Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id WAA16313 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 20 Feb 2001 22:05:44 GMT Message-ID: <001601c09b88$c812b2a0$3a6861cb@oemcomputer> From: "Brent Silby" <phil066@it.canterbury.ac.nz> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <3A9292E8.20151.14F460@localhost> Subject: Re: Lesser genes than expected Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2001 11:02:11 +1300 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0013_01C09BF5.BD4E6C20" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
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It is true that once the brain 'connects itself up' new languages are harder to learn. After a certain age, the brain's neural net firms up well used connections, while the unused connections deteriorate. This, of course, is not to say that *no* new learning can be achieved. However, people will tend to find it easier to acquire information that fits in with the existing neural structure. For this reason, it could be the case that people find it easier to learn languages that are similar to their own native language (by this I mean languages that share a similar structure), while totally foreign languages are more difficult.
Brent.
------------------------
Brent Silby 2001
Memetics Research
and Engineering Project
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Email: b.silby@phil.canterbury.ac.nz
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----- Original Message -----
From: joedees@bellsouth.net
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2001 10:53 AM
Subject: Re: Lesser genes than expected
On 20 Feb 2001, at 22:01, Kenneth Van Oost wrote:
> Hi Joe,
> You wrote,
>
> > We are also born with the capacity to learn any language, and do so
> > easily during our critical period (preadolescence); afterwards, it
> > is much more difficult for most of us to master additional tongues.
> >
>
> << I don 't wanna be misunderstood, but we...the Flemish, can easily
> learn additional tongues without any trouble...from English, Hindi to
> Chinese. Some do it better than others... Anyway, 41 % speak our
> native language + two more and only 26 % in the EU. We are with 83 %
> against 72 % for the EU interested in more languages. How would you
> explain this.... Flemish people speak Dutch, not French....
>
> Best,
>
> Kenneth
>
> ( I am, because we are)
>
It is widely known and acknowledged that preadolescents can
simultaneously soak up several languages like sponges, without
the need for instruction or study. I'm quite sure the Flemish, like
other human beings, find that it requires much more effort to learn
additional tongues once they are older, and the older one gets, and
the more canalized previously plastic neural pathways become
through myelinization and dieoff, the harder it becomes.. It is to be
noted, however, that the ability to learn a new tongue is itself
something that can be learned, or retained with practice. Learning
a third language is easier than learning a second, learning a fourth
is easier than learning a third, and so on. Since europeans
commonly learn multiple tongues in their preadolescence, they
have a leg up on US citizens in this regard, most of whom learn
only english.
>
> ===============================================================
> This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
> Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
> For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
> see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
>
>
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
===============================================================
This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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