About languages
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发布时间：2022-08-31 20:02
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时间：2024-12-12 09:56
Why are some languages spoken faster than others?
为什么一些语言的语速比其它语言更快？
Were this article written in Japanese, it would be longer. A Thai translation, meanwhile, would be shorter. And yet those reading it aloud, in either language or in its original English, would finish at roughly the same time. This peculiar phenomenon is the subject of new research which finds that languages face a trade-off between complexity and speed.
如果这篇文章是用日语写的，它会变得更长；而它的泰语译文版则会更短。不过，对于那些朗读这篇文章的人来说，不论是用哪种语言，抑或是用它的原版英语，朗读者都会在大致同一时间念完。这种特别的现象正是一项新研究的课题，研究发现，语言需要在其复杂性和语速间寻求一种平衡。
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In a study published this month in Science Advances, Christophe Coupé, Yoon Mi Oh, Dan Dediu and François Pellegrino start by quantifying the information density of 17 Eurasian languages, as measured by the ease with which each syllable can be guessed based on the preceding one. Next, they record the rate at which 170 native speakers read 15 texts out loud. Finally, armed with data about the information contained in a piece of text and the speed at which it can be spoken, the authors derive the rate at which information is communicated.
在本月《科学进展》期刊上发表的一篇研究里，联合作者克里斯托夫·库佩、吴尹美（音）、丹·德迪乌和弗朗索瓦·佩莱格里诺采取了如下步骤：首先，他们将欧亚语系下的 17 种语言的信息密度进行量化，方法是衡量根据上一个音节猜出下一个音节的容易程度。接着，他们记录下 170 位各语言母语者朗读 15 篇文本的速度。最后，通过分析单篇文本所含信息量及其朗读速度的相关数据，这些作者最终获得了相应语言的信息传输速率。
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The results suggest that there is an optimal range of speeds within which the brain can process information most efficiently. Speakers of simple languages pick up the pace to keep conversations brief. Speakers of complex languages exert more effort planning sentences and articulating syllables, causing discussions to drag on. “It is like bird wings,” says Dr Coupé, one of the authors, “you may have big ones that need few beats per second or you have to really flap the little ones you got, but the result is pretty much the same in terms of flying.”
研究结果表明，存在一个最佳语速区间，在这个区间内，大脑能够以最高效率来处理信息。说“简单”（信息密度低）语言者会加快语速使会话变得简短；而说“复杂”（信息密度高）语言者则会花更多功夫在遣词造句和清晰吐字上，导致讨论时间拖长。“这就好比鸟的翅膀，”其中一名作者库佩博士说，“你可能有一对大翅膀，每秒只需振翅几下；或者有一对小翅膀，那就真得使劲儿扑扇，不过，在飞行距离上，两者最终基本一致。”
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主编：宇轩、Felicity
品控：宇轩
审核：Jack
重点词汇
aloud
/əˈlaʊd/
adv. 出声地，能听见地
相关词汇：loud（adv. 大声地，响亮地）
英文释义：not silently
搭配短语：think aloud
peculiar
/pɪˈkjuːl.jɚ/
adj. 独特的，特别的
例句：This is a question of peculiar interest.
trade-off
/ˈtreɪd.ɑːf/
n.（在理想的但不能兼顾的两者之间所取得的）平衡，协调
相关词汇：trade（v. 贸易，交易）
英文释义：a balance between two desirable but incompatible things
quantify
/ˈkwɑːn.t̬ə.faɪ/
v. 量化，表示（或测量）……的数量
相关词汇：quantity（n. 数量）
相关词汇：quality（n. 质量）
相关词汇：qualify（v. 给……做限定）
例句：Emotional trauma is almost impossible to quantify.
density
/ˈden.sə.t̬i/
n. 密度
Eurasian
/jʊrˈeɪ.ʒən/
adj. 欧亚的
相关词汇：European (adj.)
相关词汇：Asian (adj.)
preceding
/priːˈsiː.dɪŋ/
adj. 前面的，在前的
近义词：previous (adj.)
搭配短语：the previous sentence
搭配短语：the preceding sentence
arm
/ɑːrm/
v. 配备，准备；提供，配备（*、武器）
例句：She armed herself with some background information.
derive
/dɪˈraɪv/
v.（从……中）获得，得到
例句：I derive great pleasure from reading.
optimal
/ˈɑːp.tə.məl/
adj. 最优的，最理想的
搭配短语：to seek the optimal solution to the problem
例句：I'm afraid this proposal is less than optimal.
pick up the pace
加速
相关词汇：pace（n. 步伐；速度；节奏）
搭配短语：keep pace with sb.（并驾齐驱）
搭配短语：set the pace for sth.（在……上领先、起标杆作用）
例句：The Wandering Earth has set the pace for Chinese science fiction movies.
exert
/ɪɡˈzɝːt/
v. 施加（影响），运用
搭配短语：exert influence
搭配短语：exert all your strength
articulate
/ɑːrˈtɪk.jə.leɪt/
v. 清晰吐（词），清晰发（音）
例句：Knowing when to articulate your thoughts is a bit of an art for many professionals.
drag on
拖得太久，持续太久
反义词：pick up the pace
例句：The day was dragging on….
beat
/biːt/
n.（翅的）一振，扑扇
flap
/flæp/
v. 拍动（翅膀），振翅
in terms of
就……而言，在……方面
