Kul waḥed fikum ɛendu el-sima el-mejjehda, el-waɛra, elli tzeɛzeɛ kter (subversive) w elli kkewnu el-texyar el-ṭabiɛi (Natural Selection) l el-ḥin. Hiya ṭerf ntaɛ teknolojya, f el-ɛṣab w el-smaɛ, terbeṭ ma bin el-mxuxa ntaɛ el-nas. Bayna belli rani nehḍer ɛla el-qudra ntaɛ el-luġa, laxeṭerš hiya elli txellikum teġġersu fekra men ɛqelkum nišan f el-ɛqel ntaɛ waḥdaxer, w yeqqedru huma tanik ysseyu ydirulek nefs el-ši, bla tešraṭ xdama wella Sidi Ɛebbaz. F had el-syaq, ki tkun tehḍer, rak testeɛmel, f el-waqeɛ, waḥed el-škel ntaɛ el-telemetri (nqil bla-xiṭ) mši mextalef bezzaf ɛla el-telekomand ntaɛ el-tilivizyu ntaɛek. Kima n' hak! Win el-mašina tkun qayma ɛla el-bɛit ntaɛ ḍḍew teḥt-ḥmer ('infraruj), el-luġa ntaɛkum tkun qayma ɛla el-bɛit el-bɛit, bla smir, ntaɛ el-ḥess.
Each of you possesses the most powerful, dangerous and subversive trait that natural selection has ever devised. It's a piece of neural audio technology for rewiring other people's minds. I'm talking about your language, of course, because it allows you to implant a thought from your mind directly into someone else's mind, and they can attempt to do the same to you, without either of you having to perform surgery. Instead, when you speak, you're actually using a form of telemetry not so different from the remote control device for your television. It's just that, whereas that device relies on pulses of infrared light, your language relies on pulses, discrete pulses, of sound.
W ġir kima testeɛmel el-telekomand beš tbeddel el-ɛdadat el-dexlaniya ntaɛ el-tilivizyu ntaɛek ɛla ḥsab ma teršeqlek, testeɛmel el-luġa ntaɛek beš tbeddel el-ɛdadat f daxel ɛqel bnadem ɛla ḥsab el-fayda ntaɛek. El-luġat hiya jinat tehḍer (mehdara), teddi el-ṣwaleḥ elli baġyethum W, hnaya, ġir txxeylu el-ɛjeb fi keš ġuryan ki yetkaka l had el-ši w yebda ylaġi keš ḥess yxelli el-ṣwaleḥ yetḥerku fi keš bit: tqul kelli keš ɛefsa ntaɛ sḥur - w twali ḥetta yweṣṣelhum l fummu.
And just as you use the remote control device to alter the internal settings of your television to suit your mood, you use your language to alter the settings inside someone else's brain to suit your interests. Languages are genes talking, getting things that they want. And just imagine the sense of wonder in a baby when it first discovers that, merely by uttering a sound, it can get objects to move across a room as if by magic, and maybe even into its mouth.
Ḍerwek, el-qudra ntaɛ el-luġa f el-tzeɛziɛ ɛtarfu biha, mɛa el-ɛhud: B sebba't el-ɛessa (el-raqaba), kayen ktuba ma tnejjemš teqrahum. ɛbarat (hedrat) ma teqderš testeɛmelhum w kelmat ma tnejjemš tqulhum. F el-waqeɛ, el-ḥkaya dyal el-burj ntaɛ Babel f el-'Injil ḥiya ḥejjaya w tenbih ɛla el-quwwa ntaɛ el-luġa. Ɛla ḥsab had el-ḥkaya, el-bniyadem el-lwala weṣlu l el-fhama belli mɛa el-stiɛmal ntaɛ el-luġa beš yexxedmu mɛa beɛḍ, yeqqedru yebniw burj yweṣṣelhum, qbala, l el-sma. Temmatik, 'Allah zɛef men had el-muḥawala beš ytṣṣelṭu ɛlih, ḥeṭṭem el-burj, w beš yetyeqqen belli ma yɛawduš yebniweh, ferket el-nas ki ɛṭalhum luġat mextalfa -- xelleṭhalhum ki ɛṭalhum luġat mextalfa. W hada yweṣṣel l el-tmesxira el-hayla belli el-luġat kayna beš ma txellinaš netwaṣlu. Ḥetta el-yum, ɛla balna belli kayen kelmat ma nnejmuš nesteɛmluhum, jumel ma neqqedruš nquluhum, laxaṭerš 'ida qulnahum, yeqqedru yḍayquna, yeḥḥebsuna, w ḥetta yeqqetluna. W gaɛ hada men nefxa't nefs texrej men fwamna.
Now language's subversive power has been recognized throughout the ages in censorship, in books you can't read, phrases you can't use and words you can't say. In fact, the Tower of Babel story in the Bible is a fable and warning about the power of language. According to that story, early humans developed the conceit that, by using their language to work together, they could build a tower that would take them all the way to heaven. Now God, angered at this attempt to usurp his power, destroyed the tower, and then to ensure that it would never be rebuilt, he scattered the people by giving them different languages -- confused them by giving them different languages. And this leads to the wonderful irony that our languages exist to prevent us from communicating. Even today, we know that there are words we cannot use, phrases we cannot say, because if we do so, we might be accosted, jailed, or even killed. And all of this from a puff of air emanating from our mouths.
