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Language Learning 语言学习

详细资料: 创建于 2009年9月03日; 最后更新于 2024年5月25日; 发布于 2012年3月20日; 作者：Mike Lee; 点击数：273

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Explore some current trends in the world of second-language education 一探现今第二语言教育的趋势

Hebrew 101 希伯来语入门

Learning a new language is rarely easy for adults, but this class is going to be especially challenging. Class participants aren’t there to just pick up a few key phrases to ask where the bathroom is or order food in a foreign country. They have to start at the beginning, with a new alphabet written in strange characters. They have to learn to make sounds that don’t come naturally to English speakers.

学习新语言对成人来说原本就不容易，但这堂课尤其具有挑战性。班上学员并非只是来学几个重要词组，以便去到外国时能懂得开口点菜或是问人家厕所在哪里；他们必须完全从头学起，从奇形怪状的书写符号组成的全套新字母开始学，还必须学习一些对英语母语人士来说并不是那么容易发声的语音。

But the 28 people enrolled in a seven-week beginners’ Hebrew class are motivated to learn an ancient language that continues to have relevance in modern times. Some of the class members are taking the class to deepen their faith as they learn the language of the Torah, the holy scroll of the Jewish faith that makes up the first five books of the Old Testament. Some have enrolled so they can more fully experience Jewish Sabbath services, which are partly conducted in Hebrew. “It makes me feel connected to the Jewish people,” Miriam Gray, a 30-year-old member of Temple Shalom in Colorado Springs, Colorado, said during a class break.

不过，这二十八位报名参加为期七周的希伯来语初级班的学员，仍积极地学习这个至今仍持续沿用中的古老语言，《摩西五经》为犹太教圣典，亦即《圣经》旧约前五卷书（译注：旧约前五卷书包括创世纪、出埃及记、利未记、民数记和申命记），好让自己的信仰能更加坚定，犹太律法是旧约圣经前五卷所组成的犹太信仰神圣古卷；有些人来上课是为了能够更完整地体验犹太安息日仪式，因为仪式有一部份以希伯来语进行。三十岁的梅莉安．格雷在下课休息时间表示，「学习希伯来语让我感觉彷佛能和犹太民族紧密联系在一起。」格雷是位于科罗拉多州科罗拉多泉的犹太教平安会堂教友。（译注：希伯来语shalom意指平安，也是日常问候语）

Terry Thero, a 63-year-old Christian, is taking the class because he’s planning a trip to Israel in a few years. “I have an interest in the Jewish culture and people, and that area of the world is very important right now.”

六十三岁的基督徒泰瑞．西罗之所以来上希伯来语的课，则是因为他打算几年后到以色列一游。西罗表示，「我对犹太文化和犹太民族很感兴趣，而且地球上的那个地区目前也占有举足轻重的地位。」

A Semitic language, Hebrew is believed to have developed about 3,500 years ago. It differs from the Germanic languages, which include English, in that it is read right to left, originally had no vowels (although they were added about 1,500 years ago), and uses 22 letters. Hebrew also has a shorter, simpler sentence structure. As with all languages, Hebrew and English have evolved over time.

希伯来语是闪族语言的一种，据信大约在三千五百年前左右发展成形。希伯来语和包括英语在内的日耳曼语系不同，因为它是由右至左书写，原本没有元音（不过后来在约一千五百年前加入了元音），有二十二个字母。希伯来语的句型结构较为精简。希伯来语和英语也和所有其他语言一样，都会随着时间而演化。

单词发音

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hebrew [ˋhibru] n. 希伯来人（语）

pick up（不费力地）获得，学会 to acquire (knowledge) by learning or experience

alphabet [ˋælfə͵bɛt] n. 字母系统，字母表，全套字母

torah [ˋtorə] n.（犹太教）教律, 律法, 圣经旧约之首五卷

Old Testament（基督教的）旧约圣经；旧约全书

Sabbath [ˋsæbəθ] n.【宗】安息日 the day of the week set aside by some religions as a day of rest and worship

shalom [ʃəˋlom] int.【口】您好；再见

Semitic [səˋmɪtɪk] adj. 闪语族的，闪米特人的 having to do with the Arabs and Jews of the Middle East

