Language Isn't Math

[@mattvsjapan]

I made a kanji mistake in this video! It should be "ピアノを弾く", not "引く"

[@Alicexxhottie1]

Shouldn't 携帯番号教えて be translated as "Tell me", in this sentence?

[@skipinkoreaable]

@@Alicexxhottie1 Are you asking as a Japanese person wondering what English speakers typically say? We tend to say "tell me." Usually something that needs to be 'taught' has a bit more to it than just telling someone a number. Korean speakers (like the Japanese ) also often tend to use a word that usually means 'teach' when they ask for a number...

[@Milark]

I’ve made that mistake before myself.

[@phillipwilson8973]

Hey Matt this is an awesome video! May I use your video to explain this topic to a Japanese friend? I would need to add Japanese close captions. If you are okay with that of course. Unless you have a video in Japanese already prepared

[@vinilzord1]

It's okay! But imagining the scene of someone "catching" a piano is quite funny :)

[@lukidjano]

"Dude what the heck? Why are you getting reverse-angry?"

[@Ryroe]

lmao Imagine saying that to someone unfamiliar to Japanese gyakugire. Maybe you could even lighten up the argument with that.

[@svon6642]

"reverse-angry" is just "being defensive and angry" in english

[@jazy921]

That scene was kinda violent. i wish he used the scene from the anime Himouto! Umaru-chan.

[@jeffsfolio]

We do have a word for this... gaslighting.

[@jeffsfolio]

@@chyza2012 it’s not a direct translation like many other words being translated from Japanese to English, and visa verses. Definition of gaslighting: manipulate (someone) by psychological means into questioning their own sanity. The video clearly shows that “reverse anger” does just that by means of trying to make the other person think their are in the wrong when they are not. And because they have a word for this action it is easy to call out the behavior and snuff it out before it gets out of hand. Those who have been psychologically abused in this fashion will attest to knowing the word gaslighting and they now use it wisely. They often express their desire to have known the word before they were abused by their partner’s behavior. The term is used quite often where I’m from. And if you don’t know anyone who uses it you may want to teach them. That way, if they ever find themselves in that kind of situation they can remove the power from the abuser and take control over their lives. Reverse anger or gaslighting is not a healthy communication device and should be identified, named and called out directly in order to prevent abuses like this.

[@addisonwalker7172]

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist” that’s deep

[@healingraion453]

villains be like.

[@lyingcat9022]

He was a pretty deep guy :)

[@Griffdog21]

Thank god because I suck at math. Informative video as always Matt!

[@kanjiNaem]

@曹操 i dont have enough money to sustain a constant supply of math (_ _;)

[@Convexhull210]

The only way to get good at math is by solving different kinds of math problems. Math is the language of science.

[@jem8483]

U thank God because u suck at math

[@Convexhull210]

@@handle_69420 well yeah that's a disorder lol

[@thefancydancer]

"I'm proficient at my work" in my native language is "ndinobata basa" which literally translates to "I touch my job".

[@BattlegroundsFTW]

That’s so weird to me as a native English speaker. What is your language?

[@brandonvestra]

@@BattlegroundsFTW It's Shona.

[@DragakuRandom]

I know these videos take longer to create, but I really do appreciate the videos where you express your message so clearly. Thank you Matt.

[@semansco]

Gyaku gire can be a jaw dropping experience at times in Japan. This happens most often when you attempt to correct (or chide) someone who believes themselves to be “superior” to you. Adding Japanese subtitles to this video might help English learners in Japan. The vast majority are attempting to speak Japanese using English words.

[@ljdogleash]

Great points as always. As an English teacher I know this is true. I've had uncountable students who study English from school until retirement (in the traditional way with textbooks and dumbed down input for learners) and they can have a decent conversation with me but they sound so unnatural, and if I speak remotely like I do to native speakers of English then they can't understand me. And they definitely can't understand movies. Yet I'm just in my second year of MIA style learning and I'm following movies just fine. Also when I do have to output (I live in Japan) I always get surprised comments about how natural I sound. Thanks Matt for setting me on this path in the first place!

[@dafullymad365]

Hi! What does ''MIA Style'' mean?

[@Shoudori]

@@dafullymad365 Using the Mass Immersion Approach, the L2 acquisition system Matt vs. Japan teaches.

