A Language Learning Moment

I had an interesting language moment tonight.

I’ve felt less than stellar for the last two days so I decided to just stay in and relax all weekend. Finally though I had to step outside to get a bite to eat.

Apparently it had rained.

Because one of my only goals this year is to vastly improve my Japanese skills I try to think in the language as much as I can without first thinking in English. Basically, I’m trying to get out of the terrible habit of translating in my head and just think in Japanese directly.

So, I immediately said to myself “雨が降った” (ame ga futta/It rained). Ok cool. I remembered a very basic phrase.

Next I tried to say “The road is wet” and stumbled. I couldn’t remember the Japanese for “wet”. I then tried to think through the other languages I’ve tried to study over the years. I couldn’t remember “wet” in Italian or Hebrew.

Then a non-English word came to mind, “mojado.”

I knew “wet” in Spanish, a language I don’t even actively study. I said to myself “el camino está mojado.”

I knew mojado because of the numerous “caution” signs companies put up when an employee mops a floor or a liquid is spilled. Funny how much you can learn, almost unconsciously, simply having a language easily available in your daily life.

I know there are other words for “road” or “street” in Spanish and perhaps “el camino” wasn’t even the best one to use, but I knew mojado and likely would have been able to get my actual thought across.

Of course in Japanese I could have said something like “水は道の上にある” (mizu wa michi no ue ni aru/water is on the road) to get a similar idea across, but the exact thought I wanted to express wouldn’t have been as easily communicated.

It’s a good reminder to find more ways to surround myself with the language I’m targeting at the moment. I need to get as close to immersion as I can without actual immersion.

Of course with this experience I likely won’t ever forget “ぬれた” (nureta/wet) in Japanese.