Why you don’t like the sound of your own voice | Rébecca Kleinberger

譯者: Helen Chang 審譯者: Yanyan Hong

If you ask evolutionary biologists

如果你問進化生物學家

when did humans become humans,

人類何時成為了人類，

some of them will say that,

有些人認為

well, at some point we started standing on our feet,

是在某個我們開始直立起來的時候，

became biped and became the masters of our environment.

我們成為兩足動物和環境的主人；

Others will say that because our brain started growing much bigger,

也有人認為是大腦開始變大的時候，

that we were able to have much more complex cognitive processes.

我們因而有了更複雜的認知過程；

And others might argue that it's because we developed language

還有其他人爭辯

人類物種能進化是因為語言的開發。

that allowed us to evolve as a species.

Interestingly, those three phenomena are all connected.

有趣的是，這三種現象相互關聯。

We are not sure how or in which order,

我們不確定到底如何或以何種順序，

but they are all linked

但都與脖子後面 那塊小骨頭的形狀變化有關，

with the change of shape of a little bone in the back of your neck

that changed the angle between our head and our body.

它改變了我們頭部和身體間的角度。

That means we were able to stand upright

這意味著我們能夠直立，

but also for our brain to evolve in the back

大腦能夠在後面進化，

and for our voice box to grow from seven centimeters for primates

而且我們的喉頭

能從靈長類動物的 7 公分

to 11 and up to 17 centimetres for humans.

增長到人類的 11 至 17 公分。

And this is called the descent of the larynx.

這被稱為喉頭的下降。

And the larynx is the site of your voice.

喉頭是你發聲的部位。

When baby humans are born today, their larynx is not descended yet.

現今的嬰兒出生時，喉頭還沒下降，

That only happens at about three months old.

下降發生在三個月大左右。

So, metaphorically, each of us here

因此隱喻地說，我們這裡的每一個人

has relived the evolution of our whole species.

都已重溫整個人類物種的進化過程。

And talking about babies,

談到嬰兒，

when you were starting to develop in your mother's womb,

當你在母親的子宮裡開始發育，

the first sensation that you had coming from the outside world,

你從外界得到的第一感覺──

at only three weeks old, when you were about the size of a shrimp,

當你只有三個星期大， 大約一隻蝦的大小──

were through the tactile sensation

是通過觸覺感受到

coming from the vibrations of your mother's voice.

你母親的聲音震動。

So, as we can see, the human voice is quite meaningful and important

因此，正如我們所見，

人類的聲音在物種層面和社會層面上

at the level of the species,

非常有意義和非常重要。

at the level of the society --

this is how we communicate and create bonds,

我們用聲音來溝通和連結。

and at the personal and interpersonal levels --

我們在個人和人際層面上，

with our voice, we share much more than words and data,

用聲音比用文字或數據分享得更多，

we share basically who we are.

我們基本上分享我們是誰。

And our voice is indistinguishable from how other people see us.

別人對我們的看法 離不開我們的聲音。

It is a mask that we wear in society.

這是我們在社會上戴的面具。

But our relationship with our own voice is far from obvious.

但我們與自己聲音間的關係不明顯。

We rarely use our voice for ourselves; we use it as a gift to give to others.

我們很少用自己的聲音， 而是把它送給別人。

It is how we touch each other.

聲音是我們彼此接觸的方式，

It's a dialectical grooming.

是一種辯證。

But what do we think about our own voice?

我們對自己的聲音有什麼看法？

So please raise your hand

如果你不喜歡

if you don't like the sound of your voice when you hear it on a recording machine.

自己留在錄音機上的聲音，請舉手。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Yeah, thank you, indeed,

好，謝謝，

most people report not liking the sound of their voice recording.

的確大多數人不喜歡他們錄的聲音。

So what does that mean?

那是什麼意思？

Let's try to understand that in the next 10 minutes.

讓我們試著在接下來的 10 分鐘內了解這一點。

I'm a researcher at the MIT Media Lab,

我是麻省理工學院 媒體實驗室的研究員，

part of the Opera of the Future group,

是未來歌劇團隊的一員， （註：Opera of the Future group）

and my research focuses on the relationship

我研究的重點在於

人與自己的聲音、 與別人的聲音間的關係。

people have with their own voice and with the voices of others.

