Reversible and Irreversible Languages

I have come to categorize languages as continuum between "Reversible" at one end, and "Irreversible" at the other.
Now what do I mean that? Some definitions are in order.

Reversible languages: Those languages that can easily be pronounced as you read. It is sort of "you get what you see". The reversibility comes from the fact that you will be able to write what you hear. That means there are not too many silent letters in a word. That would also mean that vowels are pronounced in one and only one way.
Many of the Indian languages, such as Hindi, Bengali, etc., are completely reversible. German, inspite of umlauts, is primarily a reversible language.

Irreversible languages: Those languages that can be easily pronounced as you read but try writing what you hear and you will hit a wall. These languages have silent letters by the dozen. These also have group of letters that are pronounced in a particular way. I can think of French as an irreversible language. Once you get the hang of the pronunciation scheme it is more or less easy to read out. But since there are too many silent letters, many words sound almost identical, separated only by nuances of nasal tone.

Rest of the languages fall within this spectrum. English is a classic case. The language not only has silent letters it also has non-deterministic pronunciation key, i.e., same set of letters / vowels can have pronunciation is multiple ways, example, but - put - cut. Sometimes different words can have the same pronunciation but can have different spellings. Example, but - butt (sorry, nothing else comes to mind readily), route - root (we will not cosider the American pronunciation of route),. Sometimes, same spelling can give you different pronunciation. Example, "aged" has two pronunciation - aged and ag'ed - both having different meanings.

So how does this classification help us is learning?

Reversible languages can be taught in any way. One could start by hearing the language and then reading it. These can easily be taught using an iPod, for instance.

Irreversible langauges need simultaneous hearing and reading. Like French. Though it is better to start with reading; iPods must be accompanied with reading material.

The languages that fall in-between (confused languages?) are the most difficult to teach. I am glad I am not an English teacher.

The Nearest Thing to French Class Room

No time for attending French courses at the Alliance Francaise?
No problem!
Welcome to Coffee Break French - the nearest thing to a real life classroom session.
This is actually a podcast. However, the production value is professional. And what's more it is FREE. At least the podcasts are.
You need to pay for the transcripts and the other value added service. But believe me, the way Mark - the teacher - and Anna - the student go about teaching and learning French, you may not need the transcripts.
Each podcast is of 15-20 minutes duration.
You can download the entire set of 80 lessons from iTunes too (podcasts > Education > Language Courses > Radio Lingua Network > Coffee Break French)
Let me know if you enjoy it.

Free French Lessons from RFI

I have been foolish not to check. Especially since I was aware that Radio France International had co-produced the Mission Europe radio programs. Besides, if BBC can claim to teach French, can you imagine Radio France International not to?

Sure enough, the RFI has an excellent page dedicated to teaching French. I am currently listening to L'affaire du Coffret, which is an excellent introduction to the French Language. It is presented as a crime thriller, which should keep you hooked. You can either work through the associated exercises one by one as you listen to the recording from the RFI website. Or, download the complete podcast of 60 episodes from iTunes and work on the worksheets later.

Coming to Mission Europe: I recommend you download all the three - Mission Berlin, Mission Paris and Mission Krakow, and have a listen. These are fashioned after computer games and will be liked by both children (Note: Mission Berlin and Mission Paris have some heavy duty kissing sounds for a short while; not sure about Mission Krakow. I am not being a prude, just noting a fact) and adults.

Enjoy!

Treasure Trove for European Language Learners

Learning language on your own?
And do not wish to spend a penny?
Look no further than the BBC Languages Page.
Catering to the beginners and intermediate stage, it offers French, Spanish, Italian, German and a few other languages. Multimedia is very effectively used. Very professional.
Try it. You may never have to buy another language course.
And even if you are not into language learning, it is worth a visit. Who knows? You may be tempted to start off on Chinese.

Does French Help You Count?

Who in their right mind would say, "Just Four-Twenty and Nineteen days left to my wedding"?
Unless you are a mathematician or French!
You see, some clever French decided that giving names to all numbers is such a waste of time. Numbers till sixty are sufficient. All numbers after that can be derived from existing numbers.
So, 70 became soixante-dix (60 & 10);
72 became soixante-douze (60 & 12);
80 became quatre-vingt (four-twenty); and
99 became, your guessed it, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf (four-twenty & nineteen).

I wonder if any study has been conducted to determine if French children are good at arithmetic.