Re: Let's talk about langages (Advice/Help)

From: Mxsmanic (mxsmanic_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 08/14/04

  • Next message: Mxsmanic: "Re: Let's talk about langages (Advice/Help)" 
    Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2004 11:52:01 +0200

    Wassup its Will writes:

    > Do most of you speak a lot of languages? How many?

    Two.

    > Why and how?

    One is my native language; the other I learned out of personal interest.
    I've briefly studied a few others, but never long enough to develop any
    useful ability in those other languages.

    > So, I grew up in France. I was in France from 2-9, but I went to an
    > American school. Still I was exposed to a lot of French. Never ever
    > really got fluent, but I have the accent and pronounciation in me.

    Accent and pronunciation are not wired in. Your early experience might
    provide enough memories to help you if you were to pursue the language
    again, however.

    > I can speak enough French to make sense now, and enough that if I was
    > in France, I could get around without having to speak English ...

    You don't really know that unless you go to France and try it.
    Americans and other monolingual people routinely underestimate the
    amount of competence they require in a foreign language in order to get
    by, and actually trying to survive with what they know abroad is often a
    rude awakening.

    > However, I'm not at the level yet where I can read newspapers
    > without thinking a lot of what I'm reading.

    When you can translate the newspapers, you'll know that you're really
    reading French.

    > My speaking is probably ahead of my writing which is ahead of
    > my reading (to understand, not to actually read.)

    That's unlikely, since it's usually the other way around. What I've
    observed is that people with only some vague speaking experience tend to
    imagine that they speak and understand far more than they do. Their low
    competence in the written language is evidence of just how little they
    know.

    There are true cases of people who speak and understand but remain
    illiterate, but they are rare. Based on your description, I doubt that
    you're one of these exceptions.

    > It's pretty much French with a different dictionary!

    Only as compared to Chinese.

    > 1) Does it matter that you can't understand audio?

    If you ever wish to converse in the language, yes, it matters a lot.

    > Should I listen to Italian radio as well?

    To develop listening competence you must listen to the language.

    > 2) I'm greedy. I want to learn another language. I'm torn. Is it a bad
    > idea to start learning a THIRD language while I'm at staggered levels
    > of French and Italian? It won't mess me up will it?

    It depends on your goals. It takes about two years of nearly full-time
    study to go from zero to a reasonable level of fluency in a foreign
    language of the same family as your own (e.g., another European
    language). If you jump from one to another you're not going to develop
    this fluency. However, it's up to you. Some people really do pick up
    languages extraordinarily fast, but most simply don't realize how little
    they've learned until they are actually forced to use the languages
    they've been studying.

    Remember, it took you a decade to learn your native language.

    > The main thing is that I want to be better at what I'm doing, and I'm
    > finding it really rewarding when I see or hear the odd phrases in
    > movies or print, and I recognize them because of my studies!

    Then this might not be the moment to start on yet another language. 

    -- 
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.
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