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Once we have language, we can put our ideas together and cooperate to have a prosperity
一旦我們有了語言，我們可以分享想法并合作，從而創造繁榮
that we couldn't have before we acquired it.
沒有語言這是無法完成的
And this is why our species has prospered around the world
這就是為什么人類在全世界繁衍發展
while the rest of the animals sit behind bars in zoos, languishing.
而其他的動物只能干坐在動物園的籠子里，怨斷愁腸
That's why we build space shuttles and cathedrals
這就是為什么我們建起航天飛機和大教堂
while the rest of the world sticks sticks into the ground to extract termites.
而它們用棍子捅地抓白蟻
All right, if this view of language and its value in solving the crisis of visual theft is true,
如果這個角度看語言及其價值，對解決觀察性竊取是無可爭議的
any species that acquires it should show an explosion of creativity and prosperity.
任何物種獲得了它，都應該有創造和繁榮昌盛的表現
And this is exactly what the archeological record shows.
考古學記錄證實了這一點
If you look at our ancestors, the Neanderthals and the Homo erectus, our immediate ancestors,
如果研究我們的祖先--尼安德特人和猿人，我們的直系祖先
they're confined to small regions of the world.
他們活動于世界的小范圍區域
But when our species arose about 200,000 years ago,
而人類在大約二十萬年前
sometime after that we quickly walked out of Africa and spread around the entire world, occupying nearly every habitat on Earth.
迅速地走出了非洲，分布到了全世界，占據了地球幾乎每一處棲息地
Now whereas other species are confined to places that their genes adapt them to,
現在當其他物種還受限于他們基因適應的地方
with social learning and language, we could transform the environment to suit our needs.
擁有社會學習能力和語言的我們，已經可以改造環境，滿足我們的需求了
And so we prospered in a way that no other animal has.
所以我們的文明比其他任何動物都要繁榮
Language really is the most potent trait that has ever evolved.
語言確實是我們進化出的最有利的特性
It is the most valuable trait we have for converting new lands and resources
這是我們擁有的最有價值的特性，以此我們將新土地和資源
into more people and their genes that natural selection has ever devised.
轉化成更多的人和他們的基因，這比自然選擇做的還要多
