Ambiguity in Language Learning

In this article, we will explain what ambiguity is and ways to combat it on your own. But what is ambiguity? Ambiguity is that negative feeling of not being able to understand what you read, what you hear, or what you watch in the language you are studying; it usually arises in beginner students.

It is when you are reading something in the language and feel restless because you do not understand almost anything. But how are you going to overcome ambiguity?

I won’t tell you to go and study more to overcome it; many students study like crazy and still feel this way; they do not feel comfortable reading or listening to something in the language without any script, that is, (text) that translates what they are saying in the language.

THE FIRST STEP TO OVERCOME IT

To overcome ambiguity, you must face it like any feeling of fear; what prevents you from doing something is the negative feeling you had when trying to do it before, and to overcome ambiguity, you have to fight against it. What are your weapons?

Obviously, it is expected that you are already studying. You need to have preparatory weapons to be able to defeat it. Ambiguity is overcome with practice, the right mindset, and study. With these combined elements, you will certainly be able to easily step out of your comfort zone and put immersion in the language into practice.

You need to understand that fluency in the language comes mostly from what you consume in that language; the brain was born to learn languages. In Europe, for example, you can encounter many people fluent in various languages.

ADULTHOOD vs CHILDHOOD IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

But of course, learning a language in adulthood is more difficult in some aspects, and ambiguity is one of them; a child does not care if they understand everything; if it is fun for them, they will watch or get used to consuming it.

And even their ears are more attuned to perceive certain sounds of the language, as the brain is trying to become an EXPERT in the sounds of the language; it is a survival mechanism, so it tries to be the best it can be in what is around it during its youth. For this, it will perform its role at maximum potential.

But have you completely lost those LEARNING benefits that a child’s brain has? No! The point is how you do it, how you approach it, since when adults try to mechanize language learning, we try to focus our energy entirely on theories, linguistic rules, and isolated concepts.
A language requires a different mental capacity than the practices exercised when we study math, biology, chemistry; a language does not depend on the RATIONAL; it is a set dependent on a skill. In other words, it is something that your brain gets used to and does without necessarily reasoning to use it.

The order is not: I will use the noun, then I will put a connector and finish the sentence with the verb. It happens NATURALLY and automatically; you think, your brain gathers previously seen patterns of what you want to express, and then you automatically express it in words. Also, a language is INDISCREETLY UNPREDICTABLE.

WHAT IS THE LOGIC OF A LANGUAGE?

There is no determining logic; many things will not make sense and will go against grammar rules; sometimes はい will mean no, and sometimes いいえ will mean yes, whether due to context, situation, or CULTURAL FACTOR; a language lives in constant change and breaks various patterns that in theory should be respected to obey a grammar formulated by grammar books.

One observation: this “Unpredictability” arises among natives; among foreigners, it would be erroneous, since new linguistic styles and dialects arise from people who are already fluent and native to the region, and then others start to repeat.

AND GRAMMAR?

Grammar does not define what is right; it copies WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN used before and says if it is in the context THAT IT KNOWS, but sometimes the language will break the grammar; sometimes the Japanese will break particles, abbreviate where in theory they should not, and why? Because yes! That is how languages work; we seek to facilitate communication, creating expressions, jargon, and dialects.

In other words, if in 100 years the Japanese start speaking differently, the current grammar books would be thrown in the trash, and a new linguistic agreement would be used, so those who depended on grammar would be in trouble, and those who depended on: listening to patterns COMING FROM THE NATIVES would be at ease.

One observation: we do not recommend IGNORING grammar; it is important to have an IDEA of what is generally used to form the structures of a language, but note, use it as a way to have an idea and not as a DEPENDENCY. Your dependency should be on listening to and reading from the natives themselves.

Grammar will only give you an idea if the environment is formal or informal, and this can also be acquired naturally; if you listen to Japanese journalists, you will gradually notice what differs between what they say and what a character from shounen anime says; languages are occasions; learn to expose yourself to occasions to naturally express what the occasion demands.

THEORY VS PRACTICE

With this knowledge, you realize that it makes more sense to dedicate yourself to simply = understanding. (Without questioning everything about the structure of the language).

And to understand, you use: previously learned vocabulary, the situation being applied, etc.

For example, if I see a Japanese person in front of the sea and he says: Umi dazo.

I can infer that umi may mean sea; that is how the brain TRULY ACQUIRES languages, through comprehensible messages where there is a new element. Your brain gathers these pieces and puts them together in a puzzle.

When you understand, for example, about 50% of what you see, the chance of this phenomenon happening is very high; there is much to discover SIMPLY by watching something.

What you already know and that new information come together, and you acquire the language.

CONCLUSION

But where does this fit into ambiguity?

One way to overcome it is to realize that no one is born understanding 100%; this person understood 30% and gradually increased this number precisely by consuming.

But consume what? You should create a balance between what is understandable for you and what is Fun.

Maybe you don’t want to watch Peppa Pig or Dora the Explorer to get good at Japanese or the language you are learning, even if you understand the dialogues, because it does not stimulate you. So you should continue studying and looking for something that is between = the understandable and that is also fun, that catches your attention.

If you enjoyed this article, share and comment; let us know your opinion on this subject and your experience with it. Until next time!