嬰兒如何學習說話 ⏲️ 6分鐘英語：英語精讀講義

Six Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

來自 bbclearningenglish.com 的六分鐘英語。

Hello, this is Six Minute English from BBC Learning English.

大家好，這裡是 BBC 英語教學的六分鐘英語。

I'm Phil.

我是 Phil。

And I'm Georgie.

我是 Georgie。

For most parents, their baby's first word is a special moment. 表達脈絡

對於大多數父母來說，寶寶開口說第一句話是一個特殊的時刻。

This happens after an early stage of language development called babble, 用詞

這發生在一個被稱為「咿呀學語」的語言發育早期階段之後，

when babies start making simple sounds like ga or ma.

那時嬰兒開始發出類似 ga 或 ma 這樣簡單的聲音。

Babies have to learn to use their mouth muscles to make specific sounds. 文法

嬰兒必須學會運用他們的口腔肌肉來發出特定的聲音。

They experiment with different sounds and mouth shapes. 片語搭配

他們會嘗試發出不同的聲音和做出不同的口型。

So, what exactly is happening when babies start learning to speak? 表達脈絡

那麼，當嬰兒開始學習說話時，到底發生了什麼呢？

What do you think, Georgie?

妳覺得呢，Georgie？

Well, Phil, I'm no expert, 語氣意圖

嗯，Phil，我不是專家，

but I imagine they watch the adults around them

但我想他們會觀察周圍的大人，

and kind of copy and imitate what they do. 語氣意圖

然後某種程度上模仿和學習大人的做法。

What do you think?

你認為呢？

But I definitely think that's what my children did when they were learning to speak.

我敢肯定，我的孩子們在學說話時就是這麼做的。

Um well, let's compare our ideas with those of an expert. 表達脈絡

嗯，讓我們把我們的想法和專家的看法比較一下。

Professor Julian Pine from Liverpool University,

來自利物浦大學的 Julian Pine 教授，

speaking here on BBC Radio 4, 文法

在 BBC 廣播 4 台接受採訪時，

and he lists the skills that babies develop in order to speak. 文法

列出了嬰兒為了說話而發展的幾項技能。

Well, one of the first things the child's got to do is

嗯，孩子們首先要做的事情之一就是，

they've got to break down the speech stream into words. 講解

他們必須把語流拆解成一個個的單字。

Then they've got to link the words to the things that they refer to in the environment. 片語搭配

然後他們必須把這些詞和環境中它們所指代的事物聯繫起來。

So, they've got to learn what the words mean. 文法

也就是說，他們必須明白這些詞的意思。

Right.

沒錯。

In this program, we'll discover how babies learn to speak, 表達脈絡

在本期節目中，我們將探索嬰兒是如何學會說話的，

and as usual, we'll learn some useful new vocabulary.

像往常一樣，我們還會學習一些有用的新詞彙。

And on the subject of words, 表達脈絡

說到詞彙，

remember, you can find a list of this program's vocabulary on our website,

別忘了，你可以在我們的網站上找到本期節目的詞彙表，

bbclearningenglish.com.

bbclearningenglish.com。

Some people find it helpful to study the vocabulary before listening. 文法

有些人覺得在聽之前學習一下詞彙會有幫助。

And another thing to do before listening is ask my question. 表達脈絡

而在聽之前要做的另一件事就是回答我的問題。

Georgie, we've mentioned the babbling noises that babies make when learning to speak,

Georgie，我們提到了嬰兒在學說話時發出的咿呀聲，

but at what age does this usually start? 文法

但這種現象通常從多大年紀開始？

Is it A, around 6 months old?

是 A，大約 6 個月大？

B, around 9 months old?

B，大約 9 個月大？

Or C, around 1 year old?

還是 C，大約 1 歲？

Okay, I think my best guess would be A, around 6 months old. 語氣意圖

好的，我猜最有可能的是 A，大約 6 個月大。

Okay, well, we'll find out a little bit later on in the program. 片語動詞

好的，我們稍後在節目中會揭曉答案。

Let's return to Professor Pine's list. 表達脈絡

讓我們回到 Pine 教授的列表上。

The first thing babies do is recognize where individual words start and end.

嬰兒做的第一件事就是識別單個單字從哪裡開始，在哪裡結束。

For this, it helps to know that in English, at least, 表達脈絡

為了做到這一點，了解以下情況會有幫助：至少在英語中，

words often begin with a stressed syllable. 用詞

單字通常以重讀音節開頭。

The sound in a word which is emphasized by being spoken longer or louder. 文法

也就是透過拉長或加重聲音來強調單字中的某個發音。

Learning this takes time, 文法

學習這些需要時間，

and here Professor Pine and Michael Rosen,

在這裡，Pine 教授和 Michael Rosen，

presenter of BBC Radio 4's program Word of Mouth,

也就是 BBC 廣播 4 台《Word of Mouth》節目的主持人，

discuss children who haven't quite discovered it yet. 文法

討論了還沒有完全掌握這一點的孩子們。

And we can see this in the kind of errors that children make because 片語搭配

我們可以從孩子們犯的這種錯誤中看出來，因為

little kids will often call a giraffe a raffe 文法

小孩子經常把 giraffe（長頸鹿）叫做 raffe，

by leaving off the unstressed syllable because that's not typical English. 片語動詞

省略了非重讀音節，因為那不是典型的英語發音規律。

Oh, and I've got an example of this.

哦，我這兒也有一個例子。

Um my son used to call a machine a sminge 文法

呃，我兒子以前經常把 machine（機器）叫做 sminge。

He just hit the stress. 用詞

他只是讀準了重音。

He didn't bother with the ma bit. 片語搭配

他沒管 ma 的部分。

Yeah.

