abcnovels
Chapter 336: [Linguistic Irregularities]
Chapter 336: [Linguistic Irregularities]
Chapter 336: [Linguistic Irregularities]
Oh, this is strange. How did this happen?
I was just talking about the effectiveness of passive English learning materials.
?Could this seriously overturn modern linguistics theory? (Ukrainian)
?Iroha-chan might become living proof of Krashen’s "Input Hypothesis." (Ukrainian)
?What’s that? (Ukrainian)
<Well, it's the hypothesis that if you get a ton of input, you can acquire a language without output. Although, nowadays, it's mostly been disproven.>
?Don’t you mean it "was" disproven? (Ukrainian)
?So far, Swain’s "Output Hypothesis" has been the mainstream. (Ukrainian)
?Then there's Long’s "Interaction Hypothesis." (Ukrainian)
?Right, the one that says conversation with others is necessary was the mainstream. (Ukrainian)?Could we be witnessing the moment a hypothesis stops being just a hypothesis? (J)
?Is this one of those moments when history moves? (J)
<Wait, is this conversation getting bigger and bigger!?>
<You’re amazing, Iroha-sama!>
<Please stop! Look, I’m just an exception or something!>
?Finding that exception is proof in itself. (Ukrainian)
?An exception is still a valid example. (Ukrainian)
?Let’s give Iroha-chan a big round of applause!
?That’s a bow, not applause.
?I can already see Iroha-chan’s name popping up in linguistics papers. (J)
?? It’s already in a ton of papers! (Ukrainian)
?? Seriously??? (Ukrainian)
<Well, um, yeah. But it's more about the events at the time rather than me personally.>
?Come to think of it, the concept of lingua franca must be a dream theme for linguists. (Ukrainian)
?? Wasn't it still undecided whether that was a lingua franca? (Ukrainian)
Iroha-chan has remained silent about that. (J)
<What do you think, Iroha-sama?>
<Well, uh, I wonder?>
Even if you ask me that, I can’t answer right now.
I dodged Iryena’s question.
Actually, I’ve heard that "Iroha the Translation Girl" appears in papers unrelated to linguistics too.
Like VTubers, streamers, the internet, and even war and crowd psychology. I feel a bit like a lab rat.
?Still, it seems likely that there will be papers with Iroha-chan listed as a collaborator someday. (Ukrainian)
?? That’s possible, lol. (Ukrainian)
?Isn’t she already collaborating with some research institution?
<Well, yeah, but…>
?Whoa, Iroha-chan is seriously amazing. (Ukrainian)
?Will there come a time when everyone can learn foreign languages as easily as Iroha-chan? (Ukrainian)
?Or a time when all of humanity speaks a common language? (J)
?But for now, we can’t rely on Iroha-chan. We’ve got to study on our own, lol. (Ukrainian)
?We just have to keep building experience, one step at a time. (Ukrainian)
?Experience, huh. My daughter’s school teaches entirely in English, and she’s already speaking better than me!
Immersion.
<That's what they call "immersion education." Literally, being soaked in English… a method of submersion.>
In fact, some top universities in South Korea conduct all their classes in English.
There’s even a suggestion that Japan should do the same.
<I see. That way, not just listening, but speaking, reading, and writing would all be required. In a way, I guess I received a Japanese immersion education myself.>
<Haha, I guess you could look at it like that.>
For example, even if you don’t understand any English at first, you’d pick up that people say "Hi" when they meet.
Some people even argue that this is the most effective way to learn a foreign language.
<And you can adjust the language based on the student's level.>
<At first, I needed classmates to rephrase difficult words into simpler terms, so that was helpful.>
No one’s going to throw around technical terms or idioms when talking to a child.
You’d explain things using simpler words.
It’s like challenging appropriate-level enemies, starting with slimes instead of facing the demon king right away. Of course, you could jump into a high-level dungeon, trial and error your way through, and try to clear it.
<It’s important to adjust your language to your audience. Some people say you shouldn’t change your attitude based on who you're talking to, but you’ve got to adapt to the situation.>
For example, when talking to a child, you might say, "What’s wrong?" from their perspective.
Or call your husband "Daddy" when speaking from the child’s point of view.
There are many interesting topics here…
But since we've already talked a lot about linguistics today, I’ll stop here.
?But people have different access to study environments.
?Even if we wanted to start immersion education right now, it’d be difficult.
?At most, we could attend an English conversation school, right?
<Well, the quickest way is to get a foreign girlfriend. There’s even a saying, "If you want to improve your foreign language skills, date someone from that country.">
?Huh??? That’s a higher hurdle!!!
?I can’t even date someone who speaks my language, and now you're being cruel! Iroha-chan, you demon! Demon! Angel!
<Sorry!? I went too far!?>
The comment section exploded into chaos and outrage.
It’s a very delicate topic for otaku!