RiL Podcast #011: Language learning by immersion

絮言.狂想 #011
Israel

The Cantonese podcast for fans of linguistics, language lovers, and Cantonese learners. This episode investigates the salmon name gaffe in Taiwan and what it tells us about Taiwanese unequal ethnic relations, and discusses different ways of learning a language, from language classes and input-based immersion methods to output-based “fluent in 3 months” methods, and our own experiences with them.

Show notes and links available on the Cantonese page. Transcript below.

This podcast is also available on YouTube. Don’t forget to subscribe!

苗:我近排玩呢個,即係 Scottish Gaelic,跟住佢有幾個 phrase 係咩 small chest、big chest、very big chest 同 very small chest 囉。

靳:[笑]

苗:唔係寶箱嗰啲喎。

以:得喇得喇得喇得喇,okay,我 get 到。

苗:Broilleach glè mhòr,噉樣囉。

以:Nice。

苗:Nice。

[jingle]

以:歡迎大家返到嚟《絮言‧狂想》第十一集,我係以色列。

苗:我係三苗。

靳:我係靳尼啊。

以:上集呢,我哋就有好多好有趣嘅討論啦。噉都牽涉咗好多唔同嘅話題嘅,噉就同而家嘅時事有關啦。噉但係呢,之後就有聽眾呢,就嚟反映咗一啲意見。噉我哋就想喺度都傾下到底我哋上次講嘅嘢,有啲可能冇咁清楚啊,或者可能有啲謬誤嘅地方。嗱噉,首先呢就係我哋上次講咗呢一個粵文想迴避華文嘅現象啦,即係話有時啲人為咗寫所謂純粵文呢,噉就變咗特登避開好多粵文同埋華文,即係書面語裏面都出現嘅一啲詞語。噉我哋嗰陣時呢,就話哦,其實係唔係我哋唔夠語言自信呢,即係我哋唔能夠將粵語睇成獨立存在嘅一樣嘢,而係要將佢嘅定義依附喺其他語言上面呢?

苗:噉呢,就有一位聽眾就反映呢,其實我哋可能冇去體諒到好多呢一啲義工嘅睇法啦。佢就提供咗另一個觀點,佢就係話,呢一啲寫粵文維基百科啊,或者做其他粵文版本嘅呢一啲所謂 localisation 嘅工作嘅人呢,就係會顧慮呢一啲點樣去同一啲唔知道粵語同埋其他漢語或者普通話啦,嘅語言有咩分別嘅人呢,去解釋,即係究竟粵語點解要分開出來做一個新嘅版本呢,即係點解唔可以純粹係用返中文啊,或者只係,用一個譬如係香港嘅中文呢?噉佢就提供咗個觀點就話有時異化自己係某程度上係生存必須嘅嘢啦,如果唔係就好容易令到好多人反對整呢個粵文嘅版本啦。例如話粵語維基百科當年呢,佢就話係好多人反對,即係直頭開設呢個粵語維基百科嘅,噉甚至乎反對嘅人數目係多過有興趣寫粵文維基百科嘅義工啦。噉就重點嚟喇:呢個仲裁團本身呢,係唔識華文又唔識粵文啦,係純粹係一啲唔同國家嘅語言迷,噉你要說服佢哋開一個新嘅語言版本你就必需要證明呢,哦,我哋嘅粵語嘅書寫體呢,係同普通話或者係華文有明顯嘅分別嘅。噉呢一個觀點係我哋冇留意到嘅嘢啦,噉呢個都係,其實都非常之啱嘅,即係有時你去生存嘅時候呢就必須要做一啲取捨啦,噉你去做一啲唔同嘅決定都係好影響你本身嗰個存在囉。即係呢,呢一個都係一個好重要嘅嘢嚟嘅。

以:愛就係選擇。

苗:係啊,即係唔係淨係話,應唔應該去依附住一個大啲嘅語言,因為本身社會上就好多人就真係噉睇。你要同人哋講,哦,我哋係獨立嘅嘢嚟嘅,噉可能都要經過呢一步囉。

以:其實我覺得係一個循環嘅情況。國際上對於粵文或者粵語嘅認識同埋嘅認受性都唔係特別多啦,但係同時間呢我哋就需要建立呢個粵文嘅維基百科去到建立呢一個認受性,等多啲人認識粵語存在嘅呢一個書寫體。噉所以其實如果你唔喺一邊作出少少退讓嘅話好難就可以開設到呢一個噉樣嘅循環。因為我哋都唔係粵語維基嘅成員啦,噉所以我哋就冇了解到佢哋當初有呢一個噉樣嘅阻力啦,噉所以其實就好似變咗兩個唔同嘅角度啦,噉希望就係可以而家粵維就出現咗之後啦,即係大家都允許咗呢樣嘢嘅存在,噉可唔可以將佢慢慢帶返去一個比較真實,比較自然嘅粵文嘅寫法呢。噉,呢個我哋就慢慢睇下可以點樣發展啦。

