So you have decided to learn a new language. The first step, in my experience, is to get a good grasp of the sound system. If there is a new script to learn (as in Hindi or in Russian), you can begin the script at the same time as you learn the pronunciation.
Learning a New language: Starting with the Sounds
March 16th, 2010 by Jean-Paul Setlak
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You can do this in a fun and spontaneous way, or systematically. The result we want is the same in both cases: good, comfortable pronunciation. How can you achieve this efficiently? By listening to the language of course, but there are several ways of doing this.
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1. First listen to recordings or watch videos of the language. What do you actually hear? Can you duplicate it? What is the emotional impact of the new language on you: pleasant or not? Desirable or annoying? Learning a language whose sounds are unpleasant to you is, I think, unwise. Neutral is OK. You want to immerse yourself in the “music” of this new tongue.
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2. If you like this new language, the next step will be to “break the code”. Just listening is good, but the process is speeded up and made more systematic if you learn more about the sounds of the language. For example, when learning Hindi, you immediately find out that there are four “T” sounds and four separate “T” letters. This is something you really need to know.
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3. It is useful to compare the new sounds to the ones you already know. For example the “T” of Spanish is much closer to the French “”T” than the English”T”. This can save you a lot of time.
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4. Sometimes you are learning a brand new sound. It does not exist in any language you know. In that case, listen to it, feel it in your body, imitate it as best you can. Also,understand how to make it even if you cannot do it very well yet.
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5. If you can’t hear a distinction, let it go for now – until you can actually hear the difference.
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So in this first step of learning a new sound system, you become acquainted with it as you would with a new friend. The process is actually an exploration. More than anything else you are exposing your ears and your whole body to the new sounds.
