Can You Learn a Language Without EVER Studying Grammar?
My case study of “pattern recognition” with the “grammatically impossible” Finnish language
This is not just a story of studying grammar, but one of trusting your instincts.
I’m happy I conducted this experiment over 2 years with my Finnish journey. It was more of an accidental “experiment” because it was driven by my lifelong resistance to anything formalized. This includes learning a language from its grammar.
If I took a more balanced approach and studied Finnish grammar directly, I wouldn’t have any data from taking the “pure pattern recognition” route.
Pattern recognition refers to your brain’s ability to passively absorb grammar concepts from seeing them repeatedly in media and speaking lessons.
An example of “directly studying” grammar would be studying conjugation tables in textbooks.
It didn’t phase me that Finnish has up to 15 different noun cases. Prepositional phrases like “from” or “in” are integrated into the noun itself, changing its form. This makes it harder to recognize familiar words because they are often in different forms, with just the stem word…
