French Puzzle
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 Vintage Place It Game Wood Puzzle Play Plus Brailsford Derbys England French $21.99 End Date: Tuesday May-22-2012 12:37:38 PDT Buy It Now for only: $21.99 |
 Robin Anderson French Tulips For Me puzzle 1000 pieces $6.00 End Date: Tuesday May-22-2012 13:50:15 PDT Buy It Now for only: $6.00 |
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 MAGNETIC WHEELS AT WORK PUZZLE 26 MAGNET PUZZLE wPOSTER ENGLISHFRENCH VGC $3.88 End Date: Wednesday May-23-2012 8:49:27 PDT |
 Scarce Pair of French PUZZLE series Trade Cards Hangman Monk $4.35 End Date: Wednesday May-23-2012 14:18:26 PDT |
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 Postpartum Psychiatric Illness A Picture Puzzle $4.93 End Date: Wednesday May-23-2012 21:43:55 PDT Buy It Now for only: $4.93 |
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 ATOLL ROCK PUZZLE RARE FRENCH LP PSYCH PROG $18.00 End Date: Friday May-25-2012 5:37:13 PDT Buy It Now for only: $18.00 |
 VAMPIRE MOON THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN SUN NDS NDSi GAME NEW BOX English French $21.14 End Date: Friday May-25-2012 13:38:31 PDT Buy It Now for only: $21.14 |
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 PUZZLE Same RARE ORIG PRIVATE FRENCH PROG PSYCH LP 1983 MINT ARCHIV $99.00 End Date: Saturday May-26-2012 4:23:50 PDT |
 PUZZ 3D MONOPOLY GAME 1998 FRENCH WREBBIT PUZZLE RARE R $29.35 End Date: Saturday May-26-2012 9:05:05 PDT Buy It Now for only: $29.35 |
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 Easy French Crossword Puzzles by R De Sales 1984 Paperback $4.00 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 10:48:18 PDT Buy It Now for only: $6.00 |
 FANFRELUCHE 60 piece PUZZLE 1972 Radio Canada French Television Show $14.99 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 11:23:06 PDT Buy It Now for only: $14.99 |
 MINUTE MOUMOUTE 60 piece PUZZLE 1972 Radio Canada French Television Show $14.99 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 11:25:27 PDT Buy It Now for only: $14.99 |
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 Les Bois Familiers French Vintage Wood Puzzle 1983 Museum of Natural History $4.99 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 14:48:41 PDT |
 Vintage Perfect Picture Jigsaw Puzzle French Villageover 375 pcs $5.00 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 14:58:12 PDT Buy It Now for only: $5.00 |
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 Difficult Antique French Game of Strategy LEVASION DIFFICILE Maze Math Puzzle $9.99 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 17:41:43 PDT |
 Rue De Paris 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle by Theophile Steinlen New French art $30.00 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 20:07:50 PDT Buy It Now for only: $30.00 |
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 French World Map Puzzle $9.99 End Date: Sunday May-27-2012 20:31:13 PDT Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
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 FRENCH CASTLE 500pc PUZZLE VERY GOOD CONDITION $0.99 End Date: Monday May-28-2012 12:22:42 PDT Buy It Now for only: $0.99 |
 Puzzle Chronicles Next Gen RPG PSP NEW Eng French Span $19.12 End Date: Monday May-28-2012 12:49:29 PDT Buy It Now for only: $19.12 |
 Outset Media French Village 1000 Piece Puzzle 51691 $12.99 End Date: Monday May-28-2012 13:26:00 PDT Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
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 CAFE LAMOUR BY JOHN PATRICK OBRIEN FRENCH STREET SCENE $8.99 End Date: Monday May-28-2012 21:42:44 PDT |
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 F X SCHMID Puzzle FRENCH EXPLORERS 1000 Piece $39.95 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 14:21:47 PDT Buy It Now for only: $39.95 |
 MM French Pocket Surprise SET of ALL 5 JIGSAW PUZZLES $19.99 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 15:45:10 PDT Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 Kodacolor 500 pc Puzzle French Castle $4.00 End Date: Tuesday May-29-2012 16:00:57 PDT Buy It Now for only: $4.00 |
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 Vilac Wooden Alphabet Jigsaw Puzzle In French $33.29 End Date: Wednesday May-30-2012 9:33:57 PDT Buy It Now for only: $33.29 |
