Telenovelas e le instruction de linguas

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

Telenovelas pote esser un potente maniera de apprender passivemente le forma parlate de un lingua. Illes narra historias de problemas multo commun in le vita de un pais.

Pro exemplo, in "Maria del Barrio", un telenovela mexican, un puera de un bidonville mexican travalia in le servicio domestic de un familia ric e eventualmente se marita con un homine juvene del familia. Ambe illes trova le felicitate con le union. (O, como nos sovente dice in anglese al fin de tal contos sentimental, "And they lived happily ever after".)

Le major parte ex iste telenovelas es assatis trivial in lor themas. Alteres tamen, como le telenovela brasilian "Roque Santeiro" pote inseniar multo sur le cultura de lor paises de origine, in iste caso le Brasil.

Le plus facile maniera de facer disponibile iste ressources pro studiar linguas esserea publicar los in DVDs. Illes esserea etiam plus utile si on constueva cursos de instruction sur le base del historias que illos narra.

Un equipa de liguistas poterea studiar intensivemente le linguage de omne le episodios del telenovelas plus significante, possibilemente con le adjuta de computatores. Le melior maniera esserea elaborar tabulas statistic de lor vocabulario e constructiones grammatic, como le franceses faceva durante que illes transcribeva multe conversationes telephonic in francese pro producer le "francese fundamental", que ha essite multo utile e in le production de nove cursos de francese pro le uso de immigrantes recente al pais e in introductiones plus efficace al linguage plus complicate del litteratura classic francese.

Un telenovela esserea plus utile como un maniera de apprender un lingua nove si ex tal studios statistic on produceva un curso de instruction inseniante le vocabulario e le constructiones syntactic le plus frequente del linguage del telenovela. Un tal curso includerea parve dialogos nove in le lingua del telenovela e summarios imprimite de su episodios pro inseniar le lingua in su forma scribite.

Studentes qui usava cursos telenovelistic poterea apprender le usos basic del linguas que illos insenia, e lor transition a altere formas del lingua esserea multo plus facile.

Naturalmente il ha altere possibilitates in le construction de tal cursos. Un excellente exemplo es le curso Capretz pro inseniar le francese, con versiones audio, audiovisual, e imprimite, omnes elaborate con le adjuta financiari del Annenberg Foundation. E il anque ha ALM, un serie producite inter 1960 e 1970 con le adjuta financiari de nostre governamento federal, con excelente cursos in francese, espaniol, russo, italiano, e germano.

Le fortuna de Alice Morris esseva de multe adjuta in le formation de interlingua e le publication initial del dictionario e del grammatica de Gode e Blair. Ma su effortios, io crede, anque produceva mal effectos. Su ingagiamento de André Martinet, pro exemplo, produceva conflictos con Alexander Gode e retardava le production del forma final de interlingua.

Il es anque ver que Alice Morris nunquam perdeva su preferentia pro esperanto, e a vices illa essayava frustrar le effortios de Alexander Gode e su preferentias pro un systema con formas lexic con in le orthographia del latin unite con un systema syntactic con le characteristicas commun inter le anglese e le linguas romanic.

Le morte de Alice Morris e le retiro de subventiones economic a IALA per su familia produceva un crise economic sin le qual forsan interlingua nunquam haberea essite publicate proque Gode e su equipa probabilemente haberea continuate indefinitemente le compilation de lor dictionario durante que illes recipeva lor salarios. (Le vocabulario del "Interlingua-English Dictionary of the International Language" esseva multo plus grande que illo iva a esser secundo le planos original de IALA.)

Il es possibile, naturalmente, que eventualmente Gode haberea publicate su forma de interlingua preferite, alique simile al Varietate P, con infinitivos in -are, -ere, e -ire como in latino e italiano e con "de le" e "a le" sin le contractiones "del" e "al", e con formas singular in -tione/-sione in vice de -tion/-sion, e con passatos in -aba/-eba/-iba in vice de -ava/-eva/-iva.

Iste version de interlingua haberea essite un pauco minus compacte e plus simile al italiano que le version que nos omnes cognosce. In iste forma interlingua haberea essite un lingua multo viable, como le italiano, ben que le italiano non es tan compacte como le francese.

Le crise financiari producite per le familia de Alice Morris post su morte accelerava grandemente le publication del lingua de IALA e se reflecte specialmente in le qualitate del redaction suboptime del grammatica de Gode e Blair, specialmente in le redaction inconsistente in le texto que Blair scribeva pro demonstrar le orthographia simplificate de interlingua.