Šuftu! Gaɛ had el-haraj ɛla sima waḥda m el-simat ntaweɛna yxellina nqulu belli, ṣeḥḥ, kayen ḥaja, hnaya, testahel el-tefsir. W hadi hiya kifeš w ɛleš tṭewret had el-sima el-metmeyza, w ɛlah tṭewret ġir ɛend el-jnas ntaweɛna? El-ḥaṣul, hadi ḥeyya tdehheš šwiya win beš nelqaw keš jwab l had el-swal, lazem ɛlina nruḥu l el-stiɛmal ntaɛ el-duzan ɛend el-šempanziyat. Had el-šempanziyat yesteɛmlu duzan, w ḥna ɛendna hadi kelli 'išara ɛla el-ɛqel ntaɛhum. Beṣṣaḥ, la kanu ṣeḥḥ ɛendhum f el-ras, ɛlah yesteɛmlu meṭreg beš yxxewšu ɛla el-termit m el-'erḍ bdal men meɛwel? W la kanu ṣeḥḥ ɛendhum f el-ras, ɛlah yhhersu gergaɛ w yḥelluh b keš ḥajra? Ɛlah ma yruḥuš l keš ḥanut w yešru škara ntaɛ gergaɛ elli keš waḥed hhersu men qbel? Ɛlah lla? Ki tšuf: Dak huwa weš rana ndiru.
Now all this fuss about a single one of our traits tells us there's something worth explaining. And that is how and why did this remarkable trait evolve, and why did it evolve only in our species? Now it's a little bit of a surprise that to get an answer to that question, we have to go to tool use in the chimpanzees. Now these chimpanzees are using tools, and we take that as a sign of their intelligence. But if they really were intelligent, why would they use a stick to extract termites from the ground rather than a shovel? And if they really were intelligent, why would they crack open nuts with a rock? Why wouldn't they just go to a shop and buy a bag of nuts that somebody else had already cracked open for them? Why not? I mean, that's what we do.
Ḍerwek: Ɛlah el-šempanzi ma ydirš kima n' hak meɛnatu belli rahum naqṣin weš el-xubara ntaɛ ɛilm el-nefs w el-'antropolojya ysemmuh el-teɛlam el-'ijtimaɛi. Yban belli rahum mexṣuṣin qudra beš yetɛelmu men ġirhum b el-nsix w el-teqlid wella, sahel mahel, b el-tefraj. W f el-tali, ma yeqqedruš yetsegmu b el-fkar ntaɛ el-ġir wella yetɛelmu m el-ġelṭat ntaɛ el-'uxrin -- yestfadu m el-ḥekma ntaɛ el-'uxrin. W hakda telqahum rahum ydiru dat el-ši men dara w jdid w zid. F el-waqeɛ, neqqedru nruḥu melyun ɛam w nwellu w had el-šempanziyat rahum ɛad ydiru dat el-ši, b dat el-mṭareg beš yxxerju el-termit w dat el-hjer beš yḥellu el-gergaɛ.
Now the reason the chimpanzees don't do that is that they lack what psychologists and anthropologists call social learning. They seem to lack the ability to learn from others by copying or imitating or simply watching. As a result, they can't improve on others' ideas or learn from others' mistakes -- benefit from others' wisdom. And so they just do the same thing over and over and over again. In fact, we could go away for a million years and come back and these chimpanzees would be doing the same thing with the same sticks for the termites and the same rocks to crack open the nuts.
Ḍerwek, had el-ši yban kelli tekebbur wella keš heḍra't zux. Kifeš neɛɛerfu had el-ši? Laxaṭerš hada huwa, b el-dat, weš jdudna, el-Homo erectus, kanu ydiru. Had el-qruda elli yeqqedru yewweqfu ɛašu f el-savanna ntaɛ Friqya hadi qrib zuj mlayen ɛam men qbel, w ṣenɛu had el-šefrat el-mxxeyrin elli yetwalmu ɛalama mɛa yeddikum. Beṣṣaḥ la tmeɛɛenna f el-baqaya ntaɛ el-ḥjer, nšufu belli ṣenɛu qrib dat el-šefrat ntaɛ el-yeddin men dara w jdid w zid l melyun ɛam. Teqqdru ttebɛuha ɛla ḥsab el-baqaya ntaɛ el-ḥjer. Ḍerwek, lakan nxemmu šwiya šḥal ɛaš el-Homo erectus, weš kan weqt jilhum, hada ysawi qrib 40.000 jil m el-waldin l wladhum, w ɛibad waḥduxrin yetfferju, bla ma had el-šefra tetbeddel. El-ḥala rahi ɛad mši bayna belli el-qrab lina men jiha't el-jinat, el-Nyandertal, kan ɛendhum teɛlam 'ijtimaɛi. Yaqin kima yelzem, el-duzan ntaweɛhum kanu mɛeqdin kter ɛla el-duzan ntaɛ Homo erectus, beṣṣaḥ huma tanik bbeynu ġir quzza tebdal f mudda't 300.000 ɛam wella qrib belli had el-jnas, el-Nyandertal, kanu ɛayšin f Örasya.
Now this may sound arrogant, or even full of hubris. How do we know this? Because this is exactly what our ancestors, the Homo erectus, did. These upright apes evolved on the African savanna about two million years ago, and they made these splendid hand axes that fit wonderfully into your hands. But if we look at the fossil record, we see that they made the same hand axe over and over and over again for one million years. You can follow it through the fossil record. Now if we make some guesses about how long Homo erectus lived, what their generation time was, that's about 40,000 generations of parents to offspring, and other individuals watching, in which that hand axe didn't change. It's not even clear that our very close genetic relatives, the Neanderthals, had social learning. Sure enough, their tools were more complicated than those of Homo erectus, but they too showed very little change over the 300,000 years or so that those species, the Neanderthals, lived in Eurasia.
