为什么青蛙会“孤寡孤寡”叫？

Becase ...

“您好，

我是您亲友为您预定的七夕青蛙🐸

现在我要开始叫了

孤寡孤寡孤寡孤寡孤寡孤寡孤寡孤寡”

Why Frogs Ribbit

NowIKnow

The names we give to animal sounds vary widely as you move from area to area. The reason, generally, has little to do with the animals themselves — the sound a rooster makes is roughly the same whether that rooster lives in the United States, Germany, or China. But because the labels we give their noises are onomatopoetic approximations — we put their sounds into our “words — a rooster in the US says “cock-a-doodle-doo” while in Germany it goes “kikeriki” (with an emphasis on that last syllable) and in China, it’s “wo-wo-wo.” 

The same is true for frogs. In Germany, locals attest that the frog says “quaken.” In China, the frog’s croak, transliterated, would be something like “qua-qua.” And if you grew up in the United States, you probably think that frogs near you say “ribbit.” That’s the word people in the United States use to describe the sound. 

But those Americans are probably wrong — and Hollywood is to blame.

The Pacific tree frog, above, is a species of frog which lives up and down the North American Pacific coast, ranging as far north as the extreme southern tip of Alaska. Depending on what taxonomy one goes by, the species range down to Baja California and somewhat eastward toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. Alternative taxonomies may categorize these frogs into three distinct species (one per region), but either way, one thing is for sure: their males, when it’s time to look for a mate, all make the same sound. You can listen to that sound here. 

It kind of sounds like “ribbit,” right? 

That “ribbit” sound is what’s called an “advertisement call.” Frogs need to reproduce and to do so, male frogs need to make two things clear: first, that they’re open for business and second, that this lilypad is theirs and other male frogs should stay away. The “ribbit” serves that dual purpose — it tells female Pacific tree frogs that this is a good place to lay her eggs, and it tells male Pacific tree frogs to go find their own domain. However, that message is only intended for frogs of the same (or compatible) species. No one benefits if a frog’s croaking noise attracts the wrong species of female frog or deters a different species of male.

The good news, if you’re a frog, is that it’s pretty easy to keep all of these frog noises straight. As it turns out, different species of frogs have distinct advertisement calls. The bad news, if you’re a human, is that most frogs don’t actually ribbit, despite what we think.

So where’d the mix-up happen? The movies. If you watch a movie, particularly one from an era where films were made on a Hollywood studio lot, and you hear frogs, you’ll hear ribbits. That’s because the background noises needed to come from somewhere else — and whatever was local was good enough. As Oregon State University’s Animal Bioacoustics blog explains, Pacific tree frogs were “regularly featured in movies because early sound designers could go out to the ponds in California, even in the Hollywood area, and easily record the sound of the chorus.”

As a result, the Pacific tree frog’s advertisement call became a familiar one. For those who weren’t otherwise serenaded with a chorus of frog croaks from locally-sourced frogs, movies provided nearly 100% of their frog sound knowledge. As they watched movies, they were exposed to the “ribbit” of the Pacific tree frog and started incorporating it into other places frogs may be, such as Old MacDonald’s Farm — despite the fact that few other frogs actually “ribbit.” The “frog goes ribbit” idea spread, and today, Americans think that a frog’s ribbit is universal.

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注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

含注释全文：

Why Frogs Ribbit

NowIKnow

The names we give to animal sounds vary widely as you move from area to area. The reason, generally, has little to do with the animals themselves — the sound a rooster makes is roughly the same whether that rooster lives in the United States, Germany, or China. But because the labels we give their noises are onomatopoetic approximations — we put their sounds into our “words — a rooster in the US says “cock-a-doodle-doo” while in Germany it goes “kikeriki” (with an emphasis on that last syllable) and in China, it's “wo-wo-wo.”

