Along our language learning journey, almost each of us tries to sound like a native speaker as much as possible. Yet, in our aspiration to be more of an anglophone, it’s very easy to go over the top to the point where we actually start sounding unnatural. And it doesn’t only have to do with the pronunciation. There are a few points where we tend to over-egg the pudding. And now I’m going to go through all of them and talk about in more details.
1)Irrelevant words and phrases
This is not really a fault, but still, I find it important to include here, since it has something to do with the topic. And by saying “irrelevant” I mean irrelevant for your particular circumstances, language goals and personality because everyone is different. Some words can be useful for one person and useless for another, but ultimately, it’s a good idea to try to be somewhat fussy when writing down new words to memorise. And another good reason for that is, for example, when a beginner student starts learning a language they mechanically try to memorise every single word they encounter, yet, the problem they begin to face is that they know many words, but the majority of them turn out to be useless once they start speaking with a foreign friend. They begin to realise that they don’t know “the right words” to hold a conversation, express themselves, interact with others in some sort of activity or manage different everyday life situations. So, the point is, in the first place, learn words and phrases which you think will turn out most relevant to you.
2)Idioms
Frankly, I used to memorise lots of them when I was preparing for CAE exam and throw them anywhere when there was a chance. But what I realised was that rarely did I ever use idioms in my first language. And I started wondering why I almost never did and the reason for that was that I actually hated them, because most of them I had heard so many times that I just couldn’t stand hearing them. And, I might be wrong in a way, but I think it’s the case for many of us. In our mother-tongue, we don’t often use idioms, because it isn’t our everyday language. Let’s say, you’re talking to your friend who is learning Russian, for example (or whatever your first language is). You can be impressed by your friend using an idiomatic expression during the conversation. But imagine him or her, throwing Russian idioms anytime they could. Then it might not be that impressive. But do we study a language to impress each other? Do we? Obviously, we study it to communicate, which is good to keep in mind during the process, so that we can save some time and energy by leaving out all the fluff which doesn’t really matter.
3)Swear words
What’s interesting here is that people tend to be much more careful when it comes to swearing in their own language, but as regards a foreign one, especially if we talk about beginners, English… (or whatever language you are learning) English swear words literally have no meaning for non-native speakers, they don’t really understand what those words mean, because foreigners don’t really feel what those they mean. Native speakers don’t just understand words logically, they feel them, whereas for learners foreign words are usually just arbitrary sounds that will take some time to fully grasp. Every word has some sort of power. Let’s take synonyms for example. When learning a language it’s very easy to get deluded into thinking that some synonyms are entirely equal in meaning, whereas it might not be the case. Some synonyms can be more expressive or powerful than others. And what this, ultimately, means is when foreigners use swear words oftentimes they don’t know what they are saying, even if they think they do. And it’s very easy to embarrass yourself by saying the wrong word at the wrong time and place. And surely, you don’t want to waste your time by learning swearings when, in fact, you’re not gonna encounter them that often.
4)Synonyms
As I’ve said synonyms can be a bit different in meaning. And if you’ve decided to use some synonym over another for a change then you have to make sure about its actual meaning. I mean, does it express irony, approval, disapproval, etc.? Generally speaking, does it have a positive or negative meaning? For example the words “curious” and “inquisitive” are synonyms, however, the latter has also a negative meaning.
And finally, the last four items which we like to use to fluff our language up.
5)Slang (especially Internet slang)
6)Heavy terms
7)Old-fashioned and archaic words
8)Poetic expressions from fiction literature books
First, you’ll find it hard to be a linguistic minimalist, because your ego doesn’t want that. Ego doesn’t want to be simple. It wants to be special, it wants to single itself out. It seems like fluffing our language up, making yourselves out to be better than we really are looks attractive, when, in fact, it’s the other way round.
Yet, it might sound like I’m saying you should quit using all of what I have mentioned and speak intermediate English. But it’s not what I’m saying here. I’m not saying that those items are entirely bad or useless. There aren’t useless features in a language. Everything has its function. Surely, you should enrich your vocabulary with more advanced and interesting words, phrases and constructions. But it’s all about our intentions. Why do we use it? Do we use it to impress or offend others? Or do we use it to be understood? To be understood better? Will the person I’m talking to understand this idiom/slang term/heavy term/archaic word? Is it the right time and place to use it? And these are the questions we should consider when learning and using new vocabulary.
Additionally, it’s our personality which shapes the language we speak. Let’s take our first language, for example. We prefer some words and phrases to others, some words we don’t like. All of us have a tendency to use certain language features. We don’t normally try to impress anyone when we speak our mother-tongue. Our language is natural and authentic. And what I encourage you to do is try to gain the same authenticity when learning a foreign language, just make it sound the way it would sound like if it were your native language.
Now, don’t worry if you don’t manage to follow the rule of linguistic minimalism properly all the time. Naturally, humans are not robots. I’m also aware that throughout the article I might have used some words which might have over-egged the pudding.