在子宫中学习 Learning in the womb

Hello, I’m Rob and this is 6 Minute English and that was a very unusual sound.Do you know what that sound was? Finn is with me today and I think he can help. Hello Finn.
大家好，我是Rob，欢迎收听本期BBC六分钟英语。刚刚我们听到了一种异样的声音。你知道那是什么声音吗？这是我今天的搭档Finn，我想他能帮忙回答。你好，Finn。
Hello Rob. That was the sound of a baby sucking a dummy – that’s the rubber thing you put in a baby’s mouth to stop it crying.
你好，Rob。刚刚那个是婴儿吮吸奶头的声音，即放在嘴里阻止他哭泣的橡胶制品。
Very useful! But it sounded strange.
非常有用！但声音听起来有点奇怪。
It did. That’s because the dummy was connected to a computer.
确实是，因为橡胶奶头和电脑连在一起。
Connecting a dummy to a computer is a strange thing to do?!
把奶头和电脑连在一起？这不奇怪吗？
Yes. It is part of a test to understand how unborn babies – called foetuses – learn language.That is what we are talking about today: What babies learn before they are born.
是很奇怪。不过这是理解未出生婴儿（即胎儿）怎样学习语言的测试。今天我们要讨论的话题正是如此：婴儿出生前都学什么。
I know we start learning from when we are very young – but I didn’t know it was from that early on!Shall we find out how much you have learnt in your life Finn by asking you a question? This is about the English language.According to a survey by the National Literacy Trust, which one of these words was discovered to be the most common first word for a baby to say – not including Mummy or Daddy? a) dog b) eat c) bus
我知道，很小起我们便开始了学习，但真不知道有那么早。Finn，让我问你个问题，看你长这么大学了多少东西？这道题和英语语言有关。根据全国读写基金会研究显示，下面哪个单词是婴儿常说的首个单词，当然不包括Mummy和Daddy。A. dog B. eat C. bus
I think the answer is a) dog.
我觉得是A. dog。
Well, I’ll tell you the answer later on. Now Finn, this study we are talking says babies learn language in the womb – so, inside the Mother before they are born?
恩，稍后我会告诉你答案。Finn，回到刚刚的话题。研究表明，婴儿在子宫里便学习语言，也就是说，在妈妈肚子里时就开始了？
Yes. When babies are born they can identify – or recognise – familiar sounds and language patterns.Ten weeks before they are born, they are listening to their mothers communicate.
是的。婴儿出生时，已可辨知熟悉声音和语言模式。出生前十周，他们一直在听妈妈沟通。
Communicate – so they are listening to their mother talking to other people. And it is remembering and learning these sounds.
沟通，也就是听妈妈和别人讲话。与此同时，他们会记忆、学习这些声音。
Yes. And if a baby’s mother is bi-lingual – speaking two languages – the baby can remember sounds from both of these languages.But Rob, you have children, don’t you? Do you think they learnt to recognise your voice before they were born?
没错。而且如果妈妈讲双语（两种语言），那么婴儿便可记住两种语言的声音。可是Rob，你也有孩子，对吧？你觉得他们在出生前学习辨认你的声音了吗？
That’s difficult to know. After they were born they responded to different sounds but I don’t know if they linked the sounds to a particular person. And now, they don’t listen to me at all!
这个很难知道。出生后，他们接触了不同声音，我也不知他们是否把这些声音同某个人联系了起来。反正现在是一点不听我的！
I don’t believe that! How have they learnt to speak since they were born?
我才不信！他们出生后是怎样学习说话的？
Through listening and copying people. And now my three-year-old son learns French at nursery and I hope that means by the time he starts school he will be very good at it – or we could say, fluent.
边听边模仿呗。我那3岁的儿子目前正在托儿所学法语，真希望上学时他能讲的很流利。
Tres bien!
很好！
Excuse me?
恩？什么意思？
That’s French for very good! Of course, when the baby is in the womb, it is not learning words, it is learning the rhythm of the language.These are the patterns of the sound. It can hear when sounds go up and go down and when they are loud and soft.That is something I try to do when I learn a new language. I listen to the sound patterns of the words – the ups and downs. How do you learn Rob?
那是法语，就是很好的意思。婴儿在子宫里不学单词，而是学习语言节奏。即声音的模式。他们能听出声音何时升高、下降、变大、变缓。我学新语言时就那样做。听单词的声音模式与起伏变化。你怎么学的，Rob？
Through repetition – by hearing something again and again and then saying it. But here is another question: even though we both speak English we sound different.
我是重复学的。即一遍遍听，一遍遍说。但有一个问题：虽然咱俩都讲英语，但还是有所差异。
Well of course, that is our accent – that is how we say words depending on which country, region, or social class we come from.I have a soft Scottish accent because I am from Scotland! One difference is the intonation – that means the way your voices rises and falls when you speak.
当然，因为咱俩有口音，即因国家、地域、阶层差异而产生的不同讲话方式。我有苏格兰口音，因为我来自那里。其中，口音差异包括语调差异，即讲话时声音的抑扬顿挫。
But it is also about the way we pronounce our vowel sounds – like a and o.
可是口音差异也包括发元音时的差异，比如a，o。
That’s true. Some people think we learn our accents before we are born. Here is a little test. Can you tell if this baby is French or German?
一点没错。有些人认为，我们在出生前便已学习口音。下面是一个小测试，Rob，你听听哪个是法国婴儿，哪个是德国婴儿？
That just sounds like a regular baby crying. Can I hear another one please?
听起来很正常的婴儿哭声，你再给我放另一个听听？
OK…
好。
Hmm. That sounds different but I couldn’t tell you where he was from.
恩，确实有所不同，不过我听不出他们来自哪。
The first baby was born to German-speaking parents and the second one was born to French-speaking parents. They picked up the intonation in the voice before they were born.
第一个婴儿是德国的，第二个婴儿是法国的。他们在出生前便学会了语调。
OK, so the French baby’s cry goes up – it rises - and the German baby’s cry goes down – or drops - just like the intonation of both languages. Fascinating.Anyway, it’s time to find out how much you have learnt Finn. Earlier I asked, according to a survey, which one of these words was discovered to be the most common first word for a baby to say – not including Mummy or Daddy? a) dog b) eat c) bus
恩，所以法国婴儿的哭声呈升调，德国婴儿的哭声呈降调，正好和两种语言的语调相符合。真有趣。好了，Finn，该检查你所学知识了。我那会问你，据研究显示，下面哪个单词是婴儿常说的首个单词，当然不包括Mummy和Daddy。A. dog B. eat C. bus
And I thought it would be a) dog
我选的A. dog。
You are right. Dog is one of ten words that babies in the UK say first. Well, that’s all we have time for today. Please join us again for another 6 Minute English soon.
回答正确。Dog是英国婴儿先说的十个单词之一。好了，以上就是本期节目的内容，记得收听下一期BBC六分钟英语哦。
Bye.
拜拜~~