双语新闻：多语言研究显示大脑如何处理语言
Most people around the world speak one or two languages. But some can speak three or more. These people are called polyglots. And they are helping researchers better understand how the human brain deals with language.
世界上大多数人会说一到两种语言。但有些人会说三种或更多。这些人被称为多语者。它们正在帮助研究人员更好地理解人类大脑是如何处理语言的。
In a new study, a team of scientists monitored the brain activity of 34 polyglots. The polyglots spoke between five and 54 languages.
在一项新的研究中，一组科学家监测了34名通晓多种语言的人的大脑活动。通晓多种语言的人会说5到54种语言。
The scientists used a method called functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. In fMRI, the brain is studied through images that measure changes in blood flow in different areas of the brain. The researchers used fMRI to study the brain as the polyglots listened to different languages.
科学家们使用了一种叫做功能性磁共振成像(fMRI)的方法。在功能磁共振成像中，通过测量大脑不同区域血流变化的图像来研究大脑。研究人员使用功能磁共振成像来研究多语者听不同语言时的大脑。
The researchers found that, when the polyglots heard a language they knew, activity increased in an area of the brain involved with language processing. That area is the cerebral cortex. When they listened to a language they did not know or knew less well, there was less activity in the cerebral cortex.
研究人员发现，当通晓多种语言的人听到他们熟悉的语言时，大脑中与语言处理有关的区域的活动增加。这个区域就是大脑皮层。当他们听到一种他们不懂或不太熟悉的语言时，大脑皮层的活动就会减少。
Evelina Fedorenko is a brain scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research. She was also a senior writer of the study, which recently appeared in the publication Cerebral Cortex.
Evelina Fedorenko是麻省理工学院的脑科学家，也是麻省理工学院麦戈文脑研究所的成员。她也是这项研究的资深作者，该研究最近发表在《大脑皮层》杂志上。
She explained the findings.
她解释了这些发现。
"We think this is because when you process a language that you know well, you can engage the full suite of linguistic operations - the operations that the language system in your brain supports," Fedorenko said.
费多连科说:“我们认为这是因为当你处理一门你熟悉的语言时，你可以参与一整套语言操作——你大脑中语言系统支持的操作。”
However, an exception caught the attention of the researchers. For many of the polyglot participants, listening to their native language produced less of a brain response compared to hearing other languages they knew. On average, the response was about 25 percent less. And in some of the polyglots, listening to their native language activated only one part of the brain's language network, not the whole thing.
然而，一个例外引起了研究人员的注意。对于许多通晓多种语言的参与者来说，与听到他们所知道的其他语言相比，听母语产生的大脑反应更少。平均而言，他们的反应要少25%。在一些通晓多种语言的人中，听母语只激活了大脑语言网络的一部分，而不是整个网络。
Olessia Jouravlev is a brain scientist at Carleton University in Canada. He also helped write the report. He said that the brain's neural processes were more efficient, or effective, when the polyglots heard their native language.
Olessia Jouravlev是加拿大卡尔顿大学的脑科学家。他还帮助撰写了这份报告。他说，当通晓多种语言的人听到母语时，大脑的神经过程更有效率。
"Therefore, the language network in the brain does not activate as much when they do native versus non-native language processing," Jouravlev said.
“因此，当他们处理母语和非母语时，大脑中的语言网络没有那么活跃，”Jouravlev说。
The brain's language network involves a few areas in its frontal and temporal lobes.
大脑的语言网络涉及额叶和颞叶的几个区域。
Saima Malik-Moraleda is a doctoral student at the Harvard/MIT Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology. She was one of the lead writers of the study. She said the findings suggest that the way the brain finds, or extracts, meaning in language governs the brain's response to language.
Saima Malik-Moraleda是哈佛大学/麻省理工学院语音和听力生物科学与技术项目的博士生。她是这项研究的主要作者之一。她说，研究结果表明，大脑发现或提取语言意义的方式决定了大脑对语言的反应。
"The more meaning you can extract from the language input you are receiving, the greater the response in language regions - except for the native language," she said.
她说:“你从接收到的语言输入中提取的含义越多，语言区域的反应就越强烈——母语除外。”
Of the 34 polyglots who took part in the study, 20 were men and 14 were women. They were between 19 and 71 years old. Twenty-one were native English speakers. The rest were native speakers of French, Russian, Spanish, Dutch, German, Hungarian, and Mandarin Chinese.
在参与这项研究的34名通晓多种语言的人当中，20名是男性，14名是女性。他们的年龄在19岁到71岁之间。21人的母语是英语。其余的人的母语是法语、俄语、西班牙语、荷兰语、德语、匈牙利语和普通话。
Researchers monitored the polyglots' brain activity as they listened to recordings in eight languages. One was their native language. Three were languages they spoke well, somewhat well or somewhat. The other four were languages they did not know.
研究人员在多语者听八种语言的录音时监测了他们的大脑活动。其一是他们的母语。三种语言他们说得很好，有些好或有些好。另外四种是他们不懂的语言。
Half heard recordings of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. The other half heard recordings of stories from the Christian religious book the Bible.
一半的人听过刘易斯·卡罗尔的《爱丽丝梦游仙境》的录音。另一半则听基督教宗教书籍《圣经》中的故事录音。
Fedorenko noted that a lot of work in language research has been centered on individuals with linguistic difficulties.
Fedorenko指出，语言研究中的许多工作都集中在有语言困难的个人身上。
But she said there is a lot that researchers can learn about the language process by studying so-called language "experts," too. That includes polyglots, Fedorenko added.
