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How do I improve my native language? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| paparaciii Diglot Senior Member Latvia Joined 6338 days ago 204 posts - 223 votes  Speaks: Latvian*, Russian Studies: English | Message 9 of 13 09 May 2009 at 6:36pm | IP Logged | |||||
Edited by paparaciii on 09 May 2009 at 6:37pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| JBI Diglot Groupie Canada Joined 5693 days ago 46 posts - 67 votes Speaks: Modern Hebrew, English* Studies: Italian, Mandarin, French | Message 10 of 13 09 May 2009 at 7:26pm | IP Logged | |||||
It all depends - what is really considered intellectual these days anyway? Certainly languages are a requirement for intellectualism - but you'd also probably need a good sense of everything to be an "intellectual". I think the scholar stereotype that dominated 19th century literature has all been extinct - what passes for an intellectual these days is impossible to say. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7207 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 11 of 13 09 May 2009 at 10:22pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Shadow Great Books written in your native language read by professional speakers. For instance, if you enjoy political theory, there are great recordings of the Federalist Papers available online for free and the exposition is very precise and the vocabulary will be useful.
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| delta910 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5877 days ago 267 posts - 313 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Dutch, German | Message 12 of 13 17 May 2009 at 7:57am | IP Logged | |||||
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I just read a lot and usually it's about Philosophy.
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| madalieninvader Newbie CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5709 days ago 11 posts - 12 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 13 of 13 17 May 2009 at 3:04pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Write. Reading is passive. I can read and understand almost anything in English but I
didn't realize I couldn't express myself well till I went back to school and tried to explain things like scientific processes. I knew what I was supposed to know, but that doesn't count if you can't prove it. For example in my head I know exactly what osmosis is, but stumbled horribly trying to explain it. (This leads me to think that thought precedes language, but I digress) So write. I practice by trying to define a not so easily definable word, or explain some process. I keep a journal. I occasionally make my way through one of the many writing, grammar and style books I have (I acquired 80 through file sharing via Pirate Bay and will not be drawn into an ethical or legal debate about file sharing here). People here have said read. Yes reading helps but I think it matters a lot what or who you read. There is adding to your vocabulary but there's also better use of the vocabulary you already know. Mark Twain or Ernest Hemingway seem to me to use common words in particularly creative ways. I'm finding "English words from Latin and Greek elements" and "Bioscientific Terminology" by Donald M Ayers helpful for my needs. They're books but function more like courses. Something like 70-80% of English words are derived from Latin and Greek, either directly or through French or another language. It's been said that English is Germanic language with a Romance vocabulary. I'm not sure what your specific needs are but if it has anything to with the more active aspects of using language, speaking and writing, I'd say practice writing. " Writing well means never having to say, 'I guess you had to be there.' " - Jef Mallett Edited by madalieninvader on 17 May 2009 at 3:05pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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