Ṣaḥḥa, weš yeɛnilna hada huwa belli, b xlaf el-mtel el-qdim, "el-šadi yšuf w el-šadi ydir," El-ḥaja elli tdehheš hiya belli gaɛ el-hwayeš el-'uxrin ma ynnejmuš ṣaḥḥ ydiru had el-ši -- ɛla el-'aqqel, mši bezzaf. W ḥetta had el-teṣwira tban kelli meġšuša -- ḥaja jaya men Sirk Barnum & Bailey.
Okay, so what this tells us is that, contrary to the old adage, "monkey see, monkey do," the surprise really is that all of the other animals really cannot do that -- at least not very much. And even this picture has the suspicious taint of being rigged about it -- something from a Barnum & Bailey circus.
Beṣṣaḥ, b el-mqarna, neqqedru netɛɛelmu. Neqqedru netɛɛelmu ki netfferju f el-nas el-'uxrin w ki nnesxu w nqqeldu weš yeqqedru ydiru. Neqqedru, temmatik, nxxeyru, men bin ṣeff ntaɛ xtiyarat, el-mxeyyer fihum. Neqqedru nestfadu m el-fkarat Neqqedru nebniw ɛla el-rzana ntaɛhum. W f el-tali, el-fkarat ntaweɛna tetɛerrem, w el-teknolojya ntaɛna tetqeddem. W had el-mwalma ntaɛ el-taqafa b el-teɛram, kima ysemmuha el-mexteṣṣin ntaɛ el-'antropolojya: el-teɛram ntaɛ el-fkarat, hiya el-mes'ula ɛla kul ši, mdawer bik fi ḥyatek ntaɛ kul yum, el-mɛɛemra ṣadaɛat w haraj Rani neqṣed belli el-ɛalem tbeddel men kul jiha ɛla elli nnejmu neɛɛerfu ɛlih hadi 1.000 wella 2.000 ɛam. W gaɛ hada ɛla jal el-mwalma el-taqafiya elli tetɛerrem mɛa el-weqt. el-krasa elli rakum qaɛdin ɛlihum, el-ḍwaw f had el-mesmeɛ, el-mikrofon ntaɛi, el-iPad w el-iPod elli rakum rafdinhum -- kul ši natija ntaɛ mwalma taqafiya metɛerma.
But by comparison, we can learn. We can learn by watching other people and copying or imitating what they can do. We can then choose, from among a range of options, the best one. We can benefit from others' ideas. We can build on their wisdom. And as a result, our ideas do accumulate, and our technology progresses. And this cumulative cultural adaptation, as anthropologists call this accumulation of ideas, is responsible for everything around you in your bustling and teeming everyday lives. I mean the world has changed out of all proportion to what we would recognize even 1,000 or 2,000 years ago. And all of this because of cumulative cultural adaptation. The chairs you're sitting in, the lights in this auditorium, my microphone, the iPads and iPods that you carry around with you -- all are a result of cumulative cultural adaptation.
Ḍerwek, l šḥal men waḥed yebġi yɛelleq, el-mwalwa el-taqafiya el-metɛɛerma wella el-teɛlam el-'ijtimaɛi hiya xedma mefriya: el-tali ntaɛ el-ḥkaya. El-jnas ntaweɛna ynnejmu yeṣṣenɛu ṣwaleḥ, el-ši elli yxellina nqulu belli tqeddemna b sira ma ɛerfethaš jnas waḥduxra. F el-waqeɛ, neqqedru ḥetta neṣṣenɛu "ṣwaleḥ el-denya" -- kima rani ɛad qult, gaɛ el-ṣwaleḥ elli meddawrin bina. Beṣṣaḥ f el-ṣeḥḥ, yban belli hadi mudda, qrib 200.000 sna men qbel ki banet el-jnas ntaweɛna w kesbu el-teɛlam el-'ijtimaɛi, belli hadi hiya el-bedya ntaɛ el-tarix dyalna, w mši el-nihaya ntaɛ tarixna. Laxaṭerš el-ksib ɛendna ntaɛ el-teɛlam el-'ijtimaɛi ġadi yexleq muɛḍila 'ijtimaɛiya w men jiha't el-teṭwar, w ḥelha, neqqedru nqulu, yeqder yqerrer mši ġir el-sira f el-mustaqbel ntaɛ el-nefsiya ntaɛna beṣṣaḥ gana el-sira f el-mustaqbel dyal el-ɛalem b kmalu. W elli yhemm kter hnaya, elli ywajebna ɛlah ɛendna luġa.
Now to many commentators, cumulative cultural adaptation, or social learning, is job done, end of story. Our species can make stuff, therefore we prospered in a way that no other species has. In fact, we can even make the "stuff of life" -- as I just said, all the stuff around us. But in fact, it turns out that some time around 200,000 years ago, when our species first arose and acquired social learning, that this was really the beginning of our story, not the end of our story. Because our acquisition of social learning would create a social and evolutionary dilemma, the resolution of which, it's fair to say, would determine not only the future course of our psychology, but the future course of the entire world. And most importantly for this, it'll tell us why we have language.
