Tristano wrote:PeterMollenburg wrote:Ogrim wrote:Tristano wrote:- Certain languages are not written like they are pronounced (thanks Hebrew), so I can't start with reading because it would take me too much time
- Certain languages use a much larger vocabulary than others (like Dutch) so it takes more time also
- Other languages have grammars the cause the words to mutate the whole time that makes you think that you encountered a new word when in fact it's just the same
I would say no language is written like it is pronounced. With that I mean that different languages attribute different sounds to the same letters
I agree. I've heard some English speaking natives say that Spanish sounds like it is written. Yes the sounds a more uniform and phonetically predictable than in English, which is more haphazard and contains numerous sounds for one spelling (e.g. "-ough" in bought, dough, through and thorough) but to a Mandarin native Spanish is not written how it sounds at all. It comes down to associating symbols with sounds, and even the pitfalls of English can be overcome with flexible associations.
Perhaps Tristano you may try to lean the sounds of a new language based too much on your native language or other languages you already know as well, to produce Hebrew or some other more obscure languages. With every knew language, it's okay to draw connections with phonemes you already know in other languages and apply them to the new languages, but i'd be careful to expect new languages to sound a certain way based on languages and writing systems you're already familiar with. Don't colour new languages with your known languages. Throw out the drawing board and draw up a new one entitled "Hebrew pronunciation" which is represented by Hebrew characters and has little to do with Italian, English or Dutch characters and sounds systems. If there are sounds you already know, bonus. If not, it doesn't matter.
We're out of track here. I personally find Hebrew to be the easiest language that I ever studied, the problem is that the vowels are not written. Now, I guess that studying Italian would be a walk in the park for you, but what if the vowels were not written? Would it be the same difficultly? No. And that means that reading intensively or extensively at the beginner stage would be of no help, that is the issue that I have with Hebrew.
Tristan, we are somewhat in the same boat - I'm also suffering through Hebrew reading with the absence of nikkud... so a few quick comments and questions:
Are your goals related more to understand/speaking or reading? Both? Do you want to consider being able to speak or reading a text a success. Depending on that you may need to adjust your study tools.
Specific to rendering Hebrew reading more fluid:
I am trying to identify a bunch of connector word, prefixes, question words, pronouns and standard structures (for example - 'I have' 'there is for me') that I just be able to scan and know. Those are going to go in from drills off cards - for me both in print and cursive script.
I also work with loan words in Hebrew that I would easily be able to guess (I know the meaning of מתמטיקה) and use them to 'train the eye' - again, drills on these. He studies mathematics, she studies zoology. Drill, drill. There are lists out there for English/French/Italian loan words in Hebrew.