我们给动物声音起的名字在不同地区有很大的不同。一般来说，原因与动物本身关系不大--无论生活在美国、德国还是中国，公鸡发出的声音大致相同。但因为我们给它们的声音贴上的标签是近似拟声的--我们把它们的声音放到我们的“词”里--在美国，公鸡叫是“cock-a-doodle-doo”，而在德国是“kikeriki”（强调最后一个音节），在中国则是“wo-wo-wo”。

🐸ribbit /ˈrɪbɪt/ 看标题其实就可以猜出来，指的就是“青蛙叫声，呱呱”，英文解释为“The vocal sound made by a frog or toad；The characteristic croaking sound of a frog.”

🐸另一个词croak /krəʊk/，1）作名词，表示“（蛙、乌鸦等）发出低沉沙哑的叫声，呱呱地叫”，英文解释为“When animals such as frogs and crows croak, they make deep rough sounds.”当然也可以直接作动词；

2）此外，croak作动词还可以表示“用低沉而沙哑的声音说话”（to speak or say sth with a rough low voice）举个🌰：

I had a sore throat and could only croak.

我喉咙痛，只能哑着嗓子说话。

🎬电影《嚎叫》（Howl）中的台词提到：Moloch whose factories dream and croak in the fog 摩洛神的工厂在烟雾中做梦呻吟。

onomatopoetic 形容词，表示“声喻的；拟声的”；名词：onomatopoeia /ˌɒnəˌmætəˈpiːə, -mɑːtə-/ 表示“拟声；声喻法；拟声法；拟声词，象声词”英文解释为“the act of creating or using words that include sounds that are similar to the noises the words refer to”。

表示“近似物；类似事物”，英文解释为“An approximation is a fact, object, or description which is similar to something else, but which is not exactly the same.”举个🌰：

That is a fair approximation of the way in which the next boss is being chosen.

那是一个挑选下任老板的大体近似方式。

cock-a-doodle-doo /ˌkɒkəˌduːdəlˈduː/ 还真有这么一个词，表示“（公鸡的啼声）喔喔喔”，英文解释为“the word for the sound that a cock / rooster makes”。

syllable /ˈsɪləbəl/ 表示“音节”，英文解释为“A syllable is a part of a word that contains a single vowel sound and that is pronounced as a unit. So, for example, "book" has one syllable, and "reading" has two syllables.”如：a word with two syllables 双音节单词。

The same is true for frogs. In Germany, locals attest that the frog says “quaken.” In China, the frog's croak, transliterated, would be something like “qua-qua.” And if you grew up in the United States, you probably think that frogs near you say “ribbit.” That's the word people in the United States use to describe the sound.

青蛙也是如此。在德国，当地人证实青蛙叫是“quaken”。在中国，青蛙的呱呱叫音译起来就像是“qua-qua”。而如果你在美国长大，你可能会认为附近的青蛙叫是“ribbit”。美国人就是用这个词来形容青蛙的叫声。

表示“表明；证明；证实”，英文解释为“to show something or to say or prove that something is true”举个🌰：

Contemporary accounts attest to his courage and determination.

当时的报道证实了他的勇气和决心。

🎬电影《被解救的姜戈》（Django Unchained）中的台词提到：five witnesses who can attest to that fact. 5个目击者可以作证。

transliterate /trænzˈlɪtəˌreɪt/ 表示“移译；音译”，把（一个字母体系的单词等）按另一字母体系拼写，英文解释为“to write words or letters using letters of a different alphabet or language”举个🌰：

On the road signs, the Greek place names have been transliterated into the Roman alphabet.

在路牌上，希腊地名被音译成了拉丁字母。

But those Americans are probably wrong — and Hollywood is to blame.

但那些美国人可能搞错了--而好莱坞是罪魁祸首。

The Pacific tree frog, above, is a species of frog which lives up and down the North American Pacific coast, ranging as far north as the extreme southern tip of Alaska. Depending on what taxonomy one goes by, the species range down to Baja California and somewhat eastward toward the Sierra Nevada mountains. Alternative taxonomies may categorize these frogs into three distinct species (one per region), but either way, one thing is for sure: their males, when it's time to look for a mate, all make the same sound. You can listen to that sound here.

