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Cases like Steve's
史蒂夫这类案例
offer scientists like Cathy Price
给凯茜·普赖斯这类科学家提供了
a unique window into how the brain and language connect together.
一种研究大脑和语言联系方法的特殊途径
20 years ago I was told
二十年前 大家都说
that the brain wasn't relevant to our study of language
大脑和人类的语言学习能力并无关联
and the reason for that was that we had so little information.
而理由是这方面的信息我们掌握得太少了
The two types of information that we had were either from
我们只有两种方法来获取信息
autopsies of people who had died after they had had a language difficulty,
要么对生前有语言障碍的人进行尸检
or we were using brain scans
要么利用脑同位素扫描
where the information was so blurred
这些信息都太模糊
that you couldn't really see very much detail about what was happening.
仅凭这些没法真正了解当时的事情始末
So at that point all we knew was that
所以那时 我们所知的仅仅是
the left side of the brain was most important for language
左脑是作用于语言的重要部分
and the front part of the brain is important for speaking
前脑是控制说话能力的重要部分
and the back part of the brain was important for understanding speech
而后脑是理解他人讲话的重要部位
so that was the sort of general level at which it was understood.
当时人们的理解差不多就在这个水平上
As scanning technology has improved,
随着扫描技术的提高
it's become apparent just how complicated the brain functions
大脑对语言作用的复杂性
involved in language really are.
日益凸显
