I genuinely hate how English is becoming a sort of de facto global language. Just more cultural imperialism. But it's very nice to be able to communicate with comrades from around the world, it might be my favorite aspect of this site. So I do appreciate you all taking effort to think something in your native language, translate it in your head, then type it up in English. Hopefully in FALGSC we'll get our universal translators, too.

For real, learning languages is hard. I had 2 years of Spanish in high school and didn't do too well, something in my brain just didn't click. But maybe you need to use another language a lot to really learn it? I lived in Germany for just two months and by the end I found myself kinda picking up things.

:soviet-heart:

  • Quimby [any, any]M
    ·
    3 years ago

    it helps if you start at a young age. your brain handles languages differently if you learn them young vs as an adult. though even as an adult, these limitations can be tempered with immersion and hard work.

    • Commander_Data [she/her]
      ·
      3 years ago

      The data is still a bit unclear on that. The best study was done at MIT and actually showed that there was little difference in language mastery ability from childhood until the age of around 20. Also, the top quartile of learners over 20 did just as well as the younger cohort, which could suggest an epiphenomenal explanation for the disparity. It may turn out to be a myth and the brain's ability to assimilate a new language may be pretty consistent throughout the lifespan.

      • Quimby [any, any]M
        ·
        3 years ago

        Sorry, I meant structurally, rather than in terms of performance. That's why I added a clarification that the advantages of being young can still be overcome in adulthood.

        But MRI studies do show differences in how language is processed/encoded for younger vs older language learners. There are also differences related to exposure to language as an infant, but that's a whole other topic.

      • bigboopballs [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        It may turn out to be a myth and the brain’s ability to assimilate a new language may be pretty consistent throughout the lifespan.

        I hope that is true. Got anything I could read about this?

        • Commander_Data [she/her]
          ·
          3 years ago

          https://medium.com/@chacon/mit-scientists-prove-adults-learn-language-to-fluency-nearly-as-well-as-children-1de888d1d45f

        • Trouble [she/her]
          ·
          3 years ago

          Constantly having someone trying to speak to you and communicate with you in a language with their main goal being you understand some amount of what they're saying and being able to speak back to them in the same language is a game changer. Only kids get that opportunity normally, or people living in a country where they don't speak the language and their own language is not widely spoken. And those are the two cases where people learn best. Just trying to draw meaning from words on a page or audio recordings is way way harder from a learning perspective.