餐饮开业活动策划方案:母语？可能是来源于你的父亲

母语？可能是来源于你的父亲

By Rob Waugh

作者：Rob Waugh

Last updated at 4:44 PM on 20th September 2011

2011年9月20日下午4：44

'Mother tongue' is not a coincidental phrase - people have long imagined that the close bond between mother and child meant that children acquire language from their mothers, not their fathers. 

“母语”不是与字面一致的一个词——很多人长期假设：母子之间的亲密纽带，可能意味着孩子从母亲而不是父亲那里习得语言。

But a new study has found that the opposite may be true - and the reason is often down to violent invasion.

但是一项新研究发现反面可能是对的——原因常是暴力侵犯。

Throughout history it is men - from Viking invaders battling their way into new areas to pioneering farmers taking wives - who have made the biggest impact on the spoken word.

贯穿历史的是男人——从北欧海盗斗争开辟新领域道路，到鼓励农民娶妻——对口头语言有最大的影响。

Invaders such as Vikings (here impersonated at Shetland's Up Helly Aa festival) did not just spread destruction - they also spread language

像北欧海盗这样的入侵者（这是扮演设得兰群岛的火祭节）不仅仅传播破坏——他们也传播语言。

Scientists investigated male and female genetic markers from several thousand communities to study patterns of prehistoric language transmission. 

科学家研究了几千团体男性和女性基因标记，研究史前语言传播的模式。

They found that what language is spoken by a community largely depends on the arrival of men, whether through the migration of pioneering farmers or military invasion. 

他们发现团体中说什么语言很大程度上依赖于男性的到来，不论是通过先驱农民的移民或是军事侵略。

More...Is this how Eve spoke? Every human language evolved from 'single prehistoric African mother tongue' 

另外，这是夏娃是这样说的吗？每一种语言从“单一的史前非洲母语”发展而来。

From Scandinavian Vikings pillaging British shores to African, Indian and Polynesian tribes, the same trend was seen around the world.

从斯堪的纳维亚北欧海盗掠夺英国海岸到非洲、印度和波利尼西亚部落，全世界都能看到这种倾向。

'It may be that during colonisation episodes by emigrating agriculturists, men generally outnumber women in the pioneering groups and take wives from the local community,' said Professor Colin Renfrew, from Cambridge University. 

“可能是移民农业家的殖民地时代，在先驱群体中男人通常多女人多，从本地部落中娶妻，”剑桥大学的教授 科林·伦弗鲁（ Colin Renfrew）说道。

'When the parents have different linguistic backgrounds, it may often be the language of the father which is dominant within the family group.'

“当父母有不同的语言背景时，在一个家族群体中，父亲一方的语言占支配地位。”

Prof Renfrew and Cambridge colleague Dr Peter Forster reported their  findings in the journal Science. They pointed out that historically men have been more likely to father children with several different mothers than vice versa - and this helps their native tongues to spread. 

伦弗鲁教授以及剑桥大学的博士皮特·佛斯特（Peter Forster ）在科学期刊上发表了他们的发现。他们指出，历史上男人的孩子更可能有好几个不同的母亲，而反之一个孩子可能没有那么多父亲——这能帮助传播他们本地语言。

Bonded by blood: But historically, babies have always been more likely to end up speaking the language their father speaks, says a new study

血缘纽带：但是历史上，婴儿更可能终止了他们父亲所说的语言，一项新的研究表示。

The Mongol warlord Genghis Khan is famously believed to have fathered hundreds of children in the lands he conquered. His offspring would have been more likely to speak his language than their mothers' - not because Genghis stayed behind to nurture them, but because an occupying force would have spread his language behind him.

蒙古王成吉思汗据信在他征服之处有数百个孩子。他的后代更可能说他的语言而不是他们母亲的——并不是因为成吉思汗留下了养育他们，只是因为一种占领性的力量在他身后传播他的语言。

One of the most striking examples of the pattern was evident in New Guinea, said the scientists. In prehistoric times, colonising Polynesians encountered resident Melanesians in New Guinea and the neighbouring Admiralty islands. Today, the New Guinea coast contains pockets of Polynesian-speaking regions separated by areas where Melanesian is spoken.

模式最突出的一个例子之一在新几内亚很明显，科学家说。在史前时代，殖民玻利尼西亚人新几内亚遇到了定居的美拉尼西亚人，毗邻阿德米勒尔蒂群岛。现在，新几内亚海岸线包括了玻利尼西亚的口袋处——说话区域被美拉尼西亚语地区所分隔。

Levels of mitochondrial DNA - a female genetic marker only carried down the female line - is similar all along the coast, regardless of language. But levels of the male Y chromosome strongly correlate with the presence of Polynesian languages. Similar findings have emerged in the Indian sub-continent and the Americas.

不管语言，沿海岸线的线粒体DNA的层级——一个女性基因标记只携带了女性线链——是相似的。但是男性Y染色体的层级和波利尼西亚的语言存在一一对应。印度次大陆和美洲也出现了类似的发现。

Dr Forster said: 'Whether in European, Indian, Chinese or other languages, the expression 'mother tongue' and its concept is firmly embedded in popular imagination - perhaps this is the reason why for so many years the role of fathers, or more likely, specific groups of successful males, in determining prehistoric language switches has not been recognised by geneticists.'