Re: Is there an optimal sequence for language acquisition?

>>>>> "leuwarden" == leuwarden <leuwarden@xxxxxxxxx> writes:

leuwarden> I do not know why abroad it is thought that the Swiss
leuwarden> are multilingual.

That's the general impression. Swiss people working abroad can speak
English (usually) and one or more of the official languages of
Switzerland. Inside Switzerland, most people working in the tourist
industry (and related industries) can speak at least 2 languages. So,
people outside Switzerland think that Swiss can usually speak a few
languages.


leuwarden> The country is, and to get a government job you have to
leuwarden> pass a little test in two or three languages. The
leuwarden> German Swiss learn English rather easily, but how many
leuwarden> really do that? Maybe 20%? Probably fewer.

You've reminded me of a Swiss German whom I met a month ago. He's
accompanying his girlfriend, a German whom I knew because of my
connections in Germany, on a trip in Asia, having a stop over in Hong
Kong. To my surprise, he could not speak English! Well... I've
already heard that Swiss from the Romance-speaking regions do not
master English as well as those from the German-speaking regions. So,
he might be from those areas? No. He was asked -- in German -- what
languages he knows, he said only German! He was from Luzern. It is
still mysterious to me why he cannot speak English -- as you said,
it's should be relatively easy for a German speaker to learn English.



leuwarden> I grew up in a town where both Swiss German and French
leuwarden> were spoken.

Somewhere near Biel/Bienne?


leuwarden> I do not think it is possible to have a majority of
leuwarden> people learn more than one language well.

In southern China, a large amount of people receive education in
Putonghua in schools, but speak the local "dialects" exclusively
outside school. These local dialects are mutually unintelligible with
Putonghua.

In Hong Kong, Cantonese in the lingua franca. But since all children
start learning English early, and you need English to get good jobs,
most people can handle English. At least passively. Further, more
and more people are managing to speaking Putonghua, to make it easier
to conduct business with people in China.


leuwarden> One thing is to learn a language, another is to
leuwarden> maintain it. I have four to maintain. Though I can no
leuwarden> longer speak it fluently, I won't let my French go.

I speak 4 languages already: Cantonese, English, Mandarin, German.
And I still want to learn more.



leuwarden> Now, since the courses are for people who dislike
leuwarden> literature, the texts are all of them irrelevant or
leuwarden> downright idiotic in their pseudo-realism where the
leuwarden> copnvention is that you need English to buy airplane
leuwarden> tickets, ask the time, buy clothes and talk about
leuwarden> Susy's boyfriend.

I also find these texts boring. So, I've turned to reading books.
This includes literature adapted for learners (using simpler language
and a smaller vocabulary), fictions, documentary, etc.




--
Lee Sau Dan 李守敦 ~{@nJX6X~}

E-mail: danlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Home page: http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~danlee
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