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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after
2 words of 123
airplane
3 words of 123
and
4 words of 123
animal
5 words of 123
bad
7 words of 123
bag
8 words of 123
bed
9 words of 123
before
10 words of 123
blanket
12 words of 123
boat
13 words of 123
boiled
14 words of 123
bread
15 words of 123
breakfast
16 words of 123
bus
17 words of 123
car
18 words of 123
chicken
19 words of 123
child
20 words of 123
closed
21 words of 123
clothing
22 words of 123
coffee
23 words of 123
cold
24 words of 123
color
25 words of 123
dangerous
26 words of 123
day
27 words of 123
doctor
29 words of 123
documents
30 words of 123
down
31 words of 123
drink
32 words of 123
drive
33 words of 123
eat
34 words of 123
egg
35 words of 123
far
36 words of 123
fire
37 words of 123
fish
38 words of 123
forward
39 words of 123
fried
40 words of 123
friend
41 words of 123
fruit
43 words of 123
go
45 words of 123
good
46 words of 123
goodbye
47 words of 123
hello
48 words of 123
help
49 words of 123
here
50 words of 123
hot
51 words of 123
hour
52 words of 123
house
53 words of 123
how much
55 words of 123
hurry
56 words of 123
I
57 words of 123
inside
58 words of 123
it
59 words of 123
know
60 words of 123
later
61 words of 123
little
63 words of 123
look for
64 words of 123
man
65 words of 123
meat
66 words of 123
medicine
67 words of 123
milk
68 words of 123
money
69 words of 123
more
70 words of 123
my
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night
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no
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now
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one
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outside
76 words of 123
pain
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pasta
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quickly
82 words of 123
relax
83 words of 123
rice
84 words of 123
salad
86 words of 123
shoes
87 words of 123
shop
88 words of 123
slowly
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sorry
90 words of 123
soup
91 words of 123
straight
92 words of 123
street
93 words of 123
sweet
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talk
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tea
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thank you
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ticket
100 words of 123
time
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to
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to the left
103 words of 123
to the right
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together
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toilet
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train
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two
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understand
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vegetables
111 words of 123
wait
112 words of 123
want
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water
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where
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who
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woman
119 words of 123
write
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yes
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you
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your
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a lot
beaucoup
after
après
airplane
avion
and
et
animal
animal
back
en arrière
bad
mal
bag
sac
bed
lit
before
avant
big
grand
blanket
couverture
boat
bâteau
boiled
cuit
bread
pain
breakfast
petit déjeuner
bus
bus
car
voiture
chicken
poulet
child
enfant
closed
fermé
clothing
vêtements
coffee
café
cold
froid
color
couleur
dangerous
dangereux
day
jour
do
faire
doctor
docteur
documents
documents
down
en bas
drink
boire
drive
conduire
eat
manger
egg
œuf
far
loin
fire
feu
fish
poisson
forward
en avant
fried
frit
friend
ami
from
de
fruit
fruits
give
donner
go
marcher
good
bien
goodbye
au revoir
hello
salut
help
aider
here
ici
hot
chaud
hour
heure
house
maison
how
comment
how much
combien
hurry
se dépêcher
I
je
inside
à l
it
ça
know
savoir
later
plus tard
less
moins
little
un peu
look for
chercher
man
homme
meat
viande
medicine
médicaments
milk
lait
money
argent
more
plus
my
mien
night
nuit
no
non
now
maintenant
one
un
outside
dehors
pain
douleur
pasta
pâtes
phone
téléphone
please
s`il vous plaît
potato
pommes de terre
quickly
vite
relax
se reposer
rice
riz
room
chambre
salad
salade
shoes
chaussures
shop
magasin
slowly
lentement
sorry
excusez-moi
soup
soupe
straight
tout droit
street
rue
sweet
sucré
take
prendre
talk
parler
tea
thé
thank you
merci
there
ticket
billet
time
temps
to
à
to the left
à gauche
to the right
à droite
together
ensemble
toilet
toilettes
train
train
two
deux
understand
comprendre
up
en haut
vegetables
légumes
wait
attendre
wake
réveiller
want
vouloir
water
eau
when
quand
where
who
qui
woman
femme
write
écrire
yes
oui
you
tu
your
tien

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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.