LB75-77洋吉

I. AIM OF PHYSIOLOGICAL DISCUSSIONS IN THIS MONOGRAPH

There is no dearth of monographs on the physiology of speech and language (Ranke and Lullies, 1953; Luchsinger and Arnold, 1959; v.d. Berg, 1962). These are comprehensive treatments on the manner in which voice and speech are produced, the acoustics of speech sounds, speech perception, and on neurophysiological correlates. This chapter is not a digest or survey of this material. Instead, we shall concentrate on a few aspects of speech and language selected to illuminate a specific thesis.
I.在此篇論文中，生理學上討論的目的
對於言詞與語言的生理學論文不缺乏。對聲音及言詞的生成方式，語言聲音的特質，言詞感知，及神經生理相關的東西有廣泛的論述。本章並不是這些資料的整理或概括論述。反而，我們應該全神貫住在被選來闡明特定論文言詞的一些對於言詞及語言的觀點上。
Every species has a characteristic way of life, and there are invariably specific behavior patterns that enable it to exploit its own ecological niche. These behavioral peculiarities must be reflected in the animal’s physical constitution, particularly in specializations of physiological processes. Digestive processes must undergo modifications to enable one animal to subsist on cadavers, another on plankton, and still another on either a vegetable or a meat diet. Tolerance for high or low temperature or variations in temperature must develop. Sensory processes must be refined to enable members of one species to detect its own mates or to guard against approaching enemies. Specialized protective mechanisms and structural peculiarities are evolved. These may be so effective against the predatory habits of larger carnivores that the animal may have no further need for fast locomotion which, in turn, might have new repercussion on physiological readjustments and eventually result in very sluggish creatures.
每個物種有其特有的生活方式，而且總是有特有的行為典型讓他們去開發他們自己的生態利基。這些行為的特質必須反應在動物的身體組成方式，特別是在生理上特化作用的過程。消化過成必須經過調整修改讓動物在屍體、浮游生物、蔬菜或肉的飲食下生存下來。對高低溫的或溫度變化的忍受必須形成。知覺的過程必須昇華讓某個物種的成員去發現他們的配偶或是去對抗接近的天敵。專門的保護機制及結構特質發展。這些或許是有效的去對抗沒有快速移動需要的食肉動物，這些食肉動物也許有新的在生理上重新調整的影響且最後就變成懶散的動物了。
A species’ successful competition for the occupation of a niche does, in fact, rest entirely on physiological and morphological adaptations. The species can defend its position, so to speak, because its unique physiological specializations and adaptations enable it to exploit a particular environmental circumstance better than its competitors. Therefore, species-specific behavior patterns must necessarily have some peculiar physiological correlates. This is even true of those behavioral “useful in the animal’s struggle for survival” (as perhaps in the case of the extremely elaborate ritualized behavior and display patterns of certain birds).
物種對生存利基之成功的競爭、事實上、完全依賴生理與形態之改變。這些物種能保護他們的位置、可以說、因為他們獨一無二的生理特化作用及改變讓他們在開發特殊的環境時，比競爭者更具優勢。所以，物種特有的行為模式必需有些獨特的生理上的相關聯的東西。那些明顯無法被稱為發展（動物對生存奮鬥的有用發展）的動物特質甚至是真的。（也許在非常詳盡的儀式行為及某些鳥表現的模式）
Man is not the only vertebrate that makes noises for communicative purposes. But the acoustic nature, the mode of production, and the ethological variables of man’s communicative behavior are highly characteristic for the species. Ideally, we would like to follow a strategy similar to Chapter Two and compare physiological correlates of man’s behavior with homologous ones in other species. But this is impossible, partly because of lack of data, and partly because of the incomparability of speech with other animal noises (See Chapter Six). Instead, our aim will be to show how dependent speech- and language-production are on specific physiological propensities (demonstrable or inferrable). In this light, the universal, that is, supracultural, features of language will appear to be inextricably interwined with physiological peculiarities. Whether these peculiarities are specializations evolved by our species only, we cannot say with certainty, but the practical failure of our attempts to train closely related species to utter intelligible words, to use sentences meaningfully, or even to understand sentences out of context makes such an assumption reasonable.
人類並不是唯一為了溝通目的製造聲響的脊椎動物。但是，聲音的本質、生成的形式、人類溝通行為的動物行為變數是這個物種高度特有的。理想上，我們跟從第二章的策略且比較把人類行為的生理上的相關東西跟其它物種相對應的作個比較。但是這是不可能的，一部份是因為資料不足，一部份是因為人類言詞跟動物聲音的不一致（看第六章）。反而，我們的目標是顯示依賴的言詞及語言生成是如何在特定的生理傾向（可論證的與能推理的）。在這種見解下，語言的普遍特性似乎逃不掉地跟生理特質糾結。不管這些特性跟特化作用是否只有在我們物種發展，我們無法確定地說，但是我們嘗試訓練相近的物種去講可理解的言詞，有意義地使用句子，甚至是在上下文之外理解句子。這些實際上的失敗使這樣的假設合理化。

vocabulary
subsist 活下去, 維持生活
cadaver 屍首
plankton (總稱)浮游生物
predatory 食肉的
locomotion 運動, 移動
sluggish 不大想動的, 懶散的
homologous 同源的; 同型, 同屬例
ritualize (使)儀式化; (使)奉行儀式
propensity 傾向, 習性
inextricably 逃不掉地