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Linguist Quotes

Browse 12 quotes about Linguist.

Linguist Quotes

“I personally never expected anything of Obama, and wrote about it before the 2008 primaries. I thought it was smoke and mirrors [...] I don't usually admire Sarah Palin, but when she was making fun of this 'hopey changey' stuff, she was right, there was nothing there. And it was understood by the people who run the political system, and so it's no great secret that the US electoral system is mainly a public relations extravaganza...it's sort of a marketing affair.”

GovernmentTruthPoliticsRepublicanIntellectualDemocratPhilosopherCorruptionRiggedPartiesLinguistThird PartyChomsky
Author:Noam Chomsky
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“Fear of appearing stupid, ignorant, or childish is a nemesis of learning, and language learning is no exception. Frustration is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be final. It’s always a letdown when a language learner loses motivation, stops engaging in the target language, or abandons the endeavor altogether. It follows that learning how to manage our emotions and take a long view of situations (i.e., “respect the process”) is critical to weathering the storms of acquiring a new skill. Like a baby learning how to walk, we deserve credit for every milestone we attain and for mustering the courage to confront the unknown.”

FearLanguage LearningLinguistForeign Languages
Book:The Art of Learning a Foreign Language: 25 Things I Wish They Told Me
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“Burnout is also why passive language learning activities can sometimes be very beneficial. For example, relaxing to a song, movie, book, or conversation in a target language without looking up any words or preoccupying the mind with linguistic minutiae. In these moments, learners can focus on mastering what they already know. As for the unknown, they can draw inferences based solely on context without racking their brains. Passive language activities are doubly productive when learners have acquired a solid language base, without which their ability to rehearse, refine, and infer is constrained.”

LinguistForeign LanguagesLanguage Learning PhilosophyPassive Approach
Book:The Art of Learning a Foreign Language: 25 Things I Wish They Told Me
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“Worldly knowledge, reasoning ability, and linguistic creativity quickly convert into a target language as soon as they are given a vehicle for expression. A 24-year-old, for example, who traveled, went to college, and and gained life experience has a much higher linguistic ceiling than the 16-year-old version of themselves. While they both start from square one, the one with stronger native language skills is going to progress further and faster.”

Language LearningLinguistForeign Languages
Book:The Art of Learning a Foreign Language: 25 Things I Wish They Told Me
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“The hardest foreign language you will ever learn is your first one. And the second hardest foreign language you will ever learn is your second one. In other words, language learning gets easier with each subsequent iteration. This phenomenon owes to the fact that languages, especially those belonging to the same family, share a great deal in terms of grammar, syntax, phonetics, and vocabulary. . . Not only are many of the concepts repetitive across languages, but learners become more adept at recognizing patterns, formulating sentences, and memorizing information.”

Language LearningPolyglotLanguagesLinguistForeign Languages
Book:The Art of Learning a Foreign Language: 25 Things I Wish They Told Me
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