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What's the most universal utterance in languages across the globe?
世界各地语言中最普遍的话是哪句?
Huh?
嗯?
Correct!
正确!
Huh?
嗯?
That's right.
就是这句。
HUH?
嗯?
Exactly. Because a new study finds that everybody around the world does indeed say “huh?”
的确如此。因为一项新的研究发现全世界的每个人都确实会说“嗯?”
The finding is the journal PLOS One.
这一发现已经刊登在《公共科学图书馆》杂志上。
Is “Huh?” a Universal Word?
“嗯?”是个通用词吗?
Conversational Infrastructure and the Convergent Evolution of Linguistic Items.
会话基础设施及语言项目趋同进化的研究人员们对此展开调查实验。
The researchers were exploring linguistic tools people use to assure fluid communication.
研究人员探索人们为了保证流畅沟通所使用的语言工具。
In this case, they were looking for an interjection that signals that a listener missed something, and prompts the speaker to repeat or rephrase the original statement.
在这种情况下,他们正在寻找一个感叹词,表明听者错过了一些东西,并提示说话人重复或改述原始语句。
In other words, something that works like the English word “Huh?”
换句话说,就比如英文单词“嗯?”
So they eavesdropped on nearly 200 conversations in 10 different tongues, from Italian to Icelandic.
所以他们偷听了从意大利到冰岛10种不同语言中近200个对话。
And they found that, in language after language, a word that sounds a lot like “huh?” gets the job done.
而后他们在不同的语言中发现一个听起来很像“嗯？”的字眼，于是任务就这样完成了。
For example.
世界上有各种语言的“嗯？”。
It's short and sweet so it's likely to stop the speaker before the listener gets too lost.
简单明了的这个字眼很可能让听者在跟不上之前叫停说话人。
And it sounds like a question so it warrants a response.
这听起来就像对一个问题所作出的响应。
The sound appears not to be innate.
而且这个声音似乎与生俱来。
Babies don't use it before they say mama.
宝宝们在喊出妈妈之前也会这样说。
But most five-year-olds are masters of “huh?”.
但大多数5岁的孩子们都是精通“嗯?”的大师。
No matter where they come from.
无论他们来自哪里。