W el-sebba elli xellat had el-muɛḍila tban hiya belli, ɛla ḥsab el-šufa, el-teɛlam el-'ijtimaɛi ma huwa ġir sriqa b el-ɛin. Lakan neqder netɛellem ki netferrej fik, neqder nexwen el-fkar el-mxeyrin ntawɛek, w neqder nestfad m el-juhud ntawɛek, bla ma nḍeyyeɛ nefs el-weqt w el-jehd elli ṣrefthum beš tṭewwerhum. La qdert nšuf weš men genj steɛmelt beš teqbeṭ ḥutta, wella nšuf kifeš tsennen el-šaqur ntaɛek beš ywelli xir, wella la tebbeɛtek l jnin'tek dyal el-fuggaɛ, neqder nestfad m el-meɛrifa, el-rzana w el-ṣenɛat ntawɛek, w twali ḥetta nṣeyyed hadik el-ḥutta qbel ma tṣeyyedha. El-teɛlam el-'ijtimaɛi huwa, f el-ṣeḥḥ, sriqa b el-šufa W ɛend el-jnas elli kesbet had el-ši, xirlek txebbi el-fkar ntawɛek el-mxeyrin, beš ma yexwenhumlek ḥetta waḥed.
And the reason that dilemma arose is, it turns out, that social learning is visual theft. If I can learn by watching you, I can steal your best ideas, and I can benefit from your efforts, without having to put in the time and energy that you did into developing them. If I can watch which lure you use to catch a fish, or I can watch how you flake your hand axe to make it better, or if I follow you secretly to your mushroom patch, I can benefit from your knowledge and wisdom and skills, and maybe even catch that fish before you do. Social learning really is visual theft. And in any species that acquired it, it would behoove you to hide your best ideas, lest somebody steal them from you.
Amala, hadi waḥed 200.000 ɛam men qbel, qablet el-jnas ntaweɛna had el-'ezma. W kanu ɛendna ġir zuj xyarat beš netɛamlu mɛa el-mnawšat elli ybanu mɛa had el-sriqa b el-šufa. Waḥda men had el-xyarat hiya ki nenɛazlu fi mejmuɛat ntaɛ ɛaylat ṣġar. Laxaṭerš el-fayda m el-fkar w el-meɛrifa ntaɛna tebqa tdur ġir ɛend ḥbabna. Zeɛma rana xeyyerna had el-ši, hadi ši 200.000 ɛam men qbel, la kunna ɛla ḥsab el-šufa ɛayšin kima kannu el-Nyandertal ki dxelna el-xeṭra el-'ewla l el-'Örop hadi 40.000 ɛam men qbel. W hada laxaṭerš fi mejmuɛat ṣġar, el-fkar tkun qlila, el-tejdad ykun qlil. W el-mejmuɛat el-ṣġar qrab m el-wqiɛat w el-zher el-menḥus. Amala, la kan xeyyerna had el-ṭriq, lakan el-ṭriq ntaɛ el-teṭwar dána l el-ġaba -- w lakan qṣir, ṣeḥḥ w ṣḥiḥ.
And so some time around 200,000 years ago, our species confronted this crisis. And we really had only two options for dealing with the conflicts that visual theft would bring. One of those options was that we could have retreated into small family groups. Because then the benefits of our ideas and knowledge would flow just to our relatives. Had we chosen this option, sometime around 200,000 years ago, we would probably still be living like the Neanderthals were when we first entered Europe 40,000 years ago. And this is because in small groups there are fewer ideas, there are fewer innovations. And small groups are more prone to accidents and bad luck. So if we'd chosen that path, our evolutionary path would have led into the forest -- and been a short one indeed.
El-texyar el-zawej elli qeddina nwasiweh huwa ki ṭṭewwerna el-ɛefsat ntaɛ el-mwaṣla elli semḥet lina beš netqasmu el-fkarat w netɛawnu mɛa el-ġir. El-texyar ntaɛ had el-ṭriq yeqder yeɛni belli mekseb hayel b el-bezzaf nta meɛrifa w rzana metɛerma yeqder ykun metwafer ɛend kul waḥed kter men ya la kanet ɛend ɛayla waḥda wella keš bnadem b rasu. Amala, xeyyerna el-xyar el-zawej, w el-luġa hiya el-natija.
The other option we could choose was to develop the systems of communication that would allow us to share ideas and to cooperate amongst others. Choosing this option would mean that a vastly greater fund of accumulated knowledge and wisdom would become available to any one individual than would ever arise from within an individual family or an individual person on their own. Well, we chose the second option, and language is the result.
tṭewret el-luġa beš tḥell el-'ezma ntaɛ el-sriqa b el-ɛin. El-luġa hiya ṭerf ntaɛ teknolojya 'ijtimaɛiya beš tɛezzez el-fayda ntaɛ el-mɛawna -- beš newweṣlu l mufahamat, w nefriw 'afirat w beš nneḍmu el-ṣenɛat dyawelna. W teqder tšuf had el-ši, fi mujtamaɛ yetqeddem elli bda yekseb el-luġa, ki ma tkunš ɛendek luġa meɛnatu kelli zaweš bla jenḥin. Ġir kima el-jenḥin yššerɛu el-sma beš el-zwaweš yelqaw ġerdhum, el-luġa ššerɛet el-majal ntaɛ el-mɛawna beš yestfadu el-bniyadem. W hadi ɛendna mefruġ menha, laxaṭerš ḥna jnas nelqaw ġerdna mɛa el-luġa,
Language evolved to solve the crisis of visual theft. Language is a piece of social technology for enhancing the benefits of cooperation -- for reaching agreements, for striking deals and for coordinating our activities. And you can see that, in a developing society that was beginning to acquire language, not having language would be a like a bird without wings. Just as wings open up this sphere of air for birds to exploit, language opened up the sphere of cooperation for humans to exploit. And we take this utterly for granted, because we're a species that is so at home with language,
beṣṣaḥ lazemlek tetkaka belli ḥetta f el-mubadalat ntaweɛna labġa el-sahlin gaɛ mertabṭa, b kmalha, b el-luġa. W beš nšufu ɛlaš, neɛtabru b had el-zuj senaryoyat m el-bedya ntaɛ tarixna. Xelliwna netxxeylu belli ntuma šaṭrin f el-ṣniɛa ntaɛ risan el-fličat, beṣṣaḥ fašlin f el-ṣniɛa ntaɛ el-mṭareg dyal el-xšeb merbuṭa b riš el-ṭir. Kayen zuj ɛibad šaṭrin f el-ṣniɛ ntaɛ mṭareg el-xšeb, beṣṣaḥ mbuqlin f el-ṣniɛ ntaɛ risan el-fličat. Amala weš ydiru -- waḥed men hadu zuj ɛibad ɛad ma ksebš el-luġa ntaɛ ṣeḥḥ. W xelliwna neftarḍu belli el-'axer ɛendu maharat mlaḥ f el-luġa.