I study what we can learn from listening to voices,

我研究能從聆聽各種領域──

from the various fields,

神經學、生物學、認知科學、

from neurology to biology, cognitive sciences, linguistics.

語言學──的聲音學到什麼。

In our group we create tools and experiences

我們小組創建工具和經驗，

to help people gain a better applied understanding of their voice

幫助人們更理解、更會應用聲音，

in order to reduce the biases,

從而減少偏見，

to become better listeners,

成為更好的聽眾，

to create more healthy relationships

創造更健康的關係，

or just to understand themselves better.

或是更了解自己。

And this really has to come with a holistic approach on the voice.

真的必須有全面的方法來處理聲音。

Because, think about all the applications and implications

因為當我們發現更多的聲音內容時，

that the voice may have, as we discover more about it.

試想所有它可能具有的應用和含義。

Your voice is a very complex phenomenon.

你的聲音是一個非常複雜的現象，

It requires a synchronization of more than 100 muscles in your body.

需要你身體裡 超過 100 個肌肉同步動作。

And by listening to the voice,

通過聽聲音，

we can understand possible failures of what happens inside.

能了解可能失常的身體狀況。

For example:

例如：

listening to very specific types of turbulences

傾聽特定類型的不穩定氣流

and nonlinearity of the voice

和非線性的語音，

can help predict very early stages of Parkinson's,

有助於偵測非常早期的帕金森氏症，

just through a phone call.

通過電話聽就能；

Listening to the breathlessness of the voice

聆聽呼吸聲能幫助檢測心臟疾病；

can help detect heart disease.

And we also know that the changes of tempo inside individual words

我們還知道單詞內部的節奏變化

is a very good marker of depression.

是個辨識抑鬱症的好標誌。

Your voice is also very linked with your hormone levels.

你的聲音也與激素水平非常相關；

Third parties listening to female voices

聆聽女人聲音的第三方人士，

were able to very accurately place the speaker

能夠非常準確地

察覺發言者的月經週期，

on their menstrual cycle.

Just with acoustic information.

依靠聲學的訊息就夠了。

And now with technology listening to us all the time,

現在科技一直聆聽著我們的聲音，

Alexa from Amazon Echo

亞馬遜的 Echo & Alexa （註：兩種人工智能用品）

might be able to predict if you're pregnant

或許可以預測懷孕，

even before you know it.

甚至在本人之前就知道了。

So think about --

請思考

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Think about the ethical implications of that.

請思考那個應用的道德問題。

Your voice is also very linked to how you create relationships.

你的聲音也與如何建立關係很相關。

You have a different voice for every person you talk to.

你用不同的聲音與每個人交談。

If I take a little snippet of your voice and I analyze it,

如果我採取並分析一小段你的聲音，

I can know whether you're talking to your mother, to your brother,

我能知道你說話的對象 是母親、兄弟、

your friend or your boss.

朋友或老闆。

We can also use, as a predictor, the vocal posture.

我們還能用人聲的姿勢來預測，

Meaning, how you decide to place your voice when you talk to someone.

指的是你與人交談時聲音的位置。

And you vocal posture, when you talk to your spouse,

你和配偶交談時聲音的姿勢

can help predict not only if, but also when you will divorce.

不僅有助於預測你會不會離婚， 還能預測你何時離婚。

So there is a lot to learn from listening to voices.

所以傾聽聲音能學到很多東西。

And I believe this has to start with understanding

我相信這必須從

理解我們擁有不止一個聲音開始。

that we have more than one voice.

So, I'm going to talk about three voices that most of us posses,

我將以稱為「面具」的模型

來談論大多數人擁有的三種聲音。

in a model of what I call the mask.

So when you look at the mask,

當你看著面具，

what you see is a projection of a character.

看到的是個角色的投影。

Let's call that your outward voice.

讓我們稱之為「外傳聲音」。

This is also the most classic way to think about the voice,

這是最經典的聲音思考方式，

it's a way of projecting yourself in the world.

是一種投射自己的方式。

The mechanism for this projection is well understood.

這投射機制已被理解透徹。

Your lungs contract your diaphragm

你的肺收縮橫隔膜，

and that creates a self-sustained vibration of your vocal fold,

產生持續的聲帶振動

that creates a sound.

而發出聲音。

And then the way you open and close the cavities in you mouth,

當你張嘴和閉嘴時

your vocal tract is going to transform the sound.

