I found some of this information useful to learning languages, but some of it was more theoretical. Of particular interest to me in this reading was the section that described how sounds are made (pg 28-30). It is relevant to me because Bengali has several distinctions of sounds that English does not. Bengali has for example five different T sounds. One of them is only used at the end of words, but the other four are each pronounced differently. In order to make these different sounds, one has to put the tongue on either the roof of the mouth or near the teeth, and either elongate it (aspirate it) or not. In English we do this as well, but unconsciously. If one were to say the onomatopoeia for clocks, one would say tik tok. The first T is usually said with the tongue near the teeth, and the second is often pronounced with tongue on the roof of the mouth. However, in Bengali, each T has a different character so as to specify the pronunciation. If I say the wrong T in while speaking the language, my language partner instantly knows and forces me to say the correct one.
Not only that, but the Bengali dictionary is actually organized by the tongue placement, which makes it particularly frustrating for foreigners trying to search for words.
As for increasing my vocabulary, I am having my language partner assign me 15 new words every class, three classes a week. I review them in between classes, and to practice them even more, I make five sentences with them for every class. If I keep this pace, I will add approximitely 500 words to my vocabulary by the end of the semester.
Comments