5/29/2018 4:28:00 PM
洛陽(yáng)翻譯公司告訴你：想學(xué)外語(yǔ)到18歲都不算晚（雙語(yǔ)）
語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)能力是否會(huì)隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)而變?nèi)?？學(xué)習(xí)語(yǔ)言的黃金年齡是多少？一項(xiàng)超過(guò)60萬(wàn)人參與的大規(guī)模研究顯示，直到18歲，人們?nèi)匀荒芎芎玫亓?xí)得第二語(yǔ)言。當(dāng)然，樂(lè)文洛陽(yáng)翻譯公司對(duì)于已經(jīng)成年的你來(lái)說(shuō)，這不是不好好學(xué)英語(yǔ)的借口——雖然很難把英語(yǔ)學(xué)得像母語(yǔ)那樣溜，翻譯公司相信對(duì)于成年人來(lái)說(shuō)還是可以學(xué)到很不錯(cuò)的程度。
The older you get the more difficult it is to learn to speak French like a Parisian. But no one knows exactly what the cutoff point is—at what age it becomes harder, for instance, to pick up noun-verb agreements in a new language. In one of the largest linguistics studies ever conducted—a viral internet survey that drew two thirds of a million respondents—researchers from three Boston-based universities showed children are proficient at learning a second language up until the age of 18, roughly 10 years later than earlier estimates. But the study also showed that it is best to start by age 10 if you want to achieve the grammatical fluency of a native speaker.
年齡越大，想像巴黎人一樣流利的學(xué)說(shuō)法語(yǔ)就越難。但是究竟存不存在一個(gè)關(guān)鍵的時(shí)間點(diǎn)：過(guò)了這個(gè)時(shí)間點(diǎn)，語(yǔ)言的習(xí)得就會(huì)很難，以至于我們沒(méi)辦法理解其他語(yǔ)言中的基礎(chǔ)語(yǔ)法？來(lái)自波士頓的三所大學(xué)的研究者為此在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)調(diào)查，這項(xiàng)調(diào)查吸引了超過(guò)60萬(wàn)人的參與，是史上最大型的語(yǔ)言學(xué)研究之一。研究表明：人們直到18歲都仍然能很好地習(xí)得第二語(yǔ)言，比之前的估計(jì)推遲10年。但是研究同時(shí)指出，如果想把第二語(yǔ)言說(shuō)的像當(dāng)?shù)厝艘粯恿骼?，最好?0歲之前就開始學(xué)習(xí)。
To parse this problem, the research team, which included psychologist Steven Pinker, collected data on a person’s current age, language proficiency and time studying English. The investigators calculated they needed more than half a million people to make a fair estimate of when the “critical period” for achieving the highest levels of grammatical fluency ends. So they turned to the world’s greatest experimental subject pool: the internet.
為了分析這個(gè)問(wèn)題，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)需要收集的信息有：受調(diào)查者的年齡、語(yǔ)言流利程度、開始學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)的時(shí)間等。研究人員們他們計(jì)算得出，為了更客觀地得到這個(gè)關(guān)鍵時(shí)間點(diǎn)，他們需要超過(guò)50萬(wàn)份數(shù)據(jù)。鑒于數(shù)據(jù)量龐大，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)把調(diào)查目標(biāo)轉(zhuǎn)到了互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。談及這項(xiàng)調(diào)查為什么能得到這么多人的支持時(shí)，主要研究者之一，波士頓學(xué)院的心理學(xué)助理教授Josh Hartshorne分享了他們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。
They created a short online grammar quiz called Which English? that tested noun–verb agreement, pronouns, prepositions and relative clauses, among other linguistic elements. From the responses, an algorithm predicted the tester’s native language and which dialect of English (that is, Canadian, Irish, Australian) they spoke. For example, some of the questions included phrases a Chicagoan would deem grammatically incorrect but a Manitoban would think is perfectly acceptable English.
他們開發(fā)了一套名為“Which English？”的線上測(cè)試，測(cè)試內(nèi)容包括代詞，介詞和關(guān)系從句等一些基礎(chǔ)的語(yǔ)法。由于各地英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)法存在一些差異，所以在答題者回答完問(wèn)題后，算法就能預(yù)測(cè)答題者的母語(yǔ)以及所屬的英語(yǔ)方言區(qū)。例如，一些問(wèn)題中會(huì)包含芝加哥人認(rèn)為不太對(duì)而馬尼托人覺(jué)得一點(diǎn)問(wèn)題都沒(méi)有的短語(yǔ)。
The researchers got a huge response by providing respondents with “something that is intrinsically rewarding,” says Josh Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College, who led the study while he was a postdoc at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The small gift to the respondents was a guess about their background. According to Hartshorne: “If it correctly figures out that you are in fact a German-American, people are like, ‘Oh my god, science is awesome!’ And when it’s wrong, they’re like, ‘Ha ha, stupid robot.’ Either way, it’s entertaining and interesting and something that they can think about and talk about with their friends.”
