將近20年前，一項具有里程碑意義的教育研究發現，低收入戶兒童到了3歲時，已比家庭較富裕的兒童少聽到3000萬個字彙，以致就學前即已處於教育上的劣勢。

Now, a growing body of research is challenging the notion that merely exposing poor children to more language is enough to overcome the deficits they face. The quality of the communication between children and their parents and caregivers, the researchers say, is of much greater importance than the number of words a child hears.

如今，越來越多的研究向此一觀念提出挑戰，不認為光是讓貧窮兒童暴露於更多語言，就能克服他們所面對的不足。這些研究人員指出，兒童與父母及看顧者之間的溝通品質，遠比兒童聽到多少字彙來得重要。

A study presented last month at a White House conference on “bridging the word gap” found that among 2-year-olds from low-income families, quality interactions involving words — the use of shared symbols (“Look, a dog!”); rituals (“Want a bottle after your bath?”); and conversational fluency (“Yes, that is a bus!”) — were a far better predictor of language skills at age 3 than any other factor .

上月在白宮「縮小字彙差距」會議中發表的一項研究結果發現，對2歲的低收入戶兒童而言，和字彙相關的優質互動，例如使用共通的符號（「看哪，一隻狗！」）；固定程序（「洗完澡想喝瓶奶？」）；流暢的對話（「是的，這是一輛公車！」），在預測3歲兒童語言技巧方面，是遠勝於其他因素的更好指標。

“It’s not just about shoving words in,” said Kathryn Hirsh- Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia and lead author of the study. “It’s about having these fluid conversations around shared rituals and objects, like pretending to have morning coffee together or using the banana as a phone. ”

費城天普大學心理學教授、該研究報告主要作者凱瑟琳．赫許─巴塞克說：「它不光是塞進字彙而已，它與圍繞著共有的固定程序和物件的流暢對話有關，例如佯裝一起喝晨間咖啡，或是拿香蕉當電話打。」

In a related finding, published in April, researchers who observed 11- and 14-month-old children in their homes found that the prevalence of one-on-one interactions and frequent use of parentese — the slow, highpitched voice commonly used for talking to babies — were reliable predictors of language ability at age 2. The total number of words had no correlation with future ability.

四月發表的一項相關研究中，研究人員觀察11個月和14個月大孩子在家中的生活情形，發現經常一對一互動，以及頻繁使用「父母語」，也就是父母常用的，對嬰兒說話的那種緩慢、高音調聲音，是2歲兒童語言能力的可靠預測指標。字彙的總數量與兒童的未來能力無關。

Even the 1995 study that introduced the notion of the 30-million- word gap, conducted by the University of Kansas psychologists Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley, found that parental tone, responsiveness and use of symbols affected a child’s I.Q. and vocabulary.

引進3000萬字彙差距概念的那項研究發表於1995年，由堪薩斯大學心理學家貝蒂．哈特和陶德．Ｒ．里斯利所完成，即使那項研究也發現，父母的語氣、反應和符號的使用，對兒童的智商高低和詞彙多寡均有影響。

But this year’s studies are the first time researchers have compared the impact of word quantity with quality of communication.

不過，今年的研究，是研究人員首次將字彙數量和溝通品質的影響作比較。

For the new study, Dr. Hirsh- Pasek and colleagues selected 60 low-income 3-year-olds with varying degrees of language proficiency from a long-term study of 1,300 children from birth to age 15.

在新研究中，赫許─巴塞克和同事，在參與一項從出生到15歲長期研究的1300名兒童中，挑選出60名3歲的低收入戶兒童，語言能力程度各不相同。

The quality of communication accounted for 27 percent of variation in expressive language skills one year later, Dr. Hirsh-Pasek said.

赫許─巴塞克說，1年後，優質溝通占表達語言技巧差異的27％。

But those who urge parents to talk to their children more say increased quantity of language inevitably leads to better quality.

但是，那些呼籲家長多跟自己孩子說話的專家表示，提高語言數量，定會帶來更高的品質。

Anne Fernald, a developmental psychologist at Stanford University in California, said, “When you learn to talk more, you tend to speak in more diverse ways and elaborate more, and that helps the child’s cognitive development.”

加州史丹福大學發展心理學家安妮．費納德說：「當你學會說得更多時，你會以更多樣、更複雜的方式說話，這有助兒童的認知發展。」

Still, Ann O’Leary, director of Too Small to Fail, a joint effort of the nonprofit Next Generation and the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation that focuses on closing the word gap, acknowledged that messages to parents could do more to emphasize quality.

「小到不能失敗」計畫負責人安．奧利里說，在提供給家長的訊息上，確實可多強調質。「小到不能失敗」由非營利組織「下一代」和「比爾、希拉蕊、雀兒喜．柯林頓基金會」共同設置，致力於縮小兒童字彙差距。

“When we’re doing these campaigns to close the word gap, they do capture the imagination, they do get people understanding that we do need to do a lot more talking,” she said. “But we also need to be more mindful that part of what we need to do is model what that talking looks like.”

她說：「當我們從事縮小兒童字彙差距努力時，它確實引起我們注意，它也讓人們理解，我們確實需要多說點話。但我們同時需要更注意的是，在我們必須從事的工作中，有一部分是提供那種談話的模範，那種談話中該有的東西。」

近幾個月，美國在全球電影市場的霸主地位兩度隱約受到挑戰。

In early September, a Chinese- language fantasy, “The Monkey King,” climbed to number 21 at the worldwide box office, with $186.1 million in sales. A few weeks later, a Chinese comedy, “Breakup Buddies,” shot to number 22, with $143.1 million in ticket sales .

