tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post8475246624671123183..comments2023-10-09T21:49:57.366+09:00Comments on Page F30: Five myths about languages and how to learn themMehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-81621488909909430902011-03-07T13:56:27.680+09:002011-03-07T13:56:27.680+09:00I think Myth #2 isn't a myth. Certain dialects...I think Myth #2 isn't a myth. Certain dialects of British English, such as Black Country dialect, are amazingly hard to understand. The problem is not the usual one: that people articulate words differently. It's rather than they don't articulate at all, just spit out a few sonds. So "but" becomes "bo" or "po", "Are you all right?" becomes "Miklos Hollendernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-23080112139179495932011-03-07T13:56:26.778+09:002011-03-07T13:56:26.778+09:00I learnt Latin over 7 years (3 of them productive)...I learnt Latin over 7 years (3 of them productive) at highschool in what would be called an unconventional manner - I still don't know all the grammatical rules, but rather focused on vocabulary. 3 years later and all my friends who did languages in highschool have forgotten them, and I am still relatively sharp, now I'm helping some siblings. I attribute this to taking an immersive Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-73488913781845217052009-01-14T13:44:00.000+09:002009-01-14T13:44:00.000+09:00I learnt Latin over 7 years (3 of them productive)...I learnt Latin over 7 years (3 of them productive) at highschool in what would be called an unconventional manner - I still don't know all the grammatical rules, but rather focused on vocabulary. 3 years later and all my friends who did languages in highschool have forgotten them, and I am still relatively sharp, now I'm helping some siblings. I attribute this to taking an immersive approach and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-76842581517159100692008-09-22T20:24:00.000+09:002008-09-22T20:24:00.000+09:00...it is much more difficult for people to learn t...<I>...it is much more difficult for people to learn to distinguish tones and sounds after a certain age, because their minds automatically redirect similar sounds to the one they already know.</I><BR/><BR/>to address comments like these and myth #5, I would like to say that I think as long as one's mental hardware is motivated and committed to learning the sounds and tones, adults can be better Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16210927015202755837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-9070843207751377692008-09-05T13:40:00.000+09:002008-09-05T13:40:00.000+09:00About kids learning languages: I totally agree for...About kids learning languages: I totally agree for the most part with you. However, there are studies showing that when it comes to pronunciation, it is much more difficult for people to learn to distinguish tones and sounds after a certain age, because their minds automatically redirect similar sounds to the one they already know. <BR/><BR/>And, of course, if one doesn't learn any language at Elindomielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07405802292546495279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-45592556531608779802008-08-30T11:34:00.000+09:002008-08-30T11:34:00.000+09:00"Some adult students have a very hard time coming ..."Some adult students have a very hard time coming to the realization that they are not simply learning a different code to express their L1 (1st language or mother tongue) but rather a completely different language. Some never get past this."<BR/><BR/>That is so, so true. Very well put.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-38669807025871548392008-08-30T01:19:00.000+09:002008-08-30T01:19:00.000+09:00Nice work! I'll put up another post here referenci...Nice work! I'll put up another post here referencing that to try to get it some more attention. That must have taken quite some time to do.Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-19740031142848693752008-08-30T00:10:00.000+09:002008-08-30T00:10:00.000+09:00Hi, please find the translation at this address: h...Hi, please find the translation at this address: <BR/><BR/>http://babel20.blogspot.com/2008/08/cinco-topicazos-acerca-de-las-lenguas-y.html<BR/><BR/>There is a short introduction, followed by the translated text in blue.Septem Trionishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05160398039376453441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-45993608388948753722008-08-30T00:09:00.000+09:002008-08-30T00:09:00.000+09:00Yep, I've live ind Ifnland for a while and, even i...Yep, I've live ind Ifnland for a while and, even if almost everyone seemed to speak English to some degree, train conductors and bus drivers did not, almost as a rule ... really odd. <BR/><BR/>Many Finns would claim they did not speak English, but this was part of their natural shyness and their "don't be prudish" attitude.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-36841186301846949562008-08-28T07:00:00.000+09:002008-08-28T07:00:00.000+09:00Re: Myth #4I concur. Even when a large percentage ...Re: Myth #4<BR/><BR/>I concur. <BR/><BR/>Even when a large percentage of a given country's population speaks English, that doesn't mean you will not encounter situations where no one speaks English.<BR/><BR/>I spent some time in Finland and found that English was spoken at most businesses. However, I ended up at a bus station in Lahti, Finland and *nobody* spoke English. None of the ticket sales Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-7569982858497715622008-08-27T05:15:00.000+09:002008-08-27T05:15:00.000+09:00@mackenziePoint taken, it's not because you were e...@mackenzie<BR/><BR/>Point taken, it's not because you were exposed to European languages that you'll discern Asian sounds and vice-versa.<BR/>But absolute hearing as needed for Chinese (hearing a sound and recognising that it's a C sharp for ex.) can be learned by most people before the age of five. Later is next to impossible it seems.