Good Intros to Lingustics

-YouTube

• Learn the IPA

-Learn IPA to easily convert to target language to grasp accent.

Reverse Engineering for target language

• Choose target language by:

  • Lowest Orthographic depth (https://arxiv.org/pdf/1912.13321.pdf)

• Identify the type of language:

  • polysynthetic vs isolating
  • Check if the language follows Generative Grammar

• Next, have a look at the target language phonology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/{lang}_phonology

• Next, Learn about Phonemes and Allophones charts for target language

• Next, Try to learn the morphemes of the target language:

  • Root Words
  • Affixes (Prefixes, Suffixes, Infixes)
  • Inflection
  • Derivational

• Next, Try to understand the Allomorphy of the morphemes.

• Next, Learn mappings to signified and signifier:

  • Identify types of signs:
    • Icon
    • Index
    • Symbol
  • Fun thing to do: look at morphemes synchronically and diachronically

• Next, Try to grasp how the sentences are structured through constituents.

• Next, Observe Syntax Trees to find more about semantics (remember the flat trees)

• Next, Observer all the different types of NPs (R-expressions, Pronouns, Anaphors)

• Next, understand D structure changes in Trees in the target language.

• Next, Observer the binding theory rules to understand limits in the target language

  • Anaphors must be bound from within the smallest clause that contains it.
  • A pronoun must be unbound within the smallest class that contains it.
  • R-expressions must not be bound.

• Next, observe the semantic roles and syntactic functions in the grammar

Tools

• IPA learning: http://learnipa.group.shef.ac.uk/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/
• Pimsleur
• https://www.linguee.com/
• YouTube
• Keyboard map change
• http://ipa-reader.xyz/
• https://github.com/olearym/IPA-tools
• https://github.com/marxav/oteann
• Create tool bot that converses in the target language

Principles

• Start with learning about the linguistic nature of the language first
• Focus on the language material that is important to you (literature and tech stuff)
• Write the language by hand and speak while writing.
• Decide on the dialect you wanna focus on. (e.g. select all media according to that)

Actions

• Listen a lot (simple radio shows, tv cartoons)
• Look at the body language and facial expression (youtube videos)
• Start mixing words you learn everytime (e.g. me want cat)
• Use the language as the tool against itself (e.g. I don't understand this, what is this?)
• Try writing what you see around you in that language. (starting from just words to prose)

Easiest Target Languages (According to https://arxiv.org/pdf/1912.13321.pdf)

• Finnish, Turkish, Korean
• Arabic, Breton, Italian, Serbo-Croatian and Spanish
• Dutch, Portuguese and Russian
• German
• English
• French