Fluent in Four Languages: #38: time for a language tip

Friday, August 12, 2011

#38: time for a language tip

FRENCH
Unlike English, all French nouns have a gender -- either masculine or feminine.

ITALIAN
The Italian "I" is not capitalized as it is in English, unless it begins a sentence. It is written as io, pronounced EE oh.

SPANISH
está That little thing over the "a" is an accent mark. In Spanish, they tell us which vowels to stress.

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What's So Special About Fluent in Four Languages?

It's easier than you think

All three of these languages are based on the Latin alphabet. So there are no strange letters or symbols to know or pronounce. What's more, you will learn at least 100 words in each language before you are expected to put those words together in sentences. Kids don't start speaking full sentences when they learn to speak, so why should we? So when we do begin to speak sentences, our brains can focus on how the words are arranged, and not on the words themselves -- because we'll already know them.

It's not frustrating

Most language courses fall short in the pronunciation department. But Fluent in Four Languages uses the pronounciation-first technique in language acquisition. So before you even see the actual word, you already know how it's pronounced. What's more, I provide a Google Translator link for every new word, so you can hear the pronunciation too.

It's exciting

Most people give up learning a second language not from lack of intellect, but from lack of motivation. But with Fluent in Four Languages, your goal is to be, well, fluent in four languages! That's pretty damn motivating.

Wouldn't it be great to be fluent in that many languages? Even if you were only casually fluent in four languages, that would still be an incredibly useful ability -- and a fairly impressive one at that.

How to Use This Language Course

Tip #1
Read the pronunciation word to the far left first, then click on the actual word to the right. Listen to the Google translator a few times. Now, spend some time writing down the actual word as you sound out the pronunciation. Once you have the pronunciation fixed in your long-term memory, do not go back to the pronunciation word on the left ever again. It's only meant to be used on the initial encounters with new words, to help you pronounce them.

Tip #2
Whenever I point out that an 'r' is to be trilled, trill it if you can. If that's too difficult for you -- as it often is for me -- then don't. There's no shame in speaking a foreign language in a heavy American accent. Don't let something as trivial as a trilled 'r' destroy your motivation to learn any of these languages.

Also, you will find that some French words are difficult to pronounce perfectly. Take for example the word "Beinvenue" in lesson #1. Note that my corresponding pronunciation word is "BYEV new". Now click on the actual word to listen to the Google Translator. It sounds pretty much like "BYEV new" -- doesn't it? But here's the thing: Some French instructors would cringe at this pronunciation and insist that it be pronounced in perfect French. But that's the kind of requirement that sucks the fun right out of learning new languages. So instead, we'll do things the easy way and pronounce words using our English accents. Again, remember, an English accent is something to be proud of.

Tip #3
The first 100 lessons move at a nice slow pace -- one word per day in each of three languages. Thereafter, we will pick up the pace to two words per day. But should you ever find yourself falling behind, don't worry. This isn't a race.

Tip #4
Each time you learn a new lesson, go back and review the previous lessons that have yet to sink in. But again, try to avoiding looking at the pronunciation words to the left.

Tip #5
If you catch a mistake I've made, please chime in by leaving a note in the comments section. This course is like Wikipedia, in that anyone can contribute to the final product.