聲道會改變聲音。

So everyone has the same mechanism.

每個人的機制都相同，

But voices are quite unique.

但聲音很獨特。

It's because very subtle differences in size, physiology, in hormone levels

這是因為體型、生理、 激素水平上的細微差異，

are going to make very subtle differences in your outward voice.

會使你的外傳聲音 產生非常微妙的差異，

And your brain is very good

加上你的大腦非常善於

at picking up those subtle differences from other people's outward voices.

從他人的外傳聲音攫取細微的差異。

In our lab, we are working on teaching machines

我們實驗室正在教導機器

to understand those subtle differences.

理解這些細微的差異。

And we use deep learning to create a real-time speaker identification system

我們以深度學習建立即時的系統 來辨識說話的人，

to help raise awareness on the use of the shared vocal space --

有助於提高認知 共享聲音空間的使用──

so who talks and who never talks during meetings --

例如誰在會談中發言 和誰從不說話──

to increase group intelligence.

以增加集體的智慧。

And one of the difficulties with that is that your voice is also not static.

困難之一是你的聲音並不是靜止的。

We already said that it changes with every person you talk to

我們已經說過， 它隨著你交談的對象而改變，

but it also changes generally throughout your life.

也在你的一生中變化。

At the beginning and at the end of the journey,

在人生旅程的開始和結束時，

male and female voices are very similar.

男性和女性的聲音非常相似，

It's very hard to distinguish

難以區分

the voice of a very young girl from the voice of a very young boy.

女幼童和男幼童的聲音。

But in between, your voice becomes a marker of your fluid identity.

但在兩者之間， 你的聲音成為你流暢身份的標誌。

Generally, for male voices there's a big change at puberty.

一般來說，男性的聲音 在青春期有個很大的變化。

And then for female voices,

而女性的聲音 每次懷孕都會有變化，

there is a change at each pregnancy and a big change at menopause.

而更年期會發生巨大的變化。

So all of that is the voice other people hear when you talk.

這些全都是其他人聽到的你的語音。

So why is it that we're so unfamiliar with it?

為什麼我們不熟悉自己的聲音呢？

Why is it that it's not the voice that we hear?

為什麼那不是我們聽到的聲音？

So, let's think about it.

試想，

When you wear a mask, you actually don't see the mask.

你戴著面具時實際上看不到面具；

And when you try to observe it, what you will see is inside of the mask.

你試圖觀察它時會看到面具的裡面，

And that's your inward voice.

那就是你的「內傳聲音」。

So to understand why it's different,

因此，要理解它為什麼不同，

let's try to understand the mechanism of perception of this inward voice.

試著去理解內傳聲音的感知機制。

Because your body has many ways of filtering it differently

你的身體過濾內傳聲音的方法，

from the outward voice.

很多與過濾外傳聲音的不同。

So to perceive this voice, it first has to travel to your ears.

被感知的聲音先要抵達你的耳朵。

And your outward voice travels through the air

外傳的聲音藉由空氣傳播，

while your inward voice travels through your bones.

而內傳的聲音藉由骨頭傳播。

This is called bone conduction.

這被稱為骨傳導。

Because of this, your inward voice is going to sound in a lower register

正因為如此， 內傳的聲音會處於較低的音域，

and also more musically harmonical than your outward voice.

比外傳的聲音更有共鳴。

Once it travels there, it has to access your inner ear.

一旦抵達，聲音必須進入你的內耳。

And there's this other mechanism taking place here.

這裡還有其他的機制發生，

It's a mechanical filter,

是個機械過濾器，

it's a little partition that comes and protects your inner ear

是一個小隔板，

每當你發聲時都會保護你的內耳，

each time you produce a sound.

So it also reduces what you hear.

所以也會減低你聽到的音量。

And then there is a third filter, it's a biological filter.

還有第三個過濾器， 是個生物過濾器：你的耳蝸。

Your cochlea -- it's a part of your inner ear that processes the sound --

它是內耳處理聲音的一部分，

is made out of living cells.

由活細胞組成，

And those living cells are going to trigger differently

根據聽到聲音的頻率

according to how often they hear the sound.

觸發這些活細胞的頻率，

It's a habituation effect.

這是習慣效應。

So because of this,

因此，

as your voice is the sound you hear the most in your life,

因為你生活中聽到最多的聲音 是你自己的聲音，

you actually hear it less than other sounds.

