John McWhorter: Txtng is killing language. JK!!!

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

譯者: June He 審譯者: Yi-Ting Chung

We always hear that texting is a scourge.

我們總是聽說手機簡訊是個禍源

The idea is that texting spells the decline and fall

傳簡訊代表一種能力的退化

of any kind of serious literacy, or at least writing ability,

不管是任何正常的識字能力，還是寫作能力

among young people in the United States

美國以至於全世界的年輕人

and now the whole world today.

都有退化的現象

The fact of the matter is that it just isn't true,

事實上並非如此

and it's easy to think that it is true,

但很容易讓人信以為真

but in order to see it in another way,

為了要以另外一種角度來看這件事

in order to see that actually texting is a miraculous thing,

為了要證明傳簡訊是件神奇的事

not just energetic, but a miraculous thing,

不僅充滿活力，而且非常神奇

a kind of emergent complexity

這一種新興的複雜性

that we're seeing happening right now,

就在我們眼前發生

we have to pull the camera back for a bit

我們必須回顧一下

and look at what language really is,

看看語言到底是怎麼一回事

in which case, one thing that we see

在這種情況下，我們會知道

is that texting is not writing at all.

傳簡訊跟寫作完全不同

What do I mean by that?

這是什麼意思呢

Basically, if we think about language,

基本上，我們想一想

language has existed for perhaps 150,000 years,

語言已經出現了約15萬年

at least 80,000 years,

至少也有八萬年

and what it arose as is speech. People talked.

而它的起源是說話—人類開始交談

That's what we're probably genetically specified for.

那可能是我們與生俱來的能力

That's how we use language most.

說話是我們最常使用語言的方式

Writing is something that came along much later,

寫作很晚才出現

and as we saw in the last talk,

而就像上次提到的

there's a little bit of controversy as to exactly when that happened,

寫作到底何時出現仍有爭議

but according to traditional estimates,

但傳統估計

if humanity had existed for 24 hours,

如果人類存在了 24 小時

then writing only came along at about 11:07 p.m.

那大概晚上11:07寫作才出現

That's how much of a latterly thing writing is.

由此可知寫作是很晚才有的

So first there's speech, and then writing comes along

因此，先有談話才有寫作

as a kind of artifice.

這樣的小把戲

Now don't get me wrong, writing has certain advantages.

別誤會，寫作有它的優點

When you write, because it's a conscious process,

寫作是一種處理意識的過程

because you can look backwards,

而且之後可以再回顧

you can do things with language that are much less likely

比起談話，寫作對語言

if you're just talking.

有更大的自由度

For example, imagine a passage from Edward Gibbon's

例如，愛德華 · 吉本

"The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire:"

《羅馬帝國的衰亡》當中有一段：

"The whole engagement lasted above twelve hours,

”兩軍相峙超過十二小時

till the graduate retreat of the Persians was changed

直到波斯人的隊伍慢慢撤退，

into a disorderly flight, of which the shameful example

以可恥的眾首領和Surenas為首

was given by the principal leaders and the Surenas himself."

最終兵荒馬亂的逃跑。“

That's beautiful, but let's face it, nobody talks that way.

寫得真美！但說真的，沒人這樣講話

Or at least, they shouldn't if they're interested

或者至少，我們不該這麼講話

in reproducing. That --

如果我們對繁衍後代還有興趣的話

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

is not the way any human being speaks casually.

沒有人平常會那樣講話

Casual speech is something quite different.

口語和書面語完全不同

Linguists have actually shown

語言學家實際上告訴我們

that when we're speaking casually in an unmonitored way,

我們平常講話沒有注意的時候

we tend to speak in word packets of maybe

我們傾向於使用大概

seven to 10 words.

七到十個字的意群

You'll notice this if you ever have occasion to record

如果你們有機會錄下

yourself or a group of people talking.

自己或一群人的談話

That's what speech is like.

你們會注意到，這才是口語

Speech is much looser. It's much more telegraphic.

口語要寬鬆得多，也更簡潔

It's much less reflective -- very different from writing.

它沒那麼多深思熟慮的痕跡—跟寫作截然不同

So we naturally tend to think, because we see language

所以我們自然地會認為，因為常常看到書面語

written so often, that that's what language is,

那麼這就是語言本身

but actually what language is, is speech. They are two things.

