how to learn any language-第16节
按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
The Spanish word for “old” is viejo； pronounced vee…A…ho； the middle syllable
rhyming with “hay。” Imagine a Veterans Administration hospital – a VA hospital – that’s
so old and decrepit they have to tear it down and build a new one。 Before they lay the
dynamite the crew foreman calls the contractor and tells him； “We don’t have to waste
dynamite on this VA hospital。 It’s so old we can knock it over with a hoe！”
Got it？ A VA hospital so old you can knock it over with a hoe。 And that gives us
viejo。 （Viejo is stressed on the next to last syllable： vi…E…jo； in our code； v…A…hoe。）
Readers of much skepticism and little faith will worry that spinning such an
involved yarn to capture one word is less productive than spending that same amount of
time simply repeating the word to yourself over and over again。 Wrong。 The yarn； like a
dream； takes much longer to tell or read than it does to imagine。 And you’ll quickly see
for yourself how helpful the yarn is when it comes time to retrieve the word and use it。
As you continue now through further demonstrations of this technique； try to
challenge the examples。 See if you can think of better ones。 A “better” one is simply one
that works better for you。
We’re going to swing headlong now into dozens of sample “lassos；” associations
designed to rope your target word and bring it obediently to your feet； never again to part。
Ignore the fact that many of the examples that follow teach words in languages you’re not
trying to learn。 Never mind； I tell you； never mind！ Learn the system and you will use it
happily and effectively ever after in the language of your choice。
The French word for “anger” is colère； pronounced cole…AIR。
Strange； we associate anger with heat。 We say “in the heat of anger”； but when
someone is angry at us； we say he’s “cold；” “chilly；” “giving us the cold shoulder。” It’s
not too much of a leap to imagine an angry person radiating his anger； spilling it off in all
directions； in the form of cold air。 You hope he’s not angry； but when you enter his
office； you know your hopes were in vain because you can feel the colère； the “col’ air”
（cole’…AIR）。
The Russian word for “house” is dom； pronounced dome。 Imagine your amazement
upon landing in Moscow and seeing all the houses with dome type roofs。 Or imagine
marveling at how domestic the Russian men are。
The Italian word for “chicken” is pollo； pronounced exactly like the English “polo”
（PO…lo）。 Imagine your Italian host urging you to join him for an unbelievable spectacle。
An Italian impresario with a gift for animal training has staged the world’s first polo
match between teams of chickens！ You’re thrilled that you’re going to be able to go back
to Gaffney； South Carolina； and tell your friends you saw chickens playing polo！
The Italian word for “wife” is moglie； pronounced MOLE…yay。 Imagine you’re a man
about to get married and you get a friendly tip from an indiscreet clergyman that your
bride to be is known to have a strange animal as a pet and fully intends to bring that
animal into your home after the nuptials。
You’re torn！ It’s too late to call off the marriage。 All the relatives have been invited
and the paperwork is all in。 Besides； you love her。 You decide to barrel forward and hope
for the best。
As the organ plays and the preacher intones the vows； all you can think of is； “What
kind of animal is it？ Is it a lion？ Is it a tiger？ Is it a slick and sneaky snake？ A giraffe？”
When the two of you arrive at your threshold after the honeymoon； the suspense
ends。 She brings forth a pleasant little cage containing a cute； furry little creature。
“This is my pet mole；” she says。 “He’s going to live with us。”
You cry forth your relief。 “Hooray！” you shout。 “It’s only a mole。 It’s only a mole！”
you cheer； “Yay！”
It’s only a mole…yay。 Your wife’s secret animal is nothing more than a mole；
therefore； “Yay！” “Wife” equals MOLE…yay。
WAIT A MINUTE！
An enemy； a skeptic； even a queasy ally at this point could say； “Wait a minute。 I’m
trying to learn a language。 I’m not sure I want to walk around with a headful of images of
wives who keep moles； chickens that play polo； angry people emitting cold air； and VA
hospitals you can knock over with a hoe！”
You won’t！ One beauty of the system is； the association that helps you capture the