Hartshorne教授表示，這種預(yù)測(cè)能給答題者一種激勵(lì)。比如說(shuō)，如果算法預(yù)測(cè)對(duì)了答題者的出身、背景，答題者就會(huì)覺(jué)得“天啊，現(xiàn)在的科技好帥??！”；如果預(yù)測(cè)錯(cuò)了，回答者也不會(huì)覺(jué)得沮喪，反倒會(huì)有：“哈哈，機(jī)器人也不過(guò)如此。”一類的想法?？傊疅o(wú)論預(yù)測(cè)效果如何，這都是非常有意思的，回答者會(huì)樂(lè)意去和朋友分享這個(gè)測(cè)試。
Hartshorne’s tactic worked. At its peak, the quiz attracted 100,000 hits a day. It was shared 300,000 times on Facebook, made the front page of Reddit and became a trending topic on 4chan, where a thoughtful discussion ensued about how the algorithm could determine dialect from the grammar questions. The study brought in native speakers of 38 different languages, including 1 percent of Finland’s population.
實(shí)踐證明， Hartshorne教授這個(gè)主意起到了很好的效果。這個(gè)測(cè)試在最高峰的一天有10萬(wàn)的點(diǎn)擊量，在Facebook上總計(jì)被分享了30萬(wàn)次，在reddit登上了首頁(yè)，在4chan成為了熱搜話題。人們就這個(gè)算法如何從測(cè)試題中判斷出回答者的方言區(qū)討論得不亦樂(lè)乎。最終，總共有說(shuō)38種語(yǔ)言的當(dāng)?shù)厝藚⑴c了進(jìn)來(lái)，其中包括了芬蘭1%的人口。
基于參與者的答題情況和他們提供的英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)的信息，研究者們發(fā)展了一套模型，用于估算把英語(yǔ)學(xué)到流利所花的時(shí)間以及開始學(xué)習(xí)新語(yǔ)言的最佳年齡。他們得到的結(jié)論是，習(xí)得一門新語(yǔ)言的能力（最起碼學(xué)好語(yǔ)法）在18歲之前是最強(qiáng)的；18歲之后就會(huì)有斷崖式的下降。而要想完全流利地說(shuō)一門語(yǔ)言，最好在10歲前開始學(xué)習(xí)。
There are three main ideas as to why language-learning ability declines at 18: social changes, interference from one’s primary language and continuing brain development. At 18, kids typically graduate high school and go on to start college or enter the work force full-time. Once they do, they may no longer have the time, opportunity or learning environment to study a second language like they did when they were younger. Alternatively, it is possible that after one masters a first language, its rules interfere with the ability to learn a second. Finally, changes in the brain that continue during the late teens and early 20s may somehow make learning harder.
為什么18歲以后語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)能力會(huì)出現(xiàn)那么大的下滑呢？研究人員認(rèn)為主要有以下三個(gè)原因：社會(huì)環(huán)境的變化、第一語(yǔ)言的影響和大腦的發(fā)育。18歲通常是人們從高中畢業(yè)，進(jìn)入大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)或參加工作的時(shí)間點(diǎn)，此后他們將不再像小時(shí)候一樣有學(xué)習(xí)第二語(yǔ)言的時(shí)間、機(jī)會(huì)及學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境。另外，人們?cè)诹?xí)得第一語(yǔ)言后，第一語(yǔ)言的語(yǔ)法、發(fā)音等會(huì)干擾我們?nèi)ソ邮芤环N新的語(yǔ)言。最后，由于18-20歲期間，人類大腦的持續(xù)變化也會(huì)加大學(xué)習(xí)第二語(yǔ)言的難度。
This is not to say that we cannot learn a new language if we are over 20. There are numerous examples of people who pick up a language later in life, and our ability to learn new vocabulary appears to remain constant, but most of us will not be able to master grammar like a native speaker—or probably sound like one either. Being a written quiz, the study could not test for accent, but prior research places the critical period for speech sounds even earlier.