但實際上語言是口語。它們是兩種東西

Now of course, as history has gone by,

現在當然，隨著時間流逝

it's been natural for there to be a certain amount of bleed

口語和寫作之間

between speech and writing.

自然產生了一些「混血」

So, for example, in a distant era now,

所以比方說，古時候

it was common when one gave a speech

人們講話像書面語

to basically talk like writing.

是很常見的事

So I mean the kind of speech that you see someone giving

所以我的意思是，你們在舊電影裡面看過的演講

in an old movie where they clear their throat, and they go,

他們清清嗓子，然後說：

"Ahem, ladies and gentlemen," and then they speak

「嗯，女士們先生們」之後的演講

in a certain way which has nothing to do with casual speech.

與口語已經八竿子打不著

It's formal. It uses long sentences like this Gibbon one.

它很正式，它用很多像吉本那樣的長句

It's basically talking like you write, and so, for example,

它基本上是講話像寫作一樣，所以，例如

we're thinking so much these days about Lincoln

因為最近那部同名電影

because of the movie.

我們時常想起林肯

The Gettysburg Address was not the main meal of that event.

葛底斯堡的演講其實沒什麼大不了

For two hours before that, Edward Everett spoke

在那之前兩個小時，愛德華‧艾維雷特

on a topic that, frankly, cannot engage us today

發表了一篇演講，老實說，主題我們現在不會有興趣

and barely did then.

當時的人也不感興趣

The point of it was to listen to him

重點是，聽他發表

speaking like writing.

書面語般的演講

Ordinary people stood and listened to that for two hours.

普通百姓站在那聽演講，長達兩個小時

It was perfectly natural.

在當時卻是再自然不過的事了

That's what people did then, speaking like writing.

古代人就是這樣，說話跟書面語一樣

Well, if you can speak like writing,

好吧，如果你們可以說話像寫作一樣

then logically it follows that you might want to also

那邏輯上，你們有時候

sometimes write like you speak.

可能也想像口語一般來寫作

The problem was just that in the material,

問題就在於，從材料、技術的角度來說

mechanical sense, that was harder back in the day

當時這很難辦到

for the simple reason that materials don't lend themselves to it.

原因很簡單，當時的材料並不適合

It's almost impossible to do that with your hand

手工記錄幾乎是不可能的

except in shorthand, and then communication is limited.

除非速記，但溝通就變得有限

On a manual typewriter it was very difficult,

以手動打字機來記錄口語非常困難

and even when we had electric typewriters,

即使我們有了電動打字機

or then computer keyboards, the fact is

甚至電腦鍵盤，事實上

that even if you can type easily enough to keep up

即使打字已經容易到能夠

with the pace of speech, more or less, you have to have

跟上口語的步伐，多多少少還是要

somebody who can receive your message quickly.

有一個人可以迅速收到訊息

Once you have things in your pocket that can receive that message,

一旦口袋裡有可以接收訊息的東西

then you have the conditions that allow

才有條件

that we can write like we speak.

像口語一樣寫作

And that's where texting comes in.

而那就是簡訊的由來

And so, texting is very loose in its structure.

所以，簡訊的結構非常鬆散

No one thinks about capital letters or punctuation when one texts,

傳簡訊的時候沒人關心大小寫跟標點符號

but then again, do you think about those things when you talk?

但話又說回來，誰說話的時候會注意這些

No, and so therefore why would you when you were texting?

沒有人會，所以為什麼傳簡訊的時候要注意呢

What texting is, despite the fact that it involves

雖然簡訊涉及到

the brute mechanics of something that we call writing,

某項我們稱為寫作的野蠻技巧

is fingered speech. That's what texting is.

簡訊事實上是手指的對話

Now we can write the way we talk.

現在我們可以用說話的方式來寫作

And it's a very interesting thing, but nevertheless

而這非常有趣，但是

easy to think that still it represents some sort of decline.

我們仍然會認為，它還是代表著某種墮落

We see this general bagginess of the structure,

我們看到簡訊結構鬆散

the lack of concern with rules and the way that we're used to

忽視語法規則，那些我們曾經

learning on the blackboard, and so we think

在黑板上學到的語法規則，所以我們就覺得

that something has gone wrong.

