Comments on: Why I taught myself 20 languages — and what I learned about myself in the process https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/ Tue, 09 Jan 2018 04:31:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6 By: A fluent Patois speaker and native of the islands https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-943040 A fluent Patois speaker and native of the islands Sat, 29 Jul 2017 12:40:16 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-943040 English and Jamaican patois (creole) are completely sepreate things. yes patois is a stem of creole but creole simply is a language that has its origin in extended contact between two language communities. patois in fact has a majority of loan words of Akan origin It is based on French and on the African languages spoken by slaves brought from West Africa to work on plantations. It is often incorrectly described as a French dialect or as “broken English”. In fact, it is a language in its own right with its own pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and pragmatics.All of which to say , if you honestly heard Patois from an actual native not an Americanized one, there would hold a plethora of terms and usages you wouldn’t possibly be able to comprehend based off simple exposure during a weeks time.

]]> By: A fluent Patois speaker and native of the islands https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-943038 A fluent Patois speaker and native of the islands Sat, 29 Jul 2017 12:38:47 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-943038 All a matter of personal opinion my friend. Some would say they are the same language, others wouldn’t. There is no way of scientifically saying for sure. Personally I have found that it takes very little exposure to be able to understand Jamaican Creole (a week maybe), so I’d say it’s more a dialect of English than a separate language, but again, it is only a subjective and arbitrary decision

English and Jamaican patois (creole) are completely sepreate things. yes patois is a stem of creole but creole simply is a language that has its origin in extended contact between two language communities. patois in fact has a majority of loan words of Akan origin It is based on French and on the African languages spoken by slaves brought from West Africa to work on plantations. It is often incorrectly described as a French dialect or as “broken English”. In fact, it is a language in its own right with its own pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and pragmatics.All of which to say , if you honestly heard Patois from an actual native not an Americanized one, there would hold a plethora of terms and usages you wouldn’t possibly be able to comprehend based off simple exposure during a weeks time.

]]> By: Anupama https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-942832 Anupama Wed, 26 Jul 2017 13:34:38 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-942832 Dear Dan ,
Please do not make sweeping statements like this. I come from a country where a new language or dialect is spoken for every 500kms. The cultural diversity it brings is amazing. at the same time we have managed to preserve our customs and traditions for thousands of years in spite repeated invasions and colonialism. If you look at the richness of literature that is available in every language some of it dating back to 1500BC, people would be stumped. Most of it was preserved by oral traditions.
Sadly most of our languages are dying out and the literature being written in our languages has been steadily declining due to emphasis o n so called modern English education and of course advent of modern media.
So please encourage anyone who is interested in learning new languages.

]]> By: Lea https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-942763 Lea Tue, 25 Jul 2017 13:07:08 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-942763 Thank you! Yes they are different. Grammatical structure is distinct, different spellings to many words; they are different languages.

]]> By: Kasper Eagan https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-928857 Kasper Eagan Tue, 21 Feb 2017 11:11:13 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-928857 Thanks for such an insightful and deep article, Timothy! From my teaching experience, I can say that students generally have great difficulty in the simultaneous study of multiple languages. They are looking for the books and researches which describe the various techniques and methods of language learning but often they do not work. I recently came across this article https://studentshare.net/content/articles/5-languages-you-definitely-have-to-learn-in-modern-world, showed it to folks and asked them to focus on studying these 5 languages. Now at least they will know which of languages will be really helpful in their future.

]]> By: Rowena Stening https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-927468 Rowena Stening Tue, 31 Jan 2017 09:35:53 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-927468 Thank you for sharing a most insightful view on the meaning of ‘fluency.’ I found it particularly important that you pointed out these fundamental differences in different vernacular in various fields and settings even in the same language. Too often I think we get caught up in ‘speaks 720 languages’, or ‘learn to speak xxx language in 18 days’ sort of headlines, and overlook the level of nuance, and variety that exists in any language, a reflection of the multi-layered and hugely varied cultures and settings they come to represent.

]]> By: Lee https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-920435 Lee Mon, 07 Nov 2016 16:07:51 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-920435 There’s a scene in the movie “Captain Newman, M.D.” where Tony Curtis’s character speaks Italian to some captured troops and then explains to the other employees of the base “In the neighborhood where I grew up, you had to speak five or six languages.”

]]> By: Marie https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-919113 Marie Tue, 25 Oct 2016 07:19:10 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-919113 I get your point about humanity, but I would strongly disagree with the support of the death of languages. Each language is a different way of seeing the world, and to lose just even one is a loss to our collective humanity. I could advocate for a universal language, but it’s not at the expense of other languages.

]]> By: Stephanie https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-894591 Stephanie Fri, 25 Dec 2015 17:31:32 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-894591 While I can absolutely see your point, I would have to disagree in one aspect. Language is not simply a function. It is not simply an outpouring of our need to communicate – or rather at least not on the simplistic level of as getting a point across.

If you look at the differences in language between cultures, there is a representation of generations of lives lived with this language. Syntax and lexical content reflect what is important to a people, and what they value. It shows how a culture has evolved, and at what cost, and with what goals and values. Language is so much more than just talking, and I think that trying to boil that down to all of us being able to talk to each other denigrates what is truly fascinating about language.

Whether or not we will all eventually speak the same language is not a forgone conclusion, actually there is much evidence to the contrary, and if it did happen, I know many, many people who would lament it greatly.

]]> By: Giulia https://blog.ed.ted.com/2015/04/16/why-i-taught-myself-20-languages-and-what-i-learned-about-myself-in-the-process/#comment-894277 Giulia Wed, 23 Dec 2015 21:28:50 +0000 http://blog.ed.ted.com/?p=5318#comment-894277 Dear Dan,

I’ve just happened to read the article and your comment.
I completely agree on the human race, and I support it.

But eliminating differences … does it make it a solution? Standardization, really? Who would choose this “standard language” we all speak? Would it be the language taught at school, the “correct” one? And If so, aren’t we excluding non educated people from this “universal human race”.

Rather, I think that we all speak our own idiolects and, for how much it can obstructs communication, it still indexes identity. Even when speaking a lingua franca (the way I ma using English right now for example: I am using it just to communicate, not to convey any cultural-specific meaning related to the Anglo-Saxon world), we all speak it our way. For example, I am using a lot of formal verbs. I have said “Obstruct” and not “block”. But that is because it is closer to my native language, which is a Romance one, and I want it to be indexed when I speak. I don’t want to loose my identity.

Shall we loose our identity at the expenses of communication?

Very good article anyways. Clever and clear.

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