interesting

[magicicada]

cislyn pointed me towards a very useful article on the Piraha indians.

Under Whorf's theory, people are only capable of constructing thoughts for which they possess actual words. In other words: Because they have no words for numbers, they can't even begin to understand the concept of numbers and arithmetic.

if there was ever a way to describe why everyone should learn a second language, this is it. this is why i study french. this is why my daughter will be learning spanish. learning a new language enables new thoughts which would be difficult or impossible to form without the words to express them.

Discuss.

Comments

[oldgrue.livejournal.com]

Those tonal difference are a godsend!

So, I've got a smattering of several languages : German, French, Spanish, Irish Gaelic, and Mandarin Chinese...

Mandarin is a nightmare, because my ear isn't accustomed to looking for aforementioned tonal clues. Because I didn't get raised around half a dozen languages, syntax is terribly difficult in everything but my primary language.

That said, one needs to be exposed to several languages as a part of their education to encourage more flexible thought. Accustomed to putting language in several combinations will lead to more agile thought. Don't limit them to Spanish. 20% of the planet speaks some Chinese dialect. Get at least 2 in there.

YMMV, as I blame trying to learn several languages for exercising my brain. It *could* just be that more stimulus is good, and TV bad. :)

[gardenwaltz.livejournal.com]

i won't limit her to spanish, but we're definitely going to start with only 1 new language at a time. she's still not quite ready to make choices like this for herself, and i don't want to push too hard.

[oldgrue.livejournal.com]

Kids are so durable, the fear is going to be what *you* can handle. :)
Don't be fooled - your little one will do fine.