If you read some of my blog posts, especially those on language issues, you will encounter the following thoughts every once in a while. Actually one thought in particular: There is no ‘right or wrong’ when learning a language. ‘Right or wrong’ comes from grading systems. Grading systems need ‘right or wrongs’ in order to exist.

Don’t get me wrong ;-): There are things that won’t work if you say them. I don’t believe in ‘anything goes’ and my goal as a learner and guide to learning a language is also to come as closest as possible to acquiring the system in all its accuracies (as far as that is possible when learning a language as an adult with little time). If you don’t follow the regularities of any given language, your fellow speakers will not be able to understand you.

But there is loads of flexibility here. And not everything is of equal importance. Not getting the forms quite right are steps along the path of learning. They should not be sanctioned.

A language is a fascinating system of syntax and words put together to create meaning. How the respective systems developed, truly developed thoughout history remains a mystery, at least to me. There are linguists who propose something they call ‘universal grammar’ believing that language, or the ability to create linguistic systems, is an innate feature of human brains and as such all languages probably share common features. It is a fascinating quest, but let’s not digress.

When learning a language it is – to a certain extent – important ‘to get it right’. But it is not important because there are rules you should follow and if you don’t you will get bad grades. It is important because you need a common linguistic ground in order to communicate with other speakers of the same language.

The regularities languages (or rather humans) developed over millenia are necessary for us to understand each other. If my chair is your tree, no chance. We have to agree on similar meanings. This goes for structural features as well as semantic ones. We have choices to pick from, a variety of ways to express whatever it is we want to express (see R. A. Close’s distinction ‘Language as Choice and Language as Fact’). That is the creative nature of language; without it there would be no original or imaginative thinking.

Language systems are not perfect. There is plenty of room for misunderstandings, also among native users of a language. However, there are some essential aspects of every language that need to be followed if you want the language you are learning to be of any use. Basics, so to say. There are semantic distinctions expressed by structural means (called grammar) that need to be adhered to if we want to understand each other.

One example would be the basic tense of a verb: past or not past (see Verb Structure Circle). If you are telling me about your past holiday using the so-called ‘simple present’ form, I will mistakenly believe you are telling me about your holidays in general or one you are planning. On the other hand, getting gender morphology right with languages who have (seemingly) random gender allocation is less important for successful communiction.

If you are an adult, younger or older, who had a traumatic learning experience in school – try to forget it and get back to enjoying learning again. Just don’t try to be a perfectionist.