用外語思考讓我們更客觀？

An American friend recently told me of a reunion with the son of the German family whose home he had lived in for a year as an exchange student. My friend had spent the year acquiring fluent German, which he spoke to the family.

一位美國朋友最近告訴我，他與當(dāng)年在德國作交換生時(shí)寄宿家庭的兒子又見了一面。當(dāng)年他在德國學(xué)習(xí)了一年，掌握了流利的德語，那時(shí)他用德語與這家人溝通。

The reunion, several decades later, took place among a crowd who were speaking English. Afterwards, the German son said to my friend: “I never realised you were witty.” Because in German, he never was. It was too hard to joke in a foreign tongue.

時(shí)隔幾十年后的這次重聚是在一群講英語的人的聚會(huì)上。之后，這個(gè)德國人告訴我朋友說：“我以前不知道你這么風(fēng)趣。”因?yàn)樵谡f德語的時(shí)候，他從來不風(fēng)趣。用外語開玩笑太難了。

Anyone who has learnt another language will be familiar with this. We are more ponderous in our acquired language. We are slower on the uptake, having to construct each riposte in advance.

所有學(xué)另一門語言的人對此都深有體會(huì)。在使用非母語時(shí)，我們會(huì)更加慢條斯理。我們的反應(yīng)會(huì)變得遲緩，在開口發(fā)表高見之前不得不事先打腹稿。

But is it also possible that we make more dispassionate decisions when thinking in a foreign language?

但是，用外語思考時(shí)，我們是不是也可能做出更加冷靜的決定呢?

Academics at the University of Chicago think we do.

芝加哥大學(xué)(University of Chicago)的學(xué)者們認(rèn)為的確如此。

Writing in the journal Cognition, they describe a well-known moral dilemma. You are watching a runaway carriage hurtling down a railway. In its path you see five people tied to the track. On your left is a large man. If you push him into the carriage’s path, you will kill him but save the five. Do you do it?

在《認(rèn)知》(Cognition)期刊發(fā)表的一篇論文中，他們描述了一個(gè)眾所周知的道德困境。你看到一節(jié)失控的火車車廂在鐵路上疾馳。在它的前方，你看到五個(gè)人被綁在鐵軌上。你的左邊是一個(gè)身型碩大的男子。如果把他推到鐵軌上，你會(huì)殺了他，但能夠救另外五個(gè)人的命。你會(huì)這么做嗎?

The Chicago academics put the dilemma to a group of 800 native German speakers. About half considered the dilemma in German and half in English. Those answering in their second language were more likely to favour pushing the man on to the track.

芝加哥大學(xué)的學(xué)者們讓800名以德語為母語人士來解答這個(gè)難題。大約一半的人以德語來回答問題，另一半用英語。那些用第二語言回答問題的人更傾向于贊同將這名男子推到鐵軌上。

To the Chicago faculty, this was no surprise. There have been several experiments, with similar results, about the effect of language on the track dilemma, with native speakers of English, Korean, Spanish, French, Hebrew, German and Italian.

這個(gè)結(jié)果沒有讓芝加哥大學(xué)的老師們感到意外。有關(guān)語言對這個(gè)“鐵軌困境”的影響，他們對以英語、韓語、西班牙語、法語、希伯來語、德語和意大利語為母語的人進(jìn)行過數(shù)次實(shí)驗(yàn)，得到了類似的結(jié)果。

The question the Chicago team tried to answer in the Cognition study was why the change happens when people decide in another language.

在《認(rèn)知》期刊發(fā)表的研究報(bào)告中，芝加哥大學(xué)研究團(tuán)隊(duì)試圖回答的問題是，當(dāng)人們用另一種語言作決定時(shí)，為什么會(huì)有變化。

Their hypothesis was that we visualise people and objects more sharply in our native tongue and this affects our decision-making. In particular, when thinking in our own language, we can clearly picture the large man and are reluctant to push him to his death.

他們的假設(shè)是，當(dāng)使用母語時(shí)，人和物體在我們大腦中形成的影像更加清晰，這影響了我們的決策。具體而言，當(dāng)用母語思考時(shí)，我們的腦海中會(huì)清晰地浮現(xiàn)這個(gè)身型碩大男子的影像，因而不愿將他置于死地。

To test this, the 800 German speakers were asked to rate the vividness of their images of the large man and the five people on the tracks. Those doing the experiment in German reported having a clearer picture of the man than those doing it in English. There was no difference between the vividness of the images of the five other people on the track.

