Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2011 January 29

= January 29 =

Critical period for language acquisition
I've heard that after this 'magical window' for language acquisition the synapses responsible begin to die and language acquisition becomes harder. My question is, is there any way (in theory) to prolong this period? This is only a hypothetical question, so practical considerations such as money needed, ethics, etc may be neglected. 24.92.70.160 (talk) 00:32, 29 January 2011 (UTC)


 * From my Google search for Critical period for language acquisition, I found many results, including the following.
 * The age factor in second language ... - Google Books
 * A Critical Period for Second Language Acquisition? A Status Review
 * Someone may wish to spend time in studying them.
 * —Wavelength (talk) 00:57, 29 January 2011 (UTC)


 * The question involves some confusion, I think. Critical windows have been demonstrated in animals for some basic abilities such as binocular vision, and we know something about the neural mechanisms that are involved.  There is no critical period for language acquisition, in any strict sense.  It does seem to be generally true that children find it easier to acquire languages than adults, but we really don't know anything specific about the neural mechanisms that bring that about.  (The citations above agree with what I just wrote, by the way.) Looie496 (talk) 04:11, 29 January 2011 (UTC)


 * While it's true that the question of whether there's a critical period for second language acquisition is heavily debated, as far as I know there is general consensus that there is definitely a critical period for first language acquisition. I think most linguists don't necessarily know much neurobiology, but in the neurobiological research on critical periods in general (not necessarily language-related ones) I think one of the hot topics that much research is implicating in critical periods is the growth of dendritic spines. (see particularly Dendritic spine.) r ʨ anaɢ (talk) 04:27, 29 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Looie496 -- children below a certain age will tend to naturally acquire the grammar and basic vocabulary of any language they encounter which is commonly used in their everyday lives, without much need for conscious effortful learning; while those much beyond this age can only acquire a new language by means of such conscious effortful learning, and only a few will ever end up being able to speak the language without a foreign accent. In that sense, there is a definite discontinuity which is very well established scientifically. AnonMoos (talk) 05:44, 29 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia has an article about neuroplasticity.—Wavelength (talk) 06:39, 29 January 2011 (UTC)


 * What I have heard (I think from a Derek Bickerton book) is that people who learn three or more languages as children don't lose the plasticity. The change seems to come with the onset of puberty otherwise.  Little kids raised in multilingual environments can speak multiple languages fluently without even realizing that they are speaking multiple languages.  They think you just have to talk to uncle Sasha a particular way, and to grandpa Pierre a different way.  11:00, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

French
What is the word for love in French that one would say to a family member (for example a parent or sibling). Aimer does not seem right, but neither does adorer. thanks. 24.92.70.160 (talk) 02:06, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
 * I think it is just aimer. As in English, I don't think there's a seperate word for romantic love and familial love.  -- Jayron  32  02:33, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Tu me plaît plais . ("You please me.")  See wikt:plaire.
 * —Wavelength (talk) 03:22, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
 * [I am correcting my answer which was formed misconjugatedly.
 * —Wavelength (talk) 03:32, 29 January 2011 (UTC)]


 * I agree with Jayron, it seems perfectly fine to say je t'aime. r ʨ anaɢ (talk) 05:47, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
 * And my understanding is that if you want to be clear that you aren't saying "I love you" in a romantic sense, you can say "Je t'aime bien". Not being French, I am just going on what I have learned, but that is what I was told. Falconus p  t   c 03:42, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
 * In France we can say je t'aime to a family member. The sentence "Papa, maman, je vous aime !" is without any ambiguity. That is not the case with "plaire". We never say Tu me plais to our parents or children with the meaning I love you. The verb "plaire" has a lot of meanings that depends upon the context. A father to is son: Tu commences à me plaire ! means "you are irritating me!". A manager to one employee: Cet homme me plait means " I like this man". A man/woman to a man/woman: Tu me plais, could mean "I feel a [sexual] attraction for you". — AldoSyrt (talk) 11:51, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Atmoshphare & Enviroment
In English what is the difference between Atmoshphare and Enviroment......... ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.225.96.217 (talk) 14:32, 29 January 2011 (UTC)


 * See: wikt:Atmosphere and wikt:environment (note the correct spelling of both words). Interestingly, the capitalised  wikt:Environment leads to a different entry. Astronaut (talk) 15:47, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
 * That's because Wiktionary, unlike Wikipedia, is case-sensitive. Both pages are at the lowercase form; the first one redirects. Lexicografía (talk) 21:42, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
 * The atmosphere is made of air. The environment includes everything around you. Looie496 (talk) 18:22, 29 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Perhaps the question is about figurative usage. For example: What is the difference between work environment and work atmosphere? I thought I had an answer, in my own semantic gut, basically, like in Looie's reply, that "work environment" is more comprehensive, but includes "work atmosphere", which is more specifically about interpersonal issues, emotions, and communication, but after googling a bit, I found a lot of instances where the two are used synonymously. I'd like to hear what native English speakers have to say about that. ---Sluzzelin talk  19:00, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
 * When used figuratively, "environment" tends to take a more practical, concrete meaning, where "atmosphere" carries a softer, more emotional or sense meaning (and as you indicate, frequently includes interpersonal relationships). Sort of a "form versus function" distinction. For example when talking about how a chair affects the the "work environment", you'd likely talk about how comfortable it is, how portable it is, etc. Whereas in regards to "work atmosphere", you'd probably talk about the color, or the design style, and how it affects the appearance of the room. That said, there is a lot of overlap; appearance can affect how a space is used practically (a calming environment can improve productivity), and practical considerations can affect how something is perceived (you might think a chair is beautiful until you find it uncomfortable to sit in). If it helps any, I'd say "environment" is synonymous with "surroundings" and "atmosphere" is equivalent to "ambiance". -- 174.21.236.191 (talk) 19:32, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that explanation! In German, we also talk about "Arbeitsklima". I thought, perhaps wrongly, that "work climate" wasn't a commonly used term in English, but it received google-hits in the same order of magnitude (hundred thousands) as "work atmosphere", though a couple of hundred thousands less. I also checked for "working ..." instead of "work ...", where "working climate" gets significantly less hits than "working atmosphere". ---Sluzzelin  talk  07:26, 30 January 2011 (UTC)
 * I just want to endorse the perceptive distinction made by 174.21.... Marco polo (talk) 01:45, 31 January 2011 (UTC)

Translation help
Hello; Can you translate this into English, please? Tout le monde! Ola, belle assemblée qui a envie de bouger Pour se laisser aller au rythme de l’année Allez allez allez, il faut en profiter C’est une bonne journée et on va la fêter Chouchou, faut te lever et bouger ton fessier Danser, collé serré pour un baiser salé Prends-moi par le côté, fais-moi ton déhanché Lala, ça va chauffer, je sens le truc monter —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.112.128.153 (talk) 23:21, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Replying on your talk...Google Translation. C T J F 8 3   02:25, 30 January 2011 (UTC)