上图中的太平洋树蛙，是一种生活在北美太平洋沿岸的蛙类，范围北至阿拉斯加（Alaska）的最南端。根据不同的分类法，该物种的范围一直下到加利福尼亚半岛（Baja California），并在一定程度上向东延伸到内华达山脉（Sierra Nevada）。其他分类法可能会将这些青蛙分为三个不同的物种（每个地区一种），但无论如何，有一件事是肯定的：它们的雄性，当它寻找配偶的时候，都会发出同样的声音。你可以在这里听一下这种声音。

表示“ 尖端；尖儿；端”，英文解释为“the thin pointed end of sth”，如：the tips of your fingers 手指尖，the tip of your nose 你的鼻尖，the northern tip of the island 岛的北端。

taxonomy /tækˈsɒnəmɪ/ 表示“分类学；生物分类学”，英文解释为“a system for naming and organizing things, especially plants and animals, into groups that share similar qualities”。

It kind of sounds like “ribbit,” right? 

听起来有点像“Ribbit”，对吧？

That “ribbit” sound is what's called an “advertisement call.” Frogs need to reproduce and to do so, male frogs need to make two things clear: first, that they're open for business and second, that this lilypad is theirs and other male frogs should stay away. The “ribbit” serves that dual purpose — it tells female Pacific tree frogs that this is a good place to lay her eggs, and it tells male Pacific tree frogs to go find their own domain. However, that message is only intended for frogs of the same (or compatible) species. No one benefits if a frog's croaking noise attracts the wrong species of female frog or deters a different species of male.

这种“ribbit”的声音就是所谓的“广告鸣叫”。青蛙需要繁殖，为了繁殖，雄蛙需要明确两点：第一，它们在“营业”了；第二，这块睡莲浮叶是它们的，其他雄蛙应该远离。“ribbit”就有这样的双重作用--它告诉雌性太平洋树蛙，这里是它产卵的好地方，也告诉雄性太平洋树蛙去寻找自己的领地。然而，这个信息只针对同种（或相容）的青蛙。如果一只青蛙的呱呱叫声吸引了错误的雌蛙品种，或者阻挡了不同品种的雄蛙，那么谁也不会受益。

更常见的事lily pad，指的是“睡莲的漂浮叶”，英文解释为“any of the floating leaves of a water lily；a round floating leaf of a water lily”

🐸water lily 表示“睡莲”（A water lily is a plant with large flat leaves and colorful flowers that floats on the surface of lakes and rivers.）

🐸pad则可以表示“浮叶（尤见于睡莲）”（the large flat leaf of some water plants, especially the water lily）

compatible /kəmˈpætəbəl/ 表示“可共存的；协调的；兼容的”，英文解释为“able to exist, live together, or work successfully with something or someone else”举个🌰：

It was when we started living together that we found we just weren't compatible.

等到开始生活在一起时，才发现我们根本合不来。

表示“阻挠，阻止；威慑；使不敢”，英文解释为“to prevent someone from doing something or to make someone less enthusiastic about doing something by making it difficult for that person to do it or by threatening bad results if they do it”举个🌰：

High prices are deterring many young people from buying houses.

高昂的价格让很多年轻人对于买房望而却步。

🎬电影《杀手：代号47》（Hitman）中的台词提到：I, for one, will not let their cowardice deter me. 作为总统 为了一个人 我将一往无前。

🎬电影《孤独的生还者》（Lone Survivor）中的台词提到：If you do come under attack, use the appropriate force necessary to deter or defeat that threat. 如果遭受袭击使用适当的武力来制止或反击此威胁。

The good news, if you're a frog, is that it's pretty easy to keep all of these frog noises straight. As it turns out, different species of frogs have distinct advertisement calls. The bad news, if you're a human, is that most frogs don't actually ribbit, despite what we think.

