What is a foreign language?

Don’t confuse a foreign language with one which we do not know sufficiently well.  There are times when we cannot understand someone who speaks our native language.  We know all of the words, but we still cannot understand what the person is saying.

A foreign language is basically the same kind of language as the one which we speak.  The only difference is that we do not understand any of the words that we hear.  A true foreign language differs from a language that we simply do not speak in one very elementary way.

When we listen to people who are speaking in a foreign language, it seems that the conversation is an uninterrupted flow of incomprehensible sounds.  It is an insurmountable river of funny noises, and you cannot see its beginning or its end.

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and
1 words of 119
animal
2 words of 119
back
3 words of 119
bad
4 words of 119
bed
6 words of 119
before
7 words of 119
blanket
9 words of 119
boat
10 words of 119
bread
12 words of 119
bus
13 words of 119
car
14 words of 119
chicken
15 words of 119
child
16 words of 119
closed
17 words of 119
clothing
18 words of 119
coffee
19 words of 119
cold
20 words of 119
color
21 words of 119
dangerous
22 words of 119
day
23 words of 119
do
24 words of 119
doctor
25 words of 119
documents
26 words of 119
drink
28 words of 119
drive
29 words of 119
eat
30 words of 119
far
32 words of 119
forward
35 words of 119
friend
37 words of 119
fruit
39 words of 119
give
40 words of 119
good
42 words of 119
goodbye
43 words of 119
hello
44 words of 119
help
45 words of 119
here
46 words of 119
hot
47 words of 119
hour
48 words of 119
house
49 words of 119
how much
51 words of 119
I
53 words of 119
inside
54 words of 119
it
55 words of 119
know
56 words of 119
less
58 words of 119
little
59 words of 119
look for
60 words of 119
man
61 words of 119
meat
62 words of 119
medicine
63 words of 119
milk
64 words of 119
money
65 words of 119
more
66 words of 119
my
67 words of 119
night
68 words of 119
now
70 words of 119
outside
72 words of 119
pain
73 words of 119
phone
75 words of 119
please
76 words of 119
potato
77 words of 119
quickly
78 words of 119
relax
79 words of 119
rice
80 words of 119
room
81 words of 119
salad
82 words of 119
shoes
83 words of 119
slowly
85 words of 119
sorry
86 words of 119
soup
87 words of 119
straight
88 words of 119
street
89 words of 119
take
91 words of 119
talk
92 words of 119
tea
93 words of 119
thank you
94 words of 119
there
95 words of 119
ticket
96 words of 119
time
97 words of 119
to
98 words of 119
to the left
99 words of 119
to the right
100 words of 119
together
101 words of 119
train
103 words of 119
two
104 words of 119
understand
105 words of 119
up
106 words of 119
vegetables
107 words of 119
wait
108 words of 119
wake
109 words of 119
want
110 words of 119
water
111 words of 119
when
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where
113 words of 119
who
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woman
115 words of 119
write
116 words of 119
yes
117 words of 119
you
118 words of 119
your
119 words of 119
and
animal
heyvan
back
geri
bad
pis
bag
torba
bed
yataq
before
əvvəl
big
böyük
blanket
yorğan
boat
qayıq
boiled
qaynadılmış
bread
çörək
bus
avtobus
car
avtomobil
chicken
tortu
child
uşaq
closed
bağlı
clothing
paltar
coffee
qəhvə
cold
soyuq
color
rəng
dangerous
təhlükəli
day
gün
do
etmək
doctor
medico
documents
sənədlər
down
aşağı
drink
içki
drive
gəzinti
eat
yemək
egg
yumurta
far
uzaq
fire
yanğın
fish
balıq
forward
irəli
fried
qızardılmış
friend
dost
from
etibarən
fruit
meyvə
give
vermək
go
getmək
good
yaxşı
goodbye
Güle güle
hello
salam
help
kömək
here
te
hot
isti
hour
saat
house
ev
how
necə
how much
necə
hurry
tələsmək
I
mən
inside
daxili
it
o
know
bilirəm
later
sonra
less
az
little
az
look for
axtarmaq
man
insan
meat
ət
medicine
tibb
milk
süd
money
pul
more
daha
my
mənim
night
gecə
no
heç bir
now
indi
one
bir
outside
açıq havada
pain
ağrı
pasta
makaron
phone
telefon
please
lütfən
potato
kartof
quickly
sürətlə
relax
istirahət
rice
düyü
room
otaq
salad
salat
shoes
ayaqqabı
shop
mağaza
slowly
yavaş
sorry
üzr
soup
şorbası
straight
düz
street
küçə
sweet
şirin
take
almaq
talk
söhbət
tea
çay
thank you
təşəkkür
there
orada
ticket
bilet
time
vaxt
to
o
to the left
sola
to the right
sağ
together
birlikdə
toilet
ayaqyolu
train
qatar
two
iki
understand
anlamaq
up
up
vegetables
tərəvəz
wait
gözləmək
wake
ayıltmaq
want
ehtiyac
water
su
when
zaman
where
hara
who
kim
woman
qadın
write
yazmaq
yes
bəli
you
siz
your
sizin

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A completely foreign language turns into one which we do not understand sufficiently well if we hear a few words in the flow of sound which we understand. 

We understand those words and can understand the topic – food, travel, sports, shopping, prices, the weather, etc.  That is all, however.  We cannot move beyond the overall topic that is being discussed.  Don’t fear, though – if you understand the general topic of discussion, then that means that you can identify the language that is being spoken – Spanish, French, Italian, etc.  This means that this is not a completely foreign language to you.  You simply do not understand it sufficiently well.

The next thing is this:  A language will turn from an incomprehensible into an understandable one only when you not only recognise the words that are spoken, but also understand the point to what is being said.

Sadly, some people who want to communicate in a foreign language in a comprehensible way must first learn to do so in their own language.  You have to remember a few things here.  If people talk to one another they only use words which the others will understand, and they use those words so that everyone understands the point to what is being said.

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