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-86835750671495448222008-08-27T03:26:00.000+09:002008-08-27T03:26:00.000+09:00Thank you for the article very interestingThank you for the article very interestingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-45341868486891142302008-08-27T00:12:00.000+09:002008-08-27T00:12:00.000+09:00Klara said:"c. Adults keep their ability to discer...Klara said:<BR/>"c. Adults keep their ability to discern sounds strange to their native language on condition that they were (even passively) exposed to other languages from childhood on. I have been working in a truly international context and was amazed by the differences in pronunciation of L2 between countries that have dubbing (horrible practice anyway) like France, Germany, Italy ... or Mackenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03695808411116664337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-31881786532917015222008-08-27T00:10:00.000+09:002008-08-27T00:10:00.000+09:00I think Myth #2 isn't a myth. Certain dialects of ...I think Myth #2 isn't a myth. Certain dialects of British English, such as Black Country dialect, are amazingly hard to understand. The problem is not the usual one: that people articulate words differently. It's rather than they don't articulate at all, just spit out a few sonds. So "but" becomes "bo" or "po", "Are you all right?" becomes "Y' o'royt", "s", "z", and "sh" melts together into some Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-43620838448945278242008-08-26T21:59:00.000+09:002008-08-26T21:59:00.000+09:00SIXTH MYTHa proficiency certificate means yourjob ...SIXTH MYTH<BR/>a proficiency certificate means yourjob candidate speaks english well...FALSE<BR/> as this certificate never expires and a job candidate might have this certificate from a few years ago and might no longer speak well..<BR/> Get a toefl certificate since it does expire and if a candidate for a job has a valid toefl,he or she will have an english level that has been recently tested.academia idiomas murciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03884414908736298769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-33832340919710196992008-08-26T21:36:00.000+09:002008-08-26T21:36:00.000+09:00whether or not an accent sounds nice largely depen...whether or not an accent sounds nice largely depends on how possessors of that accent are viewed. <BR/>ex.) in english we think an italian or spanish accent is nice because of the cultures they remind us of. however, we think a russian or german accent sounds "harsh" because we think cold-war and nazi's respectively. i've been told here in japan that foreign accents in japanese aren't thought Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-87905387912110732532008-08-26T20:59:00.000+09:002008-08-26T20:59:00.000+09:00great article.I found out there are huge differenc...great article.<BR/>I found out there are huge differences in the way people pick up languages.<BR/>a. Everybody has different brains, maybe there exists something like LI, Language Intelligence? But motivation is more important.<BR/>b. A fifth language is easier to learn than a second.<BR/>c. Adults keep their ability to discern sounds strange to their native language on condition that they were Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15203210582617589562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-9982757338064914082008-08-26T20:12:00.000+09:002008-08-26T20:12:00.000+09:00Babel 2.0: sure, post a link back to here as the s...Babel 2.0: sure, post a link back to here as the source and you're welcome to translate any of the posts here. If you do so I think I'll probably use that to make an Interlingua translation, since having the two languages as a source makes it that much easier to find the best Interlingua term to use.Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-30998654588180845802008-08-26T20:09:00.000+09:002008-08-26T20:09:00.000+09:00Anonymous two posts up:Yes, the distance is greate...Anonymous two posts up:<BR/><BR/>Yes, the distance is greater because the slope is not only greater but there's slightly more to learn, but the x-axis is pretty much the same in every language in that they generally work out to the same in terms of overall content to know. A language like Scots for example would be the smoothest line but it still takes some time because you have to check over Mehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15083766178887686304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-18308874455879531422008-08-26T19:58:00.000+09:002008-08-26T19:58:00.000+09:00Here in NZ we have Te Reo Maori as an official lan...Here in NZ we have Te Reo Maori as an official language. It is always emphasised that correct pronunciation is paramount and that any trace of an accent actually disrespects and devalues the language.teachernzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11697446553282018701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-85333787573762151262008-08-26T18:21:00.000+09:002008-08-26T18:21:00.000+09:00The only thing is that the stickman doesn't travel...The only thing is that the stickman doesn't travel 100km along the slope in either graphic. In the Arabic graphic the diagonal is longer than the diagonal in the Norwegian graphic. (Pythagoras)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-56548126188205248842008-08-26T17:44:00.000+09:002008-08-26T17:44:00.000+09:00I really like this article. I was thinking in writ...I really like this article. I was thinking in writing something similar, but I have to confess I am a bit lazy . Would it be OK if I posted a translation in my blog ?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-26927479380335857132008-08-26T16:50:00.000+09:002008-08-26T16:50:00.000+09:00Hmm.I'm usually not a stickler for credentials...Hmm.<BR/><BR/>I'm usually not a stickler for credentials _ and in any case knowledge trumps academic papers _ but I wonder what yours are? <BR/><BR/>You make persuasive arguments based on what appears to be a broad but spotty understanding of languages, language acquisition and linguistics.<BR/><BR/>I believe Frisian is generally considered to be the easiest foreign language for a native Toby Sterlinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17433501536951065614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-29131462149841643742008-08-26T15:28:00.000+09:002008-08-26T15:28:00.000+09:00this is certainly a very good article, thanks!this is certainly a very good article, thanks!Tatianahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15673696261581377705noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8240097.post-65743924875027100812008-08-26T14:20:00.000+09:002008-08-26T14:20:00.000+09:00well i kind of agree with most but i do believe th...well i kind of agree with most but i do believe that some languages are far easier than others, im fluent in spanish (native) elish and italian, italian being my third language it was incredibly easy to learn because of its similarity to spanish, so for me it was 3 times easier to learn than to my english speaking friends, on the same basis i want to learn arabic and russian, the use a diferent Alejandrohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12899334368219092408noreply@blogger.com