Language of the Universe, language of humanity | Dmitry Petrov | TEDxPerm
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0:00 - 0:02[TEDxPerm]
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0:02 - 0:04[The Art of Being]
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0:04 - 0:08[Dmitry Petrov]
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0:09 - 0:12I am a simultaneous interpreter
by profession. -
0:12 - 0:15In addition, I teach people
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0:15 - 0:17foreign languages, various languages.
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0:17 - 0:22In addition to that I also teach
simultaneous translation to translators. -
0:23 - 0:25It has it's own specifics.
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0:26 - 0:29Interesting that at a certain point
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0:29 - 0:33my goal
of learning foreign languages -
0:34 - 0:36went beyond the rational:
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0:36 - 0:38I started to learn
not only the languages -
0:38 - 0:41that were required for my job,
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0:41 - 0:43to make a living,
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0:44 - 0:47but, strangely enough,
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0:47 - 0:50I developed a passion
for ancient languages -
0:50 - 0:55or very small and rare languages.
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0:56 - 1:01Trying to understand
why all of this happened, -
1:01 - 1:05I found the answer: As it turns out
I really wanted to understand -
1:05 - 1:09how a language becomes what it is now.
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1:09 - 1:11Language as a whole, global.
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1:12 - 1:14What made it that way?
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1:14 - 1:16I realized that despite
all the rules of dialectics, -
1:16 - 1:18that we have all studied at some point,
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1:19 - 1:22the language develops,
not from simple to complex, -
1:22 - 1:24but from complex to simple.
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1:25 - 1:27If we take all the ancient languages,
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1:27 - 1:29ancestors of the existing languages,
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1:29 - 1:34they were many more times complex,
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1:34 - 1:37universal, rich, diverse in forms.
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1:38 - 1:41Therefore, Latin is richer than Italian,
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1:42 - 1:44Old English richer than Modern English,
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1:44 - 1:46Sanskrit richer than Hindi.
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1:47 - 1:50This gave me a lot to think about.
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1:50 - 1:54I thought, how could
the ancient people come up -
1:54 - 1:56with such complex languages?
-
1:56 - 1:59Their lives were simple
and monotonous enough. -
2:00 - 2:04They had to survive
and continue their species, -
2:04 - 2:08as well as find food
and escape from dangerous predators. -
2:09 - 2:10But it's not that simple.
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2:11 - 2:13The languages of the ancient people
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2:13 - 2:18were rich in quantity
of forms and inflections. -
2:18 - 2:20Even today it is seen
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2:20 - 2:23in the examples
of the aboriginal languages, -
2:23 - 2:25of the non-written languages.
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2:25 - 2:27I started thinking.
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2:27 - 2:31Given that I am not an expert
in the exact sciences, -
2:31 - 2:36I allowed myself to go beyond and set foot
on the most sacred of grounds. -
2:36 - 2:40A little bit of physics, a little bit
of mathematics, I thought: -
2:40 - 2:43I guess there should be common principles
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2:43 - 2:48that unify all our knowledge system.
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2:49 - 2:53That is, I started to perceive language
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2:53 - 2:56as something inherent
to the Universe, to the Being. -
2:57 - 3:00We can talk not only about English,
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3:00 - 3:04Latin, or Russian; but also
about the language of mathematics, -
3:04 - 3:06physics, chemistry.
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3:06 - 3:11The same reality can be
not only described, but also transferred -
3:11 - 3:12from the language of biology
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3:12 - 3:14to the language of mathematics,
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3:14 - 3:17from the language of physics
to Latin and so on. -
3:19 - 3:22Initially I believed that these thoughts
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3:22 - 3:26didn't make any sense,
that they were totally groundless. -
3:26 - 3:28But they gave me rather pragmatic results.
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3:30 - 3:33How can I use it?
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3:33 - 3:36Again, in a somewhat insolent way,
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3:36 - 3:39I took the concept of waves
and particles, and thought: -
3:39 - 3:43Can I apply it to the process
of learning languages? -
3:44 - 3:46What's the connection?
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3:46 - 3:50If we consider a particle as a word;
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3:51 - 3:53and the wave as its surroundings,
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3:53 - 3:57every thought, images,
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3:57 - 4:01feelings that orbit around the word;
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4:02 - 4:08we get one voluminous unit
that's much easier to understand. -
4:08 - 4:11Here's an example that I can give.