 Rare ca1899 French Saying Puzzle Pitcher Malicorne n Quimper $119.00 End Date: Wednesday May-30-2012 11:28:24 PDT Buy It Now for only: $119.00 |
 SILHOUETTE Puzzle Classic French Brain Teaser Crystal Lines 1993 Australia $22.00 End Date: Wednesday May-30-2012 19:58:42 PDT Buy It Now for only: $22.00 |
 NEW French English Word Puzzle Book Bruzzone Catheri $5.99 End Date: Thursday May-31-2012 4:16:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: $5.99 |
 FRENCH CUBASCO 11 PUZZLES ANIMALS ORIGINAL CASE $9.99 End Date: Thursday May-31-2012 10:49:11 PDT Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 French Word Puzzles Foreign Language Word Puzzles Marcel Danesi PhD Very $10.71 End Date: Thursday May-31-2012 11:05:42 PDT Buy It Now for only: $10.71 |
 French Crossword Puzzles for Practice and Fun NEW $9.99 End Date: Thursday May-31-2012 13:38:11 PDT Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 Websters English to French Crossword Puzzles Level 4 $22.67 End Date: Thursday May-31-2012 15:37:33 PDT Buy It Now for only: $22.67 |
 Robin Anderson FRENCH TULIPS FOR ME 1000 Puzzle NEW $12.99 End Date: Thursday May-31-2012 17:39:02 PDT Buy It Now for only: $12.99 |
 Easy French Crossword Puzzles Dover Little Activi $1.04 End Date: Friday Jun-1-2012 6:45:19 PDT Buy It Now for only: $1.04 |
 ROWLEY CHEW PRINTING HUNTER DOG HOLD TO HEAT LATE 1800s FRENCH PUZZLE CARD $8.00 End Date: Friday Jun-1-2012 16:27:29 PDT Buy It Now for only: $8.00 |
 French Bulldog Wooden Amish made Scroll Saw Toy Puzzle $11.99 End Date: Saturday Jun-2-2012 5:56:03 PDT Buy It Now for only: $11.99 |
 PUZZLE CLASSIC TREASURES French Quarter 1000 PCES NEW $34.95 End Date: Saturday Jun-2-2012 6:29:14 PDT Buy It Now for only: $34.95 |
 MMs PIRATES Mini JIGSAW PUZZLE Sealed in Bag FRENCH Pocket Surprise MM MMs $7.99 End Date: Saturday Jun-2-2012 8:04:45 PDT Buy It Now for only: $7.99 |
 1879 FRENCH PUZZLE CARD THE DESPAIR OF CHARLES $15.00 End Date: Saturday Jun-2-2012 10:10:00 PDT Buy It Now for only: $15.00 |
 Autism Puzzle Piece Heart Earrings French Hook $8.50 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 7:58:46 PDT Buy It Now for only: $8.50 |
 Summer On The French Rivera By The Blue Train Puzzle NEW ebay1 10060 $3.95 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 13:33:00 PDT Buy It Now for only: $3.95 |
 Your First 100 Words in French French for Total Beginners Through Puzzles $9.95 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 14:59:33 PDT Buy It Now for only: $9.95 |
 BNIB France Cathedral St Cecile Jigsaw Puzzle 248 pcs French $19.99 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 17:10:51 PDT Buy It Now for only: $19.99 |
 Vintage Super Puzzle French Street Scene 700pcs 18x24 $11.99 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 18:21:17 PDT Buy It Now for only: $11.99 |
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 Websters French to English Crossword Puzzles Level 1 $22.67 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 20:47:08 PDT Buy It Now for only: $22.67 |
 Websters English to French Crossword Puzzles Level 10 $22.67 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 20:47:11 PDT Buy It Now for only: $22.67 |
 Websters English to French Crossword Puzzles Level 11 $22.67 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 20:47:13 PDT Buy It Now for only: $22.67 |
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 Websters English to French Crossword Puzzles Level 14 $22.67 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 20:47:22 PDT Buy It Now for only: $22.67 |
 Websters English to French Crossword Puzzles Level 15 $22.67 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 20:47:24 PDT Buy It Now for only: $22.67 |
 Websters English to French Crossword Puzzles Level 16 $22.67 End Date: Sunday Jun-3-2012 20:47:27 PDT Buy It Now for only: $22.67 |
Can Learning Languages Help You Better Understand Science and Technology?
by Philip Yaffe
"I was 24 years old when I first began thinking and speaking in a foreign language. It was like being released from prison. I saw my cell door swinging open and my mind flying free. That was over 40 years ago, but the picture is as fresh now as if it had just happened."
