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TAC 2009 - New Adventures (closed) | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log | ( Topic Closed) |  |
| mick33 Senior Member United States Joined 5926 days ago 1335 posts - 1632 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Finnish Studies: Thai, Polish, Afrikaans, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Spanish, Swedish | Message 185 of 200 12 October 2009 at 7:00pm | IP Logged | ||
I'm also very curious about what the asterisk means; I wish my log had one too. Edited by mick33 on 15 October 2009 at 7:15pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| zenmonkey Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6554 days ago 803 posts - 1119 votes 1 sounds Speaks: EnglishC2*, Spanish*, French, German Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew | Message 186 of 200 12 October 2009 at 9:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hey Thom.,
Thanks for the motivation you sent my way, extremely helpful. Yes, I worked on my technical knowledge in French in two areas - bioengineering, as I was a graduate student and basically I just read technical documents, underlined words and grilled my mates. Later, hobbies, as I got into mountain biking and old car restoring I learned a lot about parts (bike or car) from forums, magazines and shops. I never saw technical language as an element apart just an extension of the struggle and fun. Keep up the great log. Edited by zenmonkey on 12 October 2009 at 9:59pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tricoteuse Pentaglot Senior Member Norway littlang.blogspot.co Joined 6680 days ago 745 posts - 845 votes Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian | Message 187 of 200 12 October 2009 at 10:02pm | IP Logged | ||
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I have to say that I find the idea of learning technical vocabulary extremely boring, at least outside of an immediately practical context. If you were to translate a technical text of course you would profit from learning the specific words, but how do you really go about learning technical vocabulary by yourself if that's not what you are doing? And how do you plan on keeping them active unless you read a lot of technical texts? Where you just planning on using a dictionary or do you have some sort of course or vocabulary lists for that?
Not that I should judge choice of vocabulary. I enjoy learning obscure, old literary terms that were only used in the 19th century and I have an obsession with berries, trees and such... 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Leopejo Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 6111 days ago 675 posts - 724 votes Speaks: Italian*, Finnish*, English Studies: French, Russian | Message 188 of 200 12 October 2009 at 10:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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Tricoteuse said it very well.
Why don't you learn about a specific technical subject (in your target language)? Engineering CAN be fascinating at times. You'll acquire the necessary vocabulary in the process. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| zenmonkey Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6554 days ago 803 posts - 1119 votes 1 sounds Speaks: EnglishC2*, Spanish*, French, German Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew | Message 189 of 200 12 October 2009 at 11:27pm | IP Logged | ||
Well of course, I mostly agree, even if sometimes there is a poetics of sorts. However, I've enjoyed reading Lavoisier and Newton only for the explicatory and surprisingly romantic or whether it is reading Clairaut (18th C French Mathematician writing about Newton) or the stage instructions from Berenice by Racine. Each is quite specialized and not necessarily extremely practical as I am neither a mathematician nor a theater-light specialist but it is the contextuality that is important -- each feeds a personal historical context, while not necessarily practical, that is personally useful. If you like a bit of specialized literature about literature of the 18th Century may I make a suggestion: Le Moi Araignée (go to page 177) Rather than name it a technical language, often it makes more sense to speak of specialized language. Edited by zenmonkey on 12 October 2009 at 11:36pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tricoteuse Pentaglot Senior Member Norway littlang.blogspot.co Joined 6680 days ago 745 posts - 845 votes Speaks: Swedish*, Norwegian, EnglishC1, Russian, French Studies: Ukrainian, Bulgarian | Message 190 of 200 12 October 2009 at 11:36pm | IP Logged | ||
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If you are actually reading texts that deal with the subject at hand then of course it is useful for you. If you just learn vocabulary out of context, however, then I don't really see the point.
I must say that I am quite fed up with literary theory and the like in French by now :-) (at least for a while) I was rather thinking about obscure Russian adjectives describing more or less anything and that I will never ever use actively myself. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ExtraLean Triglot Senior Member France languagelearners.myf Joined 5996 days ago 897 posts - 880 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German | Message 191 of 200 15 October 2009 at 7:00pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks guys, I'll make a bigger reply some time. I like the idea of learning in context, it's what I've been doing. Might borrow some documents from one of the engineer and read through them when things have slown down a bit.
Thom. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 Fasulye Heptaglot Winner TAC 2012 Moderator Germany fasulyespolyglotblog Joined 5849 days ago 5460 posts - 6006 votes 1 sounds Speaks: German*, DutchC1, EnglishB2, French, Italian, Spanish, Esperanto Studies: Latin, Danish, Norwegian, Turkish Personal Language Map | Message 192 of 200 15 October 2009 at 7:26pm | IP Logged | ||
Of course technical language can be very useful and interesting to study, if you are interested in that field. I worked in a technical call center and I had to work with technical users manuals in English and with technical Dutch. I first had to get used to the specialized vocabulary but I worked myself into it and found it very interesting. If you have a professional background or technically oriented hobbies I would recommmend (EDIT) that you learn the technical language. Fasulye Edited by Fasulye on 16 October 2009 at 8:29am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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