Cyber Heroes

"I can say that our ancestors never died. Their soul sparks are thinking in our brains through daily language habits. Language and culture always We are connected with our ancestors. This connection is always stronger than blood."

When Ingrid said this, it was one day in February 2029.

Xiang Shan just finished his vacation and came back from Peking. Holding a tablet in his hand, he is reading the news.

As the security level of the "Rama Special Project" is gradually lowered, some electronic equipment can already be brought into the park. Xiang Shan does not subscribe to news specifically, but the current chat software comes with a news pop-up window. He also glanced occasionally.

In the corner of the office area, Ingrid and Shen Yuanzun are chatting with Yoggmov.

Yoggmov is here to ask questions about "Chinese".

"hehe, friends from the Republic over there?" Ingrid picked up a small paper ball and threw it over: "This man is here to learn your mother tongue, don't you want to say a few words? ?"

Xiang Shan turned his attention away from the news article titled "The Republic is Running in Many Ways, Promoting the Establishment of the Pacific Rim Agricultural Community", and raised his hands: "I'm sorry, I am an engineer. Sheng. Inga [Inga, Ingrid Ingrid] Your level in this language is much higher than mine. I am very unprofessional in this field."

Because of a joint project currently underway, A group of linguists, including Ingrid, simply opened an office area in the Engineering Research Center to study "something" together.

Yoggmov is using his spare time to learn Chinese by himself. Although the misunderstanding has long been resolved, according to Yoggmov's own statement, learning this language is not because of Xiang Shan's joke last year. He did have such an idea.

It should be said that he thought so many years ago. It's just that I was busy at work.

Now, he is surrounded by a group of colleagues who speak this language as their mother tongue, and the best linguists in the world-so why not seize this opportunity?

Because a year ago, he, Shenyuanzun and Xiang Shan became the first scholars to come into contact with "Ogon", so they also have a little reputation in the scholar group. This seems to open up Yoggmov's social circle.

Of course, this is the same for Xiang Shan.

And Ingrid has always been generous.

But Yoggmov is still very distressed: "I think my learning efficiency is too low. Although I have memorized many articles, I still feel that I can't use this language freely."

p>

Ingrid shrugged: "This is indeed a very difficult question, Yogg. Did you know that there are many second language learners who will not be able to use this second language in their entire life? They are as proficient as their mother tongue, and some learners can easily do this."

"Unfortunately, there is not yet a convincing statistical survey that can point out that these two types of people are The proportion among the crowd."

Speaking of this, Ingrid is a little regretful: "This is really a pity. To be honest, the funding available in this field is really very small."

p>

Shen Yuanzun seemed to be touched and heartbroken: "The travel expenses for fieldwork are never enough..."

Linguistics is really the legendary "noble profession". High input, low output, and no capital at home is not enough to waste.

Yoggmov did not follow the two linguists, but was thinking: "Is this difference caused by some kind of genetic expression? There is evidence that this'second language acquisition ability' has Is it heritable?"

Ingrid shrugged: "This is a question worth studying, but you have to apply for funding."

Xiang Shan closed the news window, Lifts the head again: "But not everyone needs a second language now..."

"No, we study the process of second language acquisition, the ultimate goal is to reverse the'first language' How do we acquire language and mother tongue? What it ultimately solves is the mechanism of language acquisition itself."

"From a purely linguistic point of view, it pursues 'Universal Grammar'. From the perspective of neuroscience, it explores the brain's mechanism of information input, storage and processing. From the perspective of cultural science, it includes the interaction between humans and social culture."

Ingrid took a sip of tea.

Shen Yuanzun said: "But I still reserve my opinion. I have investigated many ancient languages ​​in the region of human origin in Africa. I cannot feel from the process of learning these languages. To what you call'universal grammar'. Their language is always unimaginable for you."

"Personal opinion." Ingrid raised an eyebrow: "Do you have a recommended paper? タケルJun [タケル, the pronunciation of "Venerable"]"

Yoggmov meditated: "I thought that'universal grammar' should be obvious."

There are some differences in the original god of God : "Do you have any opinion?"

"Hmm...for example, in all languages ​​on the world, the pronunciation of'mother' contains the sound of'ma'?"

