The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language

I was monolingual until the age of 30, but now speak 10 languages. There is a secret to learning them - and it's now out.

instagram: thelanguagesecret

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

I left school as a 🇬🇧 monoglot at 16. I now speak 🇫🇷🇪🇸🇩🇪🇵🇹🇮🇹 Lingala, Kongo, Lari and Kituba (10, since you ask).
But what IS the language secret?
Part of the answer is in the chart below, but there is more.
Please help a first-time author with a RT! 😉😀
https://t.co/6GSQ7dzfWS

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Grammatical gender has very little to do with logic.
In Berlin and Vienna the sun ('Sonne') is feminine and the moon ('Mond') is masculine.
In Paris and Brussels the sun ('soleil') is masculine and the moon ('lune') is feminine.
The Language Secret

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

@KindleBookVerse https://t.co/58zL4eIL25

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

@AKNeklyudova It's certainly possible to learn two languages at the same time, but to obtain the best results, they should be in the same language group.
German works with Dutch, Afrikaans or Swedish, for example.
Spanish works with Catalan, Portuguese and Italian.
Language families.
TLS

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Falsche Freunde. German words that don't mean what you think they do.
Aktuell = current ≠ actual
Eventuell = possible ≠ eventual
Gift = poison ≠ gift
Handy = mobile phone ≠ handy
Stuhl = chair ≠ stool
There are many more. Can you add to the list? The Language Secret

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions?
If you have, this is the book for you:
https://t.co/58zL4eIL25
- Since "everyone speaks English anyway", why make the effort to learn another language?
- Why are we mother-tongue English speakers notoriously monolingual?

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions?
If you have, this is the book for you:
https://t.co/58zL4eIL25
- How long does it take to learn a language?
- What is grammar, and do I really have to learn it?
- Can only “gifted” people learn languages?

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions?
If you have, this is the book for you:
https://t.co/58zL4eIL25
- Are there any shortcuts to communicating quickly and effectively in other languages?
- Are some languages easier to learn than others?

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

In Germany, interest in Latin has been declining nationwide.
In 2008 more than 830k young people there were still learning Latin at school
By 2021/22 that figure had dropped to 539k.
Why Latin is still worth learning:
https://t.co/tWewasyws6

[The Language Secret Learning Concept @LangSecretApp]

Language acquisition is an intuitive process, like that of children when they develop their mother tongue.
Language learning, by contrast, is a conscious process that involves studying rules and structure.
A language app needs to combine both approaches.
https://t.co/zxSt7K816T

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Multilingualism should not just be the preserve of those who grew up in a multicultural environment.
Anybody can learn multiple languages if they know The Language Secret.

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

The colours in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and 🇩🇪:
Red, rot; white, weiß; blue, blau; green, grün; grey, grau; black, schwarz.
Is ‘schwarz’ an interloper in our list? It's not like 'black'. But it IS related to our word 'swarthy', meaning ‘dark’.
Almost every word in 🇩🇪 has a connection with 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

The American war deprived the British government of the use of its American colonies as a destination for convicted criminals.
So they now therefore embarked on a programme of sending convicts to the far-away coast which had been charted by James Cook.
https://t.co/5jYAms2fOu

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

@DenRainbs I'm English and I pronounce it as you do.
In US English, however, a 't' between two vowels is usually pronounced like a 'd'.

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

The count of Vienne, had a dolphin on his coat of arms and was nicknamed le Dauphin.
In 1349 the count sold his land, called the Dauphiné, to King Philippe VI on condition that the heir of 🇫🇷 assume the title of le Dauphin.
Meaning and connotation.
Part of The Language Secret

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Words have a basic meaning and a connotation that goes beyond the basic dictionary definition.
Look up the French word 'dauphin,' for example. The dictionary translation is 'dolphin.' Simple.
Not simple.

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

@ADigitalWitch Is Anglo-Sax an English free-jazz band? 🤔

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Latin is now the fourth most popular language taught in UK primary schools, behind French, Spanish and German, but crucially ahead of all the other European languages and Mandarin.
Veni, vidi, vici.
https://t.co/SAckO8qlUa

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

The headlines here are all about Latin, but drill a little deeper and there are some disturbing figures.
German ranks third among languages taught in schools, so in how many schools is it taught?
2.7 percent.
We need to talk about learning German. https://t.co/SAckO8qlUa

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

After the Norman invasion, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 also absorbed thousands of 🇫🇷 and 🇻🇦 words, giving us a link to the Romance languages: 🇪🇸, Catalan, Occitan, 🇵🇹, Galician, 🇷🇴, 🇮🇹, Sardinian, Romansh, and others.
Historical connections.
Part of The Language Secret

[The Language Secret: How to Learn a Language @languagesecret1]

Mother-tongue English speakers should be among the best linguists in the world. Why?
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 is in the Germanic group, so our language is related to 🇩🇪, 🇳🇱, Frisian, Afrikaans, Yiddish, 🇸🇪, 🇳🇴, 🇮🇸, 🇩🇰, 🇫🇴, and others.