Download The Loom of Language: A Guide to Foreign Languages for the by Lancelot Hogben, Frederick Bodmer PDF

The Loom of Language: A Guide to Foreign Languages for the Home Student

Hugely, hugely, hugely recommended.

this could be the top ebook i've got noticeable for the layman or starting linguist on language acquisition. the writer has a valid case to make during this book--for the institution of a global language--but this can be the focal point of a truly small portion of this ebook. realizing his objective is sooner or later, the majority of Bodmer's booklet specializes in the similarities and variations among Teutonic and Romance languages that ease the educational of a number of languages. sooner than introducing thematically prepared poly-lingual wordlists, Bodmer information the sound shifts and morphological adjustments within the languages in tremendous transparent language.

Here is the evaluate that led me to this text:
http://ielanguages. com/blog/the-loom-of-language-an-approach-to-the-mastery-of-many-languages/

The Loom of Language: An method of the Mastery of Many Languages via Frederick Bodmer has continuously been my favourite publication approximately studying languages. I first came across it on F. X. Micheloud’s studying Languages website approximately nine or 10 years in the past while i used to be nonetheless an undergrad and masses extra drawn to studying languages alone instead of taking uninteresting periods at collage. i needed to benefit helpful vocabulary and concentration extra on knowing and conversing the language whereas my sessions sought after me to investigate Zola or Sand with very restricted wisdom of French. Or my sessions have been cancelled simply because now not adequate scholars signed up for German or simply because there have been no academics to be had for Italian. My language books (all 500 of them) and later the web turned the most assets I utilized in learning, yet I continually went again to The Loom of Language since it defined every thing so well.

It is the one publication that really teaches languages rather than easily instructing the right way to examine languages. There are numerous books and assets to be had for that already. i used to be particularly trying to find anything that in comparison eu languages and gave me the foundations and phrases had to study the languages – to not know about the languages. initially written within the 1940′s, it really is evidently outmoded in a few components – the quote “1,800 million humans in this globe communicate nearly 1,500 varied languages” is so very mistaken this present day – yet it’s nonetheless the easiest ebook for multilingual inexperienced persons to get an summary of Latin and Germanic grammar and vocabulary.

The first a part of the ebook begins with the background of human language and alphabets and leads into morphology and syntax of numerous languages, and ends with the type of languages during the international. the second one half makes a speciality of studying vocabulary (from the given lists) making the most of similarities between languages and sound shifts that reason predictable alterations from one language to a different. What I continuously came across most vital, despite the fact that, used to be the statement for you to research yes phrases first, akin to own pronouns, auxiliary verbs, demonstratives, prepositions, conjunctions, and so forth. (essentially functionality phrases) simply because they're the most typical and least recognizable after they swap cases.

Many nouns, adjectives and verbs should still come after the functionality phrases simply because they're prone to be famous because of universal affixes between related languages and “international” phrases similar to cell or taxi, and likewise simply because those concrete phrases are hugely depending on the location. Bodmer’s instance of a Dane who learns the be aware rabbit in a single of his first English classes yet who may well by no means discuss rodents of any sort for 10 years particularly illustrates the necessity to study the functionality and summary phrases first, or at the least to concentration instantly at the phrases that you will want reckoning on why you're studying the language.

Bodmer additionally encourages inexperienced persons to “get a bird’s-eye view of the grammatical peculiarities of a language prior to attempting to memorize anything” and not to waste time on memorizing case endings of nouns or adjectives until eventually a examining wisdom of the language is completed. such a lot textbooks don’t believe this as they introduce instances and declensions early on in order that scholars are meant to memorize the endings prior to they even examine many nouns or adjectives. Bodmer’s technique relies on acceptance and enter of worthwhile vocabulary first, and later in depth examining and writing to excellent the grammar, which looks the other of yes books.

He additionally states “If you research in simple terms ten new phrases of the gang including debris, pronouns, and pointer phrases each day for a fortnight, you've got at your disposal at the very least 25 in keeping with cent of the full variety of phrases you utilize if you happen to write a letter. when you've got performed this, you will need to have a small vocabulary of crucial nouns, adjectives, and verbs prepared to be used. ” All of this crucial vocabulary he's touching on is incorporated behind the booklet in numerous lists that evaluate English, French, Spanish, Portuguese & Italian and English, Swedish, Danish, Dutch & German. Sound customary? those “basic vocabularies” have been the muse for growing my very own multilingual lists and result in the Romance and Germanic Vocabulary & Verbs pages that i'm nonetheless operating on.

The 3rd a part of the ebook offers info on different languages in additional aspect, together with non-Indo-European and developed languages and leads right into a dialogue on language making plans and a “true Interlingua” that might be “a passport to a much broader overseas tradition. ” The final paragraph remains to be correct this present day, even though written in the course of WWII.

“Of itself, no such swap can carry the age-long calamity of battle to an finish; and it's a risky blunders to conceive that it might achieve this. we can't wish to arrive a therapy for the language hindrances to overseas co-operation on a democratic footing, whereas predatory finance capital, intrigues or armament brands, and the vested curiosity of a rentier type within the distress of colonial peoples proceed to stifle the impulse to a world-wide firm for the typical wealth of mankind. No language reform can abolish battle, whereas social businesses way more robust than mere linguistic misunderstandings provide clean party for it. What clever language making plans can do is to forge a brand new device for human collaboration on a planetary scale, while social associations propitious to foreign strife now not thwart the positive activity of making plans healthiness, relaxation and many for all. ”

Language, tradition and politics constantly were attached and possibly continuously should be. the govt. of Belgium simply collapsed (again! ) due to tensions among French and Flemish audio system and the French-English tensions in Quebec has a protracted historical past to boot. Hispanics within the US are discriminated opposed to simply because they don't communicate English good adequate or in no way even if the U.S. has no authentic language. Montenegro calls its language Montenegrin notwithstanding it truly is truly one other dialect of the now defunct Serbo-Croatian language that still contains Croatian, Bosnian and Serbian as the Balkan states should have their very own “standardized” language so one can be eligible for european membership.

Interestingly, WWII and the Balkan wars within the 90′s have been what inspired me to begin studying languages within the first position. i wished to learn the unique files and journals and newspapers and check out to appreciate why wars take place and the place the hatred for different humans comes from. There are nonetheless a number of armed conflicts occurring world wide, and the racist propaganda opposed to immigrants in numerous international locations, together with either my domestic and followed international locations, is what retains me studying languages – in order that sooner or later i will aid these immigrants, and particularly refugees, comply with their new lives and struggle opposed to the discrimination. might be i'm a bleeding-heart liberal by way of the underprivileged (especially the bad who are typically immigrants) yet rampant inequality between teams of individuals is heart-breaking to me; or even even though it sounds trite and clichéd, I nonetheless think that studying overseas languages performs a wide half in making the area a greater position.

Advanced Language Practice (with key)

This article is designed to revise and consolidate grammar issues on the point of CAE and talent assessments, and this variation has been revised to incorporate talent fabric within the structure of the 2002 examination. it's to be had without or with key.

Becoming Fluent: How Cognitive Science Can Help Adults Learn a Foreign Language

Adults who are looking to study a overseas language are usually discouraged simply because they think they can not gather a language as simply as young ones. after they start to examine a language, adults should be extra discouraged after they locate the equipment used to educate little ones don’t appear to paintings for them. what's an grownup language learner to do?

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