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From: rwojcik@bcsaic.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.ai,sci.lang
Subject: Re: Language Learning (anecdotes)
Message-ID: <2999@bcsaic.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 2-Dec-87 11:52:02 EST
Article-I.D.: bcsaic.2999
Posted: Wed Dec  2 11:52:02 1987
Date-Received: Mon, 7-Dec-87 04:32:51 EST
References: <1966@uwmacc.UUCP> <12400009@iuvax> <1117@uhccux.UUCP>
Reply-To: rwojcik@bcsaic.UUCP (Rick Wojcik)
Organization: Boeing Computer Services AI Center, Seattle
Lines: 23
Xref: utgpu comp.ai:1120 sci.lang:1652
Summary: Let's limit ourselves to cases of adult immersion

In article <2360@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> paul@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Paul W. Placeway) writes:
>
>A seven year old child has just spent 7 years, of 365 days/year, 12-18
>hours/day of language practice; most adults do not spend anywhere near
>this amount of effort learning a new language unless they have spent
>years of time in the new culture.  Thus most adult language learners
>do not 'count' in such a comparison.  Of those adults who have been

Let us limit ourselves to cases of adult immersion in a foreign
language.  Even trained phoneticians can't seem to rid themselves of an
accent.  A case in point is Dr. Lehiste, whom you mentioned in a
previous note.  She has an extremely sharp mind, a good memory, and more
knoweldge of phonetic detail than 99.999(etc.)% of the human population.
She has lived in the US for several decades.  She may be a busy woman,
but her business is language.  Why does she still speak with an accent?
Another case in point is the late Roman Jakobson, one of this century's
finest linguists.  The standard joke in the linguistic community is that
he spoke five languages in fluent Russian.  The fact remains that no
amount of practice or immersian can make an adult the equal of a child.
-- 

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Rick Wojcik   rwojcik@boeing.com