how to learn any language-第32节
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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 much less so
with Danish。 A Norwegian can deal comfortably with both Swedish and Danish。
The Scandinavian languages are relatively easy for Americans to learn。 They’re
Germanic languages； related to English； but vastly easier to learn than German。 The verbs
don’t change for person and number； and only slightly for tense。 The word order follows
English obligingly most of the way。 Like Dutch； the Scandinavian languages have two
genders – common and neuter – and the definite article follows the noun and becomes
one word。 （For example； “a pen” in Norwegian is en penn； “the pen” is pennen。）
Holland is said to be the non…English speaking country with the highest percentage
of people fluent in English。 The three Scandinavian countries are close behind。 You may
never need their language no matter where you go or who you deal with in Scandinavia；
but Scandinavians are among the most appreciative people on earth if you know their
language anyhow。
Polish； Croatian； Czech； Slovak； Slovenian
These western Slavic languages use the Roman alphabet。 The eastern Slavic languages
use the Cyrillic （sometimes mistakenly called the Russian） alphabet。 Don’t suggest it
after a few drinks in Warsaw； but Polish might be better off using the Cyrillic alphabet。 A
Polish sound resembling the sh combined with the following ch in push charlie is spelled
szcz in Polish。 That sound； which requires four letters in the Roman alphabet； needs only
one in the Cyrillic！ Romanising Slavic languages leads to orthographical madness。 A
newspaper reporter in a small Southern town went into his editor’s office and said；
“There’s been an earthquake in the Polish city of Pszczyna。” He showed the editor the
story off the wire。 After a momentary frown the editor looked up and said； “Find out
what the name of the place was before the earthquake！”
Except for Polish； none of these languages has much bounce beyond its borders； but
if your reason for wanting to learn them involves family； love； or business； that won’t
matter。 All Slavic languages are grammatically complex。 Verbs change for reasons that
leave even those who speak Romance languages weeping over their wine and wondering
why。 There are at least six noun cases in every Slavic language； sometimes seven。
The big payoff in learning any of these Slavic languages is the automatic down
payment you’re making on Russian itself。 Russian will be a breeze if you already know
another Slavic language； and conversely； the other Slavic languages will come more
easily if you already know Russian。
Serbian； Bulgarian； Macedonian； Ukranian；
Byelorussian
Everything stated above about the western Slavic languages applies to these eastern
Slavic languages with one exception – they use the Cyrillic alphabet； with slight
variations from language to language。
The similarities between Serbian and Croatian； the main languages of Yugoslavia；
are so striking the languages are usually lumped together as Serbo…Croatian。
If you know any two Slavic languages； you can make yourself understood in any of
the other Slavic languages。 That may be challenged by Slavic scholars； but it works well
in real life between the western border of Poland and the Ural Mountains and from the
arctic tip of Russia to the Black Sea beaches of Bulgaria。
Indonesian
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim nation。 Consisting of hundreds of islands
spread out over a South Pacific area the size of the United States； Indonesia is easily the
largest country in the world about which the most other people in the world know the
least。 With enough mineral wealth in the ground to make it an economic superpower；
Indonesia is still frequently confused with India or Polynesia。
Indonesian is the easiest major language in the world for a foreigner to learn。 It was
called Pasar Malay （“Bazaar Malay”） by the colonial Dutch who looked upon the
Indonesian language as a kind of baby talk for servants and merchants。 When Indonesia
won independence in 1948； the ruler； Sukarno； did his best to take that unstructured
language and graft some sophisticated grammar onto it to make it more regimented and
thus difficult。 He failed。
Indonesian still has nothing that will be regarded as grammar by anybody who’s
done battle with Latin or Russian。 There are suffixes and prefixes aplenty； neat and
regular； that convert verbs into nouns and give verbs additional meanings and the like；
but no inflections according to person； number； tense； aspect； or anything else。
Indonesian uses the Roman alphabet and is delightfully easy to pronounce。 If
you’ve ever studied any other language； you’ll marvel at how quickly and clearly you’ll
understand and be understood。
Indonesian is closely related to Malayan； the language of Malaysia and Singapore；
and gives you a head start in Tagalog； the major language of the Philippines。
Hindi and Urdu
The spoken languages of India and Pakistan； Hindi and Urdu； are so close that the true
language lover is tempted to take the plunge even though both languages use different
and； to us； unfamiliar scripts （Devanagari； and a mixture of Persian and Arabic）。 Though
other languages abound on the Indian subcontinent； Hindi…Urdu united their respective
nations and whoever jumps in （despite the current lack of good learning materials） will
be able to communicate with a population second only to that of China。
Hungarian； Finnish； Estonian
Despite the grammatical complexity and the relatively small pool of native speakers； an
occasional adventurer is drawn almost masochistically to the three Finno…Ugric
languages。 If you were the hated kid in ninth grade who stayed after algebra class to beg
the teacher to introduce you to calculus； they might want to try one of these。
Every word in all three languages is accented on the first syllable – every single
word； names and all； giving those languages the sound of a pneumatic jackhammer
breaking up a sidewalk。 There are； in Finnish； fifteen noun cases in the singular and
sixteen in the plural。 Hungarian and Estonian aren’t far behind。 And that’s the easy part！
People whose language you choose to learn often ask polite questions about why
you wanted to learn their language。 Let on to a Finn； a Hungarian； or an Estonian that you
know a little bit of their language and you will not merely be questioned。 You’ll be cross
examined！
Swahili
Swahili enjoyed a surge of support beginning in the late 1960’s among young American
blacks who wanted to reconnect to their African roots。 Anyone who pressed on and
mastered Swahili would today speak a language spoken by fifty million people living in
central and eastern Africa； including the nations of Kenya and Tanzania in which Swahili
is the national language。 Swahili is a Bantu language； and once you learn it you can
expect easy going when you decide to learn Kiganda； Kikamba； Kikuyu； Kinyanja；
Kichaga； Kiluba； Kishona； Kizulu； Kikongo； and Kiduala； all of which are spoken over
smaller areas in Africa south of the Sahara。
Swahili uses the Roman alphabet。 The Say It In Swahili phrase book advises us not
to be discouraged by words like kitakachonisahilishia； because Swahili grammar is
mercifully regular and logical！
English
The mere fact that you’re reading these words right now calls for self congratulations。 It
means you’re fluent in the winner； the international language； the number one language
of all time！
When a Soviet plane approaches the airport in China； the pilot and the control tower
don’t speak Russian to each other。 They don’t speak Chinese。 They speak English。 If an
Italian plane is about to land in another part of Italy； the Italian pilot and the Italian traffic
control person also speak English。
When the Israeli general and the Egyptian general met in Sinai in October 1973 to
talk truce in the Yom Kippur War； they didn’t speak Hebrew。 They didn’t speak Arabic。
They spoke English。
When Norwegian whaling ships put into the port of Capetown； South Africa； to hire
Zulu seamen； the interviewing is not done in Norwegian or Zulu。 It’s done in English。
The parliaments of Sweden； Denmark； and Norway send delegates to a body called
the Nordic Council。 Their official meetings are conducted – at great expense in
interpreters and simultaneous interpretation equipment – in Swedish； Danish and
Norwegian。 When the meetings end； however； and the delegates from the three
neighbouring countries adjourn to the bar and the dining room； they all start speaking
English with each other！
Haven’t you noticed something odd about protestors you have seen on TV
demonstrating in Lithuania； Estonia； Korea； Iraq； Mexico； and other countrie