Germanic [dʒɝˋmænɪk] adj. 日耳曼语族的

vowel [ˋvaʊəl] n. 元音，元音字母; 元音

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Arabic classes scarce 阿拉伯语课程不足

Arabic language classes are still few and far between, despite cash incentives from the federal government. A new class at Passaic County’s vocational high school in New Jersey may be the only public school Arabic class in the state, while classes in Mandarin Chinese have mushroomed in recent years and are now offered in more than a dozen nearby districts. Both are considered “critical need” languages by the federal government, which set aside $114 million to kick-start new classes.

虽然美国联邦政府提供金钱奖励开设阿拉伯语课，但相关课程仍然极罕见（译注：few and far between可以指数量很少，或发生频率极低，间隔很久才发生一次），纽泽西州帕赛郡高职所开的阿语新课程，可能是该州公立学校所开设的唯一阿语课程了，相形之下，中文课程（译注：mandarin Chinese直译为国语）近年来却如雨后春笋般出现，目前附近有超过十二个行政区都有开中文课。阿语和中文均被联邦政府视为「亟需」的语言，特别拨出一亿一千四百万美元供作推出新课程之用。

Across the nation, 90 percent of the grants have funded Chinese classes, federal education officials said, with the rest split among Arabic, Hindi, Farsi, Russian, Japanese and Korean. That’s due in part to a well-funded initiative by the Chinese to send trained teachers to U.S. schools. Instructional materials for Chinese lessons are readily available.

联邦教育官员指出，在全美各地共有九成的补助金都用来资助中文课程，其余金额则分给阿拉伯语、印地语（译注：北印度语，为印度官方语言）、波斯语、俄语、日语和韩语。中文课程之所以备受资助，有部分原因是因为中国推出了资金充裕的方案，派遣训练有素的中文教师到美国学校教书，而中文课的教材也都是现成的。

Arabic has had no such support. Indeed, Passaic County Technical Institute decided to offer the class after repeated requests by students, 7 percent of whom speak Arabic at home. Forty-one are enrolled this year, said spokeswoman Sandy Woods.

阿拉伯语则没有这种奥援，事实上，「帕赛郡技术学院」是在学生不断提出要求之后，才决定要开这门课，该校有百分之七的学生在家说阿拉伯语。该校发言人珊蒂．伍德表示，今年有四十一个学生报名上课。

During a recent class, students and instructor Dina Kataw-Aidabole reviewed vocabulary and shared insights into Arab culture. A word for “sandal” also can refer to wooden shoes worn in the shower, which originated in Turkish baths, she told students. “Yes, even in a house you have to take off your shoes,” added student Ferdi Abedinoski, 17. “The carpet has to be clean.”

最近在一堂阿语课中，学生在讲师德娜．卡塔爱达伯的指导下复习字汇，并分享各自对阿拉伯文化的体认。卡塔爱达伯告诉学生，英文里的凉鞋sandal一词，也可以指洗澡时所穿的木鞋，这是源自土耳其浴的用法。「对，即使人在屋子里，也要脱鞋才行，」十七岁的学生菲迪．阿比迪诺斯基接着说道，「地毯必须保持干净。」

“Yes, that’s another cultural thing we should know,” said Kataw-Aidabole.

「没错，那是另一件我们必须要知道的另一种文化习俗，」卡塔爱达伯表示。

Abedinoski said he wanted to study Arabic to enhance his religious education and because “it’s a big language in the world. ….. It has a lot of influence.”