[@gordonbgraham]

Living in Japan is immersion. I'm also an English teacher in Japan (30 years now). We have the advantage of hearing Japanese 24/7, our students do not. The issue with pedagogy in Japan isn't the textbook method per se, but the amount of English kids are expected to learn in the span of 6 years. Many native English speaking high school kids would have difficulty with university entrance exams in Japan, as the content is often native speaker university level English. In America 54% of adults have a literacy below grade 6 level. The goal of most Japanese in terms of English is not fluency but passing university entrance exams. I don't know how long you've been here, but it honestly took me 5 full years to be conversational (and that's living in Japan, watching Japanese TV daily, not living in a gaijin bubble, but in the countryside with no Internet for the first two years), 10 to become fluent and 15 to become literate. I can honestly say, I couldn't understand most Japanese spoken at native speaker speed for the first couple of years. I'd be astonished if you could, unless they were talking about something you are familiar with like your hobbies or work etc. i.e. things you have had a lot of experience with in terms of repetition. When I say "conversational" I mean the ability to switch gears mid conversation and talk about things other than your daily activities, interests etc. as conversations tend to meander and do so suddenly.

[@LeonidZabolotin]

In Russian language we say "I want in the bathroom", we skip "go", "use" in this case because nobody wants to know what you're gonna do there.

[@russianperson7587]

Reasonable.

[@cuchicheo88]

Ahhh! I do that something similar in English, for politeness. "I need to find a restroom" or "Could you direct me to the restroom?" I agree that announcing your intentions is a little too much. And that's my native language!

[@Cowboymanfromdownunder]

I say "I need to take a shit"

[@LeonidZabolotin]

@@Cowboymanfromdownunder why? Your hands will be dirty.

[@LeonidZabolotin]

@@DaddyGringuito oh, I see. Same way to say different things.

[@aidanbriscoe5210]

in Spanish they say "touch the guitar" and instead of "I know how to play the guitar" they say "I know to touch the guitar"

[@jscorpio1987]

Tocar la guitarra Sé tocar la guitarra

[@TomRNZ]

And they say "I have hunger" instead of "I'm hungry".

[@vesperide598]

Mostly because the verb for "play" in spanish (jugar) is not applicable to those kind of contexts. Therefore it will sound very weird like, they will think that you want to use the guitar as a toy because you want to play with it xd

[@almeida5390]

Same here in Brazil. Play, depending on the context can be both touch (tocar) and to play (jogar) a game or something like that.

[@aidaeugeniaduartemarchant2943]

That's right, same for piano and all other musical instruments, we don't play them, we touch them, it can be very weird for you but it's very common for us, it is how we express the idea

[@daysandwords]

Very late to the party on this one but as someone who's only learned European languages, I would say that it's very similar, except that you will be understood almost all the time, but that this can be even more dangerous because you'll end up relying on that. Like how heaps of non-native English speakers say "I have lived here since many years".

[@Tachibana_Tsukasa]

one difference I recently encountered was 雲泥の差, the difference between clouds and mud(figuratively earth and heavens), as opposed to the difference between night and day

[@shimewaza]

These idiomatic expressions are very common and fun to learn. Another idiomatic expression for "like night and day" is　”月とスッポン” (the moon and a soft-shelled turtle)

[@aftokratory]

Same as in Chinese 雲泥之別

[@MobileMally]

Really vibed with this video. As when it comes to output I force myself to try saying ideas I don't know how to express which leads to a lot of stops, stumbling and misunderstandings at times. Really boils down to getting more immersion in natural situations or your immersion material.

[@911heroesandme]

Great video! I know it's been said a thousand times before, but after living in Japan for many years, I miss not being able to express お疲れ様 and よろしくお願いします in English. We just don't really have these exact same concepts in short phrases.

[@jannepeltonen2036]

On the other hand, you're very good at loaning words and the concepts that come with them. "Schadenfreude" comes to mind. Or "Kindergarten".

[@nl7837]

May I ask what those phrases mean? I don't speak Japanese.

[@santiagoarce5672]

You are a very compelling speaker.

[@lutybuiati]

Most people think they know the importance of immersion, but they really don't know how much. This video is so important, because it really draws the distinction between "guessing" the language based on grammar and really "knowing the language". Immersion is not a side thing you do after learning grammar. There are things you can only truly know through immersion, no matter how good with grammar you are.

[@rashidah9307]

Yes, immersion is very important for this reason, but there's also the efficiency of the magical question, "How do you say [idea] in [target language?" If you learn how to ask this in your target language early on, you can ask many native speakers (including tutors) how they say something in a natural way without having to rely solely on the slow process of input. And then you can play with the language as a beginner student and try to make your own sentences using that phrase (or a modification of it) to find the patterns of native speech (with corrections from a native speaker). I think the combination of input and this approach is quite effective.

[@lutybuiati]

@@rashidah9307 Good point! Immersion is important, but knowing how to take advantage of other ways of learning a language deliberately is very useful too. As you mentioned, immersion is indeed a slow process and sometimes having a good supply of sentences is an excellent way to fill some gaps in your knowledge. Well said! o/

[@rashidah9307]

@@lutybuiati Thanks! This is especially true if, like me, having conversations in the target language is your primary motivation for learning, and you want to start speaking early in your journey without developing bad habits.

