More Languages Are Spoken in This American Place Than Anywhere on Earth

在美國(guó)的這個(gè)地方所講的語(yǔ)言比地球上的任何地方都多

View of Manhattan from Queens

從皇后區(qū)可看到的曼哈頓

Growing up, you may have heard different languages spoken around your community. Maybe a bunch, maybe a couple, or maybe just one. But if you've ever been to the language capital of the world, you've been surrounded by hundreds of languages at any given moment — perhaps without even realizing it.

從小到大，你或許在生活的的社區(qū)里，應(yīng)該已經(jīng)聽見過(guò)不同的語(yǔ)言，或許是好幾種, 或許是一兩種，或許只有一種。但是，如果你曾經(jīng)去過(guò)世界語(yǔ)言之都，在任何特定的時(shí)刻，你都會(huì)被數(shù)以百計(jì)的語(yǔ)言所包圍，— 或許你根本沒有意識(shí)到。

Pardon My French

原諒我的法語(yǔ)

According to the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA), one area in a U.S. state is home to more languages than any single place on Earth. There are 800 languages spoken throughout New York City, but the borough of Queens is Earth's language champion: a whopping 138 unique languages are spoken in that borough alone. In fact, you may be more likely to hear a super-obscure language in Queens than you are in the small, remote village the language came from.

據(jù)瀕危語(yǔ)言聯(lián)盟 (ELA)說(shuō)，美國(guó)的一個(gè)地區(qū)比地球上任何一個(gè)地方的語(yǔ)言都多。在紐約市你會(huì)聽到800種語(yǔ)言，而皇后區(qū)則是全球的語(yǔ)言之最: 僅在那個(gè)區(qū)就有138種獨(dú)特的語(yǔ)言。事實(shí)上，在皇后區(qū)，你能聽到一個(gè)超級(jí)不為人知的語(yǔ)言的幾率比在這個(gè)語(yǔ)言的拐彎抹角的發(fā)源地還高。

"It is the capital of language density in the world," Daniel Kaufman, an adjunct professor of linguistics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, tells the New York Times. "We're sitting in an endangerment hot spot where we are surrounded by languages that are not going to be around even in 20 or 30 years.”

“這是世界上語(yǔ)言密度最高的地方，" 紐約城市大學(xué)研究生中心的語(yǔ)言學(xué)副教授丹尼爾考夫曼告訴《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》。 “我們正坐在一個(gè)語(yǔ)言瀕臨滅亡的熱點(diǎn)地區(qū)，我們周圍的語(yǔ)言在20或30年內(nèi)就會(huì)消失遁跡了。 "

The borough is only a mere 108 square miles (280 square kilometers), so the many different cultures and languages within it are all packed in close proximity. Why so many languages? Thank New York City's role as America's welcome mat: it's been many an immigrant's first stop in the U.S.

這個(gè)區(qū)僅有108平方英里 (280 平方公里)，許多不同的文化和語(yǔ)言都混雜密閉在這個(gè)狹小的空間里。為什么會(huì)有這么多的語(yǔ)言？這是由于紐約是美國(guó)的門戶城市的原因，是許多移民到美國(guó)的第一站。

What kind of tongues will you be able to hear in Queens? Here's an abbreviated list to give you a taste: English, Greek, Filipino, Urdu, Indonesian, Russian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Croatian, Nepali, Sherpa, Gurung, Mustang, Finnish, Latvian, Chavacano, Waray-Waray, Minangkabau, Bukharian, and many, many more.

在皇后區(qū)你能聽到什么樣的語(yǔ)言呢？下面這個(gè)簡(jiǎn)短的列表，讓你粗略的感受一下：英語(yǔ)，希臘語(yǔ)，菲律賓語(yǔ)，烏爾都文，印尼語(yǔ)，俄語(yǔ)，日語(yǔ)，立陶宛，克羅地亞，尼泊爾，古隆，馬斯滕，芬蘭，拉脫維亞，查瓦卡諾，瓦賴語(yǔ)，米南卡保語(yǔ)，布卡拉，等等，還有許多。

Language Lovers

語(yǔ)言愛好者

Just because many languages are spoken in Queens doesn't mean everyone is walking around fluent in five tongues. According to 2015 Census data, 44 percent of the population aged 5 years or older in Queens spoke only English at home, whereas 56 percent spoke a language other than English. If you're looking to boost your personal language library, research shows that something called spaced repetition can help you learn languages faster than other methods.

僅僅因?yàn)樵诨屎髤^(qū)有很多語(yǔ)言，并不意味著每個(gè)馬路上走著的人都能流利地說(shuō)上5種語(yǔ)言。根據(jù)2015人口普查數(shù)據(jù)，在皇后區(qū)5歲或以上的人口在家里，44% 的人只說(shuō)英語(yǔ)，而56% 的人說(shuō)的是英語(yǔ)以外的語(yǔ)言。如果你想提高個(gè)人語(yǔ)言種類，研究表明，“間隔重復(fù)”可以比其他方法都能幫助你更快的學(xué)習(xí)語(yǔ)言。

After some time, who knows, you may be able to call yourself a polyglot, or even a hyperpolyglot — that's the word for extraordinary language-learners who possess the ability to master and retain upwards of ten languages. A pit stop in Queens might give you all the inspiration you need to make it happen.

在一段時(shí)間后，誰(shuí)知道呢，你沒準(zhǔn)兒就可以稱自己為通曉多語(yǔ)言的人了，甚至是語(yǔ)言超人-這個(gè)詞描述的是擁有能力掌握和保持十種語(yǔ)言的非凡的語(yǔ)言學(xué)習(xí)者。在皇后區(qū)稍停片刻，你或許就能找到那種成就你的所有靈感。