When you are learning a new language, what consists most of the vocabulary?
Nouns, verbs or adjectives. I'd say noun.
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reflectingmonkey · 51-55, M
I guess nouns, when I've been in countries where I didn't know the language the first words I need to find are food, water, room with bathroom, learn to say "where is ...?" and how to say "thank you".
jarvis919 · 26-30, M
@reflectingmonkey me too. i have been to two foreign countries and had to do difficult things like use a post office. i could make myself understood with nouns, which i can learn quickly a week or two before travel, plus a few critical verbs, and some critical phrases of course. if i knew verbs without nouns, or more verbs than nouns, negotiating these things would have been much more difficult.
reflectingmonkey · 51-55, M
jarvis919 · 26-30, M
@reflectingmonkey yes, that's very smart. nouns without verbs can produce many meaningful phrases, not so much so verbs without nouns. what you mentioned is how polyglots say to learn language. from those simple childlike expressions, you can accomplish real tasks in a foreign country and then learn to add more words to make complete sentences as you go along. it's fun. we can laugh at ourselves as we learn.