當(dāng)然這并不意味著我們?cè)?0歲以后就不能去學(xué)習(xí)新的語(yǔ)言：我們身邊就有大量的人都在那以后學(xué)習(xí)成功，這是因?yàn)槲覀儗W(xué)習(xí)新詞匯的能力是不變的。但是大多數(shù)人在20歲以后就沒(méi)辦法像母語(yǔ)一樣地學(xué)習(xí)一門新的語(yǔ)言：沒(méi)辦法接受新的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則或沒(méi)辦法說(shuō)得很自然。當(dāng)然了，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)測(cè)試是筆試，無(wú)法得知答題者得發(fā)音情況，但是之前得研究都表明，口語(yǔ)水平的分水嶺只會(huì)在這之前。
Although the study was conducted only in English, the researchers believe the findings will transfer to other languages, and they are currently developing similar tests for Spanish and Mandarin.
另外，盡管這項(xiàng)研究只研究了英語(yǔ)，研究者們相信這個(gè)研究模式可以推廣到其他語(yǔ)言中去。他們現(xiàn)在正在計(jì)劃對(duì)西班牙語(yǔ)和漢語(yǔ)做類似的研究。
Perhaps even more important than when one learns a language is how. People who learned via immersion—living in an English-speaking country more than 90 percent of the time—were significantly more fluent than those who learned in a class. Hartshorne says that if you have the choice between starting language lessons earlier or learning through immersion later, “I’d learn in an immersion environment. Immersion has an enormous effect in our data—large even relative to fairly large differences in age.”
而對(duì)于廣大語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)者來(lái)講，知道“怎么學(xué)”來(lái)得比“什么時(shí)候?qū)W”更重要一些。數(shù)據(jù)表明，90%以上的時(shí)間沉浸式生活在講英語(yǔ)的國(guó)家里的英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者明顯比僅在課堂上學(xué)習(xí)的人們說(shuō)得更流利。Hartshorne教授則表示，如果有機(jī)會(huì)從更早地開始上語(yǔ)言課或稍晚些去生活在講英語(yǔ)的國(guó)家里中選擇，他會(huì)選擇后者。因?yàn)閿?shù)據(jù)顯示，沉浸在英語(yǔ)的生活環(huán)境里影響實(shí)在太大了，甚至可以很大程度彌補(bǔ)年齡上的弱勢(shì)。
In what could be the most surprising conclusion, the researchers say that even among native speakers it takes 30 years to fully master a language. The study showed a slight improvement—roughly one percentage point—in people who have been speaking English for 30 versus 20 years. The finding is consistent for both native and non-native speakers.
不僅如此，這項(xiàng)研究還有更令人驚訝的發(fā)現(xiàn)，那就是，如果我們想完全掌握一門語(yǔ)言，即使是母語(yǔ)，也要花上三十年以上。因?yàn)檎{(diào)查的對(duì)象中，學(xué)了30年的人比起學(xué)20年的人，仍然有著微小的進(jìn)步（盡管可能只高出1分）。而且，這種進(jìn)步在母語(yǔ)和非母語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者身上是一樣的。
Charles Yang, a computational linguist at the University of Pennsylvania, says this finding does not surprise him, given the sophisticated grammar rules that we do not pick up until our teenage years—how to change an adjective into a noun, for instance. “These are going to be very fine-grained details in the language,” he says. “You’re learning new words and you’re learning some morphological endings when you’re quite old, you know, in the teenage years.”
來(lái)自賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)的計(jì)算語(yǔ)言學(xué)家Charles Yang則表示，18歲這個(gè)結(jié)論并不讓他感到驚訝，因?yàn)槿藗冊(cè)?0歲以前通常不會(huì)學(xué)很復(fù)雜的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則。比如說(shuō)把形容詞轉(zhuǎn)換為名詞，像句法和形態(tài)這樣的細(xì)節(jié)我們通常都是在有比較大之后才開始學(xué)習(xí)的。
The enthusiasm for the study is not shared by everyone in the field. Elissa Newport, a professor of neurology at Georgetown University who specializes in language acquisition, remains a skeptic. “Most of the literature finds that learning the syntax and morphology of a language is done in about five years, not 30,” she says. “The claim that it takes 30 years to learn a language just doesn’t fit with any other findings.”