[@ndescruzur4378]

in spanish we say "yo toco el piano" that translates to "I touch the piano" instead of "I play the piano".

[@english3082]

Wrong. That's a misconception. It translates to "I play the piano" indeed. In the same way it is wrong to say that "I play the piano" translates to "Yo juego el piano."

[@ndescruzur4378]

@@english3082 I think it's a little snobby to say that! I guess I've should added "literally" to keep you happy, but you knew what I intended to say. I put an example of different languages expressing the same thing with arbitrary different words to support matt's point.

[@OatmealTheCrazy]

"hace dos años" or "Tengo dos años" are also similar

[@onemanenclave]

All these things I realized on my own reflecting on the differences between my native language, Spanish, and English. Thanks for crystalizing these ideas so eloquently!

[@和希太陽]

i have tried to express this to others before! i notice a lot of people still thinking in a fully english framework. i'm still not great at it myself but when i manage to think in japanese it is a lot easier... but i've never had the words to express it before, so thank you!

[@masao398]

great vid, you look like youve practised sitting in front of the camera or something, u look way more relaxed than in other vids

[@GypsyCurls]

I've expressed to you before on one of your other videos that I am learning Spanish. This video and others of yours have given me pause. I was approaching learning the language as if it was math, unknowingly. When I started watching your videos and thinking about the things you were expressing in them, I begin to think more deeply about how I "actually" wanted to learn the language and speak it as natives would. I had to reformulate my game plan. For example...there was a Korean lady, older lady, and myself in the elevator. The older lady had on all purple/lavender. The Korean lady who speaks English (L2) said, "I see you have the purple." From her facial expressions, the lady in purple, I took it to mean..."I like the color purple and you look very nice in purple." I could be wrong, but it came to mind when I watch your videos about acquiring vs learning a foreign language. Since recalling these things that I have witnessed when others speak in English from another language, it is more like what I would be doing in their language. I see the importance of regrouping and see a lot of validity of what it means for mass immersion such as listening, Vocab acquisition and pattern breaking/recognition. I no longer feel I can just learn the language all cavalier. I want to be understood and speak as closely to how the members of that language would communicate the same ideas. Thank you for these types of videos and purviews into language learning. There is so much more to acquiring language than just being able to understand it receptively, but failing to speak it properly as a native person would.

[@motoyoshiseigi]

マットさんはどちらかというとカジュアルな日本語の学習者ではなく、むしろ日本語の深みまで掘り下げていこうという印象がすごく伝わってきますよね。やはり、日本語というのは素敵な親友みたいな存在ですね。ただの興味からは程遠いんですね。一緒に日本語の神髄を追い求めましょう！

[@caiper270]

Wow i stunned how you clearly approach this concept

[@FordyHunt]

This is so important. All beginners should watch this video. Takes a lot of stress out of the initial familiarisation phase with a language.

[@tsumeristudio639]

This reminds me of blues guitar, where there are "licks" or small musical phrases that most people know and combine together to make solos. People learn to play blues guitar by learning entire licks, not just single notes.

[@astral2048]

I just realized how similar my native language is to Japanese. Everything you said in Japanese translates to Urdu/Hindi one-to-one. Especially: keitai shiranai? We say: "Mere phone ka pata he?" which means Do you know my phone? We also have a phrase for gyaku gire. It's "Ulta chor kotwal ko dante". It's more of a proverb but basically means gyaku gire.

[@theblackryvius6613]

That’s luck right there

[@vanessameow1902]

Oh hey I'm a fellow Indian too~ And yeah as you said Japanese and Hindi seem to have a lot in common with each other and as a Japanese language learner its definitely much more easier for me to understand the Japanese concepts and grammar which cannot be fully translated into English but that are present in Hindi. For example there are two grammar patterns/ways to say "I try to" in Japanese: ~you to suru and ~te miru both of which have entirely different meanings and nuances. These two can take quite a bit of time to master for someone who only knows English but in Hindi they can be translated as ~karne ki koshish ki and ~karke dekha and are basically the Hindi counterpart/equivalent of the aforementioned Japanese grammar.

[@flutterwind7686]

I also found it uncanny that my native language Urdu reminded me of Japanese in some way.

