tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Jun 15 15:43:25 1998

Back to archive top level

To this year's listing

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]

Re: RE: jabbI'ID cha'

SuStel asks:
>From: Andeen, Eric <[email protected]>
>
>>Qov reccommends against mnemonics like this to >>remember vocabulary
>because they become forever associated with the >word in the student's
>memory,
>
>What's wrong with that, anyway? Every single time I >spell
"accommodate"
>(not all that rare of a word), I remember my 9th grade >English
teacher's
>story about Om and Mo going on a date. I still *use* >that trick. I
don't
>memorize everything, I often continue to use the >mnemonics to lead
me to the
>answer. Doesn't affect my spelling in any way >(except to help make it
>correct), and it gives me a cute little anecdote to tell >people on
Klingon
>Language Mailing Lists.

Three things:
1. I have to remember two things: the mnemonic and the word, instead
of just the word, and sometimes I get the mnemonic mixed up, if I use
one. Remebering a mnemonic and its word is a two step process, so
slower.  I do use mnemonics, but as a last resort, after I can't cram
the thing into my brain any other way.  
2. I find it simply irritating to have another mental image appear
along with the word, every single time I hear or use it.  I learned my
words with flash cards, and keep them up with ter'eS's program.  The
flash cards were hand cut with scissors and my vocabulary is still
haunted with the images of bent corners, and crooked edged forever
associated with the words.  I'd go nuts if they had charghwI"s
hooligans in there, too.
3. Sometimes a mnemonic that associates a word with a vaguely related
meaning can skew the meaning of the word towars the mnemonic in your
head.  Like if you remember "tardy" means late because you could be
late by being stuck in tar, you might start thinking that tardy
applied only to lateness owing to something unforseen that held you
up, and not for another reason.

The mnemonics I *really* do not recommend are the ones where you
remember that something is the opposite as you'd expect, because as
you learn the language better, suddenly it becomes *as* you'd expect
and your mnemonic messes you up instead of helps you.  This is from my
experience.  

I also find that learning the first twenty to a hundred words of a
language is a real struggle, but then suddenly the words seem more
normal and they fit in my brain better.

If you learn better with mnemonics, then use them, especially if, like
SuStel, you can forget them, after learning the word. Definitely try
studying in different envronments wih different techniques and see what 
works for you.

Qov
Beginners' Grammarian
_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com

Back to archive top level