你真的聽到它的時候， 比聽到其他的聲音少。

Finally, we have a fourth filter.

最後，我們有第四個過濾器，

It's a neurological filter.

是個神經過濾器。

Neurologists found out recently

神經學家最近發現

that when you open your mouth to create a sound,

當你張嘴發聲時，

your own auditory cortex shuts down.

你自己的聽覺皮層就會關閉。

So you hear your voice

所以你聽到自己的聲音，

but your brain actually never listens to the sound of your voice.

但你的腦並不真的聆聽自己的聲音。

Well, evolutionarily that might make sense,

從進化的角度來看，這可能有道理，

because we know cognitively what we are going to sound like

因為我們認知 自己聽起來是什麼樣子，

so maybe we don't need to spend energy analyzing the signal.

也許毋需花費精力去分析訊號。

And this is called a corollary discharge

這被稱為「感知回饋」，

and it happens for every motion that your body does.

發生在你身體的每一個動作上。

The exact definition of a corollary discharge

感知回饋的確切定義

is a copy of a motor command that is sent by the brain.

是由大腦發送的動作命令的副本。

This copy doesn't create any motion itself

該副本本身不產生任何動作，

but instead is sent to other regions of the brain

而是發送到大腦的其他區域，

to inform them of the impending motion.

通知他它們即將發生的動作。

And for the voice, this corollary discharge also has a different name.

這種感知回饋在聲音上的名稱不同，

It is your inner voice.

是你的「內在聲音」。

So let's recapitulate.

讓我們重述一下。

We have the mask, the outward voice,

我們有面具，外傳的聲音，

the inside of the mask, your inward voice,

面具裡面是內傳的聲音，

and then you have your inner voice.

然後是內在的聲音。

And I like to see this one as the puppeteer

我喜歡將這視為

掌握整個系統弦樂的傀儡手。

that holds the strings of the whole system.

Your inner voice is

當你為重要的會談排練時，

the one you hear when you read a text silently,

你默默地閱讀文本時

聽到的是你內在的聲音。

when you rehearse for an important conversation.

Sometimes is hard to turn it off,

有時很難把它關掉；

it's really hard to look at the text written in your native language,

看到用母語寫的文本時，

真的很難不用內在的聲音去讀它。

without having this inner voice read it.

It's also the voice that refuse to stop singing

這也是難以關掉你腦袋裡 反覆播放著的愚蠢歌曲的原因。

the stupid song you have in your head.

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And for some people it's actually impossible to control it.

實際上有一些人無法控制它。

And that's the case of schizophrenic patients,

這就是患有幻聽的

who have auditory hallucinations.

精神分裂症患者的情況，

Who can't distinguish at all between voices coming from inside

他們無法區分腦內、腦外的聲音。

and outside their head.

So in our lab, we are also working on small devices

因此我們實驗室正在研究小型設備，

to help those people make those distinctions

來幫助這些人分辨這些區別，

and know if a voice is internal or external.

是內部還是外部的聲音。

You can also think about the inner voice as the voice that speaks in your dream.

你也能把內在的聲音 想成夢中說話的聲音。

This inner voice can take many forms.

這種內在的聲音能有多種形式。

And in your dreams, you actually unleash the potential of this inner voice.

在夢中，你實際上釋放了 這種內在聲音的潛力。

That's another work we are doing in our lab:

這是我們實驗室的另一項工作：

trying to access this inner voice in dreams.

試圖在夢中獲得這種內在的聲音。

So even if you can't always control it,

即使內在的聲音並不總是由你控制，

the inner voice -- you can always engage with it

你能通過對話，

through dialogue, through inner dialogues.

通過內心的對話來與之對話。

And you can even see this inner voice

你甚至能將這種內在的聲音

as the missing link between thought and actions.

看作是思想與行動之間缺失的聯繫。

So I hope I've left you with a better appreciation,

我希望我已經讓你更賞識

a new appreciation of all of your voices

你所有的聲音，

and the role it plays inside and outside of you --

以及對聲音在你內外 發揮的作用有了新的認識。

as your voice is a very critical determinant of what makes you humans

因為你的聲音是 讓你成為人類的關鍵決定因素，

and of how you interact with the world.

讓你與世界互動。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）