HOWMARXLEARNEDFOREIGNLANGUAGES
KarlMarxwasborninGermany,andGermanwashisnativelanguage.Whenhewasstillayoungman,hewasforcedtoleavehishomelandforpoliticalreasons.HestayedinBelgiumforafewyears;thenhewenttoFrance.Beforelonghehadtomoveonagain.In1849,hewenttoEnglandandmadeLondonthebaseforhisrevolutionarywork.
MarxhadlearnedsomeFrenchandEnglishatschool.WhenhegottoEngland,hefoundthathisEnglishwastoolimited.Hestartedworkinghardtoimprovedit.HemadesuchrapidprogressthatbeforelonghebegantowritearticlesinEnglishforanAmericannewspaper.Infact,hisEnglishinoneofthesearticleswassogoodthatEngelswrotehimaletterandpraisedhimforit.MarxwrotebacktosaythattheEngel’spraisehadgreatlyencouragedhim.
However,hewentontoexplainthathewasnottoosureabouttwothings-thegrammarandsomeoftheidioms.
Theseletterswerewrittenin1853.Intheyearsthatfollowed,MarxkeptonstudyingEnglishandusingit.Whenhewroteoneofhisgreatworks.TheCivilWarinFrance,hehadmasteredthelanguagesowellthathewasabletowritethebookinEnglish.
Inthel870s,whenManwasalreadyinhisfifties,hefounditimportanttostudythesituationinRussia,sohebegantolearnRussian.AttheendofsixmonthshehadlearnedenoughtoreadarticlesandreportsinRussian.
Inoneofhisbooks,Marxgavesomeadviceonhowtolearnaforeignlanguage.Hesaidwhenpeoplearelearningaforeignlanguage,theyshouldnottranslateeverythingintotheirownlanguage.Iftheydothis,itshowstheyhavenotmasteredWhentheyusetheforeignlanguage,theyshouldtrytoForgerallabouttheirown.Iftheycannotdothis,theyhavenotreallylearnedthespiritoftheforeignlanguageandcannotuseitfreely.
