We all have our favourite words and phrases, sometimes to the extent that people can identify us by the things we always say. In the same way languages have what I call resonance words and phrases - they come up all the time and evoke a response in the hearers. This is about more than the plain meaning of words. To use another metaphor, these are words and phrases which native speakers will gravitate towards, go-to vocabulary and constructions.Let me give you some examples so you know what I am talking about.
If I say, "That is the same as what I am talking about," it sounds stilted, foreign, doesn't it? But if I say, "That's what I am talking about," it immediately connects. Or if, in the present context, I were to say, "We are paying attention to the curve," it would be understandable, but if I said, "We are keeping our eye on the curve," it just sounds more English. I recently translated a text which spoke, literally, of a company's "procurement sources" (Einkaufsquellen) abroad; what was meant was "suppliers".
Another example, this time from the field of faith/religion. The crucial Christian theological term 'atonement' is translated differently in various European languages: in Dutch it is reconciliation (verzoening), in Spanish expiation (expiación) and in Russian redemption (искупление). Strictly speaking, each of these words has a different shade of meaning, but unless you use the resonance word, what you say may be lost on your native speaker.
In each of those cases the literal rendering more or less gets across what is intended, but once I find the resonance phrase or word I start to connect in a new way. My language utterances (sorry, that's the jargon) start to look and sound like those of native speakers.
So, how do you pick up these words and phrases? Not by reading dictionaries or phrase books!
The key to any language learning is exposure to the real language: listening and reading. And lots of it. An ideal scenario is listening to the radio or having the TV (or livestream) on in the background while you are doing something else. Listen.... and notice the things that keep coming up. Being a man of the 20th century (if not the 19th) I write down these phrases. You might want to record them in your electronic device of choice. Get to know the resonance phrases in your foreign language(s). This passive knowledge of your foreign language is where to learn how to generate active knowledge, i.e. speaking and writing.
Using any foreign language involves more than just one-to-one correspondence ("How do you say that in Dutch?"). The reality of Babel (don't worry if not everyone gets that allusion) is that you actually can't say what you want to say in Spanish, French, Kyrgyz or Welsh; you have to say something slightly different, using different words and phrases. What is required is a sort of re-telling - but it is a close enough match.
I will leave you with a Russian saying I learnt in just the last ten days or so. What do you think this means? "Don't confuse Gogol with Hegel." Answers in a personal message. Note to my Russian readers: Носители русского языка, можете не писать.
If you are interested in language learning, follow this blog.
My name is Russell Phillips. I offer online video language tuition for English and Russian - and also German, Italian and French.
My rate is GBP 9 (nine pounds sterling) per block of 15 minutes (a typical lesson might be 45 minutes), payable in advance.
Contact me via www.facebook.com/russelljamesphillips or on email at regnavit[at]gmail.com
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