Not English 1

English is not the only language I have been learning in my life. In a little "series", I will reflect upon how I studied other languages.


It all started with Dutch off course, my mother tongue. My mother says I started talking at a really early age. But then I guess all parents assume that their children are slightly exceptional. Writing happened more slightly. I remember how I first got acquainted with letters in kindergarten. All children got a sheet of paper with the letter-to-learn on it in great format. We were supposed to copy the letter with crayons all around it. Not really an effective way to learn a language, but the letters did fascinate me. When I was at my grandparents' house, I used to construct series of letters on a sheet of paper. Then, I went over to them and asked them weather I had created a word. Mostly, I didn't.
In primary school, we finally got to the words. We used a book with two children (Tom and Leen) who conducted very easy conversations. Already in the first year, we were able to write a New Year's letter. In primary school, I was a fanatic reader. I could enjoy myself with a book for hours. I always read books before I went to sleep to and when my parents came to check, I quickly hid the book under my pillow and put out the lights.
I think all this reading contributed to the development of a smooth writing style. In secondary school, my teachers always complimented my essays. Sadly, I had discovered the internet by then and the books stayed on the shelf more and more. The upside was that by browsing English sites, I learned a great deal about that language..

So at the end of secondary school, it was not really difficult to pick a direction to go. I chose Literature and Linguistics within English and Dutch. I am very glad that I am rediscovering books now. I am still trying to improve my writing style and have recently joined the redaction of my school magazine. My native language will always be a part of me and I hope that I will be able to use it in my profession.

Grrrrammar

My academic career has so far been quite smooth. I didn't fail any class in my first year, which is unusual in my home University. My second year was not bad either, but I did fail a course. And I failed again in the second exam period. It was no surprise to me that this haunting course is Dutch grammar.

I have never liked grammar and actually, I don't know anyone who is fond of it. Especially in your native language, you feel how you can form a correct sentence. I understand that as linguists-to-be, we should understand grammatical rules. But I don't think it is useful to disect the most intricate sentences (which you would never actually encounter), just for the hell of it. In the end, the grammar exam comes down to memorizing theory. I would prefer to have a more practical exam, so that I can show that I master grammar, even if I am not always able to explain the framework of a sentence.

Facebook ahoy!

As many of my peers, I am active on the social networking site Facebook. My interface has always been set on British English to learn some vocabulary. But after a while, the same old, plain English expressions gets a bit boring. So I decided to look into the interface possibilities and that's where I made my discovery.

You can set the language of the Facebook interface to... Pirate English! This might sound a bit vague at first, but after a few clicks I understood what it was all about. Instead of a home page, I now own a home port. I don't have Facebook friends, but mateys. And I don't write on a wall, I scrawl on a plank. It took me a while to get used to the new terminology and I had to research a few words (like "scour" and "wench"). The pirate English version of Facebook has already taught me a great deal of funny vocabulary and alternative grammar. I don't think I will change it quickly.

Translation: a piece of cake...

Today, my roommate Hermien celebrates her birthday. Me and one of the neighbours, a Czech girl called Martina, baked a chocolate cake for her yesterday. We were wondering if the cake mix we'd prepared would expand a lot during its time in the oven. I checked the ingredients for yeast and encountered a word I didn't know: starch.

Mostly, when a word is unfamiliar to me, I run it through my explanatory Longman dictionary program. But this time, the explanation did not really help me.

starch - a white odorless tasteless granular or powdery complex carbohydrate (C6H10O5)x that is the chief storage form of carbohydrate in plants, is an important foodstuff, and is used also in adhesives and sizes, in laundering, and in pharmacy and medicine

I do not spend a lot of time in the kitchen and definitely not in the chemistry lab, so I still could not figure out the Dutch equivalent for the term. There was only one thing I could do: counsel an online translating dictionary. I thought it would be easy to find what I was looking for, but I was wrong. Even the most visited websites seem to lack a lot of vocabulary. Freedict.com, ectaco.co.uk and majstro.com are just a few of the websites that failed the starch test. I also remarked that a lot of translation websites are not very user-friendly.

