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拾趣 | 你所说的语言影响着你的思维

中国科学院大学语言服务 2021-03-17

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本文转载自中国科学院大学外语系公众号

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世界上有7000多种语言，每一种都有自己独特的魅力，都带着自己的思维方式。

有的语言里每个名词都有特定的性别；

有的语言对颜色有着更细致的划分；

有的语言里没有上下左右只有东南西北。

语言学家爱德华·萨丕尔（Edward Sapir）和本杰明·沃尔夫（Benjamin Whorf）也曾提出著名的语言相对论，认为你所使用的语言决定了你的思维方式，或至少影响到了你的思维方式。

How We View the Future

如何看待未来

你有没有想过，为什么中国人的存款比例稳居世界之首，而美国人却享受着用信用卡预支的生活方式？

Have you ever wondered why the Chinese have the highest percentage of savings in the world, while Americans enjoy a lifestyle of credit card advances?

不同的母语导致不同的思维方式，从而导致不同的储蓄习惯。

Different mother tongues lead to different ways of thinking, which lead to different savings habits.

如果一种语言能区分现在和未来，那种语言的使用者就能准确的把现在和未来看作是两个不同的时间点。他们觉得未来还很遥远，所以不用存钱。例如，有时态区分的英语为母语的美国人。

If a language can distinguish between the present and the future, users of that language can accurately see the present and the future as two different points in time. They feel that the future is far away and there is no need to save money, for example, American who speak English with different tenses.

但是，如果语言较难区分现在和未来，使用者就会把现在和未来看作较为接近的时间点。他们觉得未来离现在已经不远了，所以应该存钱。例如，无时态语法的汉语为母语的中国人。

However, if a language is difficult to distinguish between the present and the future, the user will see the present and the future as closer points in time. They will feel that the future is not far away from the present, so they should save money, for example, Chinese who speak Chinese with a tense-free grammar.

因此，一个人的母语越是能够清晰的描述未来，他对未来的感觉就越是遥远，“享受当下”的冲动就会越高，储蓄比例自然就会下降。一个人的母语要是较难描述未来，其对未来的感觉就越靠近，“为未来做准备”的可能性越大，储蓄比例自然就会上升。

Thus, the more clearly a person's native language can describe the future, the more distant he feels about it, the greater the urge to "enjoy the present" and the lower the savings rate. If a person's native language is less likely to describe the future, the closer they feel to it, the more likely they are to "prepare for the future" and the higher the savings rate will naturally be.

How We Orient Ourselves

如何确定自己的方位

克萨优里族，澳洲的一个原住民部落，住在波姆浦洛，约克角半岛西部边缘。他们的语言里没有“左”和“右” ，只有基本的方向：“东、南、西、北”。

The Kuuk Thaayorre people, an aboriginal community in Australia, live in Pormpuraaw at the very west edge of Cape York. There is no "left" or "right" in their language, only cardinal directions: "east, south, west and north".

There, you might hear people say:

在那里，你可能会听到人们说：

"There's an ant on your southwest leg."

“你脚的西南方有一只蚂蚁。”

"Move your cup to the north-northeast a little bit."

“把你的杯子向东北偏东移一点。”

How We View Genders

如何看待性别

美国人如果用英语说，“我今天在图书馆遇到了一个朋友”，他不会特意指明其性别。但如果用法语、西班牙语和德语来说，说话人就得说清楚遇到的朋友到底是男还是女了。

If an American says in English, "I met a friend in the library today," he does not specify his gender. But in French, Spanish and German, the speaker has to clarify whether the friend he meets is a man or a woman.

例如：

For example:

法语中“le”和“la”都是定冠词，但“le”修饰阳性单数名词，“la”修饰阴性单数名词。

In French, "le" and "la" are both definite articles, but "le" modifies the masculine singular and "la" the feminine singular.

la fille 女儿

le fils 儿子

这类语言除了区分人的性别外，还区分了无生命的物体，但它们的性别在这些语言中并不完全相同。比如，桌子（la mesa）在西班牙语中是阴性，但在德语中却是阳性（der Tisch）。

Such languages distinguish the genders of inanimate objects as well as the genders of people. But their genders are not all the same in these languages. For example, table (la mesa) is feminine in Spanish but masculine in German (der Tisch).

How to Distinguish Colors

如何区分颜色

每种语言都会对颜色进行分类，但每种分类都不尽相同。

Each language classifies colors, but each classification is different.

假设你是以英语为母语的人，你看到三种颜色：一种是“蓝色”，另外两种颜色略微不同但对你而言都是“黄色”。几周后，当你再次看到它们，你可能还是会觉得它们很相似。但如果你是以汉语为母语的中国人，你就能很轻易地区分出这两种颜色：一个是“米黄”，一个是“杏黄”。

If you are a native English speaker, you see three colors: one is blue, and the other two are slightly different but to you they are both "yellow". A few weeks later, when you see them again, you may still think they are similar. But if you're a native Chinese, you can easily tell the difference between the two yellows: beige and apricot.

- END -

指导：马潇漪

编辑：韦大唯

审校：张惠敏

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