Words and Connotations (Language Learning Log) Language Learning Forum

Words and Connotations
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maya_star17 Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5907 days ago 269 posts - 291 votes Speaks: English, Russian, French, Spanish Studies: Japanese	Message 1 of 2 28 September 2008 at 11:23pm \| IP Logged
	Something has become very clear to me recently that, in retrospect, I feel should have been clear long ago. It is in studying Japanese that I came to understand it, which is why I have listed it under Japanese, but in reality I feel that this applies to all languages. Languages cannot be learned in translation; one cannot truly come to know a language by trying to fit it into the mindframe of your mother tongue. Words aren't numbers; they're not exact. They're more like living beings with souls of their own - they have connotations, which can vary drastically from one culture to another. "Loco" would be listed as "sumoshetchi" (sp?) in a Spanish-Russian dictionary, but it is blasphemous to suggest that these words are really the same thing. The former has an almost positive connotation in many contexts (particularly among young people), while the latter has a very negative one. "Mi novia es una chica loca" could be used to mean the girl (young woman) is an outgoing party-girl with lots of energy. On the other hand, saying that someone is "sumoshetchi" (sp?) would be taken very literally and seriously, and would never be done in a joking context. There's something a dictionary wouldn't tell you. How does this relate back to my language learning? Well, I've realized that it's pointless to try to memorize what Japanese words "translate" as in English. In fact, in any language, after you've learned a few hundred basic words (three, blue, sad, cheese), it's a good idea to start learning vocabulary through pictures and/or using words in that language to explain it. This is doubly important if you're learning a language that isn't Germanic or Italic (assuming your mother tongue is English). 1 person has voted this message useful
maya_star17 Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5907 days ago 269 posts - 291 votes Speaks: English, Russian, French, Spanish Studies: Japanese	Message 2 of 2 29 September 2008 at 12:02pm \| IP Logged
	After having reflected on this and also read some of the things on the "All Japanese All the Time" blog, I've made a decision. In about 2 weeks time when I go to New York and I go to that Japanese bookstore, I'm going to get myself a monolingual Japanese dictionary. I don't know if my Japanese is quite ready for that, but I NEED to try. If it doesn't work, I'll keep trying. 1 person has voted this message useful

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maya_star17 Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5907 days ago 269 posts - 291 votes Speaks: English, Russian, French, Spanish Studies: Japanese	Message 1 of 2 28 September 2008 at 11:23pm \| IP Logged
	Something has become very clear to me recently that, in retrospect, I feel should have been clear long ago. It is in studying Japanese that I came to understand it, which is why I have listed it under Japanese, but in reality I feel that this applies to all languages. Languages cannot be learned in translation; one cannot truly come to know a language by trying to fit it into the mindframe of your mother tongue. Words aren't numbers; they're not exact. They're more like living beings with souls of their own - they have connotations, which can vary drastically from one culture to another. "Loco" would be listed as "sumoshetchi" (sp?) in a Spanish-Russian dictionary, but it is blasphemous to suggest that these words are really the same thing. The former has an almost positive connotation in many contexts (particularly among young people), while the latter has a very negative one. "Mi novia es una chica loca" could be used to mean the girl (young woman) is an outgoing party-girl with lots of energy. On the other hand, saying that someone is "sumoshetchi" (sp?) would be taken very literally and seriously, and would never be done in a joking context. There's something a dictionary wouldn't tell you. How does this relate back to my language learning? Well, I've realized that it's pointless to try to memorize what Japanese words "translate" as in English. In fact, in any language, after you've learned a few hundred basic words (three, blue, sad, cheese), it's a good idea to start learning vocabulary through pictures and/or using words in that language to explain it. This is doubly important if you're learning a language that isn't Germanic or Italic (assuming your mother tongue is English). 1 person has voted this message useful
maya_star17 Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5907 days ago 269 posts - 291 votes Speaks: English, Russian, French, Spanish Studies: Japanese	Message 2 of 2 29 September 2008 at 12:02pm \| IP Logged
	After having reflected on this and also read some of the things on the "All Japanese All the Time" blog, I've made a decision. In about 2 weeks time when I go to New York and I go to that Japanese bookstore, I'm going to get myself a monolingual Japanese dictionary. I don't know if my Japanese is quite ready for that, but I NEED to try. If it doesn't work, I'll keep trying. 1 person has voted this message useful