See if you know the answer to this riddle :
看看你是否知道这个谜语的答案：
“I have been around for a very long time. Longer than toys, dogs, or anyone you know.
“我已经存在很长时间了。比玩具、狗或你认识的任何人都长。
“My roots go back many centuries. Some of them even longer.”
“我的根源可以追溯到几个世纪前。其中一些甚至更长。”
“I can connect you to the past, the present and the future. I make you human.”
“我可以将你与过去、现在和未来联系起来。我让你成为人类。”
Can you guess what I am?
你能猜出我是什么吗？
The answer is language.
答案是语言。
Children’s author Victor D.O. Santos asks readers that question in his book, What Makes Us Human . Each page on the book provides a clue to the riddle’s final answer. Artist Anna Forlati illustrated the book.
儿童作家 Victor D.O.桑托斯在他的著作《什么使我们成为人类》中向读者提出了这个问题。书中的每一页都提供了谜语最终答案的线索。艺术家安娜·福拉蒂为这本书绘制了插图。
Santos told VOA Learning English that the book is about the value of language. It is also meant to bring more attention to the world’s native languages.
桑托斯告诉美国之音学习英语，这本书是关于语言的价值的。它还旨在让人们更多地关注世界上的母语。
Native and indigenous languages are disappearing quickly. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates that 40 percent of the world’s 7,000 languages may disappear by the year 2100.
母语和土著语言正在迅速消失。联合国教育、科学及文化组织 (UNESCO) 估计，到 2100 年，世界 7,000 种语言中的 40% 可能会消失。
Santos, who is also an educator and linguist , has studied indigenous languages in his native country, Brazil.
桑托斯还是一名教育家和语言学家，在他的祖国巴西研究过土著语言。
He said that his new book brings “attention to the fact that many languages are disappearing ... (and ) this linguistic heritage that we have in the world is slipping through the cracks."
他说，他的新书“让人们注意到许多语言正在消失的事实......（并且）我们在世界上拥有的这种语言遗产正在从裂缝中溜走。”
The United Nations has named the years between 2022 and 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. UNESCO says the declaration is meant to bring worldwide “attention on the critical situation of many indigenous languages.” It also says it is meant to provide more resources to protect and revitalize such languages.
联合国将2022年至2032年命名为“国际土著语言十年”。联合国教科文组织表示，该宣言旨在引起全世界“对许多土著语言的危急状况的关注”。它还表示，此举旨在提供更多资源来保护和振兴此类语言。
Santos said UNESCO offered to partner with him and help expand the book’s reach. The book has already been licensed into 22 different languages. That includes versions in Mapundungun, a language spoken by the Mapuche people in Chile and Argentina, and into Hnähñu, a language spoken by the Otomí people in Mexico. Santos said the book might soon be published in native Hawaiian as well.
桑托斯表示，联合国教科文组织愿意与他合作，帮助扩大这本书的影响范围。该书已获得 22 种不同语言的授权。其中包括马蓬敦贡语（智利和阿根廷马普切人使用的语言）的版本，以及墨西哥奥托米人使用的语言 Hnähñu 的版本。桑托斯表示，这本书可能很快也会以夏威夷语出版。
The Chilean government recently published 27,000 copies of the book for public schools, where there is a large percentage of indigenous children.
智利政府最近为土著儿童占很大比例的公立学校出版了 27,000 册该书。
A large number of cultures and languages are represented in the book. Its final page has a drawing of people saying “hello” in many languages. There are characters saying “hello” in common languages like Arabic, English and Spanish. And indigenous languages from the Xavante people in Brazil and the Cherokee people in the United States are also included.
书中体现了多种文化和语言。它的最后一页有一幅人们用多种语言说“你好”的图画。有一些字符用阿拉伯语、英语和西班牙语等常见语言说“你好”。巴西的哈万特人和美国的切罗基人的土著语言也包括在内。
Another drawing has different scripts, or writing systems, hidden in trees.
另一幅图画有不同的脚本或书写系统，隐藏在树中。
One page has drawings of 12 indigenous groups around the world wearing their traditional clothing. The words to go along with the drawing note the fact that indigenous languages around the world are disappearing: “When one of me disappears, a culture may also disappear. A unique way to view and understand the world. Gone. Forever.”
一页上有世界各地 12 个土著群体穿着传统服装的图画。绘图中的文字指出了世界各地的土著语言正在消失的事实：“当我中的一个人消失时，一种文化也可能消失。一种观察和理解世界的独特方式。走了。永远。”
Santos said his book “has an adult layer to it. It's not just for kids.”
桑托斯说他的书“有成人的层面。这不仅仅是为了孩子们。”
One page has a drawing of a parent and child fleeing a conflict or war. Another person is holding a sign that says, “No War.” “I can show you love. But also hurt you,” the page reads.
其中一页画着一对逃离冲突或战争的父母和孩子。另一个人举着一块牌子，上面写着“禁止战争”。 “我可以向你表达爱。但也伤害了你，”页面上写道。
Santos said he was thinking about the war in Ukraine for that page. The drawing referenced a Ukrainian reporter who interrupted a Russian state media report while holding that same sign.
桑托斯表示，他在该页面上考虑的是乌克兰战争。该图画提到了一名乌克兰记者，他举着同样的标语打断了俄罗斯官方媒体的报道。
“What Russia is doing to Ukraine is not just attacking their territory and killing Ukrainians, but it's denying their culture,” said Santos, whose wife is Ukrainian and children have been raised speaking the language. “They're imposing the Russian language in the Ukrainian territory.”
“俄罗斯对乌克兰所做的不仅仅是攻击他们的领土并杀害乌克兰人，而且还否认他们的文化，”桑托斯说。他的妻子是乌克兰人，孩子们也是用乌克兰语长大的。 “他们正在乌克兰领土上强行使用俄语。”
Santos said there are several ways to understand the page’s message.
桑托斯说，有几种方法可以理解该页面的信息。
“It's to make people aware that words have weight,” he said. “Language can be used as a weapon and as a tool. And you can do good, or you can do ill with it.”
“这是为了让人们意识到言语是有分量的，”他说。 “语言可以用作武器，也可以用作工具。你可以用它做好事，也可以用它做坏事。”