how to learn any language-第33章
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proximity to the Spanish…speaking centres of North； Central； and South America and the
growing prevalence of Spanish in our country。 It’s easier for Americans to speak good
Spanish than good French。 It’s a more phonetic language and you don’t have the problem
of the last few letters of a word being silent – as you often do in French。 Also； correct
Spanish pronunciation is less difficult than correct French pronunciation。
Spanish grammar is similar to French （as is that of all other Romance languages）；
and the subjunctive tense waits to test your character。
There are some happy surprises in store for Spanish learners。 Of course you expect
Spanish to carry you through Latin America and Spain； but you may not expect to be able
to communicate with the older generation in the Philippines and even with Sephardic
Jews in Israel （as well as Greece； Turkey； Yugoslavia； and Bulgaria） whose vernacular is
a language known as Ladino； a fifteenth and sixteenth century Spanish with a Hebrew
admixture that is written in the Hebrew alphabet。 Spanish offers perhaps the grandest of
good deal opportunities。 Whoever learns Spanish holds an option to acquire Portugese at
half price。
Portugese
Don’t dismiss Portugese as some kind of slurring； overnasalised cousin of Spanish。
The lightning population growth of Portugese speaking Brazil alone makes
Portugese a major world language。 Ancient Portugese navigators carried the language to
the mid…Atlantic； the African countries of Angola and Mozambique； the enclave of Goa
in India； and even the Indonesian island of Timor。
Portugese is the ninth most widely spoken language in the world； after Chinese；
English； Hindi…Urdu； Russian； Spanish； Japanese； German； and Indonesian。 Thus；
Portugese is an intelligent choice for the language “shopper” who wants to be different
without abandoning the mainstream。
Portugese nasal sounds are easier than the French and the grammar is only slightly
more difficult than Spanish。 Because I learned Spanish first； Portugese will always sound
to me like Spanish that’s been damaged on delivery。 （That’s just a smile； not an insult。
Dutch sounds the same way to anyone who’s first studied German； Danish sounds that
way to anyone who’s first studied Norwegian； and Serbo…Croatian definitely fits the
description to anyone who’s first studied Russian。）
German
Germany didn’t leave us a world of colonies where people still speak German； but they
may as well have。 In addition to being the principal language of Germany； Austria； and
one of the three main languages of Switzerland； German is； surprisingly； the language
most natives will try first on foreigners when they come visiting in Hungary； Yugoslavia；
Czechoslovakia； Poland； Latvia； Lithuania； Estonia – in fact all the way from Germany’s
eastern border with Poland as far east as Moscow and from the Baltic Sea in the north
clear down to the Mediterranean。 English may edge German out by the time of the next
scientific poll in Eastern Europe； but that leaves a tremendous number of German
speakers across Europe and elsewhere。 Germany’s reunification； reestablishing Germany
as the central European power； can only intensify the German language’s importance。
German grammar is far from the most difficult； though you’ll be hard to convince
when you find yourself trapped in one of German’s unending dependent clauses。 You can
wait through lunch for the German noun after a loop…the…loop adjectival clause that might
translate literally as “the never… having… definitively… researched… the… mating… habits… of…
the… Asian… armadillo… Dr。 Schultz；” and you can wait even longer for the German verb。
It’s something you get the hang of； though； and remember； German is family。 Its kinship
with English will be a boon throughout。
There are three genders in German and officially four noun cases； but they’re easy。
In only one case does the noun itself change endings； the rest being taken care of by the
preceding article； adjective； or other modifier。
German offers dividends to those interested in science； philosophy； opera； and
getting a good job in international commerce。
Italian
Everybody who’s ever wrestled with Latin deserves to pick up an Italian grammar book
just to relax。 Italian is easy Latin； a delight to plunge into。 There are three different types
of verbs； but noun cases have been eliminated。 Unlike French； Italian pronunciation is
church bell clear； and you can read Italian off the page and be understood after mastering
the regular rules governing the sounds of letters。 There are no orthographical booby traps
such as the English tough； weigh； night； though； and the dozens of other deceptive
spellings we Americans can be grateful we never had to learn as foreigners。
Opera； art； wine； cuisine； history； and archaeology are some of the motivators for
learning Italian。 Italians are nicer to foreigners trying to learn their language than any
other people whose language is a major one。 A passable attempt to speak French in
France is likely to bring little but grudging comprehension from the French。 A passable
attempt to speak Italian in Italy will likely lead to an explosive exclamation； “Ahh； you
speak our language！” followed by an offer of a free espresso。
Dutch
It’s easy to dismiss Dutch as a slim shadow of its big language neighbour； German； and
of possible interest only to those Americans eager to ingratiate themselves with an aging
aunt in Amsterdam with a valuable art collection。 Not so fast。 In addition to the Dutch
spoken in Holland； there are millions of Belgians whose language may be officially
called Flemish but is actually nothing but Dutch going under an assumed name。 You’ve
also got millions of educated Indonesians who speak Dutch as a historical echo from the
four hundred years of Dutch colonial rule。 Moreover； Dutch is the mother tongue of
Afrikaans； the language of those white South Africans whose ancestors were the Boers
（boer is the Dutch word for “farmer”）。 Afrikaaners not only understand Dutch but look
up to Dutch much as an Alabaman looks up to someone who speaks British English。
Dutch is much simpler for Americans to learn than German。 There are only two
genders （oddly enough； not mascuine and feminine； but common and neuter）。 Verb
endings don’t change as much in Dutch as in German； and its word order is more like
English than German’s is。
You need not pretend Dutch is a beautiful language。 The Dutch themselves joke
about the coarseness of their language。 It’s got more of a guttural sound than Arabic；
Hebrew； Russian； and Farsi。 If you want a concert in Dutch guttural； ask the next person
who speaks Dutch to say； “Misschien is Uw scheermesje niet scherp genoeg。” It means
“Perhaps your razor blade is not sharp enough；” but that’s irrelevant。 That short sentence
explodes with five gutturals that cause the speaker to sound like the exhaust pipe of a
Greyhound bus through a full set of gear changes！
When you learn Dutch； you can cash in on at least forty percent credit when you
decide to take up German。
Russian
Russian is the world’s fourth language in number of speakers after Chinese； English； and
Hindustani。 It is extremely difficult to learn to speak Russian correctly； but the Russians
have learned to be patient with foreigners who speak incorrect Russian。 Journalists and
others fascinated by discussing recent history with Soviet citizens suddenly free to talk to
foreigners get a lot of joy out of knowing Russian。 The much touted commercial
advantages of learning Russian； however； have so far fallen far short of expectation。
The jobs with gargantuan salaries promised to Russian speakers as a fruit of the
resurgence of free enterprise in the Soviet Union are few and shaky as the early
enthusiasm of foreign investors gives way to wait and see attitudes。 Long range； Russian
remains a good bet f