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4:13 - 4:16Recently, anthropologists observed
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4:16 - 4:20aboriginal tribes
somewhere in the Amazon Jungle. -
4:20 - 4:27Each member of the tribe
knows at least 10 different languages. -
4:27 - 4:29Tribal languages, of course,
but languages nevertheless. -
4:30 - 4:33A member of the tribe was asked to explain
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4:33 - 4:36how he learned the language
of the neighboring tribe. -
4:37 - 4:40He answered: "I don't understand
what you are talking about". -
4:40 - 4:43"Well, how do you speak
the language of a neighboring tribe?" -
4:43 - 4:45He didn't understand the question.
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4:45 - 4:48"All right, how do you say 'axe'
in the language of your neighbors?" -
4:49 - 4:50"I don't know."
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4:50 - 4:52"But you bought them an axe,
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4:52 - 4:56you talked to them, laughed
and discussed something..." -
4:56 - 4:59And he said: "Oh! In order
to speak that language -
4:59 - 5:03I have to cross the river,
enter the village, -
5:03 - 5:06look at their faces, their palms,
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5:06 - 5:12the shore, and then I'm in the environment
where I can speak the language. -
5:12 - 5:14But if I leave the village,
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5:14 - 5:17I'm sorry, I can't speak
the language anymore." -
5:17 - 5:23This means, the environment
shapes our linguistic abilities. -
5:23 - 5:28How can I apply this
to the methodology of teaching? -
5:29 - 5:36First, it's necessary to recreate
the system of images and sensations, -
5:36 - 5:42given that we cannot
follow the example of this aborigine. -
5:42 - 5:45This system shapes for us
the concept of each language. -
5:46 - 5:50Therefore, when I teach Italian,
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5:50 - 5:53I tell my students to close their eyes
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5:55 - 5:59and imagine Italy, Italians,
and the Italian language. -
5:59 - 6:02What does the imagination
evoke spontaneously? -
6:02 - 6:05Each one will have
their own ideas, images. -
6:06 - 6:08Someone will hear songs by Celentano,
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6:08 - 6:11someone will remember
the smell of a hot pizza, -
6:11 - 6:16someone will remember traveling
to some kind of a sea resort. -
6:16 - 6:18Each will see different images.
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6:18 - 6:21But in any case,
there will be something in common. -
6:21 - 6:24Italy will be exactly that for the person.
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6:25 - 6:29We should perceive a language
not in a linear fashion, -
6:29 - 6:32as a set of words, grammatical rules.
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6:33 - 6:35Instead, it's a voluminous space
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6:35 - 6:40that has its own flavor, aroma,
color, and generates various emotions. -
6:41 - 6:45This is what allows small children
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6:45 - 6:47of 2 or 3 years to learn
their mother tongue -
6:47 - 6:51in an active way, in little time,
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6:51 - 6:53without any type of formal education.
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6:54 - 6:57I tried to use this
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6:57 - 7:01in my teaching methodology with adults.
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7:02 - 7:04Another thing: you won't find anybody
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7:04 - 7:08who denies the opportunity
of learning another language or two. -
7:08 - 7:12But we know that some people,
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7:12 - 7:16that study a foreign language for years,
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7:16 - 7:19sadly are not always
satisfied with the results. -
7:20 - 7:22Another paradoxical point:
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7:22 - 7:27I discovered that each person
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7:27 - 7:30that complains about
hurdles and difficulties -
7:30 - 7:31in learning foreign languages
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7:31 - 7:35is always capable
of localizing the problem -
7:35 - 7:37in their own body.
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7:38 - 7:40I have even categorized these people.
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7:40 - 7:45They are those that tend
to analyze the information too much. -
7:45 - 7:48They think a lot constantly.
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7:48 - 7:52They combine who knows what
to construct a phrase. -
7:52 - 7:57Then they dig through
the virtual dictionary, -
7:57 - 8:00they go to an archive of forgotten words.
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8:00 - 8:06And only after all that mess,
they manage to form a phrase. -
8:06 - 8:08Then there's another kind of people.
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8:08 - 8:11They do not have any problems
with constructing phrases, -
8:11 - 8:13building texts or a construction.
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8:13 - 8:14They have a good memory.
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8:14 - 8:16But their blockage is here.
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8:16 - 8:19I know and understand everything,
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8:19 - 8:20but "can't say a word."
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8:22 - 8:27There is also another category
that feels that blockage, -
8:27 - 8:29the linguistic pain here.
