any suggestions for foreign language?

etselec
Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:32:52 +0000

“In fact, the only language I’ve studied that I would say was amazing difficult would be American Sign Language because the “grammar” employs concepts you can’t even began to express with other languages.”

This made me smile. Though, as with French, I was exposed to ASL before the crucial 13-year point and therefore can “feel” the grammar somewhat intuitively…it is true that there are aspects of ASL grammar which are pretty mind-blowing. Useful to have examples to bring up when people claim it’s not a “real” language!

I think different languages can appeal to different kinds of people. I’m really a visual learner and I like languages in general but ASL is especially compelling. Why? Maybe it has something to do with the more visual aspect of ASL, just as someone with a great ear for tones might find Mandarin easier.

I’d say that there is no such thing as not “liking” a language–but one can reach a point when a bad class experience with the language can taint one’s perception of it to the extent of not being able to muster a positive attitude for further study of that language.