Why your brain just can't remember that word (btw bilingualism makes it harder)

Re:Why your brain just can't remember that word (btw bilingu... by mahmud on Tuesday June 09, 2009 @12:44AM (#648539)

English is my third language and resent it very much.

You're looking at it wrong. English is the closest thing we have to a human lingua franca. I hope you're not bashing it for nationalistic reasons, because, even if it owes its ubiquity to an imperialist past, English today is the property of its non-colonial speakers as much as its native speakers.

You will appreciate this oddball pseudo-germanic, latin-esque language when you venture out of its home turf: I tutored English to Arab students who were learning it to communicate with Chinese manufacturers, and a Vietnamese musician who wanted to reply to his Myspace fans, including a Thai girl who has a crush on him :-D

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why your brain just can't remember that word (btw bilingu... by amichail on Tuesday June 09, 2009 @12:58AM (#648553)

What I resent is that English is not my first (and preferably only) language.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why your brain just can't remember that word (btw bilingu... by mahmud on Tuesday June 09, 2009 @01:19AM (#648574)

Languages are keys to cultures; forsaking them all in favor of one is not only silly, but a self-imposed intellectual and emotional exile.

Try to love whatever culture and language your parents gave you, for starters, regardless of their utility or perceived social stature.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why your brain just can't remember that word (btw bilingu... by jibiki on Tuesday June 09, 2009 @01:25AM (#648579)

I always thought the main strike against English was the ungodly spelling. (Or maybe just having a lot of phonemes?)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why your brain just can't remember that word (btw bilingu... by mahmud on Tuesday June 09, 2009 @02:00AM (#648604)

IME, it's phonology that has been the most pain, not syntax. I think English as a second language students my just benefit from singing lessons, to make them more conscious of their voice and its production. Once you can hack your voice, you will be able to hear better, and then pronounce better.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why your brain just can't remember that word (btw bilingu... by klipt on Tuesday June 09, 2009 @04:55AM (#648756)

I've heard anecdotally that people who have studied music find it much easier to accurately mimic other accents.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why your brain just can't remember that word (btw bilingu... by joeyo on Tuesday June 09, 2009 @07:39AM (#648894)

Definitely. It's not uncommon when singing to intentionally "mispronounce" certain words to make them more intelligible to the audience. I would think that that skill alone would help without even getting into the tonal aspects.

[ Parent | on HN ]