纪录片《为何讲话》 第40期：语言系统（在线收听）

Can you remember this language?

你能记住这种语言吗

It's one you've never seen or heard before.

你之前从未见过或听过这种语言

It's been created by Simon Kirby

它是由西蒙·柯比创造出来的

and is made up of words that describe alien fruit.

用来描述一些你从未见过的水果

Kirby and his team have devised an experiment

柯比和他的团队设计了一个实验

where they can watch this language

使得他们能够仅用一个下午

evolve over hundreds of years in just one afternoon.

来观测这门语言几百年的进化历程

We start the experiment with this garbage language, this random language.

我们就从这种无用随意的语言开始了实验

In fact, to call it a language is, is in some sense misleading.

事实上 称它作语言都是一种误导

It's not even a language.

它连语言都不是

In the beginning, the alien words are completely random.

一开始 陌生单词完全是随机产生的

With no common factors between them.

彼此之间并没有共同元素

Kirby's guinea pigs have to familiarise themselves with the new words

柯比的实验对象得在记忆测验之前

before being tested to see what they remember.

尽快熟悉这些新单词