时差N小时:学习一门语言

Don:It's time to go again to the A Moment ofScience mailbag...

唐：又到了《科学时刻》读信时间了......

Yael:A listener writes: Dear AMOS, Why can somepeople learn a new language easily but othersstruggle?

雅艾尔：一位听众来信：亲爱的《科学时刻》栏目组，为什么有人很轻松就能学好一门外语，而有些人却要拼命努力呢?

Don:Good question! How many languages do youspeak, Yael?

唐：好问题!雅艾尔，你能说几种语言?

Yael:Four.

雅艾尔：4种。

Don:Really?!

唐：真的?

Yael:Yep—English, Canadian, British, and Australian.

雅艾尔：是的——美式英语，加拿大式英语，英式英语还有澳大利亚式英语。

Don:Ha ha. Very funny.

唐：哈哈。太有趣了。

Yael:Sorry. But really, I'm terrible at languages. But I have a friend who speaks like five. She'lltravel some place and within a few weeks, it seems, she's asking for directions and havingconversations in a completely new language.

雅艾尔：对不起。但是，我在语言方面很差。不过，我有一位朋友能说差不多5种语言。她学习的方法就是到处旅行，用完全陌生的语言问路，与人交谈。

Don:That could be because she has a large Heschl's Gyrus.

唐：那是因为她的颞横回较大的缘故。

Yael:What?

雅艾尔：什么?

Don:Heschl's Gyrus—it's a brain structure about the size of a finger—one in the brain's leftside, one in the right. And scientists think that the bigger your left Heschl's Gyrus, the greateryour chances of being good at learning languages.

唐：颞横回——一种手指般大小的脑部结构——分布于大脑左右侧。科学家们认为右边的颞横回较左边大时，你就越有可能学好一门外语。

Yael:Huh—is that because the Heschl's Gyrus plays an important role in how the brainprocesses language or something?

雅艾尔：啊——是因为大脑在处理语言或其它事物时，其中颞横回扮演了很重要的角色吗?

Don:Actually, no. Heschl's Gyrus is usually associated with the basics of sound processing, likepitch and volume. But it's not directly connected to speech.

唐：实际上不是这样。颞横回通常与处理基本的声音元素有联系，比如说音高与音量。但是与言语没有直接关系。

Yael:But wait—are you saying that if I happen to have a small left Heschl's Gyrus I can't learn anew language?

雅艾尔：但是等等——你是说如果我碰巧有较小的右侧颞横回，那我就学不了一门新语言?

Don:Not at all. It might just mean that you learn languages differently. And, sure, it couldmean that you don't learn new languages as easily as someone with a larger Heschl's Gyrus. Butyou can still learn.

唐：也不能这么想。只能说在你学习过程中会遇到一定的困难。当然，相比颞横回较大的人，肯定不如他们容易。但是你还是可以学会的。