研究：有哥哥的孩子語言能力發育更遲緩

很多人想當然地以爲，有哥哥姐姐陪伴的孩子學語言會更快，因爲有更多人可以和自己交流。但是科學家的一項研究卻得出了相反的結論。

Having an older brother comes with plenty of benefits. Big brothers tend to look out for their younger counterparts, and despite the occasional rocky moment here and there, many siblings enjoy life-long close relationships. However, a new study finds an interesting downside: children with older brothers take longer when it comes to developing language skills.

有一個哥哥好處多多。哥哥通常都會保護弟妹，儘管偶爾也會吵架，但許多兄弟或兄妹一輩子關係都很親密。然而，一項研究發現了一個有趣的弊端：有哥哥的孩子學語言更慢。

The study, conducted by a group of researchers in Paris, France, builds upon prior research that had already established that having older siblings is associated with poor linguistic development. Now, researchers say they have refined those findings to come to a more specific conclusion: only children with an older brother exhibit these linguistic difficulties.

法國巴黎的一個研究團隊開展的這項研究基於此前的一項研究結論：有哥哥姐姐的人語言能力更差。現在，研究人員表示，他們得出了更爲具體的結論：有哥哥的孩子纔會表現出語言學習方面的遲緩。

One would assume that children with older brothers would grow up around more conversation on a daily basis, thus speeding up their language development. Yet researchers say such children actually take longer than their older brothers to begin developing these skills.

你可能會以爲，有哥哥的孩子每天在更多對話中成長，因而會加速他們的語言能力發展。然而，研究人員表示，實際上這樣的孩子語言能力開始發育的時間比哥哥們更晚。

Researchers studied more than 1,000 children from birth to the age of five-and-a-half years old. Each child’s language skills were tested at ages 2, 3, and 5.5, using tests specially designed to measure numerous aspects of language development such as vocabulary, syntax, and verbal reasoning.

研究人員調查了1000多個孩子，從新生兒到5歲半的孩子。每個孩子在2歲、3歲和5歲半的時候都接受了專門設計的語言能力測試，這些測試是爲了衡量詞彙量、語法和語言推理等語言發育的多個方面。

syntax['sɪntæks]: n. 語法；句法

What the research team discovered was significant: children with an older brother had, on average, a two-month delay in their language development compared to studied children with an older sister.

研究團隊有了重要發現：有哥哥的孩子語言發育平均比有姐姐的孩子晚兩個月。

As far as explaining this phenomenon, researchers have proposed two hypotheses. The first is that older sisters tend to talk more often than older brothers, which would compensate for parents potentially being less present than they were for their first child. The second hypothesis is that older sisters usually compete with their siblings less than older brothers for their parents’ attention.

在解釋這一現象時，研究人員提出了兩種假說。第一種假說是，姐姐說話比哥哥更多，彌補了父母比在第一個孩子身上少花的時間。第二種假說是，相比哥哥，姐姐通常比較不會和弟妹爭寵。

As of now, the study’s authors say they can’t say for certain why children with older brothers have a harder time developing language skills. In the future they would like to investigate if culture or location impacts the prevalence of these results.

研究作者稱，到目前爲止，他們無法明確說出爲什麼有哥哥的孩子學語言更困難。未來他們想調查文化或地域是否對這種普遍結果造成了影響。

The study is published in Psychological Science.

該研究發表在《心理科學》上。