[@christophersmith3341]

I can't tell you how much this video means to me, and I wish you'd do a sequel going a bit more into the differences between a math formula and language usage. I say this because I have always had a problem with learning a foreign language, and somewhat early on, I was told the reason why: language skills are math skills. I suck at math. Not like you or most people might say that. I have a learning disability that makes math really, really difficult for me. (In college, I took extra science courses in place of my math courses--had I not already taken one section of Spanish, I could have taken two other courses in place of my language courses, too). I don't think this is limited to foreign languages, either. We diagram sentences in English--which was hopelessly confusing for me (I ended up skipping the rules and just saying to myself "Write the way you speak"). But as you can tell from this overly-long post, I LOVE language. I ended up an English major in college, I have more bookshelves than any other piece of furniture in my home and I write fiction. I've always hated not grasping a foreign language because I want to hear authors (of fiction, drama, movies, non-fiction) in their own language in order to fully experience their work, and this is true for Japanese authors above all. But though I've tried a few other languages intermittently (Spanish, French, and, the one I did the best--but not great--in, German), I had pretty much resigned myself to "language skills are math skills--you have innate problems with math, so you won't learn a foreign language." I just started the MIA method, and a lot of what you suggest makes sense and gives me hope, but nothing, absolutely nothing, more than this. Thank you!

[@edaumaysol]

The last part I found to be especially true because I was/am still to a degree so adamant about trying to "test" myself by switching sentences around to "prove" to myself that I understand the concepts, only to then be met with a response of "I have absolutely no idea what this could possibly mean" by native speakers. It completely ruins my confidence sometimes but you really do need to just basically memorize how they say something and get really good at it / acquire a large quantity of those set phrases until you have lived within the society/immersed yourself to the point of understanding the various nuances.

[@orinbay7742]

This format is really good

[@海王-t4n]

Haha, interestingly the piano's sole innovation over previous keyboard instruments was that it used a hammer action as opposed to a plucking action (as seen in a harpsichord) so there is no plucking action involved

[@Aman-cb1pt]

You kinda opened my eyes to this fact though I dont know how any effective way of getting use to a way people say things in another language, if there's any(?)

[@junkahoolik]

listen to your target language until you get used to the way natives say things. when you find it natural for a phrase to sound a certain way, you will most likely also say it that way, or at least be able to correct yourself the next time you need to say it

[@mattvsjapan]

There is only one effective way: mass exposure to the language. I learned the specific Japanese phrases I talked about in the video because I have watched hundreds of Japanese movies and TV shows and have read hundreds of Japanese books. If you put in the time with the language, it will be inevitable that your brain adjusts to it.

[@lagrangiankid378]

Great job Matt!, what you're saying is very true and wise, I've recently started learning japanese and channels like yours are pretty helpful. Congratulations, you gained a new subscriber. I would like just to point out, as a physicist, that even true math isn't like that, it isn't about memorizing and applying formulas, is about reasoning and understanding, after all, I would say the Picasso's quote is true even for mathematics. Even math isn't like "math"...

[@EsperantoVarietyShow]

I've been saying "Language is not math" for a while now. (Just googled that phrase and I see I've put it all over the Duolingo forums.) The point about language being specific in highly unpredictable ways seems to me to be another subset of "learning vocabulary." That is, learning words, expressions, and how they're used. I do think you're on target with the limitations of the skills model, but when I say "Language is not math", I mean that we can't expect language to be logical. It's always more than the sum of its parts. What you seem to be advocating is what I like to call "learn in chunks." That is, learn large patterns of language, especially at first.

[@5IRAHHHP]

matt always coming with the bars~~~ .. ive been learning this. my korean ability has been building "fast" because of all these sentences that i know. i dont even have to think about using them, if someone says a certain thing.. i know exactly whats supposed to be said. its like the instant response, but for every interaction in life hahaha. also the part in this video about getting angry to protect yourself skit was so funny! love the videos man, it keeps me here

[@RetroShotv1]

8412

[@abbynormal6457]

I think the phrase "you're projecting!" might be reverse anger

[@ChunKeyPeach]

This was amazing, I have been studying for over a year now. I would love to see more example videos that was really fun to work and comparing! Thanks Matt

[@LiamPorterFilms]

This video is exactly my problem with duolingo etc. it’s a convenient method for all kinds of reasons, right now it’s because it’s easily amenable to programming. This method can coexist with more immersive and extensive kinds of learning, but it does not deserve to be the most common kind.

[@solisimperium1203]

Yes, i've used Japanese Duolingo and it seems to have very unnatural ways of saying things. As if they just use english phrases and try to put it into japanese most of the time

[@josephferano]

Would any linguist know the technical term for this concept? Different ideas or wording depending on the context? I've been searching for years, glad to see other people see it too.

[@tomward2130]

You’re one of the fucking bests dude. Good to have you

[@RoyalAnarchist]

Your general point is correct, but being able to improvise is an essential skill for getting by until you know the standard ways to say things

[@EachDayForever]

You’re an amazing teacher. This was perfect

[@DANGJOS]

2:30 Is that really the literal translation of that phrase though? I would have thought 携帯知らない？ was short for 携帯どこか知らない? which would translate more to "do you know where my phone is?", which we definitely say in English. So the short form would be "My phone, do you know...?" which we don't really say but at least make sense as just leaving off the "...where it is" part. I'm still studying though, so I could be wrong.

