夜雨聆风Learning languages with apps has many benefits, but linguists say there are some shortcomings too
使用应用程序学习语言：益处多多，但语言学家也指出了一些不足
Every year for countless years, I've had "improve my French" at the top of my annual goals.
每年，“提高法语水平”都会出现在我的年度目标清单的首位。
And that's where it stayed, until yet another lockdown sealed us into our homes in early 2021 and I discovered Duolingo.
然而，这个愿望年复一年地搁浅，直到2021年初一场新的封锁将我们困在家中，我才发现了Duolingo这款语言学习应用。
The popular language learning app is one of many available to download on mobile phone or access via a website. It turns learning into a game, complete with rewards, points and a daily reminder in the form of a cute green owl nagging me to do just five minutes of practice.
这款广受欢迎的应用可在手机或网页端下载使用。它把语言学习变成了一场游戏：积分、奖励一应俱全，还有一只可爱的绿色猫头鹰每天提醒我，哪怕只练习五分钟也好。
Four years on, my streak is still going strong. Frankly, even I'm impressed.
四年过去，我的连续打卡记录依旧保持不断。说实话，连我自己都有点惊讶。
Yet, while my French has definitely improved, I wouldn't say I'm fluent. I still struggle with the use of some pronouns and cannot wrap my brain around the subjunctive tense.
不过，虽然我的法语水平确实有所长进，但要说“流利”还谈不上。一些代词的用法依然让我犯难，虚拟语气更是怎么也理不清头绪。
And so, as many others embark on similar missions at this time of year, I asked linguists whether it's possible to master a new language using an app or if there are better ways? And why learn a new language anyway?
正值许多人在新年伊始定下类似目标之际，我请教了几位语言学家：仅靠一款应用就能真正掌握一门新语言吗？是否存在更有效的学习方式？说到底，我们为什么要学习一门新语言？
The benefits of learning a language
语言学习的好处
There are many obvious reasons why someone would want to learn a new language. Perhaps it's to increase their career prospects, connect to their heritage, for fun or even for love, if they've fallen for someone who speaks a different language.
人们想要学习新语言的理由不胜枚举：或许是为了拓展职业前景，或许是想与自己的文化根源建立联系，又或许只是出于兴趣——倘若爱上了一个说着另一种语言的人，学语言甚至可以是为了爱情。
And it's clearly helpful for travel. "If you can speak Greek and go around the Greek islands, speaking in Greek, all of a sudden the prices of things become cheaper from the price in the window because you get the local price," jokes Mark Antoniou, associate professor at Western Sydney University and a Greek speaker.
语言能力对旅行的助益也显而易见。西悉尼大学副教授、希腊语使用者马克·安东尼欧打趣道：“如果你会说希腊语，去希腊群岛旅行时一开口就讲希腊语，店家橱窗上标的价格瞬间就会‘打折’——因为你拿到的是本地人价。”
But there are deeper benefits too.
但语言学习的意义远不止于此。
Ingrid Piller, professor of applied linguistics at Macquarie University, points to a quote attributed to German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
麦考瑞大学应用语言学教授英格丽德·皮勒援引了一句常被归于德国作家歌德的名言：
"Those who know nothing of foreign languages knows nothing of their own."
“不懂外语者，对母语也一无所知。”
"Learning another language really gives you a perspective that our own perspective isn't the only one. It's about [realizing] that there are multiple ways of seeing things, and I think that's actually a really beneficial thing in today's world … That's a great contribution to intercultural understanding," she says.
她说：“学习另一门语言，会让你真正体会到我们自己的视角并非唯一的视角。这是一种认识到世界存在多元观察方式的过程，我认为这在当今时代尤为可贵……它对促进跨文化理解有着巨大的价值。”
It can also be a brain workout. Research suggests bilingualism increases the brain's executive control and helps people switch between tasks smoothly.
语言学习同时也是一场大脑的锻炼。研究表明，双语能力能够增强大脑的执行控制功能，帮助人们更顺畅地在不同任务间切换。
"[When I'm speaking English] I'm gating out all the other languages I speak. My brain switches off whatever else I'm doing and switches on English," says Professor Piller, who speaks five languages. "And that's actually a skill that trains your brain in performing multiple tasks."