一定哪裡出了差錯

It's a very natural sense.

這是很自然的反應

But the fact of the matter is that what is going on

但事實上，這一切都是

is a kind of emergent complexity.

一種新興的複雜體

That's what we're seeing in this fingered speech.

這才是我們在手指對話中所觀察到的

And in order to understand it, what we want to see

為了瞭解它，我們需要了解的是

is the way, in this new kind of language,

以簡訊，以這種新的語言

there is new structure coming up.

新的結構如何誕生

And so, for example, there is in texting a convention,

所以，例如，在簡訊界大家公認的—

which is LOL.

LOL

Now LOL, we generally think of

現在我們通常認為lol

as meaning "laughing out loud."

意思是「放聲大笑」（laughing out loud）

And of course, theoretically, it does,

當然，理論上，確實是這麼回事

and if you look at older texts, then people used it

如果你們看看舊的簡訊，那人們確實曾經用它

to actually indicate laughing out loud.

來表示「放聲大笑」

But if you text now, or if you are someone who

但如果你們現在有傳簡訊，或如果你是一個

is aware of the substrate of texting the way it's become,

意識到簡訊的基礎如何演進的人

you'll notice that LOL

你們會注意到 LOL

does not mean laughing out loud anymore.

不再意味著「放聲大笑」

It's evolved into something that is much subtler.

它演變成一種更微妙的意思

This is an actual text that was done

不久之前有一則簡訊

by a non-male person of about 20 years old

是兩位20 歲左右的女性互傳的

not too long ago.

內容如下：

"I love the font you're using, btw."

蘇珊：「順便說一句，我喜歡你用的字體。」

Julie: "lol thanks gmail is being slow right now"

朱莉：「lol 謝謝， gmail 現在好卡。」

Now if you think about it, that's not funny.

現在你們想想，其實那並不是很有趣

No one's laughing. (Laughter)

沒有人笑（笑聲）

And yet, there it is, so you assume

但是大家就這麼用LOL，所以假如

there's been some kind of hiccup.

這裡有人打嗝

Then Susan says "lol, I know,"

然後蘇珊說：「LOL，我知道」

again more guffawing than we're used to

這也比我們談到網路不順這種不方便的事時

when you're talking about these inconveniences.

顯得更好笑

So Julie says, "I just sent you an email."

所以朱莉說：「我剛寄給你一封電子郵件。」

Susan: "lol, I see it."

蘇珊：「lol，我看到了。」

Very funny people, if that's what LOL means.

如果這就是 LOL 的意思，那這些人真搞笑

This Julie says, "So what's up?"

這個朱莉又說：「那妳最近如何啊？」

Susan: "lol, I have to write a 10 page paper."

蘇珊：「lol，我要寫 10 頁作文。」

She's not amused. Let's think about it.

她並不覺得好笑。讓我們想想看

LOL is being used in a very particular way.

LOL的用法很奇特

It's a marker of empathy. It's a marker of accommodation.

它是移情作用的標記。也是調節的標記

We linguists call things like that pragmatic particles.

我們語言學家稱這種東西叫做「實用顆粒」

Any spoken language that's used by real people has them.

任何真人使用的口語當中都有

If you happen to speak Japanese, think about

比方說如果你們會講日語，想一下

that little word "ne" that you use at the end of a lot of sentences.

那個「ね」字，很多句子的結尾都會使用

If you listen to the way black youth today speak,

如果你們聽現在的黑人青年如何說話

think about the use of the word "yo."

想想「yo」這個字

Whole dissertations could be written about it,

關於它的用法可以寫一整篇論文

and probably are being written about it.

或可能已經有人寫過了。

A pragmatic particle, that's what LOL has gradually become.

LOL 已經逐漸成為這樣的「實用顆粒」

It's a way of using the language between actual people.

它是人與人之間使用語言的方式

Another example is "slash."

另一個例子是「／」

Now, we can use slash in the way that we're used to,

現在，我們可以繼續使用斜線本來的意義

along the lines of, "We're going to have

比方說「我們要開一個

a party-slash-networking session."