Shen Yuanzun was taken aback for a moment, then turned around, shaking his shoulder twice.

Should be laughing.

Ingrid also frowned his pretty eyebrows and shook his head: "Yogg, this is not'universal grammar'. And this is a misunderstanding."

"Is it true? ?" Yoggmov was surprised.

"There are only a few sounds that babies can easily make. It's nothing more than the sounds of'ma''ba''pa''mu''i''o'. The baby shouts to his parents. The sound, of course, is also combined from these sounds. The characteristics of the baby’s pronunciation are the nasal consonants m, n or the plosives p, b, t, d plus the vowel a." Ingrid said: "In Georgia, ' The word mama' is used to call father. In the northern part of the Republic, there are also minorities who use the word'ama' to call father. There are also many ethnic groups that use the word'ba''da' to call mother."

Nodded of the original god of God, said that this is indeed the case: "It is indeed a narrow prejudice to think that all languages ​​in the world use'ma' to call mother. It should be said that Ingrid said'universal The mechanism of'grammar' is closer to'why do humans compose the words of father and mother'? Of course it is not accurate. This is a rather complicated question."

Xiang Shan is a little curious. : "We still have names like'niang' over there, right? It has been used until several decades ago."

Ingrid rolled the eyes: "The last nasal vowel'iang' is not a baby at all. Children can send it out. Your ancestors also called mother'ma'. In ancient Chinese, the word'Niang' is not used to mean'mother' at all. This word refers to all'females'-including young and Older. Until the Song Dynasty, "little lady" was still a normal name for young girls."

"It's just that the word "girl" appeared in the Yuan Dynasty, which squeezed the original name of "niang". The meaning of'young woman'. So this word became the honorific name for the elder generation or older married women."

Xiang Shan scratched his head: "The'girl's'aunt'......"

p>

"It is very likely that it comes from Mongolian and has a pronunciation close to'huhen'. The remains of this word are still in Russian and some Eastern European languages." Ingrid explained: "If you read After reading works in ancient vernacular such as "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", then you should know that when'manny' is used as a person's name, it still retains the meaning of'young girl.' This important meaning is kept more complete."

Yoggmov pondered: "Is this kind of inference too far-fetched? Are there other explanations?"

"Oh, this ah … Then let’s do an experiment.” Ingrid leaned down and searched under the office desk. He found a green folder, pulled it open, and folded it into a hat. She handed the hat to Yoggmov: "Put it on, and observe how your two friends react."

Yoggmov didn't know, so he buckled the hat on his head and looked up.

Xiang Shan was lying on the table, his expression distorted, and his shoulders trembled. The original god of the gods does not know why.

Yoggmov look over here, look over there.

After a few seconds, the gods of the original god showed a suddenly realized expression.

"Xiang’s thoughts just now are nothing more than'These two people are in this kind of relationship','Is Yingjia so hi behind the scenes?' or'This joke is not appropriate but it is still funny '." Ingrid showed a playful expression: "By the way, this is just an experimental project."

Yoggmov took off his hat: "What is this principle?"

"In the Yuan Empire in East Asia, the male relatives of women in the custom industry all need to wear green headscarves. However, the Yuan Empire was blocked by the ocean and did not include Japan in its rule." Ingrid said: "You Look, Xiang instantly understands that although Shenyuan knows a little Chinese, he probably has to think about it before he realizes what I'm doing-but at this time he probably understands what I mean by'experiment'."

"The brutal empire—Mongolia, its iron hoof from the 12th to the 13th century AD is echoed in the language today. These are the scars it brought to the world. These scars are still alive. ."

"Sometimes you are thinking about not necessarily yourself, but a set of cultural symbols, a set of narrative models, and a set of discourse systems that you accept. These concepts are contagious by'language' , Surging in your neurons. They are thinking."

"I can say that our ancestors never died. Their soul sparks, through daily language habits, in our Thinking in the brain. Language and culture have always connected us with our ancestors. This connection is always stronger than blood."

Xiang Shan grinned: "It sounds like the dead."

This statement is too idealistic, not very appetizing to him.

"Who said no." Ingrid shrugged: "In Saussure's Divine Realm, we have met countless ancestors who have long been forgotten. They may be gods. With heroes, there may also be undead."