[@interestedinstuff]

Great video. People seem to forget that language is a cultural tool. Different cultures have different norms and standards, so naturally the language will too. This is where I've found that finding native speakers to help me is useful. Not to get them to correct my grammar, since there are any number of places I can do this without bothering anyone, it is to find out how it is referred to in my target language and culture. Basically how do the people say it where I am planning to go.

[@moyga]

I'm glad you added that part at the end because that was the main thing I was wondering about since I like to play with language a lot in English. I think that Picasso quote is a great fit. I think this whole issue is even more the case when it comes to Japanese and English than other more similar languages and it's probably the most difficult thing about learning Japanese.

[@ClowdyHowdy]

Ayy nice music. I saw Tennyson in Portland and it was really great music to hear live.

[@tristacho5472]

The algorithm brought me to your channel and I am happy. You provide a lot of good content/info on language learning that goes beyond my basic self taught understanding. Thank you for the great videos an please keep them coming!

[@Eruptor1000]

I always love your videos. Thank you so much as always!

[@killergerbah]

I loved the examples and the way you expressed them.

[@jimmlygoodness]

This is just excellent. Thank you, Matt!

[@FluentJapaneseFromAnime]

Shit, why didn't I think of this?

[@ancapcitorw5162]

Your videos are so inspiring. Thank you for posting!

[@gordonbgraham]

Vocabulary and grammar provide the structure from which to build sentences and communicate effectively. Output can occur almost immediately by simply learning some commonly used verbs and nouns for everyday situations along with some question patterns.

[@weshouldsaveourselves6780]

but its not the most effective way. the information doesnt remain in your head for very long UNLESS you drill it in over weeks upon weeks which even then it will be hard to use that sentence or bunch of words spontaneously and without thought because a language shouldnt be spoken as if you are trying to decode something. you should never have to think about any grammar to speak a language. languages and gaining them are so natural yet people love to make them as if its chemistry and theres a whole industry behind this worth billions. something so simple and straightforward has become something quite unnecessarily complex and frustrating. finnish grammar doesnt need to be hard. just dont learn the grammar or vocab. by taking in tonnes of input your brain does all that for you. babies can learn finnish in the same time a baby in spain learns spanish. grammar doesnt mean anything to a human who is acquiring a language. acquiring and learning are different things

[@gordonbgraham]

@@weshouldsaveourselves6780 Grammar and vocabulary are not methodologies. Both are necessary components to build a foundation for language acquisition. Even babies are "learning" grammar and vocabulary which is why toddlers can say grammatically correct things like "I'm hungry", "I want ice cream". As for methodology, I started out with the "Japanese for Busy People" series of textbooks, workbooks and VHS tapes, books 1, 2 and 3, to learn basic grammar and vocabulary for daily life situations. I then moved on to the 中級を学ぼう (日本語の文型と表現) series to study kanji. I also made a notebook to write down phrases associated with concepts such as means (手段), purpose (目的), condition (状態), etc. For example, purpose in English is expressed as "in order to + verb" , for + noun, so as not to + be verb or active verb. Conceptual language works the same in Japanese so ~する為に equates to "in order to~verb" while ~の為に equates to for + noun. I wrote sentences related to my daily life and topics such as the environment, the economy, social issues etc. daily using these phrases tagged on to the basic grammatical structures of SVO and SVC. By doing so, I was able to improve my writing ability as well as my ability to retain vocabulary. I also made a separate notebook for vocabulary in which I categorized words according to topics such as banking, commuting, the economy, grammar (I'm an English teacher who needs to explain English grammar to Japanese high school students...in Japanese), etc. I mainly wrote nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. I kept a separate notebook for idioms, preposition usage, etc. In terms of listening development, I watched the same movie at least 200 times. I believe repetition is the best way to develop listening skills. When we are toddlers our parents don't talk to us about the uptick in the economy, they ask us if we're tired, what we want to eat, if we want to go the park etc. The content of speech directly used to speak to a toddler is limited. I found listening to the same movie over and over again beneficial for attuning my ear to Japanese spoken at native speaker speed. I highly recommend it. 隣 の トトロ "My Neighbor Totoro" was the movie I watched. It's a kid's fantasy, but it contains a lot of scenes of common daily life. Anyway, I hope that gives you far more context and an idea of how much I've had to study in order to become not only fluent but literate in Japanese. After living in Japan for 15 years, I entered Rikkyo University's teacher licensing programme which required a 2000 word essay about language acquisition and pedagogy hand-written in Japanese. My entire course load was in Japanese. I'm now a fully licensed teacher, not an ALT, at Tokyo University of Agriculture's Third High School in Higashimatsuyama, Saitama.

