纪录片《为何讲话》 第32期：揭开人类讲话之谜（在线收听）

The origin of language must lie in our genes.

就是语言的源头必在我们的基因里

It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

这就如同大海捞针

Unpicking the genetic component of language is a huge challenge.

分析语言的基因组成是个巨大的挑战

From the thousands of genes that make up the human genome,

在构成人类染色体的成千上万个基因中

it seemed almost impossible to identify a gene

要找到一种对说话背后的众多功能

that has an influence on the multitude of functions behind speech.

产生影响的基因几乎是不可能的

But 20 years ago Faraneh Vargha-khadem,

但是二十年前法拉尼·瓦加-卡德

a neuroscientist from University College London,

这位来自伦敦大学院的神经学家

was introduced to a British family that had a very unusual speech defect.

被引荐给有着罕见语言缺陷的某英国家庭

A family who would help solve the mystery of how we speak.

这个家庭可以帮助我们解开人类讲话之谜

When they are speaking they give the impression that they are deaf,

他们说话时 让人感觉他们是聋子

but in fact they are hearing individuals

但实际上他们听力正常

but they give the impression that they are deaf

只是给人一种聋人的印象

because their speech is not clear

因为他们口齿不清

so people have got difficulty understanding them.

所以人们很难理解他们说的话