word falls away and disintegrates。 Once you’ve learned the words； the “crutch”
obligingly disappears。
A common form of the verb “to speak” in Hebrew is medaber； pronounced meda…
BEAR。 There it is： you were walking through the newly planted forests of Israel and
suddenly you “med” a bear who could speak！
In Indonesian； “movie screen” is lajar； pronounced almost exactly like “liar” （LI…
ar）。 Easy。 The man is rapidly winning the woman’s heart in the movie； but you don’t
wish him well because he’s such a lajar！
“Horse” in Russian； transliterated into English script； is lo…shod； pronounced almost
exactly like LAW…shod。 You try to bring your own horse with you into the Soviet Union；
but at the border the Soviet customs officer tells you Sorry； he’d like to accommodate
you； but your horse doesn’t have horseshoes and； according to Soviet law； all horses must
be shod。
“Horse” equals LAW…shod。
The Greek word for “grape” in English transliteration is stafilya； pronounced sta…
FEEL…ya。
You’re in a Greek vineyard in the mountains near Albania。 You see the most
luscious grape you’ve ever laid eyes on。 As you reach for it； the air is split with a squeaky
voice screaming “Don’t touch me！”
“I’m sorry；” you sputter； retreating in shock and shame。 “I wasn’t going to eat you。
It was just to FEEL you （jus’ sta…FEEL…ya）。”
Grape equals sta…FEEL…ya。
The Serbo…Croatian word for “lunch” is ru。。ak； pronounced almost exactly like RUE…
chuck。 You’re having lunch in a restaurant in Yugoslavia。 The waiter overhears you
making a political remark he doesn’t appreciate； so he throws you out bodily。 Never one
to go quietly； you pick yourself up out of the gutter； dust yourself off； and； just before
you head for the American Embassy to protest； you shake your first at the waiter through
the window and vow he’ll rue the day he chucked you out while you were having lunch。
“Lunch” equals RUE…chuck。
“Plate” in Indonesian is piring； pronounced exactly like the English “peering”
（PEER…ing）。
Your Indonesian restaurant experience is a bit more pleasant than the one in
Yugoslavia。 You walk in and find yourself suddenly becalmed by the serenity of the
dining room。 All the Indonesians seem to have their heads bowed in prayer。 You ask the
headwaiter if you’ve interrupted some sort of religious service。
“Not at all；” he assures you。 “They’re not praying。 We just got our new plates with
mirrored surfaces and they’re all peering at themselves to see how they look！”
“Plate” equals PEER…ing。
The Farsi word for “cheaper” transliterated into English is arzontar； pronounced
our…zone…TAR。
The hotel in Tehran is filled； but the clerk tells you it’s a warm night and he’d be
happy to rent you sleeping space on the roof。 You’re delighted to learn you’re paying
only half what the other roof sleepers are paying； until you get to your designated spot on
the roof； at which point you exclaim to your spouse； “Now I see why our spot is cheaper。
All the other tourists are sleeping on those nice ceramic tiles。 Our zone； the spot assigned
to us； however； is tar！”
“Cheaper” equals our…zone…TAR。
“Potato” in German is kartoffel； pronounced exactly like cart…AW…ful。
You buy potatoes from a cart and they turn out to be awful。 “Potato” equals cart…
AW…ful。
Stop right here！ Do you remember the Spanish word for “old？” Or the French word
for “anger；” the Italian word for “wife；” the Serbo…Croatian word for “lunch；” or the
Indonesian word for “movie screen？”
When we display this system of word capturing at seminars for the Learning
Annex； there’s a collective gasp when； after spelling out an association to capture the
tenth word； we suddenly stop and ask how many can recall word number one； four； and
so on。 At no point did we suggest that the students try to recall the words used as
examples as we laid out the system。 When they see that almost everybody recalls every
single one of them anyhow； the students realise this system contrasts well with the kind
of rote learning they’d tried earlier。 One grateful participant exclaimed； “This system
teaches you words you’re not even trying to learn。 The old way doesn’t teach you no
matter how hard you try！”
The Almosters
The skeptic has one shot left before he’s wiped out by the power of the method。 He can；
at this point； say； “Hold it！ Every word you’ve used to demonstrate the system so far falls
much too neatly into our lap – liar
