知道吗？学英语让人更有吸引力！

Want greater success in your career and your love life, as well as a healthy brain long into old age?

想要在事业上和爱情生活中获得更大的成功，并且到暮年仍保持大脑健康?

The answer could be to learn another language.

答案或许是，学习另一种语言。

Or at least that's the case according to a majority of Americans and Britons polled in a new survey by language app Babbel.

至少大多数的美国人和英国人是这么认为的，这个数据来源于语言应用软件Babbel的一项新调查。

Apparently, 71% of Americans and 61% of Britons believe speaking more than one language makes a person seem more attractive.

显然，71%的美国人和61%的英国人认为，会说不止一种语言似乎使人更具吸引力。

Oui, c'est vrai!

嗯，是真的!(法语)

Of 3,000 English-speakers polled in the US and the UK, nine out of 10 admitted they'd learn a new language in pursuit of love.

接受调查的3000名说英语的英美人士中，有九成承认他们愿意为了追逐爱情而学习一种新的语言。

About half said they'd dreamed about a romance with someone from another country.

约一半的人表示，他们曾梦想着和来自另一个国家的人拥有一段浪漫爱情。

And moving from the bedroom to boardroom, about one in four Americans and Britons think that being monolingual has held them back professionally.

从家庭事务来到工作事务上，约有四成的美国人和英国人认为，只会一种语言阻碍了他们的职业发展。

So it's probably no surprise that one in eight confessed to having exaggerated their language skills on a resume.

因此，有八成人承认在简历中夸大了自己的语言技能，这也不怎么意外。

"Languages not only enable you to expand yourself in terms of perspective and skillset, but they also open doors and help you better understand other cultures and peoples," Miriam Plieninger, director of didactics at Babbel, tells CNN.

Babbel的教学论主任Miriam Plieninger表示：“语言不仅能拓宽自己的视野和技能，同时也打开另一扇门，帮助你更好地理解其他文化和民族。”

"Knowing another language helps to break barriers and to connect on a special level of mutual understanding; be it while on the street, traveling, or in business."

“了解另一种语言有助于打破障碍，通过特殊层面的相互理解进行沟通;不论是在街头，旅行中，还是在商业交往中。”

Globally, more than half the world can speak at least two languages -- but Western English-speakers are lagging behind.

从全球来看，全世界有一半以上的人至少会说两种语言——但西方国家的英语人群开始落后了。

A 2001 Gallup poll found about a quarter of Americans could hold a conversation in a second language -- mostly Spanish -- while a 2014 study by Eurobarometer revealed about 60% of people in the UK and Ireland are monolingual.

2001年盖洛普的一项调查发现，大约四分之一的美国人能用第二语言交谈——主要是西班牙语——而2014年欧洲晴雨表的一项研究发现，60%的英国人和爱尔兰人都只会说一门语言(英语)。

Influential factors

影响因素

"Different factors influence how easy (or difficult) it is to learn a new language," says Plieninger.

Plieninger表示：“学习一门新语言的难易程度受到不同因素的影响。”

"If the language you are learning is part of the same family as your mother tongue, it is generally much easier to access."

“如果你正在学习的语言与你的母语属于同个语系，那么通常掌握起来更容易。”

Theoretically, English-speakers should therefore be more comfortable with Germanic languages like German or Dutch, as both are historically very close to English.

从理论上讲，说英语的人理应觉得学日耳曼语言更轻松，比如德语或荷兰语，因为二者在历史上都非常接近英语。

However, familiarity picked up in everyday life or in the classroom makes a big difference, which is why Americans feel at ease with Spanish and Brits with French -- both romantic languages.

然而，在日常生活中习得的语言与在课堂上学会的语言有很大的不同，这就是为什么美国人觉得西班牙语更好学，而英国人觉得法语学起来轻松——虽然二者同属罗曼语族。

And although the majority of Americans and Britons polled thought Russian was the trickiest to pick up, it's actually "part of the same Indo-European language family as English," Plieninger adds.

Plieninger表示，尽管大多数美国人和英国人认为俄语是最难习得的语言，但实际上俄语“与英语一样，同属印欧语系。”

"What makes it difficult, however, is that it uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which is a big hurdle for beginners, and it also has a different grammar structure to English."

“不过，俄语难学是因为它使用西里尔字母表，这对初学者来说是一个很大的障碍，而且俄语和英语的语法结构也不同。”

Romantic language is most romantic

罗曼语族最浪漫

And which languages have the most sex appeal -- in UK and US eyes, at least?

那么，在英国人和美国人的眼里，哪种语言最性感呢?

Well, the Babbel guys asked that in a previous survey.

Babbel的调查人员在此前的调查中问过这个问题。

French was considered the "sexiest" language by respondents on both sides of the Atlantic (US 40%, UK 32%) and the hottest foreign accent in which to hear English (US 38%, UK 40%).

两国的受访者(40%的美国人，32%的英国人)认为法语是“最性感”的语言，同时带有法语口音的英语也是最性感的外国口音(38%的美国人，40%的英国人)。

So being multilingual can make you more appealing, more successful and more compassionate. And it's also good for your health.

所以，会说多种语言可以让你更有吸引力，更成功，且更富有同情心。而且对你的健康也有好处。

In 2011, Canadian neuroscientist Ellen Bialystok found that speaking more than one language regularly from an early age enhances cognitive abilities and can also delay symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

2011年加拿大神经科学家Ellen Bialystok发现，从小经常说一种以上的语言能提高认知能力，还可以延缓阿尔茨海默病的症状。

It's "a great way to train your brain," says Plieninger.

Plieninger表示，这是“训练大脑的好方法。”

图文来源：中国日报英语点津

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