科學(xué)家們對(duì)于撒哈拉以南非洲地區(qū)的語(yǔ)言追根溯源至15萬(wàn)年后指出，所有的語(yǔ)言都來自于同一個(gè)發(fā)源地。
Using sophisticated analysis of hundreds of languages, the researchers have managed to trace back their beginnings to the same place and the same time.
在對(duì)于近百種語(yǔ)言做了復(fù)雜的分析之后，這些語(yǔ)言的開端被研究者們追溯到了同一個(gè)地方的同一時(shí)期。
They now believe that language may have been one of the "tools" that boosted humanity and led to the colonisation of the whole planet.
現(xiàn)在他們相信，語(yǔ)言也許已經(jīng)成為人類發(fā)展以及整個(gè)地球殖民化的工具之一。
"We think that this language was a stepping stone in civilisation which led to better co-ordination and co-operation that might have led us to expand," said Dr Quentin Atkinson, at the University of Auckland and Oxford University.
Atkinson博士在奧克蘭大學(xué)、牛津大學(xué)說：“我們認(rèn)為，這種語(yǔ)言是文明中的一個(gè)進(jìn)身之階，它引導(dǎo)我們更好的去協(xié)調(diào)、合作以及發(fā)展。”
"It could have also led to competition that would have given us a push."
它可能也已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致了競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，但正是這競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，為我們的發(fā)展助了一臂之力。
Dr Atkinson analysed 504 languages to see how many phonemes – particular sounds – they contained.
Atkinson博士分析了504種語(yǔ)言以得出它們包含了多少的音素-特殊的聲音。
To his surprise he found a direct correlation between the age of the civilisation and the number of phonemes in its language.
他驚奇的發(fā)現(xiàn)，一個(gè)文明它歷史的悠久度以及其語(yǔ)言中所包含的音素?cái)?shù)量之間有著一個(gè)直接的聯(lián)系。
So while many African languages had more than 100 phonemes, Hawaiian language had as few as 13. English, French and German had about 45 each.
所以，許多非洲語(yǔ)言有100多種音素，夏威夷語(yǔ)言只有13種，而英語(yǔ)、法語(yǔ)以及德語(yǔ)各自有大致45種音素。
The analysis, which used the World Atlas of Language Structure as the main resource, relies on the theory that older civilisations have picked up more linguistic diversity as they age – from genes to language.
以語(yǔ)言結(jié)構(gòu)的世界地圖集為主要來源的分析是以這樣一個(gè)理論為基礎(chǔ)的：古老文明隨著時(shí)間的推移，從基因到語(yǔ)言積累到的更多的語(yǔ)言多樣性。
It then used this to extrapolate back the origins of language to Africa.
由此推斷出語(yǔ)言的發(fā)源地為非洲。
It pinpointed the time as around 150,000 years ago as this was when cave art – one of the earliest forms of communication – began.
此研究指出，發(fā)源時(shí)間為15萬(wàn)年以前，因?yàn)榇藭r(shí)正是洞穴藝術(shù)，也就是最早的交流方式開始的時(shí)間。
It is thought that early man then left Africa around 80,000 years go – taking with him some of the diversification but not all of it.
研究認(rèn)為，非洲的早期人類在大約8萬(wàn)年前離開非洲，并帶走了一部分的語(yǔ)言。
In general, the areas of the globe that were most recently colonised incorporate fewer phonemes into the local languages whereas the areas that have hosted human life for millennia still use the most phonemes, the report concluded.
報(bào)道總結(jié)指出，一般而言，那些最近被殖民的地區(qū)更少的將語(yǔ)素并入到當(dāng)?shù)卣Z(yǔ)言中，然而，在那些人類存在了幾千年的地方，最多的語(yǔ)素仍在被運(yùn)用著。
"The evidence suggests that there was a single origin of language rather than a number that happened independently," said Dr Atkinson.
Atkinson博士說：這些證據(jù)暗示了我們，語(yǔ)言的源頭只有一個(gè)，而不是各自獨(dú)立發(fā)展的。
"I was pretty surprised."
我感到非常的驚訝。
The research is published in the journal Science.
此研究發(fā)表于科學(xué)雜志上。
