Comments on: The secret powers of knowing a foreign language https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/ Sharing the world with you Sun, 20 Feb 2011 21:12:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 By: Andy Jarosz https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-11626 Andy Jarosz Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:54:11 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-11626 Chinese must be a great language to know - few Chinese will expect a westerner to understand. I'm sure you have some great moments with that secret knowledge. Thanks for sharing Mike. Chinese must be a great language to know – few Chinese will expect a westerner to understand. I’m sure you have some great moments with that secret knowledge. Thanks for sharing Mike.

]]> By: Mike https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-11528 Mike Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:57:18 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-11528 I learned Chinese at university, and I have to agree that being able to understand what Chinese people are saying without them being aware of it is great fun. I learned Chinese at university, and I have to agree that being able to understand what Chinese people are saying without them being aware of it is great fun.

]]> By: Andy Jarosz https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-4043 Andy Jarosz Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:13:15 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-4043 Thanks for the thoughts and the link Stuart. The BBC courses are a great idea and a brilliant free resource. I had a go at these last year and they are pitched at a level that doesn't scare the novice but gives you a few useful phrases to take away. Worth taking up. Thanks for the thoughts and the link Stuart. The BBC courses are a great idea and a brilliant free resource. I had a go at these last year and they are pitched at a level that doesn’t scare the novice but gives you a few useful phrases to take away. Worth taking up.

]]> By: Stuart https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-4034 Stuart Thu, 01 Apr 2010 08:40:06 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-4034 Great post as per Andy. Must admit speaking Spanish, French and German fairly badly (Two of them self taught), however some language skills are a real bonus when no-one else you're travelling with speaks a language...Know its a bit cheesy but would really recommend a language learning CD. Theyre not expensive but if you can pick up 200 words before you visit a country, you'll just get so much out of it....Also just noticed this on the BBC site - great idea http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/steps/ Cheers Stu Great post as per Andy. Must admit speaking Spanish, French and German fairly badly (Two of them self taught), however some language skills are a real bonus when no-one else you’re travelling with speaks a language…Know its a bit cheesy but would really recommend a language learning CD. Theyre not expensive but if you can pick up 200 words before you visit a country, you’ll just get so much out of it….Also just noticed this on the BBC site – great idea
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/steps/
Cheers Stu

]]> By: Andy Jarosz https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-3988 Andy Jarosz Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:32:56 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-3988 Simon, I agree that knowing a little bit of any language does enhance the experience, allowing us access to encounters with people who aren't connected in any way to the tourist trade. And Lori, you're so right: verboten is a very important word to know :-) Simon, I agree that knowing a little bit of any language does enhance the experience, allowing us access to encounters with people who aren’t connected in any way to the tourist trade.
And Lori, you’re so right: verboten is a very important word to know :-)

]]> By: Lori https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-3969 Lori Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:55:19 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-3969 Well, I'm from Romania (as I mentioned in another comment). Imagine how many people around the world know Romanian :) It is thus logical for me to start learning foreign languages. That's not a problem, but a pleasure. Almost anyone learns English. But if one travels a lot in Germany, speaking some German would be a perfect solution. I wrote in a post on my travel blog about the importance of learning at least some basic words in the language of the country one is visiting. For instance in German one must know what "Verbotten" means - in order to avoid some trouble (and fees). And of course the list of examples can continue. Well, I’m from Romania (as I mentioned in another comment). Imagine how many people around the world know Romanian :) It is thus logical for me to start learning foreign languages. That’s not a problem, but a pleasure. Almost anyone learns English. But if one travels a lot in Germany, speaking some German would be a perfect solution. I wrote in a post on my travel blog about the importance of learning at least some basic words in the language of the country one is visiting. For instance in German one must know what “Verbotten” means – in order to avoid some trouble (and fees). And of course the list of examples can continue.