靳:噉呢位聽眾啦,噉其實另外都有講過就係,我哋講英國移民嗰條廣東話熱線嘅時候呢,用嗰啲詞語或者係我哋討論嗰啲接線生嘅語文背景嘅時候呢,噉成日都係循住「西人就一定係白人」,噉然後啲西人同埋白人呢,就相對於可能啲本身係屋企講,即係廣東話嘅粵僑噉樣嘅思路嚟傾,噉就有一啲二分嘅情況出現咗啦。噉字裡行間都滲透咗好多香港常見嘅一啲,一啲喺潛意識入面存在嘅種族主義噉樣啦,噉佢話聽聽下都有啲 triggered 噉樣嘅,噉其實就係嘅。因為我之後其實聽返我哋嘅錄音啦,噉都有好多反思嘅。噉的而且確噉我哋喺傾呢個接線生嘅語文背景嘅時候呢,其實嗰個本身嗰個討論嘅開始呢,就係應該喺《港語學》嗰篇文入面嘅。入面呢就,講咗有人話,欸,聽落去啲人似係一啲西人嚟㗎喎,噉樣,係喇。我唔記得即係佢原句係點樣啦,噉但係就係「聽落呢,就似啲學咗粵文嘅西人」噉樣。噉我哋之後講呢句說話嘅時候,就帶起咗啲討論,就係話:哦,如果我本身屋企係有一個廣東話語言背景嘅人,同埋係真係大人先至開始學廣東話嘅人,會唔會有啲咩分別呢?噉但係當然喺我哋用呢套語言去講一啲本身係用廣東話做第二語言嘅人,相對於一啲本身屋企背景有廣東話嘅人嘅時候呢,我哋就會用一啲即係縮略咗嘅詞語。噉我哋喺香港,或者喺香港講廣東話呢個背景入面呢,有好多一啲潛在嘅對於唔同國家嘅人嘅刻版印象。噉就係例如話可能英國人就一定係……係西人,噉又一定係白人,噉樣。噉呢啲好似係一啲互通嘅詞語,但係其實呢,就唔係嘅。噉所以就會有一啲噉樣好潛意識嘅種族主義出現咗。噉呢個其實都係一樣我哋喺呢個語言背景入面有時要面對嘅,噉但係我哋都覺得呢個應該唔係一個可以推諉嘅理由嚟嘅,噉我哋之後講嘅時候,我哋都應該再小心一啲喇,係喇。噉所以我覺得呢個意見其實都好重要,都好多謝呢位聽眾嘅意見。

以:我覺得係都幾難做嘅,因為我哋喺呢個show上面想盡量用返啲日常啲嘅語言啦,同埋用返啲粵語嘅詞彙啦。噉有時好多好仔細嘅、喺身份方面啊、呢啲咁敏感嘅話題上面嘅用詞呢,我哋就會好難下下搵到最適合嘅用詞,顧及晒咁多人嘅感受啦,如果唔係就可能就會用咗一啲廣東話人冇咁慣嘅詞語。噉我覺得要搵個平衡嘅,即係點樣可以顧及到多啲人嘅感受啦,同時間又唔會令我哋我講啲嘢太過異化啦、太過聽唔明啦。噉我哋都盡量做好啲啦。尤其是而家世界上出現咗好多尤其係對於亞裔人嘅歧視嘅問題啦,呢幾個禮拜。尤其是如果有啲唔係喺香港聽我哋show嘅廣東話人啦,可能佢哋本身日常生活裏面都可能經歷緊呢啲大大小小嘅種族歧視嘅情況啦,我哋都好關心呢啲事嘅,噉所以如果我哋有講得唔清楚嘅地方啊,噉我哋都道歉先啦。噉我哋如果再有機會掂到呢啲話題嘅時候,我哋就嘗試再向我哋喺香港嘅朋友解釋下呢啲議題各種嘅概念啦。

靳、苗:好啊。

[8:26]

以:好,噉我哋去到一啲比較新啲嘅新聞啦,就比較搞笑啲嘅嘢嘞。噉可能大家都知道呢,台灣出現咗呢個所謂嘅「鮭魚之亂」啦,係喇。噉但係如果有人可能冇留意到呢單新聞嘅時候呢,噉我哋大概講一講啦。噉就係因為台灣一間壽司嘅連鎖店呢,就整咗個推廣活動啦,就話如果你個名有類似鮭魚(即係我哋講嘅三文魚)呢兩個字,即係可能個字上面似啊,或者發音上面似啊,噉甚至你個名裏面有鮭魚嘅,噉就可以有各種唔同嘅優惠啦。噉如果你個名裏面有鮭魚,就可以帶埋一家人噉走去食免費壽司嘅。噉於是呢,就好多好多人啦,好似過百個人呢,就真係走去政府度平平地改咗個名,噉就改埋晒啲好癲嘅名啦。噉有啲人就就噉叫「鮭魚」啦,好似有啲叫咩「鮭魚之夢」啊,鮭魚……

苗:「張鮭魚之夢」。

以:係咪有「鮭魚王」噉樣啊?類似?

苗:好多啊。「同鮭魚盡」噉樣囉。

靳:嘩。

以:同鮭魚盡。

苗:有個係。

以:之後好似仲有條友係走去改咗個十幾廿隻字嘅名呢,就將所有山珍海味擺晒入去啦。噉呢單好搞笑嘅,噉但係我哋睇落就好似其實牽涉到少少關於語言政策方面嘅嘢嘅,都。

The rest of the transcript is available to Patreon members.