[Homework Book (Self-Study)] Foreign Language Activities (English) Time: A Journey Through World Languages
[Text]
"Practical World Language Journey" (Iwanami Shinsho) by Tadao Umesao
[ Content ]
As an ethnologist who has traveled to various parts of the world for half a century, the author has learned and actually used the local languages during his fieldwork.
Starting with Korean in his student days, he learned Tibetan, Mongolian, Persian, French, Swahili, Spanish, and more.
He reflects on his numerous experiences in acquiring foreign languages and his encounters with various ethnic groups, and discusses the future of the Japanese language.
[ Table of Contents ]
Chapter 1: Northeast Asia and the Islands of the South Seas
Chapter 2: Deep in the Asian Continent
Chapter 3: Along the Southern Edge of the Continent
Chapter 4: In the Savannas and Deserts of Africa
Chapter 5: Traveling Through Europe
Chapter 6: The New World and Oceania
Chapter 7: The Japanese Language in the World
[ Problem Statement ]
This book begins with an episode where the author, while climbing Mount Paektu in northern Korea under Japanese rule, suddenly encountered a mysterious person and found himself in a tense situation, but was able to escape the predicament thanks to his ability to speak a little Korean.
The author, a renowned ethnologist, looks back on his rich experience of traveling and fieldwork abroad, and describes the characteristics of various languages around the world that he studied out of necessity as an ethnologist, while interweaving interesting episodes in an easy-to-understand manner.
Counting them up, 53 languages are covered in this book, and what is surprising is that the author himself has studied 28 of them, regardless of the level of proficiency.
Perhaps out of modesty, the author calls his study method "bird-and-flower linguistics," stating that it is merely a means to understand different cultures, but his talent for language acquisition is astonishing.
This is a work that talks about the foreign languages he had to use in his fieldwork and the countless other foreign languages he encountered.
[ Conclusion ]
The author, Mr. Umesao, conducted ethnological research and also served as the first director of the National Museum of Ethnology.
Having explored almost the entirety of Asia and many other continents, he encountered different languages wherever he went.
An ordinary person would hire an interpreter in such a situation, but he made it a point to learn the local language whenever he was studying a subject for ethnological research.
This is no small feat, but with his ability to quickly switch gears and "forget it once he is done using it," he acquired languages in a way different from that of a linguist.
His research was particularly thorough in Mongolia.
Therefore, his attachment to the Mongolian language is significantly greater than to others.
However, even with other languages, although one may not be able to learn a large vocabulary, it is possible to grasp their grammatical characteristics and overall framework.
To negotiate with local people and record oral histories of various traditions, one needs the language skills to face "practical" situations, but it seems that as one actually interacts with people, one is forced by necessity to pick it up before one knows it.
If you shut yourself in your own shell and only associate with people who speak your native language, that would never happen, but for someone like him, for whom obtaining as much local information as possible is the supreme command, he can place himself in a situation where he is the only Japanese person among the locals and boldly challenge himself with a new language.
People who can skillfully handle multiple languages are called polyglots, but in his case, he would study intensely for about a month locally as needed to aid his research and then immediately forget it, so he does not fit into that category. However, rather than being fed up with just English and refusing to touch any other language, wouldn't it be a good method to greatly enjoy what he calls "bird-and-flower linguistics," where you nibble at a little bit of everything?
When you come into contact with languages around the world, you realize that they have branched off from so-called ancient languages, and within such language families, grammatical structures and vocabularies are similar, making them easier to learn.
For example, languages in the Latin family (French, Spanish, Italian), the Thai family (Thai, Mandarin), the Turkic family (Turkish), and the Slavic family (Russian) are good examples. If you learn the representative languages of each group, acquiring languages closely related to them will likely become much easier.
Just because he learned many languages does not necessarily mean his knowledge was shallow.
In Italian, he surprised the locals by incorporating the 'subjunctive mood,' which expresses inner thoughts, into his conversations after just one month.
Setting aside the finer details, one should probably cover the basics of grammar thoroughly.
Finally, reflections on the Japanese language are presented.
Even though Japan currently has 'national grammar,' a 'Japanese grammar' that can be understood by people all over the world has not yet been completed.
He argues that we must continue to organize it, including orthography, from here on out.
Anyway, judging by the title alone, this book is perfect for me.
It teaches us that an academic approach to language is not everything.
[ Comment ]
I was continuously amazed to learn that the languages Umesao had to use for work alone included Russian, Mongolian, Mandarin, Spanish, Italian, Persian, Swahili, Datooga, Serbo-Croatian, Esperanto, and more, not to mention the vast number of others he dabbled in, such as Latin and Dutch; it is truly beyond the comprehension of an ordinary person.
Since there are few people who have learned such a variety of languages, I think this work, which provides an overview of so many tongues from the perspective of a single individual, is a rare find.
[Related Articles]
[Reference Articles]
The basic subjects established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology are the following 10 subjects.
■ Japanese
■ Social Studies
■ Arithmetic
■ Science
■ Living Environment Studies
■ Music
■ Arts and Crafts
■ Home Economics
■ Physical Education
■ Foreign Language Activities (English)
Foreign language activities became mandatory starting with the Course of Study revised in 2020.
They are included as 'Foreign Language Activities' for 3rd and 4th graders in elementary school, and as the subject 'English' for 5th and 6th graders.
As for other subjects and activities, it seems that in addition to the 10 subjects mentioned above, the following two types can be organized in elementary school classes.
■ Moral Education
■ Special Activities
■ Period for Integrated Studies