn't seem like a coincidence."

她说的几点引起了我的注意。

So I sent a note in to the teacher,

and she was very kind.

She sent me a long message explaining why he had been placed in this way.

第一点，她说就算是 英语母语使用者，

也不一定会在这个测试中

Some of the things that she said really caught my attention.

取得“优秀”的成绩，

这取决于他们在家里能接触到 什么样的资源和教导。

For one thing, she said that even a native speaker of English

might not score at advanced level

这就告诉了我，这个测试

on this test,

depending on what kinds of resource and enrichment they were getting at home.

并不能很好地衡量英语能力，

但是可以衡量孩子在家

Now, this tells me that the test wasn't doing a great job

能获得多少资源，

这样的话，这些孩子就需要 学校提供别的支持，

of measuring English proficiency,

but it may have been measuring something like how much resources

而不是英语辅导。

kids are exposed to at home,

她提到的另一点引起了 我作为一个语言学家的注意。

in which case, those kids need different types of support at school.

They really don't need English language assistance.

她说，她让我儿子重复一句话：

“谁拿了珍（Jane）的铅笔？”

Another thing that she mentioned caught my attention as a linguist.

然后他重复道：“谁拿了珍铅笔？”

She said that she had asked my son to repeat the sentence,

"Who has Jane's pencil?"

她说，这是非英语母语使用者 学生的一个典型错误，

And he repeated, "Who has Jane pencil?"

他们的母语不包含类似 “所有格”这样的结构。

She said this is a typical error made by a non-native English-speaking student

这让我关注的原因

是因为我知道

whose native language does not contain a similar structure for possessives.

有一种系统性的、规范化的英语种类，

语法上就会用到这样的所有格结构。

The reason this caught my attention

is because I know

that there is a systematic, rule-governed variety of English

语言学家称这个种类为 “非裔美国英语”。

in which this possessive construction is completely grammatical.

其实，非裔美国英语是一种

遍布美国的方言合集，

That variety is known to linguists as "African-American English."

通常出现在非裔美国人社群里。

And African-American English is actually group of dialects

但是也发生在了我儿子的学校里，

有 60% 的学生是非裔美国人。

that's spoken across the United States,

mostly in African-American communities.

我们也知道这个年龄的

孩子很容易从朋友那边学东西，

But it just so happens that my son's school

is about 60 percent African-American.

他们从语言玩起，

用在不同语境里。

And we know that at this age,

我猜老师看着我儿子的时候，

children are picking things up from their friends,

they're experimenting with language,

不会想到这孩子 说着一口非裔美国英语。

they're using it in different contexts.

I think when the teacher saw my son,

所以她没有把他评为

she didn't see a child who she expected to speak African-American English.

一个天生会多种英语方言的孩子，

而是把他评为了标准英语 能力欠佳的孩子。

And so instead of evaluating him as a child who was natively acquiring

multiple dialects of English,

she evaluated him as a child whose standard English was deficient.

语言和社会类别交织在一起，

我们对语言的理解任重道远。

Language and social categories are intricately connected,

如果你问我这个问题：

“如何才算一门语言的使用者？”

and we bring so much baggage to the way that we understand language.

我无法给出一个简单的答案。

但是我可以告诉你

When you ask me a question like,

人们都在寻找规律，

"Who counts as a speaker of a language?"

我们也一直在寻找

I don't really have a simple answer to that question.

不同信息之间的联结。

But what I can tell you

is that people are pattern seekers,

我们可能会遇到这样的问题，

and we're always looking for ways to connect the dots

我们的潜在偏见投射到了语言上。

between different types of information.

我看着和我孩子差不多的小朋友时，

This can be a problem

when our underlying biases are projected onto language.

我会用一种最温和、 最善意的目光看着他们，

When I look at children like my own,

这些从人种上就被划为 非英语母语使用者的孩子们。

and I see them in the gentlest and most well-meaning of ways

我不禁想到，

他们从小学毕业以后，

being racially profiled as non-native speakers of English,

步入高中、大学、就业的时候， 会怎么样？

it makes me wonder:

What's going to happen

他们去参加面试的时候，

as they move from elementary school

桌子对面的人会不会

onto high school and college and onto their first jobs?

看看他们的肤色或姓氏，

When they walk into an interview,

觉得他们说着西班牙语口音，

will the person sitting across the table from them

或者说着糟糕的英语呢？

look at their color or their last name

这些评价会给人们的一生留下

and hear them as speaking with a Spanish accent

不可磨灭的阴影。

or as speaking bad English?

我希望那个人可以像你一样

These are the kinds of judgments that can have long-reaching effects

思考一下语言和社会类别之间

on people's lives.

自然而然的联结，

So I hope that that person, just like you,

质疑一下自己对于 “谁才算是一门语言的使用者”

will have reflected on the naturalized links

这个问题的假设。

between language and social categories

谢谢。

（掌声）

and will have questioned their assumptions about what it really means

to be a speaker of a language.

Thank you.

(Applause)