I was featured in a New York Times article called,

紐約時代雜誌對我進行了獨家報導

"Adventures of a teenage polyglot,"

標題為：多語少年大冒險

which featured my passion for learning foreign languages,

內容關於我對學習外語

this peculiar hobby that I had.

這項特殊嗜好的熱愛

And at first I thought it was great.

一開始我覺得很棒

I loved the fact that language learning was getting more attention

因為語言學習這件事得到更多關注

and that it wouldn't always

而且不再是

seem like an isolating hobby

一項孤獨的嗜好

that was suddenly putting me into contact with people all around the world.

使我突然能和世界上的人們交流

And as I spent more time in the media spotlight,

但當我更頻繁地出現在聚光燈下時

the focus of my story began to shift.

媒體對於我的故事的焦點開始移轉

So whereas I've always been interested in talking about the why and the how,

雖然我比較希望談論學習語言的原因及方法

why I was learning foreign languages, how I did it,

為什麼我學習不同的外國語言及我如何學習

instead, it turned into a bit of a circus,

但是節目最後都變成一種固定循環

in which media shows wanted to sensationalize my story.

媒體想要使我的故事更令人驚奇

So it would go a little something like this,

所以時常出現以下類似的橋段

"Hello, I'm here today with 17-year-old Timothy Doner

嗨，在我身邊的是17歲的提姆多納

who's fluent in 20 languages.

而他能流利地說20種語言

Oh, I'm sorry.

歐，不好意思

He actually can insult you in 25 languages

事實上，他能以25種語言侮辱你

and he's fluent in another ten.

並且精通其他10種語言

Tim, how about you tell our audience 'Good morning'

提姆，可以請你用穆斯林語

and 'Thank you for watching', in Muslim?"

和我們的觀眾說聲早安以及謝謝嗎？

(Laughter)

(大笑)

"Er... Arabic."

嗯...應該是阿拉伯語

(Arabic)

(阿拉伯語)

"Great Tim. Now can we get you

很好，現在請你用德文

to introduce yourself and say,

介紹一下你自己

'I'm fluent in 23 languages' in German."

並說：我精通23國語言

"It's not really true. But..."

這並不是事實，但...

"No, no, just tell the audience."

沒關係，你就這樣說

(German)

(德語)

"Perfect. Now how about

很好

a tongue twister in Chinese?

現在可以來一段中文的繞口令嗎？

(Laughter)

(大笑)

"Well, we could talk about Chinese,

嗯...我們可以談中文

you know, a lot more Americans are learning Chinese these days,

你知道，最近很多美國人都在學中文

and I think there's a lot of value in that."

我認為那有很大的價值

"No, no, no. Just give us a tongue twister."

不不不，只要給我們一段繞口令就好

(Laughter)

(大笑)

(Chinese)

（中文）吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮兒 不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮兒

"This guy! Tim, how about

這傢伙！

another tongue twister in Chinese?"

提姆，再來一段中文繞口令如何？

"I will prefer not to, but you know

如果可以，我不是很想

we could talk about China.

但我們可以聊聊中國

There's a lot you can gain by learning a language.

透過語言學習可以學到很多事情

"Oh Tim, I'm sorry, That's all the time we have."

提姆，不好意思，我們時間不多

(Laughter)

(大笑)

(Applause)

(鼓掌)

"Now why don't you to tell our audience

不如請你用土耳其語

'Goodbye' in Turkish

向我們的觀眾道別

and we will be over here?"

我們就可以結束了

"You know we haven't talk about anything substantive."

但我們還沒談到任何實質的問題

"But Turkish please."

請說土耳其語

(Turkish)

(土耳其語)

"How about that kid, right,

這孩子如何？

wonder if he gets any girls...

不知道他是否交過女朋友

(Laughter)

(大笑)

Now stay with us because up next,

不要轉台，接下來

a skateboarding bulldog in a bathing suit."

一隻穿泳衣溜滑板的鬥牛犬

(Laughter)

(大笑)

(Applause)

(鼓掌)

So, as funny as that was,

所以，儘管這些經歷聽上去都十分滑稽

it highlighted two pretty major problems

還是可以在其中看出媒體關於我的報道

in the way my story was covered.