I am a linguistic iconoclast. Throughout my life (I am now in my seventh decade), I have heard the mantra that learning a foreign language gives you invaluable insights into the cultures of the people who speak it. I don't believe it.
In addition to my native English (I grew up in Southern California), I have become fluent in two other languages and have a good working knowledge of three more. I doubt that all this effort has given me any insights into the cultures of the people who speak these languages. At least no insights that I couldn't have acquired more easily in 30 - 60 minutes by reading a well-written essay or in a few hours by attending well-crafted social-cultural lectures.
By contrast, I have acquired a deeper understanding of science.
What does science have to do with language? Actually, very little. But it has a lot to do with flexible thinking. And this is where science and language learning converge.
Contrary to the common belief, science is not about certainty but rather uncertainty. Good scientists are always looking for what has been overlooked, i.e. they are always searching for surprises and welcome them when they happen. They know that moment we believe a phenomenon is "natural" and must be that way, or that it is "unnatural" and cannot be that way, we are either heading for trouble or missing out on something important.
For example, Albert Einstein investigated the "unnatural" belief that a beam of light in space must always have the same velocity; other scientists had spent decades trying to disprove this. He wanted to see where this "unnatural" might lead. In fact, it lead to e = mc², the formula for atomic energy, and transformed the world.
It is not necessary to be a genius like Einstein (who spoke German, French, Italian and English), or even a scientist at all, in order to profit from the mind-stretching benefits of learning foreign languages. In our daily lives we all make assumptions about how the world works; often we are not even aware that we are making them. And that's the danger. If we are insensitive to our assumptions, we are almost certain to end up believing things that aren't true and refusing to believe things that are true.
Learning languages can help correct this parlous state of affairs. How? Quite simply, because nowhere else are our assumptions more rapidly and forcefully challenged by other assumptions about what is or isn't natural that are equally valid.
Here are some simple examples.
1; Trailing Adjectives
It is "natural" to put adjectives before a noun, e.g. "an unidentified flying object". Well not really. Many languages put adjectives after the noun, e.g. "un objet volant non-identifie". You could argue the "naturalness" of these conflicting practices both ways. In English, we prefer to describe something before identifying what it is, as if to build up the suspense. In French, they prefer to identify what it is first and describe it afterwards. Who is right?
2. Optional Pronouns
English speakers take it for granted that constructing a sentence requires a subject and a verb. The subject can be either a proper noun (John talks) or a pronoun (He talks). If you have any acquaintance with Spanish, you know that in this language the pronoun is usually not necessary. You would still say "Juan habla" (John talks); however, in most cases you would simply say "Habla" for "He talks". In fact, if you use a pronoun where it isn't required ("El habla"), you would be committing a serious error.
3. No Distinction between Male and Female
English speakers Learning French are often puzzled by the language's apparent inability to distinguish between male and female. For example, "This is his book" and "This is her book" in French are both "C'est son livre". The possessive adjective "son" means both "his" and "her". If it is absolutely necessary to distinguish between "his" book and "her" book, there is a way of doing so. However, it is employed only when absolutely necessary.
But isn't it always absolutely necessary? It seems so unnatural not to specify whether the book's owner is male or female. Isn't this fundamental information?
It may seem so, but it isn't. By the same logic, it should be fundamental information to distinguish between male and female when saying "This is their book", but we don't. "This is your book" can be either male, female, or both, but we never specify. Even "This is my book" can be either male or female, but again we don't specify.
Having grown up speaking only English, you probably have never noticed this inconsistency in the language. Neither had I. I simply knew that is was "natural" to distinguish between his and her book, until a Frenchman asked me why. I couldn't tell him.
