Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

The Basics

 Language Learning Forum : General discussion Post Reply
tarvos
Super Polyglot
Winner TAC 2012
Senior Member
China
likeapolyglot.wordpr
Joined 4705 days ago

5310 posts - 9399 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, Swedish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Afrikaans
Studies: Greek, Modern Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Korean, Esperanto, Finnish

 
 Message 2 of 7
18 September 2013 at 12:45pm | IP Logged 
The basics to do what exactly?

Speak to your teacher? Point at items in a store? Read a novel?

But the fundamentals usually mean a modicum of grammar, a swash of vocabulary, and a
decent pronunciation, as well as an understanding of the spoken and written language
(to
some extent).

But details are hard to pinpoint if you don't give me any context.

See the thing is language is not an end in itself, it's a tool you use to accomplish
other things for which language X is a vehicle. I have the basics of Russian when it
comes to buying things in a store. But not if I want to write a literary essay.

Edited by tarvos on 18 September 2013 at 12:47pm

2 persons have voted this message useful



luke
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 7203 days ago

3133 posts - 4351 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Esperanto, French

 
 Message 3 of 7
18 September 2013 at 7:25pm | IP Logged 
Grunting, scratching, and burping are the fundamentals.
3 persons have voted this message useful



Jeffers
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 4907 days ago

2151 posts - 3960 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German

 
 Message 4 of 7
18 September 2013 at 8:48pm | IP Logged 
luke wrote:
Grunting, scratching, and burping are the fundamentals.


Erenko is studying French. Don't forget shrugging.
3 persons have voted this message useful



luke
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 7203 days ago

3133 posts - 4351 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: Esperanto, French

 
 Message 6 of 7
18 September 2013 at 9:03pm | IP Logged 
Jeffers wrote:
luke wrote:
Grunting, scratching, and burping are the fundamentals.


Erenko is studying French. Don't forget shrugging.


And farting. Those Frenchmen really know how to cut the cheese.
3 persons have voted this message useful



Jenne:)
Tetraglot
Newbie
Netherlands
polyglotquest.wordpr
Joined 4465 days ago

38 posts - 56 votes 
Speaks: Dutch*, English, German, French
Studies: Norwegian

 
 Message 7 of 7
18 September 2013 at 9:07pm | IP Logged 
Coincidentally, I just read a text about it this afternoon. I agree with what has been said above: what the basics are depends on your goals. Many (beginning) learners assume that learning frequency-lists by heart is enough (e.g. the top 2000). If you know the 2000 most common words, you should be able to get by. Nowadays, however, this viewpoint is being challenged. Frequency lists are not enough for learners who need specialised vocabulary. Someone who is learning a language for fun may find it sufficient, but not someone who needs to communicate intelligently about ships, for instance. For this person, "the basics" denotes a collection of words which have to do with ships.


2 persons have voted this message useful



If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login. If you are not already registered you must first register


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 0.2500 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.