存在的兩大問題

On a personal level,

就個人而言

I felt that language learning was now becoming like a bit of a task, almost.

我覺得語言學習變得像是個任務

It felt like something that was suddenly had to be rigidly organized.

像是某件必須被嚴格規劃執行的事

Something that had to be compartmentalized, rationalized,

必須被切割、合理化

expressed in a concrete number.

以具體的數字呈現

I speak X languages.

我會說X種語言

I know Y languages.

我知道Y種語言

As opposed to what I'd always done,

這和我所做的完全相反

which was just learning languages for the fun of it.

我只是為了好玩而學語言

Learning to communicate with people,

學習如何和別人交談

learning about foreign cultures.

學習外國文化

And on a bigger level, it's cheapened what it meant to speak a language,

另一個更重要的問題是，這低估了說一種語言

or to know a language.

或了解一種語言所帶來的價值

Now if I can impart you with anything today at TEDxTeen,

如果今天我能透過TEDxTeen帶給你們什麼

it's that knowing a language

那就是學會一種語言

is a lot more than knowing a couple of words out of a dictionary.

並不只是學會字典裡的幾個單字

It's a lot more that being able

也不只是可以問別人

to ask someone where the bathroom is,

請問洗手間在哪裡

or telling them the time of day.

或告訴別人現在幾點

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

我扯遠了

So for those of you who aren't familiar with my story,

有些人可能還不知道我的故事

maybe a lot of you here don't know what the word polyglot is,

可能現場很多人不知道"多語使用者"這個字

and it's a pretty weird one.

這是一個很怪的字

I started here.

我從這裡開始

So this little tot is me, circa 2001,

這是我，大概2001年時的照片

and this is the beginning of my language learning journey.

而這是我學習外語的開始

I actually was a child actor

在我學會任何外語之前

before I'd learned any languages.

我原本是一個童星

And I always had a little bit of a gift for accent.

我有點模仿口音的天分

So I'm going to auditions for radio commercials,

當我去面試廣播廣告

or for TV commercials,

或是試鏡電視廣告

and I'd do an Austin Powers impression.

我會用王牌大賤諜(電影)的聲音表現

I'm not going to do one now.

我不會在這裡表演

(Laughter)

(大笑)

Or maybe I would do

或著我會學

Apu from the Simpsons.

辛普森家族的Apu說話

In fact there was actually one time an audition

但其實有一次試鏡

which I was asked to leave,

我被要求離開

because they told me to speak like a little kid with a lisp,

因為他們要求我學一個發音不清楚的小孩說話

and I wanted to do Darth Vader in a French accent.

但我想學達斯·維達用法國腔說話

(Laughter)

(大笑)

But, that taught me the basics of

但這些使我學會

of how to breakdown sound.

分解聲音的基本方法

How to pick up a foreign accent,

以及如何模仿外國口音

or foreign speech patterns,

或是不同外語的語言模式

and really live with it.

並且真正融會貫通

Now fast forward a little bit,

我們把時間往後推一點

I'm now in about third grade,

在國小三年級時

and I've just started French for the first time.

我開始學習法語

But six months into a year,

但六個月、一年過去

into even two years later,

甚至兩年過去

I can't converse with anybody.

我仍然無法跟任何人交談

French is just another subject in school,

法語只是學校裡的一個科目

and even though I can tell you words

即使我可以告訴你一些單字

for elbow, knee bone, shoelace.

像是眼球、膝蓋骨、鞋帶

I couldn't really have a fluent conversation with anybody.

但我無法順暢地和任何人對話

Fast forward a little bit more.

時間再往後推一點

In seventh grade, I started Latin.

七年級時，我開始學習拉丁文

So Latin of course is a dead language,

當然，拉丁文已經是一種死掉的語言

and in learning Latin, you really learn

但透過學習拉丁文

how to breakdown language,

能夠學習如何分解語言

to see language as a system

將語言視為一個有規則的系統

with rules, and as a bit of a puzzle.

像是拼圖的一部分

So that was great,

那很棒

but I still didn't feel like language was for me.

