We are now only a short way from having a true conversation partner with a virtual person. Imagine the effect it would have on internet language learning worldwide if anyone could practice conversation and learn any language from a native-sounding virtual speaker!
In this article, a company has produced a game that features real spoken interaction with the characters - that is, you speak and they understand, respond to and learn from what you say. So far it is only in English (which would be great practice for someone learning English) but once it is perfected, it could be adapted to other languages. At that point, it is easy to imagine a publisher of language products developing it specifically for learning a language or practicing conversation.
Years from now, it will probably even be free for everyone to learn any language!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Its Greek to Me Chart
I've made comments on this topic before. I find the phrase "it's Greek to me" interesting, because in other languages, Greek isn't always the gibberish of choice. Sometimes it's Arabic or Chinese or some other language. Those phrases tell a little about the language and what it considers gibberish or hard to understand. I came across this link to a chart showing languages and their equivalent of 'Greek' for the same phrase. It's very interesting.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Tammett Learns German
He's doing it again.
Daniel Tammett, the autistic savant who not only has an uncanny ability with numbers, also has an equal affinity for languages. He once learned Icelandic in a week and then appeared on a television show to talk about it. In Icelandic, in Iceland!
Now, he is doing it with German with the same goal. In a week and appear on a TV show. I wish I had one tenth of his learning ability.
I ordered and just received his book Born on a Blue Day. I will post some thoughts on it when I get around to reading it (it's kind of far down on the list at the moment), especially the parts about his language learning ability. Some other books on my reading list are When Languages Die by K. David Harrison and The Way of the Linguist by Steve Kaufmann.
Daniel Tammett, the autistic savant who not only has an uncanny ability with numbers, also has an equal affinity for languages. He once learned Icelandic in a week and then appeared on a television show to talk about it. In Icelandic, in Iceland!
Now, he is doing it with German with the same goal. In a week and appear on a TV show. I wish I had one tenth of his learning ability.
I ordered and just received his book Born on a Blue Day. I will post some thoughts on it when I get around to reading it (it's kind of far down on the list at the moment), especially the parts about his language learning ability. Some other books on my reading list are When Languages Die by K. David Harrison and The Way of the Linguist by Steve Kaufmann.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Some New Resources
While looking for more resources to add, I found a very helpful forum for learners of Japanese.
http://kanji.koohii.com/
It is a very active and useful forum, especially for studying the written forms of Japanese. It seems that the members have tried every conceivable method and resource to study it and they can offer some great advice on the subject. I am adding some new resources for Irish, Arabic, and Portuguese as well.
http://kanji.koohii.com/
It is a very active and useful forum, especially for studying the written forms of Japanese. It seems that the members have tried every conceivable method and resource to study it and they can offer some great advice on the subject. I am adding some new resources for Irish, Arabic, and Portuguese as well.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Bengali
The Language Martyrs of International Mother Language Day led me to do a page on learning Bengali I didn't realize what can of worms I would be opening when I did!
I knew the Indian subcontinent had a large number of spoken languages. What I didn't realize was how many of them are quite literally spoken by tens of millions of speakers!
While researching Bengali and the relationships between it and a number of other Asian languages, I was astounded by how many languages there are, how many speakers there are of some of them and what an amazing literary tradition some of them have. With the growth and increasing importance of this part of the world,these languages will become more important to learn and study in coming years.
I knew the Indian subcontinent had a large number of spoken languages. What I didn't realize was how many of them are quite literally spoken by tens of millions of speakers!
While researching Bengali and the relationships between it and a number of other Asian languages, I was astounded by how many languages there are, how many speakers there are of some of them and what an amazing literary tradition some of them have. With the growth and increasing importance of this part of the world,these languages will become more important to learn and study in coming years.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
International Mother Language Day and the Language Martyrs
February 21st is International Mother Language Day. But in Bangladesh, it is celebrated as Language Martyrs Day.
Bangladesh was once known as East Pakistan, after Pakistan and India gained independence from Britain. When Urdu (spoken in Pakistan) was being forced onto Bangladesh as the only official language, the people protested, demanding that Bengali (also known as Bangla) be included as an official language. On February 21st 1952 police fired on protesters, killing several students. This language revolution ultimately led to the 1971 independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
Bangladesh was once known as East Pakistan, after Pakistan and India gained independence from Britain. When Urdu (spoken in Pakistan) was being forced onto Bangladesh as the only official language, the people protested, demanding that Bengali (also known as Bangla) be included as an official language. On February 21st 1952 police fired on protesters, killing several students. This language revolution ultimately led to the 1971 independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
www.2bdutch.nl/
I have a co-worker who is Dutch. I only actually work with her once or twice every couple of months, but it's hard for me to pass up an opportunity to pick up some of a language for free. Native speakers are sometimes hard to come by and are a great resource.