派對 ／ 社交聚會。」

That's kind of like what we're at.

這就很接近我要表達的了

Slash is used in a very different way

年輕人現在傳的簡訊中

in texting among young people today.

斜線有了新的用法

It's used to change the scene.

它用於轉換場景

So for example, this Sally person says,

例如，莎莉說：

"So I need to find people to chill with"

「那我要找人一起玩」

and Jake says, "Haha" --

然後傑克說：「哈哈」

you could write a dissertation about "Haha" too, but we don't have time for that —

你們也可以寫一篇關於「哈哈」的論文， 但是時間不夠了

"Haha so you're going by yourself? Why?"

「哈哈，那你要自己一個人去嗎？為什麼？」

Sally: "For this summer program at NYU."

莎莉：「因為今年紐約大學的暑期班。」

Jake: "Haha. Slash I'm watching this video with suns players

傑克：「哈哈／現在在看一個太陽球員

trying to shoot with one eye."

單眼投籃的影片。」

The slash is interesting.

這個斜線很有意思

I don't really even know what Jake is talking about after that,

我不知道傑克之後還說了什麼

but you notice that he's changing the topic.

但你們可以注意到他的話題改變了

Now that seems kind of mundane,

這聽起來似乎沒什麼大不了

but think about how in real life,

但想想在現實生活中

if we're having a conversation and we want to change the topic,

如果我們在談話中想要轉移話題

there are ways of doing it gracefully.

其中不乏許多優雅婉轉的方式

You don't just zip right into it.

不會只是硬生生插入新的話題

You'll pat your thighs and look wistfully off into the distance,

你們可能會拍拍大腿，意味深長地看著遠方

or you'll say something like, "Hmm, makes you think --"

或者可能會說：「嗯，讓人想起 ...」

when it really didn't, but what you're really --

其實根本沒有想起什麼，只是想要

(Laughter) —

（笑聲）

what you're really trying to do is change the topic.

只不過是想要轉移話題

You can't do that while you're texting,

傳簡訊就不能這樣

and so ways are developing of doing it within this medium.

於是在這種媒介中，也發展出轉移話題的方式

All spoken languages have what a linguist calls

所有口語的語言都有語言學家稱之為

a new information marker -- or two, or three.

「新資訊標記」的東西

Texting has developed one from this slash.

它在簡訊中，由斜線衍生出來

So we have a whole battery of new constructions

所以我們眼前有一整套新的結構

that are developing, and yet it's easy to think,

正在發展，而我們卻容易認為

well, something is still wrong.

嗯，這還是不對勁

There's a lack of structure of some sort.

還是缺乏某種結構

It's not as sophisticated

它跟華爾街日報的語言比起來

as the language of The Wall Street Journal.

還是不夠華麗漂亮

Well, the fact of the matter is,

嗯，事實上

look at this person in 1956,

看看此人，在1956年的時候

and this is when texting doesn't exist,

這時簡訊並不存在

"I Love Lucy" is still on the air.

電視上還在播「我愛露西」

"Many do not know the alphabet or multiplication table,

「許多人不知道字母表或乘法表

cannot write grammatically -- "

無法以語法來寫作

We've heard that sort of thing before,

我們之前也聽說過類似的事情

not just in 1956. 1917, Connecticut schoolteacher.

不只是在 1956 年。1917 年，康乃狄克州有一名教師

1917. This is the time when we all assume

1917年，那是一個我們假設

that everything somehow in terms of writing was perfect

大家的寫作技巧都很完美的時代

because the people on "Downton Abbey" are articulate,

因為《唐頓莊園》的人都口齒伶俐

or something like that.

講話就是那樣

So, "From every college in the country goes up the cry,

他說：「國內每所大學都有這樣的呼聲

'Our freshmen can't spell, can't punctuate.'"

『新生不會拼寫，不會用標點符號。』

And so on. You can go even further back than this.

等等。我們甚至可以再倒帶

It's the President of Harvard. It's 1871.

哈佛大學校長，1871年

There's no electricity. People have three names.

那時沒有電，每個人還有三個名字

"Bad spelling,

「拼字不佳

incorrectness as well as inelegance of expression in writing."