但我仍然不覺得我喜歡學習外語

So, forward a little bit more.

再把時間往後推一點

About 13,

大概13歲時

and I've been interested in learning more

我對於以巴衝突

about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,

產生很大的興趣

I started studying Hebrew.

我開始學習希伯來語

Now, I had no way of doing it.

當時我完全不知道怎麼做

I had no idea what I was supposed to be doing,

也不知道應該做什麼

so I listen to a lot of Rap music.

所以我聽很多饒舌音樂

I memorize lyrics, I'd spit them back out,

我把歌詞記住並跟著唱

and I would just try to chat with native speakers,

然後我試著跟母語人士聊天

once a week, once a month,

一週一次或一個月一次

and I've got that incrementally,

漸漸地我發現

I started to understand a lot more.

我開始懂得越來越多

Now I didn't sound like a native speaker,

我聽起來不像母語人士

I couldn't speak very articulately and

我發音沒有很好

I certainly didn't know the grammar.

我完全不知道文法

but I had done what I'd never managed to do in school,

但我做到在學校課堂無法學到的

which was to pick up the basics of a language

我完全靠我自己

all on my own.

學會了一個語言的基礎用法

Forward a little bit more.

時間往後

I started taking Arabic when I was 14

我在14歲時開始學阿拉伯語

in a summer program going into 9th grade.

那是在我九年級的一個夏令營

This is summer of 2010.

2010年的夏天

After a month I found that I could read and write

一個月後我發現我可以讀跟寫

without a problem.

完全沒有問題

I'd learned the basics of the formal language

我學會了官方語言的基礎用法

and one of its major dialects.

以及一個主要方言

And it turned me onto the fact that I could really pursue languages as a hobby.

我開始意識到我可以，將學習外語當作一個嗜好

So, it finally came to March 24th 2011.

時間來到2011年3月24號

So I've pretty vicious insomnia,

我一直有嚴重的失眠

and as I was studying more languages

而當我學習更多外語

using grammar books or watching TV shows,

不論使用文法書或看電視

and let's say Arabic or Hebrew, became one way of focusing my time.

可以說學習阿語及希伯來語 變成我集中利用時間的一種方法

So on that night, while I was awake till some ungodly hour,

那天晚上，直到三更半夜我仍然醒著

I recorded myself speaking Arabic into my computer screen,

我錄下自己說阿拉伯語的影片

subtitled it,

加上字幕

and I uploaded it to YouTube

並上傳到YouTube

under the title, "Tim speaks Arabic."

標題是：提姆說阿拉伯語

(Arabic)

(阿拉伯語)

Next day I did the same thing,

隔天我做了同樣的事

(In Hebrew)

(希伯來語)

Tim speaks Hebrew.

提姆說希伯來語

And the comments, when I trickled in, were fantastic.

我得到的回應超棒

I got things like,

像是

"Wow, I've never seen an American speak Arabic before."

「哇，我從來沒看過美國人說阿拉伯語&quot」

(Laughter)

(大笑)

You blame them?

你怪他們嗎？

In addition to that I got things like,

其他像是

"Wow, maybe you should fix your vowels here."

「哇，或許你應該更正這裡的母音」

Or "maybe this word is pronounced this way."

或是「或許這個字應該這樣說」

So suddenly language learning had gone

所以學習語言

from the solitary pages of a book,

從生硬的書本

or my computer screen,

或是我的電腦螢幕

into the wide world.

到達了寬闊的世界

After that I was hooked.

然後我就開始著迷了

I had a community of speakers to interact with,

我找了一群可以交流的人

and essentially had a teacher or conversation partners

基本上一個老師或幾個對話夥伴

for any language that I wanted to do.

使我可以學習任何我想學的語言

So I'll show you a quick montage of that.

很快的讓你們看一下影片

Video: (Arabic) I started studying Arabic roughly, 6 months ago.

影片：(阿語)我學了阿語大約六個月

(Indonesian) This started... one, two, three, four...

(印尼語)大約開始於...一、二、三、四...

maybe four days ago.

大概四天前

(Hebrew) I actually feel

(希伯來語) 其實我覺得

that reading and writing are easier in Arabic

阿拉伯語的讀寫比較簡單

(Ojibwe) I certainly find Ojibwe difficult!

