TED演讲 谈语言和思想(6)

 　　It evokes¹ the container metaphor² of communication, in which we conceive of ideas as objects, 这使人想起语言交流中的"容器隐喻"，在这里面我们把想法理解成实物

　　sentences as containers, and communication as a kind of sending. 句子就像容器，语言交流就像快递

　　As when we say we "gather" our ideas, to "put" them "into" words,  当我们说"gather"（收集）我们的想法，并"'put' them 'into' word"（把它们付诸语言）

　　and if our words aren't "empty" or "hollow," we might get these ideas "across" to a listener, 如果我们说的话并不"empty"(空)或者"hollow"（空洞），我们就可以把意思传达“过去”(“across")

　　who can "unpack³" our words to "extract" their "content."  让一个能够”拆解“("unpack")我们的语言而提取“内涵”("content")

　　And indeed, this kind of verbiage⁴ is not the exception, but the rule.  诸如此类的修辞法不是个例，而是广泛规则

　　It's very hard to find any example of abstract language that is not based on some concrete metaphor. 想找到纯抽象的而非实物隐喻的表达的例子难之又难

　　For example, you can use the verb "go" and the prepositions "to" and "from" in a literal, spatial⁵ sense. 譬如说，你可以用动词"go"以及介词"to"和"from"来表达字面意思：

　　"The messenger went from Paris to Istanbul." “信使从巴黎去了伊斯坦布尔。”

　　You can also say, "Biff went from sick to well."  你也可以说，“比夫从病中康复。”

　　He needn't go anywhere. He could have been in bed the whole time,  他哪里都没“去”，而是可能一直呆在床上

　　but it's as if his health is a point in state space that you conceptualize as moving. 但是我们说话时仿佛他的健康状况是空间中的点，你给它一种动的概念

　　Or, "The meeting went from three to four," in which we conceive of time as stretched along a line. 或者，“会从3点一直开到4点，”这里我们把时间想成分布在一条直线上

　　Likewise, we use "force" to indicate not only physical force, 与此相似地，我们用力的概念来表示不仅仅是物理的力

　　as in, "Rose forced the door to open," but also interpersonal force, 比如，"Rose forced the door to open"，也包括人际间的作用力

　　as in, "Rose forced Sadie to go," not necessarily by manhandling her, but by issuing a threat. 比如，"Rose forced Sadie to go"--不一定要推推搡搡的，而是通过威胁。

　　Or, "Rose forced herself to go," as if there were two entities⁶ inside Rose's head, engaged in a tug⁷ of a war. 或者"Rose forced Sadie to go"，仿佛罗斯的头脑里有两个东西在进行拔河

　　Second conclusion is that the ability to conceive of a given event in two different ways, 第二个结论是用不同方式构思同一事件的能力

　　such as "cause something to go to someone" and "causing someone to have something," 比如，“使某物到某人那里，”和“使某人拥有某物，”

　　I think is a fundamental feature of human thought, and it's the basis for much human argumentation, 我认为这是人类思维的基本特点，而且是人类论辩的基础

　　in which people don't differ so much on the facts as on how they ought to be construed⁸. 论辩中人们争议的一般不是事实，而是应该如何理解它们。

1 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

2 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

3 unpack   

vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货

参考例句：

• I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。
• She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

4 verbiage   

n.冗词；冗长

参考例句：

• Stripped of their pretentious verbiage,his statements come dangerously close to inviting racial hatred.抛开那些夸大其词的冗词赘语不论，他的言论有挑起种族仇恨的危险。
• Even in little 140-character bites,that's a lot of verbiage.即使限制在一条140个字也有很大一部分是废话。

5 spatial   

adj.空间的，占据空间的

参考例句：

• This part of brain judges the spatial relationship between objects.大脑的这部分判断物体间的空间关系。
• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。

6 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

7 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

8 construed   

v.解释（陈述、行为等）( construe的过去式和过去分词 )；翻译，作句法分析

参考例句：

• He considered how the remark was to be construed. 他考虑这话该如何理解。
• They construed her silence as meaning that she agreed. 他们把她的沉默解释为表示赞同。 来自《简明英汉词典》