Thus far, learning Urdu has been extremely challenging-- mostly because of how different this language is than any of the languages I am used to hearing and know how to speak. I believe that understanding the target culture is crucial for being able to properly learn a language. When you understand the target culture, then it helps the individual with creating the building blocks for interpreting how the language was made, where it comes from, and the context in which words were used. I am able to learn most of these connections through speaking with my Pakistani friends. They are able to show me and teach me slang words, help me identify exceptions in the language, and also help me determine which words or phrases are best to be used and in what context.
As I have further developed my learning experience, I have found that the most difficult aspect of learning how to speak urdu has been pronouncing words. I very quickly noticed that I was unable to both say or hear/easily distinguish between certain sounds. I approached this problem with what I thought was a very easy solution at the time-- I asked my learning partner to teach me the alphabet. I hoped that learning the alphabet would help me both physically see as well as hear the differences between sounds found in the Urdu language. Urdu has more than three different "T" sounds (Tee sound in english), as well as over two different sounds for "D"-- most of which I could not tell apart. There was a session where we spent 15 minutes sounding out the differences between "The" "Te" and "Tuh." It was very difficult for me to hear the slight changes in intonation and sound.
Another challenge was learning the changes in sentence structure-- specifically knowing when a word is masculine or feminine. Since Urdu is a completely different language than lets say, romance languages, I could not easily decipher when a word was feminine or masculine. In Spanish, for example, most words that are feminine usually will end in an 'a', while a masculine word would end in an 'o'. The patterns are not as clear in Urdu, although sometimes they can be. The same goes for sentence structure. If I were to try and directly translate a sentence, the verb and subject are all over the place. There is a specific structure that I have to learn to follow which is completely different than that of other structures I am used to writing in. A lot of the times I feel like I am completely guessing when creating my sentences.
In order to improve my communicative competence my goal is to use many sources of different styles. This will expose me to several kinds of learning opportunities and will also teach me the key foundations for learning the language. Following this, I will go over what I have learned with my learning partner as well as my friends in order to solidify the things I have learned. I prefer to look over written sources, such as textbook or online guides and then use this base knowledge to discuss topics with my learning partner or friends in order to confirm and to practice.
Comments