[@redskytitan]

So basically in order to speak any language and sound native you have to memorize entire sentences or expressions, and hopefully reuse the pattern in other situations, assuming the pattern or word order make sense in the other scenarios. That’s why immersion is so important, after a while these phrases become natural.

[@gordonbgraham]

There's no need to memorise entire sentences, just some nouns and verbs related to every day life and a few question patterns. That's plenty to get you started in terms of communication. From there it's simply a matter of building on that through the study of conceptual phrases related to condition, purpose, cause/effect, degree, time, place etc. Your Japanese won't become natural until you start using it. The sooner the better. It's similar to playing the piano. One could read Mozart but unless he or she actually sits down at a piano, they will never be able to play. Playing involves making mistakes, which native speakers are prone to do in childhood. That's part of the learning process.

[@cashglobe]

Language is like jazz music, the best way to learn is to listen. It’s a spontaneous and creative improvisation but doesn’t lack structure or rules.

[@BillyBob-qk6vy]

5:25 we do have a word for that. It's called "ouch"

[@philribeiro3320]

I speak four languages on different levels and this is valuable information. I can tell the differences between Portuguese and English or German. In Portuguese, we are not hungry but have hungry, etc...

[@LEV1ATHYN]

Man, your videos are so thoughtful and inspiring. KZbin at its best. Thanks for all this, I feel renewed vigor to tackle my studies. -13 years in Japan, not quite there yet.

[@julianxcoira]

i wonder how much time did you spend searching for footage references of what you're talking about on the video very nicely edited and explained!

[@kefirkefir3262]

In my first language we say "I see you well" instead of "I love you"

[@peelsreklaw]

That is quite beautiful, may I ask what language?

[@dargon881]

well made video! thanks matt.

[@skadojan]

Great video, probably my favorite one of yours (liking the structured presentation, and know it must be a Lot more work, so thank you!)

[@BFDT-4]

Collocations are such a wonderful thing! ;)

[@m.wilkinson9559]

I think the video had many good points like how there is this idea of skill building in language, or that all you need to acquire the language is vocab and grammar. I admit that I had this mindset as well in my approach, and also I realise things like duolingo use the skill building model. But there was one point which I feel needs more nuance than what you discussed in your video: the fact that natives have set ways of expressing ideas. This is actually not totally true. The truth is that it's more complicated than even that. I'll give you a few examples: I recently watched the Boku no Hero movie "Heroes rising" first without english subtitles and then with them to practice my listening and I noticed some interesting sentences. I realised that language use is quite flexible. For example there is a scene where a girl slides down a slide chastising Deku, then points at him asking "anata namae wa?" (obviously quite rude and all that but notice how this would literally translate to "Your name?"). So the normal way a native would ask that question would be a bit longer and more polite but in terms of raw communication the question could be asked with simply 3 words. The concept the word sokotou that you mentioned in the video that we simply don't have an english can be expressed more literally in Japanese as well. In the same Boku no Hero movie Uraraka asks Bakugo if he wants to help out, and Bakugo immediately answers no, to which Uraraka responds "hayai" or "fast", as in he gave such a quick response. I looked up the scene again to see how Uraraka responded to see if she'd use sokutou but she expressed her shock at his quick with response with the Japanese word for quick or fast. In another anime called "Uzaki-chan wa asobitai" in the first episode when Uzaki is observing her senior classmate as the seasons pass she's like "Areee" then the next season she sees him she's like "Arereee" then the next time like "Arerererereeee". Obviously it's for comical effect but that kind of creative use wouldn't be found in a textbook. What I'm mainly getting at is that there is a lot of flexibility in how the language is used which you'd only see or hear if you watch native content or be with the natives. Also learning how an idea is expressed in the target language would still fall short because there are variations even with this. The only way to really handle the sheer number of variations would be to learn 1 or 2 ways how a concept is expressed and then in yourr active watching or listening when the concept is epressed in a slightly different way than what you've learnt, to just notice that and allow your mind to be flexible with the use of the language.

[@spencer.eccles]

Harpsichord strings are plucked, (piano strings are struck), I wonder if that has anything to do with it

[@halloechenstudios612]

One more example: English: I am hungry German: ich habe Hunger (Literally: I have hunger) Spanish: tengo hambre (also literally: I have hunger)

[@mikemoses8504]

Quality content Matt

[@lostboyirwinn8091]

In English you say “I can play the guitar.” In Malayalam you say “I can read the guitar” If you said I can play the guitar in Malayalam, you’ll make zero sense.