]]> By: waitinginthedark https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-3941 waitinginthedark Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:16:25 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-3941 Great post, Andy. I must say that I am lucky as I know 5 languages. Not all of them perfectly but well enough to communicate with local people in lots of places. Speaking languages is part of what made lots of my journeys memorable: being able to communicate with locals and other travelers enables to understand - and appreciate - a little better a country, its traditions and its people. Great post, Andy. I must say that I am lucky as I know 5 languages. Not all of them perfectly but well enough to communicate with local people in lots of places. Speaking languages is part of what made lots of my journeys memorable: being able to communicate with locals and other travelers enables to understand – and appreciate – a little better a country, its traditions and its people.

]]> By: Andy Jarosz https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-3928 Andy Jarosz Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:42:03 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-3928 Thanks for the great comments. We really can't go wrong with learning any language. I guess I would also pick the more common language if I had to. But it sure does surprise local people if you can roll out a sentence in a little-used tongue! Love the stories Gwen and Isabelle. And certainly with Latin based languages, once you've mastered one of them the others all seem to be a lot less daunting. Thanks for the great comments. We really can’t go wrong with learning any language. I guess I would also pick the more common language if I had to. But it sure does surprise local people if you can roll out a sentence in a little-used tongue!

Love the stories Gwen and Isabelle. And certainly with Latin based languages, once you’ve mastered one of them the others all seem to be a lot less daunting.

]]> By: Gwen McCauley https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-3923 Gwen McCauley Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:29:30 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-3923 I grew up with a French Canadian father yet we were strongly discouraged from speaking French in my household for strange Canadian socio-political reasons. Suffice it to say I'd always believed that I couldn't speak French. Yet I have since found that while I'm certainly not bilingual, I have pretty good French. And my abilities in French surface most often when I'm in Portugal, struggling to find an appropriate Portuguese word or phrase. Out pops French that I didn't even know I knew! This is such a strange phenomenon. At first I thought it was just a little linguistic gas happening. But I travel to Portugal so much that I now know it isn't any kind of accident. It is almost as if my body knows that when I am in a foreign culture, it is okay to speak a language that I didn't have much permission to speak in my growing up. Oddly enough, as soon as I get back to Canada my French goes back into hiding and I'm quite tongue-tied when I need to speak it. Weird, eh? But it is all part of why I find human beings so endlessly fascinating! Thanks for eliciting a good chuckle, Andy. Gwen McCauley http://algarveexperiences.com http://twitter.com/gwenmccauley I grew up with a French Canadian father yet we were strongly discouraged from speaking French in my household for strange Canadian socio-political reasons. Suffice it to say I’d always believed that I couldn’t speak French.

Yet I have since found that while I’m certainly not bilingual, I have pretty good French. And my abilities in French surface most often when I’m in Portugal, struggling to find an appropriate Portuguese word or phrase. Out pops French that I didn’t even know I knew!

This is such a strange phenomenon. At first I thought it was just a little linguistic gas happening. But I travel to Portugal so much that I now know it isn’t any kind of accident. It is almost as if my body knows that when I am in a foreign culture, it is okay to speak a language that I didn’t have much permission to speak in my growing up. Oddly enough, as soon as I get back to Canada my French goes back into hiding and I’m quite tongue-tied when I need to speak it.

Weird, eh? But it is all part of why I find human beings so endlessly fascinating!

Thanks for eliciting a good chuckle, Andy.

Gwen McCauley
http://algarveexperiences.com
http://twitter.com/gwenmccauley

]]> By: Anil https://www.501places.com/2010/03/the-secret-powers-of-knowing-a-foreign-language/#comment-3920 Anil Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:07:29 +0000 https://www.501places.com/?p=2402#comment-3920 There are two major grammatical structures among all languages and learning the other (i.e. not the one your mother tongue belongs to) I believe makes it much easier to grasp other languages. I think every language is useful to know, they can come in handy when you don't expect it and it there is no down side to knowing another language :) There are two major grammatical structures among all languages and learning the other (i.e. not the one your mother tongue belongs to) I believe makes it much easier to grasp other languages. I think every language is useful to know, they can come in handy when you don’t expect it and it there is no down side to knowing another language :)

]]>