but you have to realize that even the simplest acts of exchange that we engage in are utterly dependent upon language. And to see why, consider two scenarios from early in our evolution. Let's imagine that you are really good at making arrowheads, but you're hopeless at making the wooden shafts with the flight feathers attached. Two other people you know are very good at making the wooden shafts, but they're hopeless at making the arrowheads. So what you do is -- one of those people has not really acquired language yet. And let's pretend the other one is good at language skills.
Amala weš tdiru? F keš nhar teddiw rezma ntaɛ risan el-fličat, w truḥu ɛend dak el-seyyed elli ma yehderš mliḥ, w tḥeṭṭu risan el-fličat quddamu, w ntuma dayrin fi balkum belli ġadi yefhem belli rak baġi tberrez risan el-fličat dyawlek b fličat wafyin. Beṣṣaḥ weš ydir: yexzer f el-rezma ntaɛ el-fličat, yeḥsebhum hdiya, yerfedhum, yetbessem w yruḥ. Ḍerwek, rana nšufu f had el-ɛebd w huwa yetzeɛbel. Ynuḍ dwas w yeddeġruk b waḥda men haduk el-risan n' el-fličat. Ṣeḥḥa! Ḍerwek, txeylu had el-leqṭa win tqerreb m el-seyyed elli yeqder yetwaṣel b el-luġa. Tḥeṭṭ risan n' el-fličat w tqul, Madabiya nberrez had el-risan n' el-fličat b fličat wafyin. Netqasem mɛak 50/50. El-'axer ywajeb, "Ġaya. Tbanli mliḥa. Xellina nefriwha." W el-xedma meqḍiya.
So what you do one day is you take a pile of arrowheads, and you walk up to the one that can't speak very well, and you put the arrowheads down in front of him, hoping that he'll get the idea that you want to trade your arrowheads for finished arrows. But he looks at the pile of arrowheads, thinks they're a gift, picks them up, smiles and walks off. Now you pursue this guy, gesticulating. A scuffle ensues and you get stabbed with one of your own arrowheads. Okay, now replay this scene now, and you're approaching the one who has language. You put down your arrowheads and say, "I'd like to trade these arrowheads for finished arrows. I'll split you 50/50." The other one says, "Fine. Looks good to me. We'll do that." Now the job is done.
Ġir tkun ɛendna el-luġa, nlemmu el-fkarat ntaweɛna w netɛawnu beš ḥyatna twelli xir elli ma kanetš teqder tkun lakan ma kunnaš kasbinha (el-luġa). W hadi hiya ɛlah el-jnas ntaweɛna tṭewret f kul muḍeɛ f el-ɛalem bidma, el-hwayeš el-'uxrin rahi qaɛda tetkessel mur el-ḥdid ntaɛ jnina't el-wḥuš. Ɛla biha rana nebniw merkabat n' el-sma w el-katedra'iyat win el-baqi ntaɛ el-ɛalem rahu ɛad laṣeq fi el-'erḍ yxewweš ɛla el-nmel el-byeḍ. Nišan, lakan had el-šufa l el-luġa w qimetha tɛawen beš tḥell el-'ezma dyal el-sriqa b el-šufa hiya ḥeqqaniya, 'eyy jens yeksebha yaqin yeɛref zerda ntaɛ 'ibdaɛ w zyada't el-xir. W hada huwa b el-dat weš el-tesjilat n' el-'arkeolojya ybeynu.
Once we have language, we can put our ideas together and cooperate to have a prosperity that we couldn't have before we acquired it. And this is why our species has prospered around the world while the rest of the animals sit behind bars in zoos, languishing. That's why we build space shuttles and cathedrals while the rest of the world sticks sticks into the ground to extract termites. All right, if this view of language and its value in solving the crisis of visual theft is true, any species that acquires it should show an explosion of creativity and prosperity. And this is exactly what the archeological record shows.
La šuftu l el-nas el-sabqin, El-Nyandertal w el-Homo Erectus, elli sebquna swaswa, kanu meḥṣurin fi blayeṣ ṣġiwrin m el-ɛalem. Beṣṣaḥ ki banu el-jnas ntaweɛna hadi ši 200.000 ɛam, men beɛd ġir ma xrejna men Friqya w tferketna f el-ɛalem b kmalu, steɛmerna kul muḍeɛ qabel l el-suknan fuq el-'erḍ. Ḍerwek, win jnas waḥduxrin rahum meḥṣurin fi blayeṣ twalmet el-jinat ntaweɛhum mɛaha, b el-teɛlam el-'ijtimaɛi w el-luġa, nejjemna nḥewlu weš meddawer bina ɛla ḥsab ma nestḥeqqu. W hakdatik, tṭewwerna b waḥed el-ṣifa elli ma tṭewwert biha ḥetta hayša. El-luġa, ṣeḥḥ, hiya hiya el-sima el-mejjehda gaɛ elli tṭewret. Had el-sima hiya elli b qimetha kter ɛendna beš nsegmu trab jdid w mawarid beš yesteqblu ɛibad kter, huma w jinathum elli txxeylletha el-ṭabiɛa ɛend el-texyar.
