Should you even Learn that Foreign Language?

Chat in foreign languages or discuss language-learning.
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xiongmao
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Re: Should you even Learn that Foreign Language?

Post by xiongmao »

Reading between the lines (i.e. watching Serpentza YT videos) I'd say China doesn't want foreigners learning the language. So I make little attempt to learn more.

I've found that reading is the best skill to acquire as I can read road signs and bus timetables.

As an introvert I've no need to talk to people.
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mattyman
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Re: Should you even Learn that Foreign Language?

Post by mattyman »

@ Shemp; the languages I'm practicing most are Spanish and Russian. Had a dabble with Greek because of curiosity about the writing system. My French is pretty rubbish now because it hasn't been practiced (I have done folk songs in it but not spoken it in ages).

In other East Slavic countries like Belarus and Ukraine, Russian is worthwhile.

Bulgarian has a lot of words in common and a pronunciation system in common with Russian with only a few minor differences щ=шт, ъ=ether a schwa sound or an u sound. o always=o sound, none of this unstressed syllable=a nonsense. The verb system, particularly the aorist tense is a bit of a bugger, need to have the oarist stem, since there's no way of telling with the first two verb groups only the third group aм/-ям. A lot of the other tenses are nice compound tenses, The good news No cases (yippie!). The bad news; more verb tenses and also definite articles that are attached to the end of the noun. In Bulgarian if you have a phrase with adjectives, the adjective has the definite article tacked on.

The Greek language (Hellenic languages), also distinguish grammatical aspect, but by stem. There's two stems, the present and the aorist. The aorist stem is used to form the 'perfective' tenses whilst present stem is used to form the imperfective tenses. The endings are present and past. There's also the perfect tenses with have (εχω)+past infinitive, equivalent to English have+-ed. Many of the future tenses are simple 'compound tenses' that involve θα or
να+present or aorist.
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Man With a Plan
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Re: Should you even Learn that Foreign Language?

Post by Man With a Plan »

E Irizarry R&B Singer wrote:
October 12th, 2019, 2:28 am
I am surprised that such a reprobate such as yourself could comprehend what you've just posted here.
Faggot.
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sainrishab
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Re: Should you even Learn that Foreign Language?

Post by sainrishab »

Great! This is really a nice suggestion. I want to here to tell you about earning the German language. In the European Union, German is the most widely used primary language and an international language in four countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, German is also an official language.
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WilliamSmith
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Re: Should you even Learn that Foreign Language?

Post by WilliamSmith »

Great points here, and I've read that in many places as well about language improving cognitive function overall and also staving off age-related issues.
Contrarian Expatriate wrote:
August 18th, 2019, 3:34 am
Learning languages is one of the best ways for older people to preserve and expand their high cognitive processes.
I looked this subject up a bit last year (after officially becoming a "frustrated polyglot" while I was trying to decide which languages to learn to fluency), and thought it was pretty interesting.
So for those of us who put a lot of time into learning languages, including some we may not end up using that much, at the very least there are "fringe benefits" in exercising the brain even into old age. :)

Examples:
https://briclanguage.com/scientists-say ... functions/
In 2013, researchers from the University of Edinburgh published the results of a large study (1) making a link between bilingualism and the progress of cognitive diseases, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. They found that bilingualism delayed the development of dementia for 4.5 years on average. This effect was independent on immigration, rural/urban dwelling, and education status, which made it clear that speaking a second language improves one’s cognitive functions.

How can we clarify the link between language and brain development? To achieve fluency in a foreign language, regardless of the method or the reasons for learning it, requires a significant amount of time. In some cases the language learning process occurs naturally, through immersion. But even in that situation, speaking a second language is based on a complex processes, requiring the mastering of the sound system, mastering the sound system, remembering words, learning grammar, and picking up dialects. To make those efforts, the learner activates various regions of the brain, so they can transfer and integrate information between them.

Learning a New Language Activates the Entire Brain
The right brain, in particular plays a crucial role in helping the learner to identify basic sounds from a foreign language. Researchers from the University of Delaware (2) found that although the left hemisphere is considered to be the part of the brain that supports language-learning processes, it’s the right hemisphere that determines the success of the process. They observed 24 Americans who went through one month of intensive instructions in Mandarin Chinese, trying to learn the language from scratch.

They confirmed what scientists already knew: the left hemisphere of the brain was the center of the language learning process. However, before processing grammar and vocabulary, the learners must first identify the phonological elements of the language. During this sound processing, the right side of the brain plays a critical role. Through brain imaging, the researchers found that the learners with a more active hemisphere were more sensitive to acoustic differences in sounds.
(1) Bilingualism delays age at onset of dementia, independent of education and immigration status. https://n.neurology.org/content/81/22/1938
(2) Learning language: New insights into how brain functions. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 093716.htm

https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/blo ... o-minutes/

https://www.livescience.com/46048-learn ... brain.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3890428/
Foreign language training as cognitive therapy for age-related cognitive decline: A hypothesis for future research
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Lucas88
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Re: Should you even Learn that Foreign Language?