阿比迪诺斯基则说，他想学阿拉伯语，是为了要加强自己的宗教教育，因为「阿拉伯语是世界上的一大语言…拥有极大的影响力。」

－by Mark Barna

单词发音

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few and far between 罕见稀少的, 难得 very few; few and widely scattered

vocational [voˋkeʃən!] adj. 职业的

Mandarin [ˋmændərɪn] n.（M-）华语；中国的官话（北京话）

set aside 留出，拨出 to separate and reserve for a special purpose

grant [grænt] n. 助学金，补助金

Hindi [ˋhɪnˋdi] n. 北印度语

Farsi [ˋfɑrsɪ] n. 波斯语

well-funded 资金充裕的

initiative [ɪˋnɪʃətɪv] n. 新方案 plan, deal, proposal

Turkish bath 土耳其浴 a building in which you sit in a room full of steam and are then massaged and washed

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Helping doctors speak English more clearly 协助医师把英语说得更标准

Karen Yates has a discerning ear. A language specialist, she hears native Chinese speakers learning English and failing to pronounce the consonants at the end of their syllables, so they’ll say “blah” instead of “blood.” Indian speakers, she says, often reverse “w” and “v” and, as a result, “heart valve” becomes “heart wow.” It’s precisely these kinds of language issue that convinced Yates of the need to teach foreign doctors and medical students how to speak English with less of an accent.

凯伦．叶姿的听力非常敏锐，身为语言专家的她，听出中文母语人士在学英语的时候，往往不发出英文字最后的子音，所以他们在说血液的英文blood时，往往会发音成blah，而不是blood（译注：blah指没有发出d的音）。叶姿表示，印度语母语人士则往往会把w和v弄反了，结果导致heart valve被念成heart wow（译注：heart valve是「心瓣膜」）。正是这些语言问题让叶姿深信，的确有必要教导外籍医师和医学院的学生如何在说英语时，不要带有太浓厚的家乡口音。

Considering that the average physician conducts an estimated 25 percent interviews a day, clear speech is essential. Some language miscues are more serious than others, of course. “Fifteen milligrams” and “50 milligrams” sound awfully similar. So do the words “breathing” and “bleeding.”

当大家进一步考虑到，平均每个医生一天估计得看二十五个病人之后，就会了解发音咬字清晰实属必要。当然，有些语言小缺失问题的严重性，远大过于其他，例如fifteen milligrams（译注：十五毫克）和50 milligrams（五十毫克）听起来就很相似，而breathing（呼吸）和bleeding（流血）也很类似。

“And if the doctor speaks too quickly, without American-English pausing and rhythm, the patients may nod as if they understand but they may not know the specifics of what was said,” Yates said.

叶姿表示，「如果医师说话太快，没有依照美式英语特有的停顿和节奏来讲的话，病人可能会表面上似乎在点头，好像听懂了，但是他们心里其实可能并不了解医师所说的详情。」

Yates says that people learning English as a second language “hear” the language with their eyes, by reading how a word is spelled instead of listening with their ears to what is really said. For example, in trying to say “eyes,” because it is spelled with an “s” her students will often say “ice.”

叶姿指出，母语不是英语的人，在学习时往往是用眼睛来「听」英语，也就是说，他们其实是去看字的拼法，而不是用耳朵来听真正的发音。举例来说，要说出eyes这个字时，叶姿的学生常常念成ice，因为eyes的拼法有s。（译注：眼睛eyes的字尾要念成z，而非冰块ice字尾的s音）

Ilse Valencia, 33, a research specialist from Chile, had another complication with English while reading a sentence aloud for Yates’ class. “We increase-sed the dose and stopped the other medicine,” Valencia read slowly, sounding unsure of herself. She’s learning that the pronunciation of “increased” represents one of three ways to say past-tense words with –ed endings. The –ed in this word is actually pronounced with a “t” – “increast.”

三十三岁的智利研究专家伊斯．瓦伦西雅在叶姿班上大声念一个句子时，遇到了另一种困难，「我们increase-sed（译注：增──加了）剂量，而且停用其他的药。」瓦伦西雅很缓慢地念着，听起来对自己缺乏信心。她学到的是，increased的发音是ed结尾的动词过去式的三种念法之一，这个字的ed结尾事实上要念成t的音才对，也就是increast的发音。

－by Jason Roberson

单词发音