[@FlowUrbanFlow]

That Pablo Picasso quote is perfect! I consider a lot of my hobbies art, and found that the best thing to do is learn everything you can, then break the rules in a strategic way.

[@TazmanionDevil23]

Matt what is your opinion on italki or personal tutors, used as more of a conversation buddy? Would using them in the early intermediate stages be good in your opinion if it is a good tutor? What would a good tutor look like?

[@sidma5661]

He answered this previously, and the answer is no. There is no point in talking if you are not at a high level in the language. Or you just want to talk.

[@skitt42]

Best video yet, and so true!

[@marcusfoto]

In Spanish it's "I touch the piano" but it means "play" since tocar/touch has multiple meanings in Spanish. ------- pluck is a great word choice by the Japanese @1:43

[@RIFADOR001]

Well, as a mathematician, I can't say that you cannot use math to understand languages. I'd say that it's not always possible to find morphysms between languages. It doesn't mean there's not math.

[@ranro7371]

Isn’t if more that language is too complex for math? There are too many variables

[@goldeer7129]

@@ranro7371 No, I think the point of the video is to say that they are multiple valid ways to objectively express the same idea. And different languages chose different ways / different sets of words to express the same meanings. On the flip side, math make it so that you have one unique objective way to say a thing. Or maybe you have multiple ways to say it and all of them remain correct. In language, all possible reasonable ways don't end up sounding natural/correct.

[@ilxomjonberdiyev8887]

Your explanation is great

[@broccoli9308]

For me all these examples about using different idioms or specific catch phrases are just part of the vocabulary thematic. Mapping concepts to words. You need to know the abstraction of grammar in order to create brand new sentences anyway, you can't survive solely using existing phrases. Most phrases are unique. Type an original sentence in google in quotes and it will show between 0 and a handful of results.

[@christobotha7191]

Matt. This is very helpful information! Even in the language i am currently learning to speak, i find myself responding in my head with my mother tongue and trying to translate the sentence in my head with language i an learning. I have often find myself in a situation where the native speaker was confused. Maybe I should try and obtain a-lot of short responses in the target language i am learning to speak. Baie dankie Groete Christo 😄

[@lindavel43]

No wonder I was confused at my anki cards. It said the" my stomach is empty sentence" and the "can you teach me your name" card. It makes sense now. Thank you.

[@icysamurai1485]

I keep watching these videos and then realizing I should be doing immersion instead 🤔. Great videos very interesting!

[@hasturmish1820]

My native language is Spanish, and around the age of 11, I learned to speak English. Later, at 20, I learned to speak Italian, and today, at 27, I’m studying German. When I try to remember how I learned the other two languages, I really can’t recall how I did it... I simply started one day, and before I knew it, I was fluent through practice, without having invested much time in theory. I hope that, after a while, without even realizing it, I’ll be able to speak German as well.

[@bestrafung2754]

I don't understand how I'm so bad at maths and yet seem to be able to learn languages.

[@sleepypie3179]

Opposite for me. I’m great at math and can’t learn languages.

[@morriscolenbrander1395]

I'm great at both

[@seherling207]

I suck at both apparently

[@armpitpuncher]

It's probably because you're not interested in math.

[@hansmahr8627]

That's not surprising. Language learning skills and math skills are entirely different. I always found learning languages natural and easy, in math however I had to do some extra work to get it. On the other hand, all the math whizzes I knew in school were terrible at foreign languages. It's not set in stone and there are people who are good in both areas but it seems to be pretty common.

[@gregai8456]

So do you have a solution to solve this problem in language learning?

[@dawson6294]

Check out the mass immersion approach website (linked in the description). The solution is lots of immersion.

[@mattvsjapan]

Yes! Learning to understand the language before trying to speak it.

[@TheMononome]

This is a perfect explanation of language shapes one's mind.

[@whataheavenlywaytolive]

That is a reason I suck at translating, I'm fluent in French and English but since things are not said the same way I have trouble switching, I understand said thing and say it too but when I have to translate it I can't... and sometimes when I have to write essays in French I write the English way of phrasing so then my teacher always puts big question marks and is like that doesn't make sense... it's great

[@k_wang64]

In Japanese people say 薬を飲む which would literally translate to "to drink the medicine" while in Chinese we say 吃药 which would literally translate to "to eat the medicine". And in English people don't say it either ways. My English used to be very broken when I was in middle school. I was always struggling because I always thought in my native language and tried to translate each part of the sentence. It wasn't until my freshman year in high school that I realized that the best pathway to mastering a language is to devote some time to your target language and think in it. Language learning isn't like calculating. You don't get the correct answer by simply replacing words in a sentence in Chinese with the English translation for each word because sometimes English-speaking people would phrase it in a completely different way. Forcing myself to think in English helped me the most throughout my years of learning English. Nonetheless, as a Chinese-speaking Japanese learner, the piano one was rather easy and intuitive because the word we use to describe the action of playing piano is written in exactly the same way (弹) in Japanese.