錯誤百出，而且寫作的表達不夠優雅。」

And he's talking about people who are otherwise

他所說的正是任何

well prepared for college studies.

有大學學歷水準的人

You can go even further back.

我們甚至可以再倒帶

1841, some long-lost superintendent of schools is upset

1841 年，學校某位不知名的院長感到很不安

because of what he has for a long time "noted with regret

因為他長久以來「遺憾地發現

the almost entire neglect of the original" blah blah blah blah blah.

幾乎整個忽視原來的⋯」等等之類的

Or you can go all the way back to 63 A.D. -- (Laughter) --

我們還可以一路追溯到西元 63 年 （笑聲）

and there's this poor man who doesn't like the way

有個可憐人並不太喜歡

people are speaking Latin.

大家講拉丁文的方式

As it happens, he was writing about what had become French.

那時，他寫的東西後來演變成法文

And so, there are always — (Laughter) (Applause) —

所以，總有 （笑聲）（掌聲）

there are always people worrying about these things

總有人擔心這些事情

and the planet somehow seems to keep spinning.

然而地球似乎不受影響繼續轉動

And so, the way I'm thinking of texting these days is

所以，我認為現在的簡訊

that what we're seeing is a whole new way of writing

是年輕人正在發展的

that young people are developing,

一種全新的寫作方式

which they're using alongside their ordinary writing skills,

他們在日常寫作技巧之外也能使用

and that means that they're able to do two things.

這意味著他們能夠同時擁有兩種寫作方式

Increasing evidence is that being bilingual

越來越多證據顯示

is cognitively beneficial.

雙語有利於認知上的能力

That's also true of being bidialectal.

能駕馭兩種說話方式亦是如此

That's certainly true of being bidialectal in terms of your writing.

能駕馭兩種寫作方式尤為正確

And so texting actually is evidence of a balancing act

所以說，傳簡訊其實是一種現今年輕人

that young people are using today, not consciously, of course,

使用平衡藝術的證據，當然，是不知不覺地

but it's an expansion of their linguistic repertoire.

簡訊擴展他們的語言能力

It's very simple.

這很簡單

If somebody from 1973 looked at

如果生活在1973 年的人

what was on a dormitory message board in 1993,

去看 1993 年學生宿舍的留言板

the slang would have changed a little bit

跟《愛情故事》的時代 (1970) 相比

since the era of "Love Story,"

俚語會有些改變

but they would understand what was on that message board.

但他們會明白留言版上的內容

Take that person from 1993 -- not that long ago,

假如讓1993 年的人— 不算很久以前

this is "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" -- those people.

那是《阿比阿弟大冒險》的年代

Take those people and they read

讓這些人去讀

a very typical text written by a 20-year-old today.

現在二十歲青少年傳的簡訊

Often they would have no idea what half of it meant

很有可能一半都看不懂

because a whole new language has developed

因為一種全新的語言已經誕生在年輕人的世界

among our young people doing something as mundane

他們正在做著一些不足掛齒的事

as what it looks like to us when they're batting around

我們看他們好像只是在亂敲

on their little devices.

手機鍵盤的時候

So in closing, if I could go into the future,

所以總結來說，如果我可以先到未來

if I could go into 2033,

如果我可以去到 2033 年

the first thing I would ask is whether David Simon

我會問的第一件事就是大衛 · 西蒙

had done a sequel to "The Wire." I would want to know.

他的《火線》有沒有出續集，我想知道

And — I really would ask that —

我真的會問這個問題

and then I'd want to know actually what was going on on "Downton Abbey."

然後，我會想知道《唐頓莊園》後來劇情如何發展

That'd be the second thing.

這是第二件事

And then the third thing would be,

然後第三件事是

please show me a sheaf of texts

請給我看一段

written by 16-year-old girls,

16 歲女孩所寫的文本

because I would want to know where this language

因為我想知道，我們這個時代發展的語言

had developed since our times,

走向了何方

and ideally I would then send them back to you and me now

如果可以，我會把它寄來給現在的我們

so we could examine this linguistic miracle

讓我們可以檢視

happening right under our noses.

這個發生在我們眼皮之下的語言奇蹟

Thank you very much.

謝謝大家

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Thank you. (Applause)

謝謝（掌聲）