If you look at our ancestors, the Neanderthals and the Homo erectus, our immediate ancestors, they're confined to small regions of the world. But when our species arose about 200,000 years ago, sometime after that we quickly walked out of Africa and spread around the entire world, occupying nearly every habitat on Earth. Now whereas other species are confined to places that their genes adapt them to, with social learning and language, we could transform the environment to suit our needs. And so we prospered in a way that no other animal has. Language really is the most potent trait that has ever evolved. It is the most valuable trait we have for converting new lands and resources into more people and their genes that natural selection has ever devised.
El-luġa hiya ṣeḥḥ el-gerzi ntaɛ el-jinat ntaweɛna. W ḍerwek ki el-luġa tṭewret, rana derna ḥeyya mši menwali, w ḥetta ġriba Ki ntašerna f el-ɛalem, ṭewwerna šḥal men 'elf luġa mextalfa Ḍerwek, rahum kaynin waḥed qrib 7 wella 8.000 luġa mextalfa, mehdura fuq el-'erḍ. Ḍerwek teqder tqulu: Ṣaḥḥa, hadi haja bayna belli ɛadiya. Ki netbaɛdu, bayna belli el-luġat ntaweɛna tanik yetbaɛdu. Beṣṣaḥ el-ḥejjaya w el-tgenbir huwa belli el-terkiz el-kbir ntaɛ el-luġat el-mextalfin fuq el-'erḍ nelqawha win el-nas ɛayšin quddam beɛḍhum beɛḍ.
Language really is the voice of our genes. Now having evolved language, though, we did something peculiar, even bizarre. As we spread out around the world, we developed thousands of different languages. Currently, there are about seven or 8,000 different languages spoken on Earth. Now you might say, well, this is just natural. As we diverge, our languages are naturally going to diverge. But the real puzzle and irony is that the greatest density of different languages on Earth is found where people are most tightly packed together.
La mšina l el-jazira ntaɛ Papwa Gineya el-Jdida, neqqedru nelqaw qrib 800 l 1.000 luġa bašariya metmayza, luġa bašariya mextalfa, mehdurin f had el-jazira waḥedha. Kayen blayeṣ fuq had el-jazira win teqder telqa luġa jdida kul zuj wella telt myal. Ḍerwek, ḥetta lukan banet muġriba, xeṭra, tlaqit mɛa seyyed papwani w seqsitu lakan had el-ši ṣeḥḥ. W qal-li: "Eyyuh! Lla. Huma qrab kter men hak." W hada ṣeḥḥ; kayen blayeṣ f had el-jazira win tnejjem telqa luġa jdida f qell men mil. W hada ṣeḥḥ yenṭabeq tanik mɛa waḥd el-juzur bɛad ntaɛ el-Muḥiṭ
If we go to the island of Papua New Guinea, we can find about 800 to 1,000 distinct human languages, different human languages, spoken on that island alone. There are places on that island where you can encounter a new language every two or three miles. Now, incredible as this sounds, I once met a Papuan man, and I asked him if this could possibly be true. And he said to me, "Oh no. They're far closer together than that." And it's true; there are places on that island where you can encounter a new language in under a mile. And this is also true of some remote oceanic islands.
W hakda, ɛla ḥsab el-šufa, rana nesteɛmlu el-luġa ntaɛna, mši ġir beš netɛawnu, beṣṣaḥ tanik beš nmeyzu dewwirat ɛla el-mejmuɛat dyalna win netɛawnu w nebniw hawiyat w waqila beš neḥmiw el-meɛrifa, el-rzana w el-ṣenɛat ntaweɛna m el-qerɛajiya ntaɛ berra. W ɛla balna b had el-ši laxaṭerš ki neqraw ɛla mejmuɛat dyal luġat mextalfa w nlemmuhum mɛa el-taqafat ntaweɛhum, nšufu belli el-luġat el-mextalfa tteqqel el-sira ntaɛ el-fkarat bin el-mejmuɛat. Tteqqel el-sira ntaɛ el-teknolojyat. W ḥetta yteqqel el-sira ntaɛ el-jinat. Ḍerwek, ma neqderš nehder ɛlikum, beṣṣaḥ, ɛla ḥsab el-šufa, el-ḥala kifkif belli ma neqqedruš nmewru mɛa el-nas elli ma nnejmuš nehhedru mɛahum. (Ḍeḥk) Ḍerwek, lazem ɛlina nɛaksu, gaɛ kima n' hak, ḍedd el-bayan elli smeɛnah men qbel belli wqeɛ lina waḥed el-xlaṭ el-jini, elli ma yeɛjebš mɛa el-Nyandertal w el-Denisova.
And so it seems that we use our language, not just to cooperate, but to draw rings around our cooperative groups and to establish identities, and perhaps to protect our knowledge and wisdom and skills from eavesdropping from outside. And we know this because when we study different language groups and associate them with their cultures, we see that different languages slow the flow of ideas between groups. They slow the flow of technologies. And they even slow the flow of genes. Now I can't speak for you, but it seems to be the case that we don't have sex with people we can't talk to. (Laughter) Now we have to counter that, though, against the evidence we've heard that we might have had some rather distasteful genetic dalliances with the Neanderthals and the Denisovans.