会讲五种语言的皮勒教授说：“当我说英语时，我会把脑子里其他语言都‘屏蔽’掉。大脑会自动关闭手头其他事务，专注切换到英语模式。这其实是一种训练大脑多任务处理能力的技能。”
Dr Antoniou agrees: "There's this idea that if you're a bilingual, what we refer to as executive function can transfer to other tasks, which we need in high-demand office environments [and] high-performance environments, where you need to be switching and ignoring one thing and paying attention to another."
安东尼欧博士对此表示认同：“有一种观点认为，双语者所具备的'执行功能'是可以迁移到其他任务上的——而这恰恰是高强度办公环境、高绩效场景中所需要的能力，因为在那些场合，你必须不断切换注意力，忽略某些干扰、专注于眼前的事。”
Learning more than one language also increases metalinguistic awareness. This is the ability to understand the structure of language separate from its meaning, for example understanding why the grammar in a particular phrase isn't right. It's a key part of learning language and allows you to learn and improve.
学习多门语言还能提升“元语言意识”，也就是把语言的结构与其含义剥离开来加以理解的能力，比如能说出某个短语在语法上为何不通。这是语言学习中至关重要的一环，正是它推动着学习者不断进步、精益求精。
What about brain health?
对大脑健康有何影响？
There have been plenty of headlines about the link between learning languages and improved brain health. Some claim it can ward off degenerative brain disease.
关于语言学习与大脑健康改善之间的关联，媒体上的报道屡见不鲜，甚至有人声称它能够抵御退行性脑部疾病。
Both Professor Piller and Dr Antoniou say, while language learning can improve brain health, there are limits.
皮勒教授与安东尼欧博士都表示，语言学习虽然确实有益于大脑健康，但其效果也存在边界。
"I think we just have to be very realistic about what the goalposts are and what success looks like," Dr Antoniou says.
安东尼欧博士说：“我认为我们应当对‘目标’和‘成功’的定义保持清醒的认识。”
He thinks, for example, it's unlikely that people who start playing with an app in their 70s can ward off dementia entirely. But it might buy them time.
他举例说，对于70多岁才开始用应用学语言的人而言，指望由此完全避免痴呆症几乎不现实。但它或许能为患者争取到更多时间。
"If my grandfather was going to have dementia and we could have an extra two years with him, that's amazing."
“假如我祖父注定要患上痴呆症，而我们因此能多陪伴他两年，那已经是莫大的幸事了。”
"If there's a benefit to anything [like] learning an instrument, learning the language, using an app, you really want to be doing it before symptoms present. Let's say in young adulthood to middle age, rather than when people have time but they're in their late 60s and 70s," he says.
他还说：“无论是学一门乐器、学一门语言，还是用一款应用——如果说这些事真的有益处的话，最好是在症状出现之前就开始，比如说从青年到中年阶段，而不是等到六七十岁、有空闲时间了才想起来去做。”
"Not that that doesn't help, it probably does, but prevention is better than cure."
“这并不是说那时候做就没用了，可能依然有帮助，只是说，预防永远胜于治疗。”
Will an app help?
应用程序真的有帮助吗？
Most of us have a mobile phone within easy reach, so the usual barriers like having the time or space to practice language are removed when you use an app. Basic access is usually free, and the slightly addictive gamification of learning is part of the attraction too.
手机几乎人人随身携带，因此用应用学语言，时间不够、场地不便这类常见障碍便不复存在。基础功能通常免费开放，而那种让人欲罢不能的游戏化设计，也正是其吸引力所在。
Professor Piller says the convenience of apps allows learners to practice regularly, which is essential. This is compared to those who sign up for weekly classes and may struggle to remember to practice in between lessons.
皮勒教授指出，应用程序的便利之处在于能让学习者保持规律练习，而这一点至关重要。相比之下，那些报名参加每周课程的人，往往在课与课之间就把练习抛诸脑后了。
"Language learning is hard [and] there's a lot of repetition involved. It could be tedious to have a partner or a teacher having to repeat [things] so many times for you, and it could become expensive," Dr Antoniou says.
