how to learn any language-第31节
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clusters of Chinese characters that surrender to you by the family group makes the going
quicker and easier。
One problem： the pronunciation of each Chinese character is always one syllable
and one syllable only。 Therefore； the same sound has to represent a lot of different things。
We have a slight touch of that in English – a pier has nothing to do with a peer – but
imagine how much utterance duplication you’d have if each word in the language were
limited to one syllable only。 （Beginners who learn that the Chinese word for “chopsticks”
is kwai dze and “bus” is gung gung chee chuh may object。 I simply mean that the term for
“chopsticks” is two separate words ＇characters＇ in Chinese and the term for “bus” is
four！） A Chinese textbook for Americans that makes no pretense of being complete lists
seventy…five different meanings for the sound shih alone！
Chinese differentiates among the various possibilities of meaning by the use of
tones。 Each Chinese word is assigned a specific tone； like a musical note。 Mandarin
Chinese has four tones； Cantonese has nine。
The word wu in Mandarin’s first tone means “room；” in tone two it means “vulgar；”
in tone three it means “five；” and in tone four wu means “disobedient。”
Take the sentence “Mother is scolding the horse。” The spoken Chinese transliterates
as ma ma ma ma。 If we want to make it a question and ask “Is mother scolding the
horse？” just add a fifth ma。 Without the tones a Chinese person would hear an
unintelligible babble。 With the correct tones； however； it would be as clear to him as
“Peering at a pair of pairs on the pier” is to us。
Ideally you should know the tone of each word and the circumstances under which
words shifts tones； but until you attain that lofty peak； you’ll be okay if you do your best
to imitate the tonality of the native Chinese speaker on your cassettes。
Much is made of our ability to read the Chinese soul through the Chinese language。
“Tomorrow” in Chinese is ming tien； which literally means “bright day。” The character
for “good’ literally depicts woman with child； suggesting that a mother and child are
emblematic of everything good。 The character meaning “peace” depicts a woman under a
roof。 The character for “discord；” however； is three women under one roof！
All that is indeed fun but hardly a cryptanalysis of the Chinese soul。 After all； how
much can you tell about the English soul by noting that the word breakfast really means
“breaking” the “fast” you’ve engaged in since your last bite the night before？
Japanese
Like Chinese； Japanese conversation is fairly easy； but the written language is
complicated。 In wartime； America turned out interpreters in Japanese and Chinese at a
satisfactory rate by going straight for the spoken language and ignoring the written
language completely。 You may be tempted to do the same。
Certainly you can prioritise the ability to speak and understand over the ability to
read and write； but I urge you to undertake serious study of the written language and
continue steadily。 If speech is to be your “hare；” let writing at least be your “tortoise。”
Written Japanese is not as difficult as you might fear。 Japanese uses several
thousand characters borrowed from the Chinese； but it uses them in a different and more
limited way that makes them easy to learn。 The characters are used along with two
syllabaries； sets of simple written symbols； each of which represents not one single letter
but a complete syllable。
Japanese has no tones to worry about； and Japanese grammar involves the learning
of certain speech patterns more than changes in verbs； nouns； and adjectives。
Japanese has a clarity missing from Chinese。 Learn a Japanese word from your
book or cassette and your Japanese friend will understand it at your first attempt to use it。
The commercial advantages of learning Japanese are obvious and on the rise。 But
even if your Japanese never reaches a level of proficiency enabling you to do business in
Japanese； your Japanese host and associates will appreciate your efforts。 They； after all；
had to learn English。 You did not have to learn Japanese。 Yet。
Arabic
Arabic is elusive； guttural； and rewarding。 Arabic script； written from right to left； writes
each letter differently depending upon whether it occurs at the beginning； the middle； or
the end of a word。 Learn it； however； and you’ll be welcome from the North Atlantic
coast of Africa clear through the Middle East to the borders of Iran and Pakistan。 Arabic
is also the religious language studied by millions of Muslims around the world whose
native languages are not Arabic。 The Arab population of the United States is growing
rapidly。 You can hear Arabic on the streets and deal in Arabic in the shops of places like
Dearborn； Michigan； where there is a substantial Arab population。
Your investment in Arabic is likely to gain in value when Israel and the Arab states
achieve a settlement allowing for commerce and development to replace a half century of
open warfare。
Hebrew
Hebrew is one of the more difficult languages； and the numerical incentives for tackling
it are not great because Hebrew is spoken only in Israel and in small communities of
Israelis in America and other Western countries。 Until recently the teaching of Hebrew
was illegal in the Soviet Union； but classrooms are overflowing now across the country
as Jews prepare to emigrate to Israel or assert their Jewishness inside the Soviet Union。
Hebrew is spoken wherever Jews worship around the world； and there is a surge of
interest in learning Hebrew among young Americans who were born Jewish even though
they may not have had a strong Jewish upbringing。
If you’re not Jewish and choose to learn Hebrew anyhow； you will set loose waves
of appreciation among Jews grateful to outsiders willing to go to that much trouble。
Once you learn the Hebrew alphabet； you’ll be in command of virtually the same
alphabet used by Yiddish； a language based on fifteenth century low German that was
spoken by millions of East European Jews before Hitler’s extermination and is still
understood in a surprising number of places。 It’s also the alphabet used by Ladino； the
“Spanish of Cervantes” that became the “Yiddish” of the Jews of Spanish origin who
scattered throughout the eastern Mediterranean after the beginning of the Spanish
Inquisition。 There are few language thrills that can match that of an American who
learned the Hebrew alphabet in Hebrew school looking at a printed page in a language he
didn’t know existed （many Jews themselves are totally unaware of the existence of
Ladino） and discovering he can read it and understand it with his high school Spanish！
Greek
Modern Greek has a grammar slightly less glorious than that of its ancient civilisation。 In
difficulty； Greek falls somewhere between French and Russian。 Each verb has two forms
and verbs change according to person； number； and tense。 The future tense is almost as
easy as it is in English – the word tha serving the role of our will。 Adjectives agree with
their nouns according to gender （three of them） and number。
Greek enjoys a leftover prestige； not only from ancient times but from the not long
vanished tradition of the scholar who prided himself on being at home in Latin and
Ancient Greek。 Every five minutes during your study of Greek you’ll be reminded of our
debt to the Greek language。 Zestos means “hot” （“zesty”）； chronos means “time” or
“year；” “number” is arithmo； when you want your cheque in a restaurant you ask for the
logariazmo （as in “logarithm”）； the Greek word for “clear” describing weather is
katharos （as in “catharsis”）； “season” is epohi （“epoch”）； and so on。
Greek may be the language of one small European country only； but there are
thriving Greek communities throughout the Middle East； Egypt； and other parts of Africa；
and the United States。 Enterprising Greeks have carried the language around the world。
Swedish； Danish； Norwegian
The Scandinavian languages are lumped together because of their similarity and the
reliability with which natives of one Scandinavian country can deal with the languages of
the others。 That similarity is something for you to know and enjoy； not something for you
to mention to the Scandinavians themselves。 They’re horrified when outsiders say； “Gee；
Swedish； Danish； and Norwegian are all alike！” They prefer to dwell upon the
differences。 There was a popular movement in Norwegian early in the twentieth century
to change the language for no apparent reason other than to make it less like Danish。
If your aim is to communicate in all three countries； learn Norwegian first。 It’s the
linguistic centre of Scandinavia。 A Dane can deal comfortably with Norwegian； but much
less so with Swedish。 A Swede can deal comfortably with Norwegian； but mu