(Ḍeḥk)
(Laughter)
Ṣeḥḥa, had el-sira elli ɛendna, had el-sira el-ṭabiɛiya elli ɛendna win nmilu, l el-ɛezla, w nebqaw waḥedna, gaɛ ma tetwalemš mɛa el-ɛalem ntaɛ ḍerwek. Had el-ṣura el-mxxeyra mši xariṭa ntaɛ el-ɛalem. F el-waqeɛ, hiya xariṭa ntaɛ ɛalaqat ṣeḥba f el-Facebook. W ki tersem had el-ɛalaqat ntaɛ el-ṣeḥba ɛla ḥsab el-muḍeɛ (xṭuṭ el-ṭul w el-ɛerḍ), el-ši elli yersem xariṭa ḥeqqaniya ntaɛ el-ɛalem. El-ɛalem el-modern ntaɛna rahu yetwaṣel mɛa datu w bin el-nas kter m elli kan el-ši fi 'eyy weqt sbeq. W had el-mwaṣla, had el-rbaṭ el-meddawer b el-ɛalem had el-ɛawlama tsebbeb muɛḍila. Laxaṭerš had el-luġat el-mextalfa tefreḍ ḥedd, kima rana ɛad ki šefna, ɛla jal el-nqil ntaɛ el-selɛa w el-fkarat w el-teknolojyat w el-rzana. W rahi tšekkel ḥedd l el-mɛawna.
Okay, this tendency we have, this seemingly natural tendency we have, towards isolation, towards keeping to ourselves, crashes head first into our modern world. This remarkable image is not a map of the world. In fact, it's a map of Facebook friendship links. And when you plot those friendship links by their latitude and longitude, it literally draws a map of the world. Our modern world is communicating with itself and with each other more than it has at any time in its past. And that communication, that connectivity around the world, that globalization now raises a burden. Because these different languages impose a barrier, as we've just seen, to the transfer of goods and ideas and technologies and wisdom. And they impose a barrier to cooperation.
W ḍerwek rana nšufu had el-ši xir zeɛma kter m el-'Itiḥad el-'Öropi, b luġat el-menḍemmin lih el-27 yehhedru 23 luġa resmiya. El-'Itiḥad el-'Öropi rahu yeṣref kter men melyar € kul ɛam ɛla el-terjama bin el-23 luġa el-resmiya. W hada ydir qrib 1.45 melyar dollar marikani ġir ɛla el-meṣruf ntaɛ el-terjama. Ḍerwek, xemmem f el-tfiš ntaɛ had el-ḥala. La 27 ɛebd m el-27 blad, elli menḍemma, qeɛdu mdawrin b ṭabla, w huma yehhedru el-luġat ntaweɛhum el-23, šwiya ntaɛ ḥsabat txellina nqulu belli neḥtaju jiš ntaɛ 253 terjman beš nwejdu gaɛ el-'imkaniyat elli tnejjem tkun El-'Itiḥad el-'Öropi ɛendu xeddama daymin qrib waḥed el-2.500 terjman. W ġir f 2007 -- w rani metyeqqen belli kayen ḥsabat jdud ɛla hadu -- ši qrib men 1.3 melyun ṣefḥa tterjmet l el-'engliziya waḥedha.
And nowhere do we see that more clearly than in the European Union, whose 27 member countries speak 23 official languages. The European Union is now spending over one billion euros annually translating among their 23 official languages. That's something on the order of 1.45 billion U.S. dollars on translation costs alone. Now think of the absurdity of this situation. If 27 individuals from those 27 member states sat around table, speaking their 23 languages, some very simple mathematics will tell you that you need an army of 253 translators to anticipate all the pairwise possibilities. The European Union employs a permanent staff of about 2,500 translators. And in 2007 alone -- and I'm sure there are more recent figures -- something on the order of 1.3 million pages were translated into English alone.
W 'ida ṣeḥḥ el-luġa hiyya el-ḥell ntaɛ el-'ezma dyal el-sriqa b el-šufa, ida el-luġa hiya ṣeḥḥ el-ṭriq ntaɛ el-mɛawna binatna, el-teknolojya elli txeyletha el-jnas ntaweɛna beš yššejɛu el-ḥaraka w el-tebdal el-mserreḥ ntaɛ el-fkarat, f el-ɛalem ntaɛna modern, nwajhu swal. W had el-swal huwa 'ida f had el-ɛalem modern w el-mešmul neqqedru ṣeḥḥ nessemḥu beš ykunu ɛendna gaɛ had el-luġat el-mextalfa.
