Translation

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Hi!I want to know what you think about using translation to learn a foreign language.  I've been learning English for almost ten years now and I personally never translate English words into Japanese which is my native language partly because the two languages are so different from each other that perfect translation is virtually impossible. But the most important reason for me to not translate is the fact that we do not translate inside our heads when we are communicating with our native languages. I don't translate Japanese words into any other language when I have a talk in Japanese. It's also the case for any native speakers of any languages, I believe.  I want thoughts from anybody who has ever learned any foreign language no matter what your native language might be. I think learning Spanish for a native speaker of English is not the same as learning Chinese for Spanish speaking people.  Please let me know your experiences.Regard

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

kook jreason for me to not translate

reason for me not to translate. See https://www.EnglishForward.com/English/ToNotNotTo/bjznxc/post.htm

kook jwhen I have a talk in Japanese.

when I have to talk in Japanese.

kook jpartly because the two languages are so different from each other that perfect translation is virtually impossible.

That happens in many cases, not just with English and Japanese.

I've learnt different languages to different extents and noticed that depending on what exactly needs to said, exact translations can be possible. When something common across cultures and nationalities is said, like a need to go shopping, it can be translated exactly. When something uncommon across cultures and nationalities is said, like a reference to custard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard or cadet forces (informally, they are collectively known as cadet forces or cadets) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Cadet_Forces , exact translation is not possible. Instead, they have to be mentioned and then explained. There are many other possible examples.

Lingopracticer · Answer

kook j
Hi!

I want to know what you think about using translation to learn a foreign language. I've been learning English for almost ten years now and I personally never translate English words into Japanese which is my native language partly because the two languages are so different from each other that perfect translation is virtually impossible. But the most important reason for me to not translate is the fact that we do not translate inside our heads when we are communicating with our native languages. I don't translate Japanese words into any other language when I have a talk in Japanese. It's also the case for any native speakers of any languages, I believe.
I want thoughts from anybody who has ever learned any foreign language no matter what your native language might be. I think learning Spanish for a native speaker of English is not the same as learning Chinese for Spanish speaking people. Please let me know your experiences.

Regard

Learning a foreign language by doing some "translations" sounds a good idea - you get a word in one language, and you find out its equivalent (or equivalents) in the other, plus some grammar rules. Keep doing this you will be able to accumulate a considerable volume of vocabulory and grammar proficiency. Not bad - actually this was a "classical way" of language learning - but of old school, popular in the past century.

What's the problem with this method - you will never be able to really "think" in this foreign language - you will first be thinking in your own native language and then convert it to the target. People found that this so-called "translation method" was not much of help if you wish to learn and be fluent in a foreign language. My native language is Chinese mandarin and I was study English. At the begining the translation method indeed helped me to build my basically vocabulary but at the later stage, I encountered big issue with speaking/listening the colloquial English...

The other way around this is the "second language acquisition". You acquisit the ability to use the 2nd language the way a kid learns to speak his/her mother tongue. Well, this is going to be a big topic I will have to open up a different pages to discuss about....

Anonymous · Answer

It is real. Mother language is easier than others language . How long that we learn never we can speak as native speaker. if you want to speak Korean language better you can learn living there or talking with native Korean.

either you accept or not its my personal openion

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