安东尼欧博士说：“语言学习本身就不容易，还需要大量重复操练。如果让搭档或老师一遍遍地为你重复，未免枯燥，长此以往开销也不小。”
The other benefit of apps is that language components like vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation are broken down into individual lessons.
应用程序还有一个优势：它会把词汇、语法、发音等语言要素拆解成一节节独立的课程。
"These are discreet skills, but at the same time you always need to bring them to bear at the same time," Professor Piller says.
皮勒教授说：“这些技能虽各自独立，但运用时却必须同时调动起来。”
So, when it comes to learning the basics, apps are very helpful. But becoming fluent is a different proposition.
由此可见，学习基础知识时，应用程序确实大有助益；但若论“流利”二字，那就是另一回事了。
"Most of us, if we learn another language, we actually want to interact with other people. It's about building relationships," Professor Piller explains.
皮勒教授解释道：“我们大多数人学一门新语言，归根结底是想与人交流，建立联系。”
"And that's where the apps fall down because an app is always a binary, but language is not just the binary. Language actually changes its meaning with context and an app can't do context."
“而这恰恰是应用程序的短板所在——程序的逻辑总是非此即彼的二元判断，但语言远不止于此。语言的含义会随语境而变化，‘语境’恰恰是应用程序无法企及的。”
She points to the example of ambiguity. Apps usually only use dictionary definitions, but context is everything when words are used in conversation.
她以‘模糊性’为例加以说明。应用程序往往只能提供词典式的释义，而在真实对话中，语境才是决定词义的关键。
"In real life, anything can mean anything," she says.
她说：“现实生活中，任何词都可能因情境不同而意味着完全不同的事。”
This is particularly true of slang. It's difficult to explain the meanings of English words like "nice" or "easy" or "basic" without context. And how do you explain words like "skibidi" or "rizz", which are impenetrable to anyone over 21?
这一点在俚语中体现得尤为明显。即便是"nice"、"easy"、"basic"这类常见英文词汇，脱离语境也很难讲清其确切含义，更别提"skibidi"或"rizz"这类对21岁以上的人来说堪称"天书"的新潮俚语了。
So if you want to be fluent, both linguists recommend also signing up to a conversation class or joining a language club.
因此，两位语言学家都建议：若想真正做到流利，最好同时报名参加口语课程，或加入语言交流俱乐部。
"I think language apps have a role to play, but it's like a complementary, supplementing role," Dr Antoniou says.
安东尼欧博士说：“我认为语言应用确实有其价值，但更像是一种辅助、补充的角色。”
And the more people you talk to, the better.
而且，交流的对象越多越好。
"We know that the number of native speakers that you interact with has a very crucial effect on the way that you establish the individual speech sounds of a language," he says.
他说：“我们已经知道，你接触的母语者人数，会对你掌握这门语言的具体发音方式产生至关重要的影响。”
This is because everyone speaks in a different way, whether that's speed, fluidity, or breadth of vocabulary.
这是因为每个人的说话方式各不相同。无论是语速、流畅度，还是词汇的丰富程度，都因人而异。
Being in contact with lots of people is also good for your brain health.
与更多人交流，对大脑健康同样大有裨益。
"If [language learning] is for you to remain active and maintain your mental agility, then you actually get more benefits out of joining a French club, and learning with other people as opposed to doing this on the app," says Professor Piller.
皮勒教授说：“如果学习语言是为了让自己保持思维活跃、头脑敏捷，那么加入一个法语俱乐部、与他人共同学习，所获得的益处其实远胜于独自捧着手机刷应用。”
"The app is like sudoku, it's like a puzzle. But if you join the French club, you actually get that additional benefit of practicing with other people, hanging out with other people [and] having that interaction built in."
“应用程序就像数独，更像是一种自娱自乐的智力拼图。但如果你加入法语俱乐部，便能额外获得与他人并肩练习、彼此相处的乐趣，那种内置在交流之中的互动感，是应用程序给不了你的。”