但她表示，通过研究所谓的语言“专家”，研究人员也可以了解到很多关于语言过程的信息。费多连科补充说，这其中包括通晓多种语言的人。
世界上大多数人会说一到两种语言。但有些人会说三种或更多。这些人被称为多语者。它们正在帮助研究人员更好地理解人类大脑是如何处理语言的。
In a new study, a team of scientists monitored the brain activity of 34 polyglots. The polyglots spoke between five and 54 languages.
在一项新的研究中，一组科学家监测了34名通晓多种语言的人的大脑活动。通晓多种语言的人会说5到54种语言。
The scientists used a method called functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. In fMRI, the brain is studied through images that measure changes in blood flow in different areas of the brain. The researchers used fMRI to study the brain as the polyglots listened to different languages.
科学家们使用了一种叫做功能性磁共振成像(fMRI)的方法。在功能磁共振成像中，通过测量大脑不同区域血流变化的图像来研究大脑。研究人员使用功能磁共振成像来研究多语者听不同语言时的大脑。
The researchers found that, when the polyglots heard a language they knew, activity increased in an area of the brain involved with language processing. That area is the cerebral cortex. When they listened to a language they did not know or knew less well, there was less activity in the cerebral cortex.
研究人员发现，当通晓多种语言的人听到他们熟悉的语言时，大脑中与语言处理有关的区域的活动增加。这个区域就是大脑皮层。当他们听到一种他们不懂或不太熟悉的语言时，大脑皮层的活动就会减少。
Evelina Fedorenko is a brain scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a member of MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research. She was also a senior writer of the study, which recently appeared in the publication Cerebral Cortex.
Evelina Fedorenko是麻省理工学院的脑科学家，也是麻省理工学院麦戈文脑研究所的成员。她也是这项研究的资深作者，该研究最近发表在《大脑皮层》杂志上。
She explained the findings.
她解释了这些发现。
"We think this is because when you process a language that you know well, you can engage the full suite of linguistic operations - the operations that the language system in your brain supports," Fedorenko said.
费多连科说:“我们认为这是因为当你处理一门你熟悉的语言时，你可以参与一整套语言操作——你大脑中语言系统支持的操作。”
However, an exception caught the attention of the researchers. For many of the polyglot participants, listening to their native language produced less of a brain response compared to hearing other languages they knew. On average, the response was about 25 percent less. And in some of the polyglots, listening to their native language activated only one part of the brain's language network, not the whole thing.
然而，一个例外引起了研究人员的注意。对于许多通晓多种语言的参与者来说，与听到他们所知道的其他语言相比，听母语产生的大脑反应更少。平均而言，他们的反应要少25%。在一些通晓多种语言的人中，听母语只激活了大脑语言网络的一部分，而不是整个网络。
Olessia Jouravlev is a brain scientist at Carleton University in Canada. He also helped write the report. He said that the brain's neural processes were more efficient, or effective, when the polyglots heard their native language.
Olessia Jouravlev是加拿大卡尔顿大学的脑科学家。他还帮助撰写了这份报告。他说，当通晓多种语言的人听到母语时，大脑的神经过程更有效率。
"Therefore, the language network in the brain does not activate as much when they do native versus non-native language processing," Jouravlev said.
“因此，当他们处理母语和非母语时，大脑中的语言网络没有那么活跃，”Jouravlev说。
The brain's language network involves a few areas in its frontal and temporal lobes.
大脑的语言网络涉及额叶和颞叶的几个区域。
Saima Malik-Moraleda is a doctoral student at the Harvard/MIT Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology. She was one of the lead writers of the study. She said the findings suggest that the way the brain finds, or extracts, meaning in language governs the brain's response to language.
Saima Malik-Moraleda是哈佛大学/麻省理工学院语音和听力生物科学与技术项目的博士生。她是这项研究的主要作者之一。她说，研究结果表明，大脑发现或提取语言意义的方式决定了大脑对语言的反应。
"The more meaning you can extract from the language input you are receiving, the greater the response in language regions - except for the native language," she said.
她说:“你从接收到的语言输入中提取的含义越多，语言区域的反应就越强烈——母语除外。”
Of the 34 polyglots who took part in the study, 20 were men and 14 were women. They were between 19 and 71 years old. Twenty-one were native English speakers. The rest were native speakers of French, Russian, Spanish, Dutch, German, Hungarian, and Mandarin Chinese.
在参与这项研究的34名通晓多种语言的人当中，20名是男性，14名是女性。他们的年龄在19岁到71岁之间。21人的母语是英语。其余的人的母语是法语、俄语、西班牙语、荷兰语、德语、匈牙利语和普通话。
Researchers monitored the polyglots' brain activity as they listened to recordings in eight languages. One was their native language. Three were languages they spoke well, somewhat well or somewhat. The other four were languages they did not know.
研究人员在多语者听八种语言的录音时监测了他们的大脑活动。其一是他们的母语。三种语言他们说得很好，有些好或有些好。另外四种是他们不懂的语言。
Half heard recordings of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. The other half heard recordings of stories from the Christian religious book the Bible.
一半的人听过刘易斯·卡罗尔的《爱丽丝梦游仙境》的录音。另一半则听基督教宗教书籍《圣经》中的故事录音。
Fedorenko noted that a lot of work in language research has been centered on individuals with linguistic difficulties.
Fedorenko指出，语言研究中的许多工作都集中在有语言困难的个人身上。
But she said there is a lot that researchers can learn about the language process by studying so-called language "experts," too. That includes polyglots, Fedorenko added.
但她表示，通过研究所谓的语言“专家”，研究人员也可以了解到很多关于语言过程的信息。费多连科补充说，这其中包括通晓多种语言的人。
