Linguaphile - Lover of language

This is a rather impromptu post, however I said something in an early conversation today that I wanted to discuss here.

"In becoming a linguaphile I have become a lover of language."

This statement seems redundant I'm sure.  However let me explain what I mean.  One of the things that I am striving for in my journey of learning languages is to be able to have musical moments in which I find myself transcending language and music and finding a deeper connection.  I had this occur on Christmas eve while singing "Oh Holy Night" in the original French text.  While everyone thinks that the song is beautiful in English, it was only through my knowledge of French that I found the true beauty of the song hidden in the real text of the song.  My French is at a level where I no longer need to translate what I am reading or saying, I just intuitively know what I am saying or reading.  This enables one to experience the culture of thinking in the language you are using.  I have found it to be true that people who speak different languages see the world differently.  Let us take a look at the text of Oh Holy Night to see what I mean.  The order will be French (original), then a literal translation and then the sung English version.

Minuit, chretiens, c'est l'heure solenelle, ou l'Homme-Dieu descendit jusqu'a nous.

Midnight, Christians, is the solemn hour, where the God-Man descends among us.

Oh holy night, the star is brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior's birth.

Pour effacer la tache originelle, et de son Pere arreter le courroux.

To erase the original stain, and to stop the wrath of his Father.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

Le monde entier tresaille d'esperance, a cette nuit qui lui donne un Sauveur.

The whole world trembles in hope, on this night which he gives a Savior.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Peuple a genoux, attends ta delivrance, Noel, Noel voici le Redempteur.

People on your knees, await  your deliverance, Noel, Noel, here is the Redemptor.

Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices, oh night divine, oh night when Christ is born, oh holy night.

For me, in performing the French version of this song I finally felt the true emotion of the piece and was free to perform it with the integrity it deserves.  I found the real text to be considerably more moving and inspiring and that was channeled through me as I was singing.  This is the real reason I learn languages, so that my performances may be truly genuine.  Because I know French at an intimate level, I was able to connect to the music.  My love of language grew tenfold that night, because I learned experientially that speaking a different language really does give one a new way of thinking about a topic.  Only through a thorough knowledge of the language one sings in can one truly give an informed and accurate performance.  

العربية الأسبوع ٧

This week I have continued my FLR work and am pleased with what has come of it.  I do not know how much I am necessarily retaining of my reading, I think that aspect of the work manifests itself most during my writing exercises at the end of the week.  I do know however, that my listening and vocabulary seem to be becoming strong as the time progresses.  With both, I add one unit's worth of exercises per week.  While this leads to a smaller vocabulary, I find that the words I do add implant themselves better in my brain with the time allowed to focus specifically on them.

I have decided to focus on small things vocally.  By this, I mean that I am taking single exercises and continually doing them until I achieve a desired result and then moving on.  Sometimes this only takes a couple of repetitions, other times it takes 5 or 10 minutes worth of work.  The benefits of this however are noticeable even the next day.  For example, since my lesson three weeks ago I have been working with the [ð] occlusive in my exercise regimen.  I perform a 5-note scale beginning with [ð] and moving to [i] ascending to the fifth and then descending back to the root.  I tend to struggle with not cracking, or slipping, at around A above middle C.  So, I will continue to do this scale starting on the D above middle, refining and honing in on the correct sound and sensation, until the note no longer slips.  Upon achieving this I move up by half-steps until about C5, the tenor's high C.  I am currently relatively consistent in this exercise on the A now and have moved on to B-flat and B as my main focus.

I have also noticed the importance of rest in the voice building process.  On average I vocalize about five days a week.  During this time I make progress daily, however my largest progress always comes after those couple of days of rest.  I think that this fact proves that training a voice is a muscular activity.  When training any muscle, the growth does not come during the exercise itself, but during the rest period when the muscles can rebuild and adapt to the new standards being required of them.  This is why and good exercise program should require rest periods.  Even in running and other cardiovascular activities, at least one day of rest is prescribed.  As the weeks go by, I continue to grow towards my ultimate goal of being the best singer possible.  Knowing that this process is a muscular one enables me to find satisfaction in the gradualness, but consistency of growth.

Methodology Minute - Trust Your Intuition


In most areas of intelligence, our intuition leads to more results than anything else.  Unfortunately, most of us do not trust our intuition, especially in areas that we do not consider ourselves experts.  A quick example:  When I speak to my friends in either French or Italian I generally come to a point where I want to say something, but do not necessarily know for certain what the correct word is.  During these times, I occasionally have words pop into my head from seemingly out of nowhere.  If I am comfortable with the people I am speaking with, I will tentatively try out the word in my head, usually with a positive affirmation of my offering. I always check my thoughts after the fact if I am by myself practicing, but the percentage of time that I am correct is far greater than the times I am wrong.  

If we have done enough work in a subject area (in languages this equates to input and building a passive vocabulary) eventually and inevitably this passive knowledge will become active when the opportunity presents itself.  My encouragement this week is to trust that little voice in your head.  Often it will be correct.