當(dāng)然也有研究人員對(duì)研究結(jié)果持異議，來(lái)自喬治敦大學(xué)的神經(jīng)學(xué)專家Elissa Newport教授，結(jié)合她平日里對(duì)語(yǔ)言習(xí)得的研究，表示“30年才能完全掌握一門語(yǔ)言”這個(gè)結(jié)論明顯和其他研究結(jié)果都不一致，有文獻(xiàn)表明學(xué)習(xí)一門語(yǔ)言的句法和形態(tài)大約需要5年。
The older you get the more difficult it is to learn to speak French like a Parisian. But no one knows exactly what the cutoff point is—at what age it becomes harder, for instance, to pick up noun-verb agreements in a new language. In one of the largest linguistics studies ever conducted—a viral internet survey that drew two thirds of a million respondents—researchers from three Boston-based universities showed children are proficient at learning a second language up until the age of 18, roughly 10 years later than earlier estimates. But the study also showed that it is best to start by age 10 if you want to achieve the grammatical fluency of a native speaker.
年齡越大，想像巴黎人一樣流利的學(xué)說(shuō)法語(yǔ)就越難。但是究竟存不存在一個(gè)關(guān)鍵的時(shí)間點(diǎn)：過(guò)了這個(gè)時(shí)間點(diǎn)，語(yǔ)言的習(xí)得就會(huì)很難，以至于我們沒(méi)辦法理解其他語(yǔ)言中的基礎(chǔ)語(yǔ)法？來(lái)自波士頓的三所大學(xué)的研究者為此在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)進(jìn)行了一項(xiàng)調(diào)查，這項(xiàng)調(diào)查吸引了超過(guò)60萬(wàn)人的參與，是史上最大型的語(yǔ)言學(xué)研究之一。研究表明：人們直到18歲都仍然能很好地習(xí)得第二語(yǔ)言，比之前的估計(jì)推遲10年。但是研究同時(shí)指出，如果想把第二語(yǔ)言說(shuō)的像當(dāng)?shù)厝艘粯恿骼?，最好?0歲之前就開始學(xué)習(xí)。
To parse this problem, the research team, which included psychologist Steven Pinker, collected data on a person’s current age, language proficiency and time studying English. The investigators calculated they needed more than half a million people to make a fair estimate of when the “critical period” for achieving the highest levels of grammatical fluency ends. So they turned to the world’s greatest experimental subject pool: the internet.
為了分析這個(gè)問(wèn)題，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)需要收集的信息有：受調(diào)查者的年齡、語(yǔ)言流利程度、開始學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)的時(shí)間等。研究人員們他們計(jì)算得出，為了更客觀地得到這個(gè)關(guān)鍵時(shí)間點(diǎn)，他們需要超過(guò)50萬(wàn)份數(shù)據(jù)。鑒于數(shù)據(jù)量龐大，研究團(tuán)隊(duì)把調(diào)查目標(biāo)轉(zhuǎn)到了互聯(lián)網(wǎng)。談及這項(xiàng)調(diào)查為什么能得到這么多人的支持時(shí)，主要研究者之一，波士頓學(xué)院的心理學(xué)助理教授Josh Hartshorne分享了他們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。
They created a short online grammar quiz called Which English? that tested noun–verb agreement, pronouns, prepositions and relative clauses, among other linguistic elements. From the responses, an algorithm predicted the tester’s native language and which dialect of English (that is, Canadian, Irish, Australian) they spoke. For example, some of the questions included phrases a Chicagoan would deem grammatically incorrect but a Manitoban would think is perfectly acceptable English.
他們開發(fā)了一套名為“Which English？”的線上測(cè)試，測(cè)試內(nèi)容包括代詞，介詞和關(guān)系從句等一些基礎(chǔ)的語(yǔ)法。由于各地英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)法存在一些差異，所以在答題者回答完問(wèn)題后，算法就能預(yù)測(cè)答題者的母語(yǔ)以及所屬的英語(yǔ)方言區(qū)。例如，一些問(wèn)題中會(huì)包含芝加哥人認(rèn)為不太對(duì)而馬尼托人覺(jué)得一點(diǎn)問(wèn)題都沒(méi)有的短語(yǔ)。
The researchers got a huge response by providing respondents with “something that is intrinsically rewarding,” says Josh Hartshorne, an assistant professor of psychology at Boston College, who led the study while he was a postdoc at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The small gift to the respondents was a guess about their background. According to Hartshorne: “If it correctly figures out that you are in fact a German-American, people are like, ‘Oh my god, science is awesome!’ And when it’s wrong, they’re like, ‘Ha ha, stupid robot.’ Either way, it’s entertaining and interesting and something that they can think about and talk about with their friends.”
