Common misconceptions about language
What are some misconceptions about language that we should try to clarify if we want to approach foreign language learning in a scientific and systematic way?
For example, many students do not understand that grammar is systematic and, instead, think of grammar as full of “exceptions.” Clarifying what “grammar” is--that is, separating the systematic, exception-less rules binding a language from the infinite usage rules in a language that are by definition full of “exceptions” and variations--is important if we want to lay a scientific foundation for our foreign language learning.
Another widespread misconception is that learning a native language and learning a foreign language are comparable or similar processes when the cognitive processes involved in each are completely different. Understanding this allows us to avoid false beliefs that harm our learning process, such as that, because we all learnt perfect grammar for our native language through exposure alone, the same is possible for a foreign language. (It is not.)
Many students also believe that “even native speakers make grammatical mistakes” when there is an axiom (an assumption) in linguistics that native speakers do not make grammatical mistakes. In fact, the sentences produced by native speakers by definition exemplify the grammar of that language.
Does that mean that native speakers never make any mistakes when using their native languages? No, it does not, but we need to differentiate the types of mistakes they make from “real grammar.” Native speakers can absolutely make mistakes outside of systematic grammar, such as in writing conventions like spelling and punctuation (because writing conventions are not part of the natural language), but the sentences that they produce are by definition bound by the systematic rules that underlie that language.
Understanding this allows us to avoid thinking, for example, that it is not important to gain grammatical accuracy in a foreign language because “even native speakers make mistakes.” While native English speakers certainly do make mistakes such as mixing up the written forms for “your” for “you’re (you are)”, they would not, for example, make mistakes related to the systematic grammar of the language, such as putting a base form of a verb after a preposition, like “for take care of babies*”. (This is because everything that native speakers produce is a “product” of the subconscious native language grammatical framework in their brains.)
Another misunderstanding that should be clarified is that there are languages with “no grammar”. Every language in the world has its own systematic grammar and uses different grammatical strategies to express infinite meanings. Just because a language like Chinese uses different grammatical strategies from a language like English to express the same meanings does not mean that it has “no grammar.” Understanding this allows us to approach the grammatical strategies of our target foreign language in a more scientific light.
Another thing that students often do not adequately understand is that languages can be “genetically” related to each other (that is, with the same ancestor) and share inherited traits in terms of both grammar and lexicon. As such, how difficult it is to learn a certain foreign language depends heavily on whether it is related to our native language. Understanding this allows us to put the varying success that different people have in learning the same foreign language in context--for example, it is easier for Swedish speakers than Cantonese speakers to learn English well, because Swedish and English are related, in the same way that it is easier for Cantonese speakers than Swedish speakers to learn Mandarin well, because Cantonese and Mandarin are related. Neither group is inherently more talented in learning foreign languages!
Clarifying misunderstandings about language such as these and gaining an understanding of basic linguistics concepts at the same time can translate into concrete benefits for analytical students like you in your journey of learning a foreign language. It gives you intellectual clarity and guides you to learn and improve in an informed, targeted, and systematic manner.
各種對語言的常見誤解
如果我們想以科學性和有系統的方式學習外語，哪些對語言的誤解是應該要盡量釐清的？
例如很多學生都不明白其實「grammar」(文法) 的系統性，反而覺得文法是充滿了「例外」。如果我們想要為自己的外語學習之路建立一個科學基礎，釐清何謂文法是重要的。也就是要懂得從那些充滿「例外」和變化的表面用法中，分辨出那些是有約束性、系統性及「無例外」的語言規則。
另一個普遍的誤解，是認為學習母語和學習外語的過程相似，甚至是一樣的。事實上，兩者涉及的認知過程全然不同。理解這一點，可以使我們避免產生有礙於學習的錯誤信念，不會再認為既然所有人都單靠接觸便能完美地學會自己母語的文法，那麼學習外語也應該如是。 （事實卻並非如此。）
不少學生經常掛在口邊:「即使是母語人士有時也會犯文法錯誤。」但其實語言學有一個公認的原則（axiom），是母語人士並不會犯文法錯誤。母語人士組成的句子，就是彰顯那個語言的文法的，就是那個語言的文法的「定義」。
這是說母語人士在使用母語時永不會犯任何錯嗎？不是，但我們要能分清他們「會犯」的是甚麼錯誤。他們當然也會犯上文法系統以外的錯誤。例如他們可能會在使用標點或串字等書寫問題上出錯，因為書寫的規則是人為的，不是真正自然語言的一部分。理解這一點，我們便不會因為覺得「即使是母語人士也會犯文法錯誤」，而認為學會正確的外語文法並不重要。的確，母語為英文的人也會犯錯，例如在書寫時將「you’re」 (you are) 寫成「your」，因為書寫語言的方式是人發明的，但他們不會犯自然語言文法系統的錯誤，例如把動詞的基本字形放在介詞之後，說出「for take care of babies*」之類。（這是因為母語人組成的句子就是由腦中已建構的潛意識文法框架「製造」出來的。）
另一個必需澄清的誤解是，有些語言是「沒有grammar」的。其實所有語言都有自己一套文法系統，並使用不同的文法策略表達出無盡的意思。縱然在表達同一個意思時，中文採用的文法策略和英文不同，但這並不代表中文就是「沒有grammar」。明白這點後，我們便能以更為科學的視野來研究所學習的外語的文法。
另外，學生通常不了解某些語言之間的「親戚關係」（即擁有同一個祖先），以及它們會在文法和詞彙上共享某些遺傳性的特徵。因此學習外語的難易度，在很大程度上取決於該外語是否與我們的母語有「親戚關係」。我們也能從而理解到，為何不同人在學習同一種外語時難度會有如此大的差異。舉例說，由於瑞典文和英文是有「近親關係」的，所以瑞典人在學習英文時比廣東話母語人士更得心應手，這是理所當然的，正如廣東人比瑞典人更容易掌握普通話一樣，不過是因廣東話和普通話本來就關係密切，而非因為哪個國家的人比另一些國家的人具學習外語的天賦。
假如你也是分析形的學生，釐清各種對語言的誤解，同時認識基本的語言學概念，將為你的外語學習生涯帶來具體的好處。這不但使你的頭腦更為清晰，更可以引導你以有意識、有目標性和系統性的方式去學習和改進。