4. Inclusive and Explicit Forms of "You"
In English, we have only one way of saying "you", which covers all situations. Many languages have several ways of saying it, notably the "formal you" and the "familiar you". English used to have a familiar "you" (thou), but it has essentially disappeared. But in French and Spanish, for example, it is still widely used, making speakers of these languages feel that English is somehow "incomplete".
Spanish speakers are particularly poorly served. In their language, not only do they have a formal and familiar "you", they have them both in the singular and plural. In other words, in Spanish there are four ways of saying "you": formal singular (one person), familiar singular (one person), formal plural (several persons), familiar plural (several persons). For Spanish speakers, having these four options is natural and necessary; not having them in English is unnatural and constricting.
5. Exclusive and Explicit Verb Forms
English has very few verb forms. For example, in the present tense we say "I cook", "You cook", "He cooks", "She cooks", "We cook", "They cook". In other words, there are only two forms of the verb, "cook" and "cooks", depending on whom we are talking about. In the past tense English has only one verb form, e.g. "I cooked", "You cooked", "He cooked", "She cooked", "We cooked", "They cooked". Likewise in the future tense; everyone "will cook".
In other languages this is quite unnatural, because they use distinct forms for each different person being talked about. For example, in French and Spanish "I" is associated with one verb form, "you" with a distinctly different verb form, "we" with yet another form, etc. And of course there are distinct verb forms for the "familiar you" and "formal you" (singular in French, and both singular and plural in Spanish).
But doesn't all these differences make other languages significantly more complex than English? Yes, indeed. However, they also make them significantly more precise. For speakers of these languages, it is crucially important to make these distinctions, because this is how their minds have been trained to work. Just as it is crucially important for English speakers to distinguish between "his" and "hers", because this is how our minds have been trained to work.
Examples of these different ways of doing things from one language to another are endless. Each time we encounter them our mind opens up a little bit more, because the unexpressed assumptions we all carry around with us are continually being challenged.
Growing up in California, I used to be strongly opposed to language learning because it seemed so difficult and pointless. I have since changed my mind. I now strongly advocate language learning. Not because knowing a foreign language teaches us very much about others, but because it teaches us so much about ourselves.
Accepting that language learning is more about mind expansion than culture implies that language teaching must be fundamentally reformed.
I live in Belgium, where speaking two or three languages is the norm rather than the exception. This is generally true throughout Europe. In these countries, teaching languages in the belief that people will actually use them makes sense. The mind-expanding aspects of the effort come along as a welcomed bonus.
However for English speakers in general, and Americans in particular, it is almost impossible to learn to speak foreign languages because it is so difficult to practice them outside of the classroom. Here, the mind-expanding aspects of language learning should be the primary objective, and courses designed and taught in consequence.
If this were done, I believe that the American fear - and dare I say loathing – of other languages could be reversed. The schools would lay down the foundations of a language without trying to force students into the hopeless and demoralizing task of trying to speak it.
With this foundation firmly in place, when a person traveled to an area where that language is spoken, he would be able to rapidly turn his passive knowledge into active use. Even better, even if he traveled to an area with a totally different language, he would understand how languages work and therefore be ready to learn the new language rapidly and without fear.
Finally, the general aversion – and again dare I say loathing – many monolingual English speakers have of science and technology might also moderate. A mind made flexible by language learning would find it much easier to grasp and appreciate scientific principles than one still imprisoned in single-language rigidity.
In an age dominated by science and technology, surely this would be a benefit of ineffable importance.
Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. He currently teaches a course in good writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. His recently published book In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional is available from Story Publishers in Ghent, Belgium (storypublishers.be) and Amazon (amazon.com).
For further information, contact:
Philip Yaffe
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0)2 660 0405
Email: phil.yaffe@yahoo.com
About the Author
Philip Yaffe is a former writer with The Wall Street Journal and international marketing communication consultant. Now semi-retired, he teaches courses in persuasive communication in Brussels, Belgium. Because his clients use English as a second or third language, his approach to writing and public speaking is somewhat different from other communication coaches. He is the author of In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional. Contact: phil.yaffe@yahoo.com.
