{"id":238,"date":"2016-08-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/log.cudoo.com\/2018\/03\/11\/how-to-increase-the-size-of-your-brain-the-easy-way\/"},"modified":"2020-03-06T00:07:18","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T20:07:18","slug":"how-to-exercise-your-brain-the-easy-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cudoo.com\/blog\/how-to-exercise-your-brain-the-easy-way\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Exercise Your Brain the Easy Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning a new language with its specific grammar can tie our noodle into knots, and make dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s the least of our worries. I could say, “Just do the math” – grammar rules are simply formula and once you learn them, all your worries are over.\u00a0Easier said than done when our own language is constantly sending mixed messages about what feels natural when we speak.<\/span> However, practice really does make perfect sense, especially as learning a foreign language can help you exercise your brain, meaning you have more brain power to cope with all that grammar. This is what Swedish scientists discovered when they used brain scans to monitor what happens when someone learns a second language<\/a>.\u00a0Using MRI scans, they discovered that the brains of the participants studying a second language increased in size, while the brain sizes of the other group remained the same. In other words, it’s a win-win situation.<\/p>\n

So to get you started, here are a few of our favorite grammar facts in 10 different languages…<\/p>\n

1. Korean<\/h2>\n

Korean grammar is heavily influenced by\u00a0honorifics<\/em><\/a>. The choice of verb endings, nouns, adjectives or pronouns depend on the status of the speaker or writer to the listener or reader. Very cool!<\/p>\n

2. Japanese<\/h2>\n

Japanese is an agglutinative<\/em><\/strong> language: Agglutinative – <\/em>a grammatical process in which words are composed of a sequence of morphemes (meaningful word elements), each of which represents not more than a single grammatical category.<\/em>\u00a0For example, verb information such as tense, mood, and the social relationship between the speaker and listener is added successively to the end of the verb. Turkish, Finnish and Korean are other examples of agglutinative languages<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Hindi<\/h2>\n

There is no definite article in Hindi, and the number\u00a0one\u00a0<\/em>is commonly used instead of an indefinite article.<\/p>\n

4. Russian<\/h2>\n

Russian<\/a> learners tend to ask questions with falling intonation, which might not sound polite to native speakers of languages with a rising intonation.<\/p>\n

5. Spanish<\/h2>\n

Spanish<\/a> has only 3 double-letter combinations\u00a0cc, ll, rr, <\/em>whereas English has five times that many.<\/p>\n

6. Arabic<\/h2>\n

Arabic has a three consonant root as its basis. All words (parts of speech) are formed by combining the three-root consonants with fixed vowel patterns and, sometimes, an affix. How beautifully logical is that? Beware – Arabic<\/a> does not have the verb “to be”, so this is a rule that even beginners need to get their head round from lesson 1.<\/p>\n

7. Chinese<\/h2>\n

Phrasal verbs such as take on, give in, make do with, look up to<\/em>, do not exist in Chinese. Chinese learners usually experience difficulty in comprehending such verbs and avoid attempting to use them themselves.<\/p>\n

8. French<\/h2>\n

The tip of the tongue is not used in speaking French<\/a>, therefore learners often have problems with words containing the letters\u00a0th<\/em>\u00a0(\/\u03b8\/ \/\u00f0\/), for example: then<\/em>, think<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0clothes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

9. Turkish<\/h2>\n

Personal pronouns in Turkish are used less frequently than in other languages, for example:\u00a0John has sold car,\u00a0<\/em>whereas this would be John has sold his car in many languages.<\/p>\n

10. German<\/h2>\n

Nouns in German<\/a> are capitalized, which often leads to German speakers writing nouns in other languages with capital letters, and German learners forgetting their capitals!<\/p>\n

\n

CONCLUSION:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Grammar is all about the culture of the language so if you love new cultures, embrace the gruesome grammar and turn up the brightness switch in your brain! Get started at https:\/\/cudoo.com\/languages<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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