九月初，華語奇幻片「西遊記之大鬧天宮」票房攀升到全球第21名，達1億8610萬美元。幾周後，華語喜劇電影「心花路放」票房竄升到第22名，達1億4310萬美元。

As competitive threats go, that isn’t much. But it is enough to make Hollywood fret .

這算不上競爭上的大威脅，卻足以讓好萊塢發愁。

United States companies and their partners backed the top 20 performers at the world box office every year for the last five. A rare standout was “Intouchables” in 2012, from France, ranked 16th, with $432.6 million in global sales, just behind Universal Pictures’ British-created “Les Miserables,” with $442 million.

近五年全球票房前20名的電影，年年都是由美國公司及其合作夥伴出資。2012年上映的法國片「逆轉人生」是少見例外，全球票房排名16，達4億3260萬美元，緊追環球影業發行、票房4億4200萬美元的英國片「悲慘世界」。

The year’s best performer is Paramount Pictures’ “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” with about $1.1 billion in world sales, much of that in China. In all, markets outside the United States accounted for roughly $25 billion of $35.9 billion in sales last year, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

今年全球最賣座的電影是「變形金剛4：絕跡重生」，約11億美元票房多半來自中國大陸。美國電影協會資料顯示，去年美國電影全球票房收入359億美元，其中約有250億來自海外市場。

Still, Jonathan Wolf, managing director of the American Film Market, an annual production and distribution convention, has been watching what he calls “a global shift away from U.S. product over the last 25 years.”

不過，製片與發行界年度大型活動「美國電影市場展」的總監沃夫，一直在注意他所謂「25年來，美國片的全球觀眾逐漸流失」的現象。

Government subsidies for local film have changed tastes in some regions of the world, as has a new generation of television- trained international filmmakers, Mr. Wolf said . Mr. Wolf has a sharp eye on China, where the annual box-office take is second only to that in the United States. Ticket sales there are likely to exceed $5 billion this year.

沃夫說，世上某些地方的政府補貼國片，改變了觀眾的口味，新一代做過電視節目的國際電影製作人也讓觀眾口味轉變。沃夫特別注意大陸，大陸每年票房收入都僅次於美國，今年可能超過50億美元。

American companies have looked to China for growth through collaborative ventures. But Chinese viewers, with a nudge from government policies to keep domestic films on screen, have shown an increasing tilt toward purely Chinese movies.

美國企業紛紛與大陸合資以求成長，不過大陸當局保護國片，在政策引導下，觀眾逐漸轉向純本土片。

According to Rentrak’s box-office tracking service, American studio titles accounted for 39 percent of Chinese ticket sales in 2013, down from 44 percent a year earlier. Speaking in October, Rob Cain, a producer and consultant with considerable experience in China, said the American share was back to almost 44 percent.

美國連鎖影音出租公司雷翠克的票房統計顯示，2013年大陸總票房收入中美國片占39%，前一年是44%。大陸經歷豐富的美國製片兼顧問甘敏中上月說，今年美國片的票房占比回到將近44%。

China has yet to become a powerful exporter of film. To date, it has been more like India, a prolific producer whose wares are mostly viewed within its borders, and among a vibrant diaspora around the world. But powerful Chinese companies like Dalian Wanda, Fosun International and Le Vision Pictures are looking for global inroads .

大陸還不是電影出口大國，它比較像印度，電影產量豐富，觀眾多是國民和全球各地活躍的僑民。不過，大陸知名公司如大連萬達、復星國際和樂視影業正進軍國際市場。

American films face a particularly serious challenge in Russia, which ranked seventh among national markets last year and is rapidly growing: As new political tensions rise, some Russian officials and others have discussed quotas or even a ban on American films.

美國電影在俄國遇到的挑戰特別大，去年俄國總票房收入在全球排名第七，而且電影市場快速成長，但由於與美國關係日趨緊張，俄國某些官員和其他人士正在討論要對進口美國片設定上限，甚至全面封殺。

For major producers like QED International or Red Granite Pictures , the loss of Russian sales would be a blow because they have increasingly relied on foreign buyers for the funds to make some major American films.

對美國大型製片公司如QED國際、紅岩電影來說，失去俄國市場損失慘重，因為這些公司日漸仰賴外國買主提供資金，好拍攝某些大片。

“The studios seem to be in a de-risking strategy,” said Riza Aziz, co-owner of Red Granite. He spoke of increasing reluctance by American studios to use their own capital, relying instead on money raised by others, often through foreign sales.

紅岩電影老闆之一阿濟茲說：「美國製片廠似乎都在降低風險。」他的意思是，美國片廠越來越不想動用自己的資金，而是依靠別人籌到的資金，通常透過電影的海外銷售得來。

Rena Ronson, who handles film finance and other issues for Hollywood’s United Talent Agency, said the world market remains vibrant but increasingly demands that almost everything — genre, star, story, distribution plan — be perfectly aligned.

好萊塢「聯合人才經紀公司」負責為電影籌錢等事務的蕾娜．朗森說，全球電影市場仍然興旺，只是越來越要求幾乎所有細節完美配合，包括電影類型、卡司、故事、發行計畫等。

Ms. Ronson said, “You have to tick all the boxes.”

朗森說：「你得滿足所有要求。」