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

　　想要事业爱情双丰收，并且在垂暮之年也能依然拥有健康的大脑?

　　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.

　　由语言软件Babbel进行的一项新调查显示，至少多数美国人和英国人是这样认为的。

　　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，会说一种以上的语言似乎使人更具吸引力。

　　Oui, c’est vrai!

　　对，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.

　　在3000名说英语的英美受访者中，有九成承认他们愿意为了追寻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.

　　大约一半的人说，他们曾经梦想和来自另一个国家的人拥有一段浪漫的爱情。

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

　　从家庭转到工作上来说，约四分之一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，有八成人承认他们在简历中夸大了自己的语言技能，这也许不足为奇。

　　"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的教学主任米里亚姆·普利宁格在美国有线电视新闻网上表示，“语言不仅能拓宽你的视野、提高你的技能，而且也能打开通往世界的大门，帮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，在特殊层面进行相互理解;不管是在街头，旅行中，还是在商业方面。”

　　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——但西方国家说英语的人数开始落后了。

　　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，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。

　　Influential factors

　　影响因素

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

　　普利宁格表示：“学习一门新语言的难易程度受不同因素的影响。”

　　"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和你的母语属于同一语系，那么这种语言一般更容易掌握。”

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

　　从理论上来说，说英语的人应该觉得学日耳曼语言更轻松，如德语或荷兰语，因为二者在历史上都很接近英语。

　　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，人们对语言的通晓程度在日常生活中和在课堂上有很大的不同，这就是为什么美国人觉得西班牙语好学，而英国人觉得法语好学——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.

　　普利宁格补充说，尽管多数美国人和英国人认为俄语是最难学会的语言，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."

　　“然而，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?

　　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的调查人员在之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%).

　　大西洋两端的受访者(40%的美国人，32%的英国人)认为法语是“最性感”的语言，(38%的美国人，40%的英国人)认为带有法语口音的英语是最性感的外国口音。

　　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艾伦?比亚莱斯托克发现，从小经常说一种以上的语言能提高认知能力，也可以延缓阿尔茨海默症的出现。

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

　　普利宁格表示，这是“训练大脑的好方法。”

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