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Language confusion | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Irish_Goon Senior Member United States Joined 6416 days ago 117 posts - 170 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 1 of 27 02 June 2008 at 10:03pm | IP Logged |
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I have read and read and read about how learning two similar languages at the same time can confuse people such as French and Spanish, Spanish and Portuguese, etc. My question is that has anyone here ever experienced such confusion? In basic theory I understand that there could be confusion, since some languages have a lot of rollover between them, but has anyone ACTUALLY had such a problem where they have confused an Italian word for a Spanish word (or some other variation) on a CONSISTENT basis? If it wasn't a consistent basis then I would say it was just a momentary lapse but not enough to deem learning the two languages simultaneously a bad idea. I would also like Prof. Arg. to respond but my motive to post this here was for all to see and not limited to those who just frequent his section so that his often masterful advice would not be limited to a few select devotees.
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| Makrasiroutioun Quadrilingual Heptaglot Senior Member Canada infowars.com Joined 6107 days ago 210 posts - 236 votes Speaks: French*, English*, Armenian*, Romanian*, Latin, German, Italian Studies: Dutch, Swedish, Turkish, Japanese, Russian, Arabic (Written) | Message 2 of 27 02 June 2008 at 11:48pm | IP Logged |
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I've studied scores of closely related languages or dialects and I've never truly encountered this problem. When I put my mind to studying language X, I go into "language X mode" and I first become intimately familiar with its phonology and sound rules, and I quickly learn the COMPARATIVE historical developments between language X and its sister language Y. So, for me, there is no issue with confounding one with the other.
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| mezron Diglot Newbie United States Joined 6374 days ago 24 posts - 35 votes Speaks: English*, Russian Studies: French | Message 3 of 27 03 June 2008 at 1:41am | IP Logged |
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Somewhat related to confusing languages is being able to switch between them.
It seems to me that being able to switch quickly between languages is a skill that can be developed by..... switching quickly between languages. If you only study one language at a time and never practice switching between them, how will you ever be able to. Jim 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| qklilx Moderator United States Joined 6187 days ago 459 posts - 477 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Korean Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 27 03 June 2008 at 2:44am | IP Logged |
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I agree with mezron on his point. Switching quickly is not something that can simple be done. You need to develop the skill to do so. It's not a very hard skill to learn, luckily. For example, I can switch between English and Japanese, and English and Korean. I cannot switch between Korean and Japanese without mixing up some words. There are times when I will unconsciously switch to Korean from Japanese, but this generally only happens if I'm trying to say something in Japanese that I don't know very well, but know well in Korean. I think this may say something about foreign language learning itself: why don't I accidentally switch to English instead?
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| FrenchSilkPie Senior Member United States Joined 6618 days ago 125 posts - 130 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 5 of 27 03 June 2008 at 8:51am | IP Logged |
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Since I am studying 2 languages right now--French and German, soon to add Russian/Spanish, I don't really ever get confused. Granted, I am learning simple phrases and voacb but I do my French lesson (FIA/Learnables) then I switch right to German. Or German straight to Russian. My French is much stronger than my German, so sometimes I will think in French for a little while when I hear the German, or think of the french equivalent. But as my German gets stronger, it is slowing down a little bit. Its getting easier to switch, though. If I had it my way, I would have each picture and then get a recording of each word in the 3-4 languages so you can be more efficient, and it would help you switch.
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| JW Hexaglot Senior Member United States youtube.com/user/egw Joined 6123 days ago 1802 posts - 2011 votes 22 sounds Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Ancient Greek, French, Biblical Hebrew Studies: Luxembourgish, Dutch, Greek, Italian | Message 6 of 27 03 June 2008 at 10:39am | IP Logged |
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The only languages I have a bit of trouble with vis-à-vis confusion (when speaking) are Spanish and Italian. I feel the other languages I speak are distinct rhythmically but Spanish and Italian are a bit too similar. I would imagine Portuguese presents similar problems. I think these three probably should not be learned simultaneously. I am actually holding off on learning Portuguese until I strengthen my Italian a bit.
However, the flip side is that I feel my Italian and Spanish reading, writing, and understanding skills are much stronger due to knowing both languages (French helps too). Edited by JW on 03 June 2008 at 10:42am 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Earle Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6316 days ago 276 posts - 276 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Norwegian, Spanish | Message 7 of 27 03 June 2008 at 7:03pm | IP Logged |
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I have this problem a bit. I'm fluent in German, but I'm learning Norwegian. I find that my mind when, groping for the proper word, is likely to come up with the German equivalent first. I think this is because of the close relationship. I don't think it would happen with less-related languages. In fact, in reading Romance languages, it's not true for me...
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| liekamia Newbie PhilippinesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6027 days ago 4 posts - 4 votes | Message 8 of 27 04 June 2008 at 1:23am | IP Logged |
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Hello everyone,
Am so much interested in this topic, i really love languages and i really wanted to learn many. my dad had some experience and I wanted to share it with you, My dad was a scholar before and studied different languages he told me that learning is not that a problem. it is in ourself if we really wanna learn a thing, if we have some interest learning is not a problem, I do believe him for I try it to myself. just try it guys, and nothing's impossible if you/we just believe in ourself. lieka 1 person has voted this message useful |
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