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Does anyone know

Ratamahatta - Mar 18, 2002

		Raijin Z	Mar 19, 2002
		Alrighty then, smartass. You go learn a non-germanic language without so much as partial latin roots in a hurry, and prove me wrong. Edit: ...and to prevent more outbreaks of apparent severe retardation, I said learning Japanese when you're in your teens and beyond would be fucking HARD, not impossible. (Edited by Raijin Z at 7:17 pm on Mar. 19, 2002)

		Ratamahatta	Mar 19, 2002
		It could be hard or easy depending on the person trying to learn.

		Fabrizo	Mar 19, 2002
		Well, I have been trying to learn japanese for about a year or so now, and im going no where fast. I think it does become a bit more difficult to learn new languages after a certain age, but not being around people that can speak that language on a regular basis makes it far more difficult. I myself don't know IRL anyone that can speak the japanese language, so the only way for me to try and learn it is through text books, and then testing what I have learned by watching non-subbed animes, or playing import games with voice acting.

ExCyber

Mar 19, 2002

You go learn a non-germanic language without so much as partial latin roots in a hurry, and prove me wrong.

Point out the place where I said that learning language is easy, and maybe that remark will make sense. I *never* said that language is easy, just that I'd like to see support for the specific assertion that it's not easy for a particular biological reason. I don't think the idea is ridiculous, but I also don't think it's so likely that I shouldn't try to find out more about it before believing that it's true.

		eatpenguin	Mar 19, 2002
		i've had MUCH easier time learning english than learning japanese. and i started learning english when i was 10 while japanese i started learning since i was relly little. even the little conversational spanish i use here and there is better than my japanese. i guess the theories about how younger kids have better chance of learning foreign language is somewhat biased because it does not constitute the fact that different situations apply to different people AND adults have to worry about a lot more things.

antime

Mar 20, 2002

Quote: from Supergrom on 7:41 pm on Mar. 20, 2002

I know people that have had bilingual parents, and when they were kids, one parent spoke just one language, and the other spoke just another (the one example i can think of is English and French) and the kid just grew up bilingual.

If the parents of a child speak separate languages, then generally the child will start speaking later but will learn both languages (provided both are used in the home). In general, children up to the age of 8-9 or so (at least) will learn a language just by listening much faster than an adult. The caveat is that children will also forget languages pretty fast when they stop using them.

Note that this ability is not unique to humans. In one well-documented case, the child of a chimpanzee that had learned sign-language learned it just by observing the mother, and quickly became more proficient in it than the mother.