lexico
Chukchi Salmon
"My language is difficult." What does it mean?
What does it mean to say that a language is difficult?
This can mean a million different things depending on the context.
Let us limit the context to a native speaker's idiosyncratic use.
For example, a native speaker of English can say, "English is a difficult language."
Now does (s)he mean it is difficult to learn for a foreigner?
Does it mean although it may be easy to speak it, learning to write properly is difficult?
Does it mean although writing properly may be doable, learning to write with excellence is difficult?
Or does it mean casual talk is okay, but learning to articulate all modes of life is difficult?
Whatever your native language is, what do you mean when you say your mother tongue is difficult?
On this forum I often find references to the Japanese person saying that Japanese is a difficult language.
What do they mean exactly?
Do they mean it is a difficult language for a foreigner to learn to listen, speak, read, and write?
Do they mean achieving a high level of command of it is difficult even for a native speaker of Japanese ?
I sometimes think my Korean is difficult, and that is when certain parts of a book by someone older than me is unintelligible.
I feel that the tradition of knowledge (of the language) is blocked by the fast paced change in my society.
I have heard quite a few native English speakers say that English is difficult.
I often wonder what they truely meant by it.
How about you ? Have you ever wondered ?
What does it mean to say that a language is difficult?
This can mean a million different things depending on the context.
Let us limit the context to a native speaker's idiosyncratic use.
For example, a native speaker of English can say, "English is a difficult language."
Now does (s)he mean it is difficult to learn for a foreigner?
Does it mean although it may be easy to speak it, learning to write properly is difficult?
Does it mean although writing properly may be doable, learning to write with excellence is difficult?
Or does it mean casual talk is okay, but learning to articulate all modes of life is difficult?
Whatever your native language is, what do you mean when you say your mother tongue is difficult?
On this forum I often find references to the Japanese person saying that Japanese is a difficult language.
What do they mean exactly?
Do they mean it is a difficult language for a foreigner to learn to listen, speak, read, and write?
Do they mean achieving a high level of command of it is difficult even for a native speaker of Japanese ?
I sometimes think my Korean is difficult, and that is when certain parts of a book by someone older than me is unintelligible.
I feel that the tradition of knowledge (of the language) is blocked by the fast paced change in my society.
I have heard quite a few native English speakers say that English is difficult.
I often wonder what they truely meant by it.
How about you ? Have you ever wondered ?
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