Eventually lookwayup.com offered me the solution for my quest. Hopefully, websites can expand their territory, so that language learning will not demand this much effort in the future. If you'd be interested. The Dutch word for starch is "zetmeel".

Swimming Togs

To learn by trial and error: the language learner does it as well.
A few days ago, I was talking to an Irish girl while we were waiting for courts to open up during badminton training. I told her that I'd like to go swimming in the University pool, but that I didn't have my bathing suit with me. She informed me that in Ireland, no one would ever say "bathing suit". The most common term used is "swimming togs" and "swimsuit" is acceptable too. I'm glad she corrected me, because otherwise I might have never learned this.

Cinematic English

Watching films may be the most effective way to learn another language. Especially for someone learning English, the range of material is extremely varied. Cinema can help the language learning in several aspects.

The viewer picks up a busload op vocabulary. The good thing about cinema, is that you get images. This way, you gets an illustration when he doesn't understand what a word means. Personally, I don't think that an advanced language learner should watch English films with subtitles in their own language. You read the sentences in your own language before they are pronounced in English and subsequently, you don't get motivated to think any more. The opportunity to learn passes you by. I prefer to watch English films without subtitles, but sometimes it is hard to understand the actors and then I opt for English subtitles. The great advantage in that, is that you also learn a lot about spelling.

Watching films must stay fun, but it is always nice to learn something at the same time.

The Hard Shoulder

Last weekend, we went on a roadtrip to the Connemara and the Cliffs of Moher. On our way home, we discovered a mystery. A road sign displayed the words "End of Hard Shoulder". None of us, an Erasmus company, had any idea what to make of it. Some thought it had something to do with a way of steering, others were confident that you could stop looking over your shoulder from that point on. I intended to look it up, but forgot soon afterwards.

But during the week, I watched some episodes of Top Gear and from the context, I could finally understand. Watching British series is definitely a way to learn vocabulary and cultural traits. However, foreign drivers who don't know what "Hard Shoulder" means, could land up in trouble. I think these road signs could benefit from an illustration.

The Aughananure enigma

So we went on a roadtrip this weekend! We went to the cliffs of Moher, Galway, Connemara and... that Castle with the really strange name.

Placenames in Ireland, for Erasmus students, they're a leap in the dark every time again. How can we ever learn how to pronounce "Aughananure", "Knockaunranny" and "Shannapheasteen"?
On my computer, I have the Longman dictionary CD-rom and when I look up a word, a voice pronounces the word immediately. I can even choose between the British and American pronunciation. A system like that for the Irish placenames would be very welcome. Or maybe, they should all be abbreviated by a syllable or two.
Just joking!

Does Athena herald a good mark?

So it has begun. The workload.
Today I have started my first Limerick essay. The first in a long series to come. The educational system in Ireland is completely different from that in Belgium, so I'm slightly worried. In my home country, only the language proficiency courses are evaluated through essays. And last year, I only had one English proficiency course. Thus my experience in writing English texts is very limited.
But today in the library, I swiftly laid out my structure and researched some information on the web. Soon, the writing process could begin. The great thing about writing on my computer is that all necessary tools are just a mouse click away! The wondrous system that helps me is called "Athena". This is a site, exclusively for students of Ghent University. It allows you to access all kinds of programs that would cost you a fortune to collect otherwise.
The section I find particularly interesting is the Dictionary section. It contains a vast amount of translating and explaining dictionaries in all imaginable languages. Furthermore, I can easily find synonyms to vary my vocabulary and there is even a program that makes it easier to insert endnotes. I owe it to Athena that I can use fancy words such as "to herald" and "perpetrator" in my essays. Writing essays and looking up synonyms, I am sure it will enhance my vocabulary a great deal!