我真的覺得奧傑布瓦語很難

(Swahili) But I came home the day before yesterday.

但當我前天回家

(Pashto) How is my pronunciation? Thanks so much!

我的發音如何？感謝你們

Have a great day. Goodbye!

祝你們有美好的一天，拜拜！

(Applause)

(鼓掌)

Tim Doner: That became my way

那變成我

of reaching out to the world.

和世界連結的一種方式

But as I was learning all these languages,

但當我在學這些語言時

I faced a number of obstacles.

我遇到幾個障礙

So number one, I had no idea how to teach myself.

第一，我不知道如何自學

In fact, I'm sure many of you if you were told

事實上，我相信大多數人如果被要求

you have to learn Pashto by next month,

必須在下個月前學會普什圖語

you wouldn't know what to do.

很多人都不知道該怎麼辦

So I experimented.

所以我做了各種嘗試

Here's one thing.

這是其中一種

So in my Latin class, I read about something that Cicero described,

在拉丁文課中，我讀到了希賽羅的一段描述

called, "Method of Loci."

叫做：位置記憶法

technically Locurum.

嚴格來說，Loci其實應該是Locurum

But it's a technique in which you take mnemonics.

這是一種幫助記憶的方法

So let's say you want to learn

假設你想要學

10 vocabulary words on a list.

清單上的10個單字

You take each of those words and

你從清單上選出他們

instead of memorizing them in blocks.

但不要一個一個背誦他們

you integrate them into your spatial memory.

而是把他們和你空間記憶結合

So here's what I mean.

我的意思是

This is Union Square.

這裡是聯合廣場

It's a place I go every day.

我每天都會去那裡

If I close my eyes

即使我閉上眼睛

I can imagine it very, very vividly

我也能非常清楚的想像它的樣子

So I imagine myself walking down Union Square,

我想像自己走在聯合廣場

and in each spot in my mind that has resonance,

我心裡在每個位置有一個設定

I associate it with a vocab word.

把一個動詞和地點做連結

I'll show you right now.

我現在示範一下

I'm walking down Park Avenue,

我走在公園的主道上

and in Japanese "to walk" is "iku"

在日文"走"是"iku"

I go a little bit further, turn right,

我再往前走一點，右轉

sit on the stairs where I can "Suwaru".

坐在我可以"suwaru(坐)"的階梯上

Directly north of there is a statue George Washington

階梯的正北方是喬治華盛頓的雕像

which I used to think was a fountain,

我以前以為那是一個噴水池

so that's "nomu", "to drink".

所以就是"nomu"，"喝"

Right next, there's a tree that you can "Kiru", "cut".

就在旁邊有一棵你可以"kiru，砍"的樹

If you want to go north for Barnes & Noble,

如果你想去北邊的巴諾書店

you can "Yomu", "to read".

你可以在那邊"yomu，閱讀"

Or if I'm hungry and I want to go to my favorite Falafel place,

或著如果我餓了，想去我最喜歡的Falafel Place

I can go one block west of there, so I can "Taberu", "to eat".

我可以往西走一個街區，我就可以"taberu，吃"

I missed one.

我少了一個

Alright. So 8 out of 10! Not bad!

好，所以10個我記得8個，還不錯！

So I found that most of the time

因此我發現大多數時間

by experimenting with methods like these,

運用這樣的方式記憶

it made language learning a much more interactive experience.

使得學習語言變成一個比較雙向的經驗

It made it something that I can remember much better.

這使得我可以更容易記住

and I had a lot of fun with.

而且我覺得很好玩

Maybe that's not for you.

或許這不是適合你的方法

Here's another one.

我還有另一個方法

So a lot of people often ask me,

很多人常問我

if you're studying so many languages at the same time,

像你同時學這麼多種語言

how do you not confuse them?

你都不會搞混嗎？

Or how do you learn so many vocabulary words?

或是你怎麼有辦法記住這麼多單字？

In Spanish I learn a word for table

我學了西班牙語的桌子

and the word for book goes out the other ear.

然後書這個字我就忘記了