[@アンタラ]

the word خش in Levantine is to *suddenly/quickly go in/to*

[@WVCA32]

Thank you for always providing interesting contents. Here’s a question for you. You never seem to have talked yet about the role of language teachers in the classroom. You seem to be against the grammar-focused approach which most English teachers in Japan or other Asian countries have long taken, as you mentioned that it would just promote learners’ what you would call skill development rather than language acquisition. Then what do you think the teacher can do to optimize student’ language learning? マットさんの考えをシェアしていただけると嬉しいです。

[@witchinghour-i2g]

I'm just wondering what is the video in the background where the guy seems to be reviewing a public toilet

[@xotimtim9775]

thank matt to teach us that !!! nice t-shirt btw

[@Head0.25s]

In linguistics this is called pragmatics, it’s how you use the words in the language, for some it is a quite difficult element to acquire in a language

[@AnaboliKitchen]

Interesting. In Serbian, we would say 'I must to bathrom' or something along the lines of 'I feel like going to bathroom', expressed using a transitive form of the verb. I have studied about 6 languages by now and I'm very familiar with very different ways of expression in different languages and it doesn't confuse me that I always have to learn completely new expression logic, but I noticed that people who never learned any foreign languages don't understand this at all. They are confused as to why you cannot translate literally word by word.

[@alekjakimovski8182]

Informative video as always, thanks Matt! This is probably a question that you already gave an answer to, but what do you think about Kodansha as compared with RTK ? Have you ever tried it and what would you say are the pros and cons of both books ? Thanks again, cheers!

[@Carlos-zz9he]

Perfect! Now I can put “mentalese” on mi cv.

[@tomroynon9184]

Hey man I am using the ajatt method for my Chinese as I'm going there to work this September. What do you think about MCDs that's on the ajatt site? Should I just focus on sentences or are MCDs actually legit? Thanks. Tom

[@sidma5661]

No, he doesn't recommend them at all.

[@Kuratius]

To provide a concrete proof of natural language output achievable, look at GPT-2 and projects like AiDungeon 2 that are based on it. AiDungeon 2 would sooner crash than generate unnatural English, and all it does is follow mathematical rules based on the statistical relationship between words. It is even able to generate moderately coherent stories, although it has the memory of a toddler. It's all about having a corpus of reference material in your head that you can draw inferences from. It is absolutely math, but more the kind of neural-network oriented kind.

[@mylearningjournal7188]

Thanks for teaching me "即答” means " You don't even think about it" and "逆ギレ” Reverse-Anger

[@ds4379]

A good example of this is age in Spanish. In English you ARE your age, in Spanish you HAVE your age. Wrong: Yo soy 40 años Correct: Yo tengo 40 años

[@brianandcindy1]

"Language isn't Math" is a good principle to remember even within the same language. The same exact set of words can be both true and not true in different senses and contexts. This is largely due to the fact that it is very difficult to say more than a few words without there being some level of figurative language. If A=B, and B=C, then A=C works great in math, but it can't be applied blindly in language. But people often do that anyway and it leads to much confusion.

[@soilmanted]

Language isn't math, but math is a kind of language. It is one of the many languages that exist. The skill building model is also ineffective in teaching math. And by the way, yes, piano have strings, but they are not sounded by "plucking" them. A piano has little wool-coated mallets that STRIKE the strings (the standard terminology for the .

[@pingoleonfernandez7638]

In spanish is "Toco el piano" ("I touch the piano") XD

[@english3082]

In Portuguese as well, but I don't think the word "touch" is a correct translation, the word "tocar" in this context simply means "play a musical instrument". The word "tocar" has multiple meanings. It would be the same as saying that in English they say "Jugar el piano". Play 4. perform on (a musical instrument). "we heard someone playing a harmonica" Tocar 5. Hacer sonar un instrumento musical siguiendo el arte o técnica apropiada para hacerlo. "toca muy bien la guitarra" In Portuguese, all this words are, in effect, literal synonyms, given the context: Touch = Tocar Tocar = Play Play = Jogar Jogar = Throw ...

[@OsirisHorscow]

Matt vs Japan is very good at pointing out how traditional language learning strategies are wrong, but not so great at giving solutions to said issues

[@mattvsjapan]

I have many videos on my channel dedicated to solutions. The entire point of this video is simply to point out the problem with traditional learning so that people will be interested in my other videos.

[@_neep]

Hey Matt, off topic but I find it cool you used music Tennyson's music. If you need chill beats I've god really good ones saved