好消息是，如果你是一只青蛙，要把这些青蛙的声音都弄清楚是很容易的。事实证明，不同种类的青蛙有不同的“广告鸣叫”。坏消息是，如果你是人类，不管我们怎么想的，大多数青蛙其实并不会叫。

So where'd the mix-up happen? The movies. If you watch a movie, particularly one from an era where films were made on a Hollywood studio lot, and you hear frogs, you'll hear ribbits. That's because the background noises needed to come from somewhere else — and whatever was local was good enough. As Oregon State University's Animal Bioacoustics blog explains, Pacific tree frogs were “regularly featured in movies because early sound designers could go out to the ponds in California, even in the Hollywood area, and easily record the sound of the chorus.”

那么，这种差错是在哪里发生？电影。如果你看电影，尤其是在好莱坞制片厂拍电影的时代，你听到青蛙的声音，就会听到“ribbits”。那是因为背景噪音需要从其他地方来--只要是当地的声音就足够了。正如俄勒冈州立大学的动物生物声学博客所解释的那样，太平洋树蛙“经常出现在电影中，因为早期的音效师可以去加州的池塘，甚至在好莱坞地区，就很容易录下青蛙“大合唱”的声音。”

表示“（引起混乱的）错误”，英文解释为“a mistake that causes confusion”举个🌰：

There was a mix-up at the office and we all received the wrong forms.

办公室搞错了，我们都收到了错误的表格。

1）表示“齐声，异口同声”，英文解释为“the sound of a lot of people expressing approval or disapproval at the same time”；

2）表示“ （通常在歌曲每一节后的）副歌，合唱部分；合唱曲”，英文解释为“part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse (= set of lines)”；

3）表示“歌舞队；伴舞；伴唱”，英文解释为“a group of performers who, as a team, sing or dance in a show”

As a result, the Pacific tree frog's advertisement call became a familiar one. For those who weren't otherwise serenaded with a chorus of frog croaks from locally-sourced frogs, movies provided nearly 100% of their frog sound knowledge. As they watched movies, they were exposed to the “ribbit” of the Pacific tree frog and started incorporating it into other places frogs may be, such as Old MacDonald's Farm — despite the fact that few other frogs actually “ribbit.” The “frog goes ribbit” idea spread, and today, Americans think that a frog's ribbit is universal.

因此，太平洋树蛙的“广告鸣叫”成了人们熟悉的声音。对于那些原本没有听过当地青蛙呱呱叫“大合唱”的人来说，他们对青蛙叫声的认知几乎全部来源于电影。在看电影的过程中，他们接触到了太平洋树蛙的“ribbit”，并开始把它融入到其他青蛙可能出现的地方，比如老麦农场（Old MacDonald's Farm）--尽管其他青蛙很少有真正是“ribbit”这样叫的。“青蛙叫声ribbit”的说法广为流传，如今，美国人认为青蛙的ribbit叫声是普遍存在的。

serenade /ˌsɛrɪˈneɪd/ 表示“（对所爱慕的女子）唱小夜曲，奏小夜曲；（尤指夜间男子在心仪女子的窗外）为…演奏（或演唱）”，英文解释为“to sing or play music to sb (as done in the past by a man singing under her window to the woman he loved)”举个🌰：

Romeo serenades Juliet in the moonlight.

罗密欧在月光下为朱丽叶唱起小夜曲。

📺《刺杀林肯》中提到：A crowd gathers in front of the White House to serenade Lincoln and to call for him to speak. 一群人聚集在白宫门口 为林肯奏乐 并请求他发表演讲

表示“普遍的；全体的；全世界的；共同的”，英文解释为“done by or involving all the people in the world or in a particular group”举个🌰：

Agreement on this issue is almost universal.

这个问题几乎取得全体一致的意见。

谢谢你看到这里呀

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