Language learning may change your brain and personality!

Yet another article touting the benefits of language learning caught my eye recently,  How to learn 30 languages by David Robson on BBC.com. He states that language learning is "arguably the best brain training you can try." Since I  enjoy the process of studying languages anyway, it is heartening to think that I am also giving my brain what Robson describes as a "tough mental workout." I may be strengthening attention and memory and even delaying the onset of dementia.

Another key idea is that of multiple languages providing learners with "a new cultural skin." You may have experienced the sensation of adopting a new identity when you speak another language.  I certainly have, but only with certain languages.

When I speak Spanish rather than my native English, I soften my expression to be more polite. I find that I invade others' personal space by giving more abrazos to my speaking companions. ( Abrazo is translated into English as "hug" or "embrace," but I would never give a hug to someone I just met when speaking English; however, I might give an abrazo in the same situation when speaking Spanish.)  My expression is less abrupt in Spanish; for example, I  answer questions in English with a "yeah," or an "uh-uh", while in Spanish, I might say "Sí, ¿cómo no? (yes, of course), or "No, gracias" (no, thanks)

The Portuguese language has an even more noticeable effect on my reticent personality.  I love to speak Portuguese. The sounds are pleasing to the ear, and I can produce all Portuguese sounds with some resemblance to the original.   The grammar is playful.  Can grammar really be described as playful?  I think so.  I enjoy leaving out the word "it" when not required for meaning, as in the response, "Tenho, sim." (Yes, I have it).  I think it is cool to have a special subjunctive tense to express future doubt.  "If I speak Portuguese" becomes "Se eu falar português," and it feels like I have gotten away with not conjugating the ver "falar." Yes, a bit geeky, I'll admit.

When I speak Portuguese, memories of when and how I first learned Portuguese come to mind.  For a few minutes at least, I can again be a young language teacher on an NEH-sponsored trip to Brazil to learn Portuguese.  I can buy a morning café com leite (coffee with milk) from the nuns at a small stand in front of the university.  And I can smile at the Brazilian immigration officer who remarked that I spoke pretty good Portuguese as I was leaving the country. 

The two other languages I work on every day, French and Irish Gaelic, are mainly for brain training. I never expect to be fluent in either language, but I enjoy the challenge on Duolingo of analyzing how these two somewhat complex languages express meaning.

So, thanks to the BBC article for helping me justify the amount of time and energy I spend on language learning. I have high hopes that my brain and personality are changing for the better with each passing day!

Snowclones for summer entertainment

No, the word "snowclones" in the title is not a typo.  It is an invented word announced by linguist Geoffrey Pullum in Language Log to describe an observable language phenomenon.

Granted that eating a snow cone

on a blazing hot summer day may be a bit more fun than looking for examples of snowclones in modern communication,  I still think discovering snowclones is amusing.

The term "snowclone" was inspired by the mistaken notion that Eskimos have many more words for snow than other languages (I'll spare you the details). A less complicated example of a snowclone is "X is the new Y."  You are probably familiar with "Orange is the new black," or "50 is the new 40."

Snowclones are described as a kind of cliché that can be used as a template for new expressions, much like fill in the blank expressions.  Sometimes snowclones are described as a type of word play and other times less positively as the result of  lazy communication.

I learned about snowclones about a week ago through a text from my son, who knows I am a sucker for any new concept about language.  Sure enough, I have been able to identify three snowclones already.

The first is "Keep calm and carry on," the phrase used in Britain during WWII to inspire the British public.  I have seen numerous examples of the same phrase with a new ending, many dispensing advice.

Next, I recently read an article entitled,    "This is your brain on Jane Austen."  The original slogan, "This is your brain on drugs" originated during the 1987 Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

The use of the phrase to describe positive changes in the brain during focused reading of classic literature moves a negative experience into a positive one. 

And finally, have you noticed how the days of the week are now being designated for certain activities?  "Casual Fridays," the idea of dressing less formally at work once a week, is an example. And in my home town of El Paso, Texas, located on the border with Mexico, restaurants offer "Taco Tuesdays" with many varieties of this tasty snack for as little as $1.00  apiece.

I'll be trying to identify more snowclones in the future.  They are a great reminder that language is a creative process, ever-changing, and available for all of us to enjoy.  Let me know please if you make a snowclone discovery (or eat an awesome snow cone)!

Choosing a Language on a Whim

6,500.  That's the number of different languages estimated to exist in today's world.  Some counts give a higher number, some a lower, but no matter how you look at it, acquiring all languages in a lifetime is not a reasonable option, even for dyed-in-the-wool language enthusiasts.

How then does a language learner make a decision about which language (or languages) to select for study? We might like to think that when choosing certain languages we make rational, clear-headed decisions that will pay tangible dividends in the future, like new job opportunities, job promotions, and increased social contacts.

After examining my own rationales for selecting different languages, however, I have come to the conclusion that language choice is often not rational at all.  Sometimes a language choice is merely circumstantial. And often the choice of a language for study is subjective, based on emotions, feelings, and yes, even whims.  

English is my native language. I really didn't choose it; it chose me by reason of birth and upbringing. English is my everyday, working, default language.  I am very happy to have it as a means of communication, but as a subject for study, English doesn't interest me. I get really annoyed when I have to research an English grammar or punctuation rule.  And I get no particular thrill from speaking English.

Spanish, my first foreign language, was a natural choice. My home town of El Paso, Texas is located on the United States-Mexico border.

We are a bilingual community.  I  heard Spanish as a child and still continue to hear it on a daily basis. Studying Spanish in elementary and high school and later in college was an easy choice for me, one that felt natural in my environment. But I still categorize Spanish as one of my workaday languages, along with English,  that I use for purposes of communication.

French entered my life in college as a natural choice for the college second language requirement, and it has been in and out of my life several times since then.  I'm afraid my interest in French waned in college when a grumpy professor told the class that I had the worse pronunciation for a French 'r' that he had ever heard!

I once taught a semester of high school French in an emergency situation, but my pronunciation never improved.  I sort of gave up on French until I had the opportunity recently to travel to Canada and spend time with French-speaking friends (who are completely fluent in English as well).  Oh, how I envy their language abilities.  I still include French on my daily Duolingo study, but my chances of becoming a fluent French speaker are not promising, as much as I admire the language.

Then I enrolled in a Portuguese course at our local university.

It was love at first sight, or more accurately, first sound. What an absolutely gorgeous language! Speaking Portuguese is pure joy - and I have no trouble at all pronouncing the Brazilian 'r' sound! Even the grammar seems less complicated and demanding than other languages. And Brazilian Portuguese has an interesting future subjunctive verb that adds a richness of expression.  No wonder  Brazilians refer to their language as "the language of the angels."

My most recent language, Irish Gaelic, is truly a labor of love.  It is a Celtic language and not easy for an English speaker to learn.  Quite honestly, I have little hope of acquiring communicative abilities in Irish Gaelic, but the vocabulary and grammar are so different from the Romance languages that I usually study that I am intrigued. Each sentence I am given to work with on Duolingo is like an absorbing puzzle.  And the sounds of Irish Gaelic are soft on the ear.  I at least know how to say "I like..." in Irish Gaelic:

Some of my languages were thrust into my life by circumstance.  Portuguese and Irish Gaelic are the languages I choose to study.  Who knows why?  I only know that when I log on to Duolingo every day to practice my four foreign languages, Portuguese and Irish Gaelic are the languages that feed my soul.