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
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animal
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back
3 words of 119
bad
4 words of 119
before
7 words of 119
big
8 words of 119
boat
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boiled
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bread
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bus
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car
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chicken
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child
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closed
17 words of 119
clothing
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coffee
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cold
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color
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dangerous
22 words of 119
day
23 words of 119
do
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doctor
25 words of 119
documents
26 words of 119
down
27 words of 119
drink
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drive
29 words of 119
eat
30 words of 119
egg
31 words of 119
far
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fire
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fish
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forward
35 words of 119
fried
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friend
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from
38 words of 119
fruit
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give
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go
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good
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goodbye
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hello
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here
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hot
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hour
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house
49 words of 119
how
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how much
51 words of 119
hurry
52 words of 119
I
53 words of 119
inside
54 words of 119
it
55 words of 119
know
56 words of 119
later
57 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
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one
71 words of 119
outside
72 words of 119
pain
73 words of 119
pasta
74 words of 119
please
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potato
77 words of 119
quickly
78 words of 119
relax
79 words of 119
rice
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room
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salad
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shoes
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shop
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slowly
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sorry
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soup
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straight
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street
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sweet
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take
91 words of 119
talk
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tea
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thank you
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there
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ticket
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time
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to
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to the left
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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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up
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vegetables
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wait
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want
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water
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when
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where
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who
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woman
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write
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yes
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you
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your
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and
e
animal
animal
back
voltar
bad
ruim
bag
sacola
bed
cama
before
antes
big
grande
blanket
cobertor
boat
barco
boiled
fervido
bread
pão
bus
onibus
car
carro
chicken
galinha
child
criança
closed
fechado
clothing
roupas
coffee
café
cold
frio
color
cor
dangerous
perigoso
day
dia
do
fazer
doctor
doutor
documents
documentos
down
pra baixo
drink
beber
drive
dirigir
eat
comer
egg
ovo
far
longe
fire
fogo
fish
peixe
forward
adiante
fried
frito
friend
amigo
from
de
fruit
fruta
give
dar
go
ir
good
bom
goodbye
adeus
hello
olá
help
ajudar
here
aqui
hot
quente
hour
hora
house
casa
how
como
how much
quanto
hurry
apressar
I
eu
inside
dentro
it
ele
know
saber
later
tarde
less
menos
little
pequeno
look for
procurar
man
homem
meat
carne
medicine
medicina
milk
leite
money
dinheiro
more
mais
my
meu
night
noite
no
não
now
agora
one
um
outside
fora
pain
dor
pasta
massa
phone
telefone
please
por favor
potato
batata
quickly
rapidamente
relax
relaxar
rice
arroz
room
sala
salad
salada
shoes
sapatos
shop
loja
slowly
devagar
sorry
desculpe
soup
sopa
straight
direto
street
rua
sweet
doce
take
tomar
talk
falar
tea
chá
thank you
obrigado
there
ticket
ingresso
time
tempo
to
para
to the left
para a esquerda
to the right
para a direita
together
junto
toilet
banheiro
train
trem
two
dois
understand
entender
up
pra cima
vegetables
vegetais
wait
esperar
wake
acordar
want
querer
water
água
when
quando
where
onde
who
quem
woman
mulher
write
escrever
yes
sim
you
você
your
seu

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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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