And so if language really is the solution to the crisis of visual theft, if language really is the conduit of our cooperation, the technology that our species derived to promote the free flow and exchange of ideas, in our modern world, we confront a question. And that question is whether in this modern, globalized world we can really afford to have all these different languages.
b kelmat waḥduxrin, el-ṭabiɛa ma teɛref ḥetta ḍerf xlaf win tetɛayeš zuj simat metqablin men jiha't el-waḍifa. Waḥda fihum txelli el-zawja tenṣxeṭ. W rana nšufu had el-ši yemši bla ma nqeddu nehherbu mennu beš ywelli huwa el-mizan. Kayen xir 'Allah ṣifat beš neɛɛebru el-ṣwaleḥ -- nšufu el-mizan ntaɛhum w nqisu el-ṭul dyalhum -- beṣṣaḥ el-sistem n' el-mitra huwa elli rah rabeḥ. Kayen xir 'Allah ṣifat beš nqisu el-weqt, beṣṣaḥ, ṣeḥḥ w ṣḥiḥ, el-sistem b sas el-60 w elli huwa weḥdu el-meɛruf b el-saɛat, el-dqayeq w el-twani huwa elli qriba meɛruf f el-ɛalem b kmalu. Kayen šḥal w šḥal men ṣifa beš nssejlu el-Cdyat w el-DVDyat, beṣṣaḥ hadu gaɛ rahum mɛa el-weqt ywellu tanik b el-qanun. W teqder, twalli, ḥetta beš txemmem f kter w kter men hak f el-ḥyat ntaɛkum di kul yum.
To put it this way, nature knows no other circumstance in which functionally equivalent traits coexist. One of them always drives the other extinct. And we see this in the inexorable march towards standardization. There are lots and lots of ways of measuring things -- weighing them and measuring their length -- but the metric system is winning. There are lots and lots of ways of measuring time, but a really bizarre base 60 system known as hours and minutes and seconds is nearly universal around the world. There are many, many ways of imprinting CDs or DVDs, but those are all being standardized as well. And you can probably think of many, many more in your own everyday lives.
W hakda el-ɛalem modern ntaɛna el-yum rahu yqabel fina b muɛḍila. W hiya el-muɛḍila elli had el-šinwi rahu yqabel fiha, ntaɛmen had el-luġa elli yehhedruha ġaši kter f el-ɛalem kter men 'eyy luġa waḥduxra, gaɛ kima n' hak rahu qaɛed quddam el-sebbura ntaɛu, yterjem el-jumel m el-šinwiya beš yrredhum jumel b el-'ingliziya. W hada ykebber el-'iḥtimal ntaɛna belli fi ɛalem win nebġu nddeɛmu el-mɛawna w el-tebdal, w fi ɛalem elli yeqder ykun qayem, kter melli kan qbel, ɛla el-mɛawna beš nethellaw w nṭelɛu el-daraja ntaɛ el-terfah dyalna, el-mefɛul dyalu yxellina neftarḍu belli el-natija tnejjem tkun meḥtuma win nwajhu el-fekra belli el-maṣir ntaɛna huwa ɛalem waḥed w luġa waḥda.
And so our modern world now is confronting us with a dilemma. And it's the dilemma that this Chinese man faces, who's language is spoken by more people in the world than any other single language, and yet he is sitting at his blackboard, converting Chinese phrases into English language phrases. And what this does is it raises the possibility to us that in a world in which we want to promote cooperation and exchange, and in a world that might be dependent more than ever before on cooperation to maintain and enhance our levels of prosperity, his actions suggest to us it might be inevitable that we have to confront the idea that our destiny is to be one world with one language.
Ṣeḥḥitu
Thank you.
(Teṣfaq)
(Applause)
Matt Ridley: Mark, swal waḥed. Svante lqa belli el-jin FOXP2, ɛla ḥsab el-šufa, mertabeṭ b el-luġa, kan kayen tanik, b nefs el-škel, ɛend el-Nyandertal, kima ḥnaya. Ɛendna keš fekra tfesser lina kifeš tġellebna ɛla el-Nyandertal lakan kanet ɛendhum huma tanik luġa?
Matt Ridley: Mark, one question. Svante found that the FOXP2 gene, which seems to be associated with language, was also shared in the same form in Neanderthals as us. Do we have any idea how we could have defeated Neanderthals if they also had language?
Mark Pagel: Hada swal wafi mlaḥa. Kayen šḥal men waḥed fikum rahu metwalef mɛa el-fekra belli kayen had el-jin elli semmuh FOXP2 elli, ɛla ḥsab el-šufa, mertabeṭ b waḥd el-ṣifat kaynin f el-ḥeyya elli tḥerrek w tetḥekkem w elli mertabṭa b el-luġa. El-sebba elli txellini ma n'emmenš ki yqulunna belli el-Nyandertal kanet ɛendhum luġa hnaya -- kayen tešbih sahel mahel: El-Ferrari'yat hiya lwaṭa ɛendhum muturat. El-loṭo ntaɛi ɛendha motör, beṣṣaḥ hiya mši Ferrari. Amala, el-jwab el-sahel huwa belli el-jinat waḥedha ma teqderš tqerrer el-natija ntaɛ ṣwaleḥ zyada mɛeqdin kima el-luġa. Elli neɛɛerfuh ɛla el-FOXP2 w el-Nyandertal huwa belli twali kanu yeqqedru yetḥḥekmu f el-teḥrak ntaɛ fwamhum -- ya ḍra. Beṣṣaḥ hada ma yqullenaš, b el-ḍarura, belli kanet ɛendhum luġa.
Mark Pagel: This is a very good question. So many of you will be familiar with the idea that there's this gene called FOXP2 that seems to be implicated in some ways in the fine motor control that's associated with language. The reason why I don't believe that tells us that the Neanderthals had language is -- here's a simple analogy: Ferraris are cars that have engines. My car has an engine, but it's not a Ferrari. Now the simple answer then is that genes alone don't, all by themselves, determine the outcome of very complicated things like language. What we know about this FOXP2 and Neanderthals is that they may have had fine motor control of their mouths -- who knows. But that doesn't tell us they necessarily had language.
MR: Ṣeḥḥit b el-bezzaf.
MR: Thank you very much indeed.
(Teṣfaq)
(Applause)