Page 59 - 五正

Reference Reading 3(參考閱讀 3)

Power of Words

Words are so much more than just sounds. They carry meanings, emotions, and ideas.
For some people, though, every word also literally has a taste, scent, or color. This medical
condition is called synesthesia, and it affects more people than you might thingk.

A person with synesthesia experiences two senses at once. In some cases, people taste
flavors when they hear certain words. Some associations are obvious, like the word “mint”
tasting like mint. Then there are less likely connections. One woman claims that
“phonograph” tastes like chocolate.

If you could taste the words you hear, what would your life be like? Just ask James
Wanneron. Hardly can he carry on a conversation because his mouth gets flooded with
flavors. It even happens with names. James says that “Jane” tastes dusty, “Gordon” tastes
like mud, and “Gemma” tastes like melted sweets. Only by isolating himself from others can
he be free of the flood of tastes. That’s enough to drive anyone away from other people’s
chatter!

文字的力量

說話是這麼多的不僅僅是聲音的傳遞。他們各自有所代表的意義，情感和思想。雖
然，對於一些人來說，每一個字也確實有味道，氣味或顏色。在醫學上被稱為連帶感
覺，並這感覺可以影響到比你想像中的更多人。

一個人有一次的連帶感覺並同時帶有兩種意義。在某些情況下，人們品嚐味道時，
同時聽到某些詞。有些連帶感覺是顯而易見的，像單字“薄荷”像品嚐薄荷。但是也是
有些不太可能的連接。例如一位婦女聲稱，“留聲機”嘗起來像巧克力。

如果當時你品嚐或是你聽到因而產生連帶感覺時，你的生活將是什麼樣子？這時就
要問 James Wanneron。當你與他進行交談時，他所說出來的字都帶有味道，像是被淹
沒一樣。它甚至會發生在與名稱的連結上。詹姆斯說，“簡”的味道就像塵土飛揚，“戈
登”的味道就像泥巴，“瓊瑪”的味道就像融化的糖果。只有從孤立他才可以從他如洪水
般的感覺解脫。這樣就足以驅動任何人遠離其他人的嘮叨！

56