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The Best Language Learning Method: Finding Your Voice in Books
How to stop translating twice
Vihdoin! (finally). I found a Finnish book that reads how I think.
One of my biggest struggles in my 3-year-long Finnish journey is translating my abstract thoughts into concrete language. This is often more of a struggle than translating from English to Finnish.
Beginner and intermediate language learners are often stuck using concrete, rational language. Or standardized language that doesn’t resonate with how their mind innately thinks.
Language learners might start with an abstract thought in their native language, which they have to translate into a concrete thought before finally translating it into their target language. That’s an entire extra step just because they think differently.
Why can’t they translate the abstract thought directly? The reason is that non-native speakers don’t yet have the “license” to push the boundaries of the language into the abstract. Concrete language is the most common form of language, and abstract language contains more nuances that native speakers might find awkward.
The book I found that speaks my version of Finnish is Symbolien Helsinki by Liisa Väisänen, which talks about architectural symbols on Helsinki’s buildings and…