為了測試這一點(diǎn)，他們讓800名講德語的人對他們腦海中這位身型碩大的男子和鐵軌上的五個(gè)人影像的清晰度打分。在那些用德語做實(shí)驗(yàn)的人的腦海中，這個(gè)男子的影像比用英語做實(shí)驗(yàn)的人更清晰。但對于鐵軌上的其他五個(gè)人，兩組人腦海中的清晰度并無差異。

Why should this be? The Chicago study argues that the images we form in our minds are based on the memories we have of people and objects. Because we have more experience of people in our native language, we find it easier to picture them.

為什么會(huì)出現(xiàn)這樣的結(jié)果?芝加哥大學(xué)的研究認(rèn)為，我們在腦海中形成的影像是基于我們對人和物體的記憶。因?yàn)槲覀冇媚刚Z對人進(jìn)行描述的經(jīng)驗(yàn)更多，所以我們更容易在腦海中想象他們的樣子。

To test this, they asked 359 native English speakers to imagine various scenarios and objects — a sunset, hands clapping, the feeling of sand, running up stairs, the taste of salt, the smell of paint, a sore throat — and to rate the intensity of the feeling.

為了測試這一點(diǎn)，他們讓359位以英語為母語的人想象各種情景和物體——日落、鼓掌、觸碰沙子的感覺、跑步上臺階、鹽的味道、油漆的氣味和咽喉疼痛——并給感覺的強(qiáng)度打分。

Half did the experiment in English, half in Spanish, their second language. Those who did it in English reported more vivid sunsets, handclaps, sand and step-running than those who answered in Spanish. There was little difference for sore throats and none for paint or salt.

一半人用英語、另一半人用第二語言西班牙語參與實(shí)驗(yàn)。對于日落、鼓掌、沙子和跑步上臺階，用英文的人比用西班牙語的人報(bào)告更強(qiáng)烈的感覺。但兩組對咽喉疼痛的感覺差別不大，對油漆或鹽的感覺毫無差別。

The Chicago team thought people had more vivid images in their native English because they were more likely to tap into their memories than if they did the thinking in another language. That the smell and taste images were as sharp in Spanish may have been because the English speakers had “rich associations of flavourful Mediterranean cuisine”. Generally, however, “the use of a foreign language reduces vividness because it limits access to . . . memories”.

芝加哥大學(xué)的研究小組認(rèn)為，用母語英語參與實(shí)驗(yàn)的人腦海中的影像更清晰的原因是，比起使用另一種語言，他們更有可能調(diào)動(dòng)自己的記憶。而使用西班牙語的人對于嗅覺和味覺的影像同樣清晰，是因?yàn)橐杂⒄Z為母語的人“對濃味的地中海美食有豐富的聯(lián)想”。不過，總的來說，“使用外語會(huì)降低腦海中影像的清晰度，因?yàn)樗拗屏巳藗冋{(diào)動(dòng)記憶的能力。”

The authors concede that “other potential explanations are possible”. However, they did argue in an earlier paper that “a foreign language provides a distancing mechanism that moves people from the immediate intuitive system to a more deliberate mode of thinking”.

作者們承認(rèn)，“其他潛在解釋也是有可能的”。 然而，他們在早些時(shí)候發(fā)表的一篇論文中確實(shí)提出，“外語提供了一種‘疏遠(yuǎn)機(jī)制’，使人們從即時(shí)作出反應(yīng)的直覺機(jī)制轉(zhuǎn)向一種更加深思熟慮的思維模式。”

They add: “A foreign language may provide greater distance because it is less grounded in the emotional system than a native tongue is.” People working in a foreign language are less subject to cognitive bias, they say.

他們還辯稱：“外語可能會(huì)提供更大的距離，因?yàn)樗谇楦邢到y(tǒng)中的根基不如母語。”他們表示，用外語思考的人不太容易受到認(rèn)知偏見的影響。

How seriously should we take this? An increasing number of people are now working in organisations that operate in English, mixing native and second-language speakers. It is certainly worth thinking about whether people seem more considered, and make more dispassionate decisions, in English than the native speakers do. The non-native speakers may seem less witty, but pay more attention to their opinions.

我們該多么嚴(yán)肅地看待這項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果呢?如今，越來越多的人在以英語為工作語言的組織工作，在那里，有些人以英語為母語，其他人則以英語為第二語言。以英語為第二語言的人是否比以英語為母語的人更加深思熟慮，作決定時(shí)更冷靜，肯定是個(gè)值得思索的問題。非母語人士也許少了一點(diǎn)風(fēng)趣，但我們應(yīng)該更用心傾聽他們的觀點(diǎn)。

[email protected] 譯者/何黎