Tactics for Bringing a Language to Life
(anonymous and explicitly placed in the public domain, 2006)
LX = "Language X" = "the language in question"
1) First you must bring the language to life in your own mind. Use
LX all day every day when you are talking to yourself, making a list
of things to do, writing your diary, etc. Every time you send an
e-mail or leave a voice-mail message for somebody, translate the
message into LX for your own benefit. Within your own mind, describe
your daily actions in LX in as much detail as possible, for example,
"I am walking to the kitchen... now I put a piece of bread in the
toaster... now I am searching for a jar of honey..." and so forth.
This constant internal exercise will help you become fluent in the
vocabulary of everyday life.
If you cannot persuade *yourself* to use the language, you will not
persuade anyone else. All your talk of how wonderful LX is will
have a ring of untruth if you are not actually using LX.
2) Encourage other members of your household (your significant other,
children or parents, roommate) to communicate with you in LX. Make
it playful and only teach them a few words per day. Start with
expressions like good morning, I'm hungry, yes, no, and so forth.
Gradually build on this foundation. Use LX to express yourself
whenever you are confident that the other person can understand most
of what you are saying, even if they are not in the mood to respond
in LX. This will give you some real practice in speaking out loud.
Talking to real people causes material to stick in your memory better
than practicing alone. It will improve your pronunciation too.
3) Offer nothing but encouragement to others who try to use LX. Do
not point out others' mistakes unless they inquire about the best way
to say something. Granted, if someone is trying to converse with you
and you can't understand what they are saying, you will not be able
to hide that from them. But be diplomatic, kind and encouraging.
Some learners are extremely discouraged by having their mistakes
highlighted. Teach by example.
Computerized courses and computer games that teach languages are
popular and highly valued because people can use them privately.
Having your mistakes pointed out by a machine is less embarrassing
than receiving such a correction from a person. Never forget how
destructive it can be for a human teacher to point out a student's
mistakes in front of other people! Such actions will drive away
potential learners of LX.
4) A small percentage of people are able to learn languages easily and
they enjoy studying a variety of languages. They might enjoy learning
LX although it might just be a temporary affiliation for them. Such
people might study LX for a year or two then move on to something
else. That's okay. They might be able to contribute something of
lasting value during their visit to LX-land. For example they might
write original texts or do translations or compile a dictionary.
Welcome these "language maniacs" happily whenever they appear.
5) Do not communicate with people who seek argument or debate. Do not
get sidetracked into endless arguments over microscopic details of
grammar, reform proposals, or quibbles over who is in charge of what.
Pay no attention to people who try to discourage you from working on
LX. Drive them away by whatever means are necessary. Arguing with
them would be a waste of precious energy.
6) If there are some people who are acting semi-interested in learning
LX but they seem to need something to push them along, consider
offering a financial incentive. For example, sponsor a contest in
which you will give a significant prize to the person who writes the
best original short story in LX, with smaller prizes going to everyone
who enters the contest. If you run a business, offer a bonus or a
raise to any employees who learn LX. If your teenage offspring wants
a car or wants help paying for college, make that contingent on
his/her achieving a certain level of fluency in LX.
7) Creating interesting, useful and fun material in LX must be a
high priority. Write and publish news articles, how-to articles,
reference data, recipes and jokes in LX. Write original poems and
fiction in LX. Write and record songs with LX lyrics. Draw cartoons,
produce radio dramas and TV skits in LX.
Nobody is going to study LX just to gain access to a translation of
the Lord's Prayer or a few example sentences in a grammar tutorial.
If LX has no literature, no entertainment, and no useful information
to offer, only a few passing curiosity-seekers will study LX, and
they will not stick around for long.
8) Daily exposure is essential. A chance to converse in the language
almost every day is necessary for anyone who wants to really learn LX
and be part of the LX community. This shouldn't be a problem,
regardless of distance; in fact it hasn't been a real obstacle since
the radio and the telephone were invented. It is even less of an
obstacle now that so many people have computers which can do "voice
over IP" conference calls and video conferencing.
Face-to-face gatherings are also essential. The successful
revitalizations of native languages and birthings of constructed
languages have involved communities of people who see each other
face-to-face, either on a daily basis or during planned meetings,
conventions, or "congresses."
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This list of tactics is explicitly placed in the public domain.
You may use, modify, or republish it in any way you wish, with or
without mention of its source. The author is anonymous.
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