Humanising Language Teaching
Year 4; Issue 2; March 02

"But in my language it's….."

The way meaning blocks grammar

Rosanna Varuzza, Italy

How many of us have had that student in the class who analyses a new item of grammar and then, with a completely puzzled face states, 'but that's illogical. In my language it's…'?

No matter how many times we teachers tell students that language is not a science and grammar does not automatically translate from one language to another, that puzzled expression continues. This is especially true when the grammar introduced has, for example, a wild and wacky use of auxiliaries or the verb 'to be' blocking meaning as the student inevitably goes through the mental translation process. For example, in Latin languages a person has 23 years of age (elle a 23 ans, lei ha 23 anni, ella tiene 23 an~os), so why is it is 23 years in the English language. And that doesn't even begin to address the issue of why a one-year-old child is old rather than young!

Recently, I was teaching a lively and bright beginners class. This time there were several students who made comparisons between English and Italian and just couldn't get their heads round the different structures of the languages. Already by a few lessons in, and question and negatives forms covered, I had the whole class telling me 'but in Italian it's….'. With my teacher's explanations of why on earth we do need an auxiliary verb in question forms running thin, I stumbled across the introduction to Mario Rinvolucri's 'More Grammar Games' highlighting how teachers have to 'induce, seduce, and persuade (their) student into really accepting and mentally creating weird and wonderful sentences like: do you like white coffee?'. Ah, here was the answer… an authentic text highlighting the teachers' plight with enough examples of 'illogical' English to really establish beyond a doubt that languages are different.

I'm afraid to say, I asked my beginner students to translate it.

I gave them help with the difficult vocabulary, but left them to their own devices to translate literally word for word phrases such as 'I am hungry' and sentences with a play on grammar such as 'make you like coffee?' to highlight the way the auxiliary 'do' can block meaning. The exercise had enormous success. The students felt a great sense of achievement translating such a difficult text, and even the weaker students surprised themselves with their efforts. However, perhaps more importantly, the text led to a discussion of 'what blocks meaning' and how sometimes grammar cannot be translated but instead needs to be accepted for what it is. And more importantly still, the 'but in Italian it's…' has now pretty much disappeared...

I am fortunate – I teach university students who have the time and inclination to translate authentic texts that are above their level, but some students don't need a whole text to highlight a point. I have, therefore, listed some 'illogicalities' of the English language which teachers can ask their students to translate word for word (whether a class is mono or multi-lingual) and which I hope can lead to discussion of and a better comprehension of the idiosyncrasies of both their, and the target language.

I have used Italian as an example of how the language can be translated and I apologise in advance for not knowing a wider range of languages to make the comparisons clearer. I have also kept to easier target language though translating complicated perfect tenses, phrasal verbs and the multiple meanings of 'get' could be a suitable challenge for higher level students.

To be

I am twenty - Sono venti
I am hungry - Sono fame

Negatives

I do not speak French - Fare non parlo Francese
He did not go to the dentist - Fece non andare al dentista

Question forms

Do you live in town? - Fare te vivi in citta'? Did you see the film? - Fece te vedere il film?

Have got

I've got a car - Ho diventai una machina
Have you got a pen? - Hai tu diventai una penna?

Short forms

Yes, I am - Si, io sono
No, I don't - No, io fare no

Present perfect

I've visited the museum - Avere visitato il museo
He's had a beer - Avere avuto una birra