是的。

Exactly.

完全正確。

Or he may have thought it was my sminge, of course. 文法

當然，或者他可能以為那是 my sminge（我的機器）。

That's the other thing.

那是另一回事了。

Yes.

對。

And the classic example, of course,

當然還有那個經典的例子，

is nana instead of banana.

也就是把 banana（香蕉）叫做 nana。

Yes.

是的。

I think I call them that.

我想我以前也是這麼叫的。

One error or mistake infants make is calling a giraffe a raffe

幼兒犯的一個錯誤是把 giraffe 叫做 raffe，

because they cut off the first syllable gi

因為他們把第一個音節 gi 砍掉了，

because it's not stressed.

因為它沒有重讀。

The classic example of this is when children say nana instead of banana. 片語搭配

這方面的一個經典例子是孩子們說 nana 而不是 banana。

A classic example of something means the best example of it, 用詞

某個事物的經典例子（classic example）是指它最好的例子，

one containing all the features you expect such a thing to have.

包含了你所期望的這種事物應具備的所有特徵。

For example, ants are a classic example of animals working together.

例如，螞蟻就是動物協同合作的經典例子。

The second skill babies develop as they learn to speak

嬰兒在學說話時發展的第二項技能是

is correctly linking a word to the object it refers to.

將單字與它所指代的物體正確地聯繫起來。

In other words, knowing what the word means. 表達脈絡

換句話說，就是知道這個詞的意思。

As adults, we do this without thinking, 片語搭配

作為成年人，我們不假思索地就能做到這一點，

but it's actually much harder than it sounds, 慣用語

但這實際上比聽起來要難得多，

as Professor Julian Pine explains to BBC Radio 4 program Word of Mouth.

正如 Julian Pine 教授在 BBC 廣播 4 台《Word of Mouth》節目中解釋的那樣。

Well, we take for granted the fact that it's kind of obvious 慣用語

嗯，我們理所當然地認為，

what words refer to in the environment,

單字在環境中指代什麼很明顯，

but actually, if you look at it from the child's point of view, 表達脈絡

但實際上，如果你從孩子的角度來看，

it's really difficult to work out what a word refers to 片語動詞

想要弄清楚一個詞指的是什麼是很困難的，

because there's so many things it could refer to.

因為它可能指代的東西太多了。

So, you know, the speech signal is very ambiguous. 用詞

所以，你知道，語音信號是非常模糊的。

How does the child know that you're talking about the cup in front of you

孩子怎麼知道你談論的是你面前的杯子，

or the pen in front of you

還是你面前的筆呢，

when you say pen or cup.

當你說筆或杯子的時候。

As adults, we take it for granted that when a friend says apple,

作為成年人，我們理所當然地認為，當朋友說 apple（蘋果）時，

they mean that round red thing on the table.

他們指的是桌子上那個又圓又紅的東西。

To take it for granted means to assume something without question.

理所當然地認為（take it for granted）意思是指毫無疑問地假定某事。

But for a baby,

但是對於一個嬰兒來說，

the link between the word apple and the object is not obvious. 片語搭配

apple 這個詞和物體之間的聯繫並不明顯。

It's ambiguous, meaning it has more than one possible meaning. 用詞

它是含糊不清的（ambiguous），這意味著它有不止一種可能的含義。

Wow, who knew so much was going on inside babies' sponge-like brains 講解

哇，誰能想到嬰兒海綿般的大腦裡，

as they soak up the sounds they hear. 慣用語

在吸收他們聽到的聲音時，會進行這麼複雜的活動。

Right, Phil, isn't it time to reveal the answer to your question? 語氣意圖

好了，Phil，是不是該揭曉你問題的答案了？

Um it is indeed.

嗯，確實是的。

The question was, at what age do babies start to make babbling noises?

我的問題是，嬰兒大概在多大時開始發出咿呀聲？

And I said it was around 6 months.

我說是大約 6 個月大的時候。

And that is the correct answer.

回答正確。

Yay!

耶！

Babies start to do this when they're about 6 months old.

嬰兒在大約 6 個月大時開始這樣做。

Okay, let's recap the vocabulary that we've learned, 表達脈絡

好了，讓我們回顧一下學過的詞彙，

starting with babble,

從 babble 開始，

the meaningless noises babies make as they're learning to speak.

指的是嬰兒在學說話時發出的無意義的咿呀聲。

The stressed syllable in a word

單字中的重讀音節（stressed syllable）

is the sound which is emphasized by being longer, louder, or higher.

是透過拖長、加重或提高音調來強調的發音。

An error is a mistake. 用詞

error 的意思是錯誤（mistake）。

The classic example of something is the most typical example of it,

某物的經典例子（classic example）是它最典型的代表，

containing its most important features.

包含了它最重要的特徵。

If you take something for granted,

如果你認為某事理所當然（take something for granted），

you accept or assume it without question.

就是你毫無疑問地接受或假定它。

And finally,

最後，

the adjective ambiguous means having more than one possible meaning.

形容詞含糊不清的（ambiguous）意思是有不止一種可能的含義。

Once again, our 6 minutes are up, 表達脈絡

再一次，我們的六分鐘時間到了，

but if you're ready for more, 文法

但如果你還想了解更多內容，

you'll find the worksheet with a quiz and a transcript for this program on our website.

你可以在我們的網站上找到本期節目的測驗和文字稿。

See you there soon.

下次見。

Bye.

拜拜。

Bye.

再見。

Six Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com.

來自 bbclearningenglish.com 的六分鐘英語。