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8:29 - 8:32People that always fear,
"God forbid I say something wrong!" -
8:32 - 8:34"What if I blurt out something,
everyone will laugh... -
8:34 - 8:37what a nightmare... what if they
misunderstand me!" -
8:38 - 8:43So, to facilitate the learning
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8:43 - 8:44of new information...
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8:44 - 8:48That, of course, applies not only
to learning foreign languages, -
8:48 - 8:51but to any information in general —
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8:51 - 8:54it's necessary to tune in the mind
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8:54 - 8:57in this new information.
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8:59 - 9:06If a person speaks or uses
a number of languages, -
9:06 - 9:11they often talk of this adjustment
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9:11 - 9:13as a change of radio frequency.
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9:14 - 9:18Now, for an example, we speak Italian,
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9:18 - 9:19and then... we switch to Russian.
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9:20 - 9:25Furthermore, we start
to adopt gestural characteristics -
9:25 - 9:31and facial expressions that belong
to the people of the language -
9:31 - 9:33that we are studying or trying to speak.
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9:34 - 9:39I remember one time
when I was talking to an Italian, -
9:39 - 9:42and suddenly I grabbed his hands.
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9:43 - 9:46What happened? He was speechless,
he couldn't say a word. -
9:47 - 9:51And the man really liked to talk.
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9:51 - 9:54But when I let his hands go,
he went like this. -
9:54 - 9:57(Laughter) (Applause)
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9:57 - 10:01It's necessary to take such things
into account from the very beginning -
10:01 - 10:06when studying and trying to feel
like a native speaker. -
10:06 - 10:09For example, if you study
the American version of English, -
10:10 - 10:12you need to try to feel like an American.
(American accent) -
10:12 - 10:14Understood? (Laughter)
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10:14 - 10:17If you study Italian, then you need to...
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10:17 - 10:19Something invisibly changes,
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10:19 - 10:21unclear on which level,
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10:21 - 10:23in which part of the body,
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10:23 - 10:25but you start to act like an Italian,
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10:25 - 10:27while also remaining yourself.
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10:28 - 10:31The other side of the coin:
How do we perceive the reality -
10:31 - 10:36that manifests in the languages?
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10:38 - 10:40It changes the register of our perception.
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10:40 - 10:42Here's a simple example.
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10:42 - 10:46Let's each imagine a computer keyboard.
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10:48 - 10:51The majority of the computer keyboards,
at least in Russia, -
10:51 - 10:56have both Cyrillic and Latin
characters on them. -
10:57 - 11:03When you need to write a text in Russian,
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11:03 - 11:06you have a specific strategy in mind.
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11:06 - 11:08According to the way
you'll write the text, -
11:08 - 11:11you choose the letters on the keyboard.
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11:12 - 11:15Suddenly, you have to write
something in English. -
11:15 - 11:19Your eyes are the same, the same screen,
and the same keyboard. -
11:19 - 11:22But something changes.
You start to see different letters. -
11:25 - 11:29Now I say this, but think,
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11:29 - 11:31when you really have to do it,
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11:31 - 11:33write in two languages,
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11:33 - 11:38you know that on the conscious level,
almost nothing happens. -
11:40 - 11:45That is, we are capable
of perceiving reality -
11:45 - 11:49in a different way,
from a different point of view, -
11:49 - 11:53just by changing
the register of perception. -
11:54 - 11:57Another important thing is,
obviously, motivation. -
11:57 - 12:00You won't get far without it.
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12:00 - 12:03It's not only useful
in learning languages. -
12:04 - 12:07I remember an event from my life.
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12:07 - 12:12When my oldest son was almost 3 years old,
he started talking. -
12:14 - 12:18But at the time, he lived in Mumbai,
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12:18 - 12:21not in the poor neighborhood,
but not that far from it. -
12:21 - 12:24And I was working in another country.
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12:24 - 12:28When I visited him
a couple of months later, -
12:28 - 12:31he already spoke fluently.
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12:31 - 12:34But he spoke Hindi,
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12:34 - 12:35and I didn't speak it.
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12:35 - 12:37(Laughter)
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12:37 - 12:40Obviously, children
won't tolerate such things; -
12:40 - 12:43they know you, they want to talk to you.
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12:43 - 12:45And if you don't understand,
that's your problem. -
12:47 - 12:49That was one of the motivating factors
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12:49 - 12:52that literally forced me
to learn the language -
12:52 - 12:55in the period of one week.