Hartshorne教授表示，這種預(yù)測(cè)能給答題者一種激勵(lì)。比如說(shuō)，如果算法預(yù)測(cè)對(duì)了答題者的出身、背景，答題者就會(huì)覺(jué)得“天啊，現(xiàn)在的科技好帥??！”；如果預(yù)測(cè)錯(cuò)了，回答者也不會(huì)覺(jué)得沮喪，反倒會(huì)有：“哈哈，機(jī)器人也不過(guò)如此。”一類的想法?？傊疅o(wú)論預(yù)測(cè)效果如何，這都是非常有意思的，回答者會(huì)樂(lè)意去和朋友分享這個(gè)測(cè)試。
Hartshorne’s tactic worked. At its peak, the quiz attracted 100,000 hits a day. It was shared 300,000 times on Facebook, made the front page of Reddit and became a trending topic on 4chan, where a thoughtful discussion ensued about how the algorithm could determine dialect from the grammar questions. The study brought in native speakers of 38 different languages, including 1 percent of Finland’s population.
實(shí)踐證明， Hartshorne教授這個(gè)主意起到了很好的效果。這個(gè)測(cè)試在最高峰的一天有10萬(wàn)的點(diǎn)擊量，在Facebook上總計(jì)被分享了30萬(wàn)次，在reddit登上了首頁(yè)，在4chan成為了熱搜話題。人們就這個(gè)算法如何從測(cè)試題中判斷出回答者的方言區(qū)討論得不亦樂(lè)乎。最終，總共有說(shuō)38種語(yǔ)言的當(dāng)?shù)厝藚⑴c了進(jìn)來(lái)，其中包括了芬蘭1%的人口。
Based on people’s grammar scores and information about their learning of English, the researchers developed models that predicted how long it takes to become fluent in a language and the best age to start learning. They concluded that the ability to learn a new language, at least grammatically, is strongest until the age of 18 after which there is a precipitous decline. To become completely fluent, however, learning should start before the age of 10.
基于參與者的答題情況和他們提供的英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)的信息，研究者們發(fā)展了一套模型，用于估算把英語(yǔ)學(xué)到流利所花的時(shí)間以及開始學(xué)習(xí)新語(yǔ)言的最佳年齡。他們得到的結(jié)論是，習(xí)得一門新語(yǔ)言的能力（最起碼學(xué)好語(yǔ)法）在18歲之前是最強(qiáng)的；18歲之后就會(huì)有斷崖式的下降。而要想完全流利地說(shuō)一門語(yǔ)言，最好在10歲前開始學(xué)習(xí)。
There are three main ideas as to why language-learning ability declines at 18: social changes, interference from one’s primary language and continuing brain development. At 18, kids typically graduate high school and go on to start college or enter the work force full-time. Once they do, they may no longer have the time, opportunity or learning environment to study a second language like they did when they were younger. Alternatively, it is possible that after one masters a first language, its rules interfere with the ability to learn a second. Finally, changes in the brain that continue during the late teens and early 20s may somehow make learning harder.
為什么18歲以后語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)能力會(huì)出現(xiàn)那么大的下滑呢？研究人員認(rèn)為主要有以下三個(gè)原因：社會(huì)環(huán)境的變化、第一語(yǔ)言的影響和大腦的發(fā)育。18歲通常是人們從高中畢業(yè)，進(jìn)入大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)或參加工作的時(shí)間點(diǎn)，此后他們將不再像小時(shí)候一樣有學(xué)習(xí)第二語(yǔ)言的時(shí)間、機(jī)會(huì)及學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境。另外，人們?cè)诹?xí)得第一語(yǔ)言后，第一語(yǔ)言的語(yǔ)法、發(fā)音等會(huì)干擾我們?nèi)ソ邮芤环N新的語(yǔ)言。最后，由于18-20歲期間，人類大腦的持續(xù)變化也會(huì)加大學(xué)習(xí)第二語(yǔ)言的難度。
This is not to say that we cannot learn a new language if we are over 20. There are numerous examples of people who pick up a language later in life, and our ability to learn new vocabulary appears to remain constant, but most of us will not be able to master grammar like a native speaker—or probably sound like one either. Being a written quiz, the study could not test for accent, but prior research places the critical period for speech sounds even earlier.
