[2009.1.15]The song of songs The, song

soleil

Animal behaviour
动物行为习性

The song of songs歌声

Jan 15th 2009
From The Economist print edition

A hyrax’s song gives a detailed account of his wares

蹄兔的歌声详细表明了它的谨慎

AS WE reported a few weeks ago (“Why music?” December 20th 2008), one explanation for the evolution of human music is that it helps to seduce the opposite sex. Both singing and playing an instrument are complex activities in which errors are easily detected, and which require both intelligence and muscle control to do well. Music is thus a demonstration of the underlying fitness of the singer, or player.

我们几周前(即2008年12月20日)在”为什么是音乐?”一文中报道过:人类音乐之所以发展的一个原因是它有助于吸引异性.唱歌和演奏乐器都是人类复杂的活动,而这需要天赋,肌肉也要控制的很好,因为在过程中易被发现错误.因此,乐曲就能证明一个歌手或乐手是否基本合格.

This is still a controversial hypothesis. Those who support it argue that other animals sing, too, and that their songs often seem to be connected with courtship. The details, however, are obscure. Zoologists have worked out the meaning of some calls (the quality of the “snarr” produced by a male water pipit, for example, shows his position in the dominance hierarchy, while the rattle made by a male barn swallow indicates his testosterone levels). What they have not discovered is whether more complex songs can be decomposed into separately meaningful elements. To investigate that question, Lee Koren and Eli Geffen of Tel Aviv University decided to take a close look at the rock hyraxes of the Judean desert.

这仍是一个有争议的假设.支持的人认为其它动物也唱歌,并且经常被看成是与求爱有关.然而,关于这方面的细节还不太清楚.动物学家们研究出了一些鸟鸣声的含义,比如说,一个雄性水鹨发出的”snarr”特性时表示它处于优势等级地位,而一只雄性家燕发出的格格的声响象征着它的睾丸激素水平.动物发出的更加复杂的歌曲是否能被分解成分离地有意义的成分还未被发现.为了研究这个问题,特拉维夫大学的Lee Koren 和Eli Geffen决定进一步的研究犹太沙漠上来回摆动的蹄兔.

They knew that hyraxes (small, furry animals that are the closest living relatives of elephants) sing to one another, and they suspected that the songs have something to do with courtship, since they happen less frequently once the animals have mated. Otherwise, though, they had little idea what hyraxes were singing about. Over three years, therefore, Dr Koren recorded the songs and studied the behaviour of 18 male hyraxes, and also collected their fur for hormone analysis. Then, she and Dr Geffen analysed the data to look for correlations between the pattern of a hyrax’s song and other details of its anatomy and behaviour. They discovered, as they report in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, that male hyraxes are doing far more than just repetitively communicating that they are ready to mate. They are providing their neighbours with a list of vital statistics: their body weight, size, health, social status and hormonal levels.

蹄兔是身材矮小的毛皮动物,是现存的与大象最近的亲属.他们猜测蹄兔间相互唱歌与求爱有关,因为如果蹄兔有伴侣的话,这种行为的频率会大大减少.并且另一方面,他们对蹄兔唱歌的内容一无所知.因此,过去三年来, Koren博士记录蹄兔的歌声并研究了18只雄性蹄兔的行为,也搜集它们的毛发用作荷尔蒙分析.然后,她和Geffen博士分析资料以寻找一个蹄兔的唱歌方式和其解剖学和行为学细节的相互关系..正如他们在行为生态学和生物社会学上报道过的那样,他们发现雄性蹄兔不仅仅是重复传达他们即将交配并提供了一系列重要数据,包括他们的体重,大小,健康,社交地位和荷尔蒙水平.

Wailing, which starts a typical hyrax song, indicates weight. The more wails, the heavier the singer. A mid-song sound that Dr Koren and Dr Geffen dubbed “chucks” communicates size (body length and head diameter) and also level of stress (as measured by cortisone levels). Songs conclude with a series of snorts that are connected to the singer’s levels of certain male hormones. Finally, the researchers discovered that peaks in snort-frequency provided information on an animal’s dominance, and also the condition of its pelt.