I have some interest in Dutch, so I've been trying to include some time to study a little Dutch so I can be better prepared for those rare times when I can try out some Dutch.
I am about 6 chapters into an old copy of Teach Yourself Dutch, and 2 cds into Michel Thomas Dutch Foundation. I've also managed to download a bunch of Dutch music and a half-dozen audiobooks.
So, finding this website now comes along at just the right time.
This site has lots of videos with subtitles in Dutch and your native language side by side. Music, history, culture, humor, Dutch television programs for immigrants, music videos etc. Lots of content to help you learn Dutch. A great resource!
I have some interest in Dutch, so I've been trying to include some time to study a little Dutch so I can be better prepared for those rare times when I can try out some Dutch.
I am about 6 chapters into an old copy of Teach Yourself Dutch, and 2 cds into Michel Thomas Dutch Foundation. I've also managed to download a bunch of Dutch music and a half-dozen audiobooks.
So, finding this website now comes along at just the right time.
This site has lots of videos with subtitles in Dutch and your native language side by side. Music, history, culture, humor, Dutch television programs for immigrants, music videos etc. Lots of content to help you learn Dutch. A great resource!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Learn Japanese From Yoda
Well, not exactly. But, let me explain. It should come as no surprise that George Lucas may have been inspired by Japanese culture for many elements of the Star Wars saga. It is loaded with obviously Japanese-influenced names like Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi with their culture and Samurai lifestyle, etc.
And, as it turns out, Yoda speaks in a very Japanese manner.
So, there is this very interesting blog post and video that could be very helpful to beginning Japanese learners. It teaches some basic Japanese word order using Yoda as an example.
http://www.tofugu.com/2009/01/20/learn-japanese-from-yoda/
It's not really an entire site to learn Japanese from Yoda, but there are lots of interesting features on the site for Japanese learners to explore and have fun.
And, as it turns out, Yoda speaks in a very Japanese manner.
So, there is this very interesting blog post and video that could be very helpful to beginning Japanese learners. It teaches some basic Japanese word order using Yoda as an example.
http://www.tofugu.com/2009/01/20/learn-japanese-from-yoda/
It's not really an entire site to learn Japanese from Yoda, but there are lots of interesting features on the site for Japanese learners to explore and have fun.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Language Change Occurs in Rapid Bursts
I seem to be reading a lot of news from New Zealand and Australia lately ...
This article http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20080502-16846-5.html concerns research on change between two languages that have diverged from one. It mentions that much of the vocabulary change occurs rapidly at 'language-splitting events.' It has long been assumed that change happens slowly over time.
The article doesn't go into any detail into what constitutes a 'language-splitting event.' But, since much of the research was done in the Pacific, my first impression was to imagine a group of people packing up and moving to another island, exposing themselves and their language to a new environment and new influences. Another possible 'language-splitting event' the article hints at is when social groups deliberately alter their language in order to distinguish themselves from each other.
This revelation in language evolution seems to parallel findings in Darwinian evolution. It was long thought that evolution occurs slowly over long periods of time, but more recent evidence suggests that significant 'events' force rapid evolutionary changes, followed by long, relatively static periods.
This article http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20080502-16846-5.html concerns research on change between two languages that have diverged from one. It mentions that much of the vocabulary change occurs rapidly at 'language-splitting events.' It has long been assumed that change happens slowly over time.
The article doesn't go into any detail into what constitutes a 'language-splitting event.' But, since much of the research was done in the Pacific, my first impression was to imagine a group of people packing up and moving to another island, exposing themselves and their language to a new environment and new influences. Another possible 'language-splitting event' the article hints at is when social groups deliberately alter their language in order to distinguish themselves from each other.
This revelation in language evolution seems to parallel findings in Darwinian evolution. It was long thought that evolution occurs slowly over long periods of time, but more recent evidence suggests that significant 'events' force rapid evolutionary changes, followed by long, relatively static periods.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
New BYKI Languages
BYKI has even more languages available. The latest additions to the flashcard and review program from Transparent Language include Castilian Spanish, Scottish Gaelic, Dari, Tajiki, Altai, Bashkir, Buriat and Mirandese.
I like that they've made Latin American Spanish and Castilian Spanish two distinct titles. And I confess I had to look up a couple of those new languages. Thumbs Up to Transparent Language for providing learning materials for some very uncommonly studied languages!
I like that they've made Latin American Spanish and Castilian Spanish two distinct titles. And I confess I had to look up a couple of those new languages. Thumbs Up to Transparent Language for providing learning materials for some very uncommonly studied languages!
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