當(dāng)然這并不意味著我們?cè)?0歲以后就不能去學(xué)習(xí)新的語(yǔ)言：我們身邊就有大量的人都在那以后學(xué)習(xí)成功，這是因?yàn)槲覀儗W(xué)習(xí)新詞匯的能力是不變的。但是大多數(shù)人在20歲以后就沒(méi)辦法像母語(yǔ)一樣地學(xué)習(xí)一門新的語(yǔ)言：沒(méi)辦法接受新的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則或沒(méi)辦法說(shuō)得很自然。當(dāng)然了，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)測(cè)試是筆試，無(wú)法得知答題者得發(fā)音情況，但是之前得研究都表明，口語(yǔ)水平的分水嶺只會(huì)在這之前。
Although the study was conducted only in English, the researchers believe the findings will transfer to other languages, and they are currently developing similar tests for Spanish and Mandarin.
另外，盡管這項(xiàng)研究只研究了英語(yǔ)，研究者們相信這個(gè)研究模式可以推廣到其他語(yǔ)言中去。他們現(xiàn)在正在計(jì)劃對(duì)西班牙語(yǔ)和漢語(yǔ)做類似的研究。
Perhaps even more important than when one learns a language is how. People who learned via immersion—living in an English-speaking country more than 90 percent of the time—were significantly more fluent than those who learned in a class. Hartshorne says that if you have the choice between starting language lessons earlier or learning through immersion later, “I’d learn in an immersion environment. Immersion has an enormous effect in our data—large even relative to fairly large differences in age.”
而對(duì)于廣大語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)者來(lái)講，知道“怎么學(xué)”來(lái)得比“什么時(shí)候?qū)W”更重要一些。數(shù)據(jù)表明，90%以上的時(shí)間沉浸式生活在講英語(yǔ)的國(guó)家里的英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者明顯比僅在課堂上學(xué)習(xí)的人們說(shuō)得更流利。Hartshorne教授則表示，如果有機(jī)會(huì)從更早地開始上語(yǔ)言課或稍晚些去生活在講英語(yǔ)的國(guó)家里中選擇，他會(huì)選擇后者。因?yàn)閿?shù)據(jù)顯示，沉浸在英語(yǔ)的生活環(huán)境里影響實(shí)在太大了，甚至可以很大程度彌補(bǔ)年齡上的弱勢(shì)。
In what could be the most surprising conclusion, the researchers say that even among native speakers it takes 30 years to fully master a language. The study showed a slight improvement—roughly one percentage point—in people who have been speaking English for 30 versus 20 years. The finding is consistent for both native and non-native speakers.
不僅如此，這項(xiàng)研究還有更令人驚訝的發(fā)現(xiàn)，那就是，如果我們想完全掌握一門語(yǔ)言，即使是母語(yǔ)，也要花上三十年以上。因?yàn)檎{(diào)查的對(duì)象中，學(xué)了30年的人比起學(xué)20年的人，仍然有著微小的進(jìn)步（盡管可能只高出1分）。而且，這種進(jìn)步在母語(yǔ)和非母語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)者身上是一樣的。
Charles Yang, a computational linguist at the University of Pennsylvania, says this finding does not surprise him, given the sophisticated grammar rules that we do not pick up until our teenage years—how to change an adjective into a noun, for instance. “These are going to be very fine-grained details in the language,” he says. “You’re learning new words and you’re learning some morphological endings when you’re quite old, you know, in the teenage years.”
來(lái)自賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)的計(jì)算語(yǔ)言學(xué)家Charles Yang則表示，18歲這個(gè)結(jié)論并不讓他感到驚訝，因?yàn)槿藗冊(cè)?0歲以前通常不會(huì)學(xué)很復(fù)雜的語(yǔ)法規(guī)則。比如說(shuō)把形容詞轉(zhuǎn)換為名詞，像句法和形態(tài)這樣的細(xì)節(jié)我們通常都是在有比較大之后才開始學(xué)習(xí)的。
The enthusiasm for the study is not shared by everyone in the field. Elissa Newport, a professor of neurology at Georgetown University who specializes in language acquisition, remains a skeptic. “Most of the literature finds that learning the syntax and morphology of a language is done in about five years, not 30,” she says. “The claim that it takes 30 years to learn a language just doesn’t fit with any other findings.”
當(dāng)然也有研究人員對(duì)研究結(jié)果持異議，來(lái)自喬治敦大學(xué)的神經(jīng)學(xué)專家Elissa Newport教授，結(jié)合她平日里對(duì)語(yǔ)言習(xí)得的研究，表示“30年才能完全掌握一門語(yǔ)言”這個(gè)結(jié)論明顯和其他研究結(jié)果都不一致，有文獻(xiàn)表明學(xué)習(xí)一門語(yǔ)言的句法和形態(tài)大約需要5年。