首先,一个典型蹄兔的哭叫声表示体重,哭叫声越大,这只蹄兔就越重.一种被Koren博士和Geffen博士命名为”卡”的中音表示大小(包括身长和头直径)和压力程度(根据可的松水平衡量).以一系列喷鼻声结束无疑与这只蹄兔的雄性激素有关.最后,研究人员发现蹄兔喷鼻声最频繁时表示这只蹄兔的控制力和它的皮肤健康状况.

The unstated assumption is that these are all honest signals—that is, their frequency or the quality of their production is directly related to the singer’s underlying physiology and cannot be modified to give a false impression of his fitness. Lady hyraxes are therefore provided with a reliable précis of the strengths and weaknesses of each of their potential mates.

未被说明的假定是这些都是可靠的信号,即它们发生行为的频率或特质与这只蹄兔的根本生理条件有直接关系,这不会因为要给它的合适伴侣一个错误的看法而改变.所以,雌蹄兔会得到关于可能成为它们伴侣的雄蹄兔的优缺点的可靠资料.

Whether this work sheds any light on human music is unclear. Human songs do not seem to contain the equivalents of wails, chucks and snorts. But that might be because humans are so close to the subject that they cannot see what those equivalents are. For example, a listener can gather a lot of information from the difference between a bass, a baritone and a tenor without ever seeing the singer. A man’s musical range is related to his size and to the anatomy of his voice box. That, in turn, is dictated when his voice breaks during the testosterone surges of puberty, so it may give away something about his hormonal status. Moreover, even wordless music can convey the player’s emotional state. Perhaps, then, humans and hyraxes are not so different. Something to think about when next you are tempted to sing in the bath.

这项工作是否有助于对人类音乐的了解还不清楚.人类音乐仿佛不包含与哭叫,卡住声和喷鼻声相同的声音,但这或许是因为人类与这些话题太近以至于看不到那些相同的声音是什么.例如,一个听众甚至不用看到歌手就能从低音歌唱家,男中音和男高音中得到许多信息.一个人适合的音乐与他的身材和喉咙有关.反过来,在睾丸激素洋溢的青春期,他的嗓音在破时就确定了,所以这也许与荷尔蒙状况有关.而且,即使沉默的音乐也能传达乐手的情绪.因此,或许人类和蹄兔不是没有相同之处的,下次你想要在浴室唱歌时可以思索一下.

soleil

好久没翻了,翻的还是一样糟糕.
不管怎样,自己顶一个.

tiger1921

继续努力吧!
顶一个!

Ro.Shepherd

1.Animal behaviour
动物行为习性       忘加粗体了
2.还有貌似题目没写中文翻译...

3.

A hyrax’s song gives a detailed account of his wares

意译即可:蹄兔的歌声为何将其出卖?
4.

Music is thus a demonstration of the underlying fitness of the singer, or player.

因此,表达音乐的过程可以彻底地展示一个歌手或乐手是否合格.
.

The unstated assumption is that these are all honest signals—that is, their frequency or the quality of their production is directly related to the singer’s underlying physiology and cannot be modified to give a false impression of his fitness. Lady hyraxes are therefore provided with a reliable précis of the strengths and weaknesses of each of their potential mates.

5.这个未被证明的假说表明:蹄兔哭声中透露的信息十分可靠.

6.它不能随心所欲对自己的身体状况造假

Whether this work sheds any light on human music is unclear. Human songs do not seem to contain the equivalents of wails, chucks and snorts. But that might be because humans are so close to the subject that they cannot see what those equivalents are. For example, a listener can gather a lot of information from the difference between a bass, a baritone and a tenor without ever seeing the singer. A man’s musical range is related to his size and to the anatomy of his voice box. That, in turn, is dictated when his voice breaks during the testosterone surges of puberty, so it may give away something about his hormonal status. Moreover, even wordless music can convey the player’s emotional state. Perhaps, then, humans and hyraxes are not so different. Something to think about when next you are tempted to sing in the bath.

7.目前,人们还不确定这项成果是否会对研究音乐有所帮助.

8.人类的歌声中并没有向类似的哭叫,卡喉和鼻音.

9.

他的嗓音在破时就确定了

貌似错字了

10.或许人类与蹄兔并没有那么迥然不同,下次你在浴室中引吭高歌的时候可要思索一番了.

一点见解.希望有所帮助.多用意译,理顺中文表达方法会有所进步.加油!

soleil

谢谢!我会修正的