Post by Lucas88 »

ladislav wrote:
October 11th, 2019, 10:52 pm
But now with the spread of English, if you try practicing a foreign language, people will often just reply in English tell you to fall back and know your place. Here in Cambodia I already got checked by two service people who told me that they did not feel comfortable speaking Khmer to a foreigner. With Filipinos it is routinely like that. They laugh, call you a foreigner and switch to English. As if you have no right because of your race to speak Tagalog.

And also, you get mocked and laughed at. And as far as Americans not being able to penetrate that, most do not need to. They speak English to everybody, have high positions and local wives and live pretty good lives.
I remember when I was just starting out with foreign languages and innocently believed that language learning would serve to increase social connectivity between people of different cultures. Man was I naïve back then. I would later discover that, rather than being a facilitator of social connectivity, language exchange is actually a cutthroat and predatory activity in which everybody competes to exploit practice opportunities from others - especially if one's interlocutor is a native speaker of a coveted language like English -, and can even serve as a source of conflict and disunity.

My first piece of advice to aspiring language learners would be to "choose one's battles wisely". Avoid as much as possible languages whose speakers tend to be Anglophilic and/or proficient in English. Forget about the likes of German, Swedish and Dutch or the languages of former colonies in places like Asia where speaking the language will be a constant uphill battle and attempts to communicate with natives will often be met with stares, confusion, answers in English or even hostility. Instead focus primarily on languages with many monolingual speakers and a certain degree of worldwide importance such as Spanish, French and Russian. Choose those of cultures which are friendly towards foreigners wishing to learn them and to integrate.

My second piece of advice is to "go all in". Don't learn a language half-assedly. Study diligently and aim for a high level (upper B2 or C1). This will ensure that you have real functional skills in the language and can hold your own in most if not all situations. Learning a language to A2 level is pointless in my opinion. Focus on one language at a time and get good at it to the point where you can outcompete most natives who might want to try to use English with you. For me it is preferable to be at a B2 level or above through self-study before one even sets foot in the host country. I myself had reached C1 in Spanish through obsessive self-study and conversations with language partners before I arrived in Spain, and similarly I was already working at JLPT level 2 when I did a homestay program in Japan. Go prepared! It makes language immersion in the host country so much more rewarding!

I don't think that language learning is useless if you are really interested in a specific culture and wish to settle there. I know that learning Spanish has enriched my life immensely and made it possible for me to make many good friends, enjoy many edifying experiences and meet various hot girlfriends. The Anglosphere is not the be-all end-all. I for one was never able to fit in there and only started to really live life when I learned Spanish and set sail for Spain and Latin America. I'm fervently a Hispanophile, favor Spanish since I only want to live in Spain or Latin America and only want Hispanic friends and Latin American women, and couldn't give a rat's ass about "internashional ingrish".
MrMan
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Re: Should you even Learn that Foreign Language?

Post by MrMan »

If you go overseas to a country where English is not the main language and marry a local girl and never learn the language, you'll be very dependent on your wife. She's got the 'expert power'. Any bit of power, competence, ability, etc. is generally a plus when it comes to getting along with a woman and helping foster respect, and interest, from her. So in that case, you need to learn the language.

I've lived in and visited countries where I didn't know the language. It's kind of got an exciting, dangerous feel to it. But life is better when you learn the language. You can do more. You can get the food you want in restaurants. I remember in Korea, they kept bringing me what was basically steak tar tar with some sauce on it because the English part of the menu didn't say anything about the meat being raw. I had to pretend to cook the meat, making sizzling sounds, to communicate.

If you like lamb but not young goat (who cares actually?), hotel restaurants will have dishes advertized as lamb in English, but goat in Indonesian. I think it's probably poor language skills, but can anyone really tell the difference from the taste, especially if they are both young?
MrMan
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Re: Should you even Learn that Foreign Language?

Post by MrMan »

If you go overseas to a country where English is not the main language and marry a local girl and never learn the language, you'll be very dependent on your wife. She's got the 'expert power'. Any bit of power, competence, ability, etc. is generally a plus when it comes to getting along with a woman and helping foster respect, and interest, from her. So in that case, you need to learn the language.

I've lived in and visited countries where I didn't know the language. It's kind of got an exciting, dangerous feel to it. But life is better when you learn the language. You can do more. You can get the food you want in restaurants. I remember in Korea, they kept bringing me what was basically steak tar tar with some sauce on it because the English part of the menu didn't say anything about the meat being raw. I had to pretend to cook the meat, making sizzling sounds, to communicate.

I had difficulty buying water when I went to Korea and walked away from a store with a huge bottle of sweat potato vodka when I wanted water. I've had difficulty getting to locations. I was limited in riding buses. When I learned a local in Indonesia, I could do a lot more. It also helps when getting to know a young woman if you can actually communicate with her.

If you like lamb but not young goat (who cares actually?), hotel restaurants will have dishes advertized as lamb in English, but goat in Indonesian. I think it's probably poor language skills, but can anyone really tell the difference from the taste, especially if they are both young?
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