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12:56 - 12:58First, I achieved his level,
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12:58 - 13:00then, after a week, I spoke it fluently,
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13:00 - 13:04bargained in the Hindi market
and got crazy discounts. -
13:05 - 13:08Sometimes they even gave me
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13:08 - 13:13the things I wanted to buy, for free.
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13:13 - 13:15I was so eager to tell them:
I just learned it! -
13:15 - 13:19And they'd say: "No, obviously,
you have lived here your whole life..." -
13:19 - 13:25But my pride and sense of superiority
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13:25 - 13:28quickly vanished when I realized
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13:28 - 13:32that any merchant
in Mumbai fluently speaks -
13:32 - 13:35at least 8 languages
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13:35 - 13:38and they don't consider
themselves polyglot, -
13:38 - 13:40they don't shout it from the rooftops.
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13:41 - 13:42It's just a matter of motivation.
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13:42 - 13:46A German politician,
I think it was chancellor Brandt, -
13:46 - 13:49once said:
-
13:49 - 13:53"If you're selling me
something and I'm buying it, -
13:53 - 13:55we speak in German.
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13:56 - 14:00But if I'm selling and you're buying,
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14:00 - 14:02we speak in your language."
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14:03 - 14:07It's the kind of indicator of motivation
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14:07 - 14:10that's inevitable in the modern world.
-
14:11 - 14:14It's important to keep in mind
that languages -
14:14 - 14:18differ not only
between different nationalities, -
14:18 - 14:20but also between different
professional groups. -
14:20 - 14:25I think that in the future,
there'll be greater linguistic differences -
14:25 - 14:28not between the languages
of different nationalities, -
14:28 - 14:30but between the languages
of different professions -
14:30 - 14:33and even different corporate groups.
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14:33 - 14:35We have to be prepared.
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14:35 - 14:39And the principles that I tried to explain
work in these cases as well, -
14:39 - 14:42because all the languages
that we talked about -
14:42 - 14:45are a manifestation of a single language:
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14:45 - 14:47the language of the Universe
we all live in. -
14:47 - 14:50Thank you. (Applause)
- Title:
- Language of the Universe, language of humanity | Dmitry Petrov | TEDxPerm
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
Dmitry Petrov is a linguist who knows 30 different languages and does professional simultaneous interpretation in 8 of them. In this unique talk, Dmitry talks about his passion for understanding how language became what it is now, and his perception of language as a whole, global and inherent to the Universe and the Being. He believes that to learn a language, we must learn to emulate its native speakers in more than our words alone.
- Video Language:
- Russian
- Team:
closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 14:52
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Krystian Aparta approved English subtitles for TEDxPerm — Дмитрий Петров: Язык Вселенной, язык человечества | |
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Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for TEDxPerm — Дмитрий Петров: Язык Вселенной, язык человечества | |
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Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for TEDxPerm — Дмитрий Петров: Язык Вселенной, язык человечества | |
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Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for TEDxPerm — Дмитрий Петров: Язык Вселенной, язык человечества | |
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Kristaps accepted English subtitles for TEDxPerm — Дмитрий Петров: Язык Вселенной, язык человечества | |
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Kristaps edited English subtitles for TEDxPerm — Дмитрий Петров: Язык Вселенной, язык человечества | |
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Kristaps edited English subtitles for TEDxPerm — Дмитрий Петров: Язык Вселенной, язык человечества | |
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Kristaps edited English subtitles for TEDxPerm — Дмитрий Петров: Язык Вселенной, язык человечества |
Ivana Korom
Hello, I'm returning the translation to the reviewer for improvements: Please remember to edit the title and description according to the guidelines - the description should have 1-2 sentences describing the talk, and all other info about the speaker, their work or the TEDx program should be removed. http://translations.ted.org/wiki/How_to_Tackle_a_Transcript#Title_and_description_standard //////////////////////////////////////////////////// Some lines are too long, please make sure maximum number of characters per subtitle is 84 and 42 per line. Learn more in this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvNQoD32Qqo
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Kristaps
In that case, the rest of the translations, as well as the original transcript, doesn't meet the TEDx transcribing guidelines.
Krystian Aparta
The translation is good with very few mistakes, but I am sending these subtitles back, because they need further edits for technical style before they become eligible for publishing. Please watch this short tutorial on reviewing to understand what changes are necessary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ2CZonFYgA&list=PLuvL0OYxuPwxQbdq4W7TCQ7TBnW39cDRC&index=7
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