Nos, como interlinguistas, probabilemente nunquam trovara le appoio economic que simultaneemente facilitava e retardava le publication initial del grammatica e del dictionario de Alexander Gode ma que habeva resultos plus felice in le production del curso Capretz e le cursos ALM. Ma il ha multo que nos pote facer individualmente si nos usa de manieras intelligente ressources jam publicate, sia in le Rete, sia in libros e magazines.

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Soap Operas and Language Instruction

Soap operas can be a powerful means of passively learning the spoken form of a language. They narrate stories of problems that are very common in the life of a country.

For example, in "Maria del Barrio," a Mexican soap opera, a girl from a Mexican slum works as a maid in the household of a rich family and eventually marries a young man in the family. Both of them find happiness in the union (Or, as we say at the end of such sentimental stories, "And they lived happily ever after.")

Most of these soap operas are rather trite in their story lines. Others, however, like the Brazilian soap opera "Roque Santeiro" can teach a lot about the culture of their countries of origin, in this case Brazil.

The easiest way to make these resources available for studing languages would be to publish them in DVDs. They would be even more useful if courses of instruction were produced on the basis of the stories they narrate.

A team of linguists could intensively study the language of all the episodes of the more significant soap operas, possibly with the help of computers. The best way would be to elaborate statistical tables of their vocabulary and grammatical constructions, the way the French did when they transcribed a lot of telephone conversations in French to produce "Fundamental French," which has been very useful in the production of new courses for the use of recent immigrants to the country and in more effective introductions to the more complex language of classical French literature.

A soap opera would be more useful as a way to learn a new language if such statistical studies were used to produce a course of instruction teaching the most frequent vocabulary and the most frequent syntactical constructions of the language of the soap operas. Such a course would include brief new dialogues in the language of the soap opera and printed summaries of its episodes to teach the written form of the language.

Students using courses based on soap operas could learn the basic uses of their languages more rapidly and easily, and their transition to other forms of the language would be made much easier.

Naturally, there are other possibilities in the construction of effective language courses. An excellent example is the Capretz course for teaching French, with audio, audiovisual, and printed versions, all of them elaborated with the financial help of the Annenberg Foundation. And there is also ALM (Audiolingual Materials), a series produced between 1960 and 1970 with the financial help of our federal government with excellent courses in French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, and German.

Alice Morris's fortune was very helpful in the formation of Interlingua and the initial publication of the the dictionary and grammar by Gode and Blair. But her efforts, I believe, also produced some bad effects. Her hiring of André Martinet, for example, produced conflicts with Alexander Gode and hindered the production of the final form of Interlingua.

It is also true that Alice Morris never lost her preference for Esperanto, and at times she tried to frustrate the efforts of Alexander Gode and his preferences for a system with lexical forms in the with Latin spelling united with a syntactical system with the common features found in English and the Romance languages.

The death of Alice Morris and the withdrawal of ecnomic support for IALA by her family produced a financial crisis without which Interlingua would possibly never have been published because Gode and his team would probably have continued indefinitely on the the compilation of their dictionary as long as they kept on receiving their salaries. (The vocabulary of the "Interlingua-English Dictionary of the International Language" was much larger than it was going to be according to IALA's original plans.)

It is possible, of course, that Gode would have eventually published his preferred form of Interlingua, something similar to Variety P, with infinitives in -are, -ere, and -ire as in Latin and Italian with "de le" and "a le" without the contractions "del," and "al," with singular forms in -tione/-sione instead of -tion/-sion, and with past tenses in -aba/-eba/-iba instead if -ava/-eva/-iva.

This version of Interlingua would have been a little less compact and more similar to Italian than the version that we all know. In this form Interlingua would have been a very viable language, like Italian, even though Italian is not as compact as French.

The financial crisis produced by Alice Morris's family after her death greatly accelerated the publication of IALA's language and is reflected especially in the suboptimal editing of Gode and Blair's grammar, especially in the inconsistent editing in the text Blair wrote to demonstrate the simplified spelling of Intelringua.

We, as Interlinguists, will probably never find the economic support that both facilitated and delayed the initial publication of Alexander Gode's grammar and dictionary but which had happier results in the production of the Capretz and ALM courses. But there is a lot that we can do individually if we make intelligent use of resources that have already been published, whether on the Net or in books and magazines.