英语趣谈:名字的tip of the tongue经验

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社交场合遇上相识的人却忘记了对方的名字,是十分尴尬的事。但认得对方,即是你没有忘记他们的样貌。事实上,除非一个人的样貌大变,否则我们通常都会认得。奇怪的是为什麽我们很少忘记样貌,却经常忘记名字?

随意选择  没同义词

心理学家Lise Abrams和Danielle Davis也有这个疑问。他们的观察发现,名字和其他字有四个重要的分别。心理学教授David Ludden也在”Why We Forget Names (But Not Faces)”一文中引述该研究。

首先,”Names are arbitrary.”(名字是随意的选择。)Arbitrary是形容词,解based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system,随意的、随机的、任意的,没有理由、规例或系统作为基础的。An arbitrary decision是没有理由或根据的决定。

Ordinary words consistently(一贯地) refer to the same kind of thing. If I tell you I have an apple in my backpack, you have a pretty good idea what that object looks like. But if I tell you I have a friend named Brad, you know absolutely nothing about him.

第二,”Names don’t have synonyms.”(名字没有同义词。)当我们一时间想不起一个字,可用其他相近的字来表达同一意思,但名字就没有这个弹性。记不起名字经常发生,所以有时会听到别人说:“那个谁、那个……”但你所指的是Peter,断不能arbitrarily找个其他名字替代。”People’s names don’t have synonyms – there are no substitutes(替代品).”

多于一字  较少用上

第三,”Names contain multiple words.”(名字通常有多于一个字。)名字一般最少两个字,西方或有些文化的名字可以有五、六个字甚至超过十个字。当然日常使用只是一个字的first name,但名字的multiple words特性增加了记住的难度。

另外,”Names are low-frequency words.”(名字是少用的字。)Frequency可指rate of vibration,wave,频率,如low frequency radio wave(低频的电波)。Frequency也解rate of occurrence,发生率、频密程度。”Low-frequency words”不是发音低沉的字,而是少用、少遇上的字。

Among ordinary words, a tip-of-the-tongue experience is more common with low-frequency words like “disseminate(传播)” than with high-frequency words like “spread.”

Even when the components(要素、成分) of names are common, such as “Tom” and “Hanks” or “Brad” and “Pitt,” their combinations(组合) (”Tom Hanks” and “Brad Pitt”) still occur much less frequently.

Tip of the tongue解差一点就想起某事,例如︰I have his name at the tip of my tongue.(他的名字就在我嘴边,却说不出来。)

Memory(记忆),就是这样难以捉摸。但记性好对于读书、做事都一定有帮助,Kevin Horsley的Unlimited Memory: How to Use Advanced Learning Strategies to Learn Faster, Remember More and be More Productive,教你一些增强记忆力的窍门。

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