The two most important things to know are that 1.) Tae Kim has no experience in teaching languages, he’s just some guy. And 2.) Tae Kim has no ability to accept when he’s wrong, and in the past has repeatedly argued with people about his own pet theories, even when being proved wrong. I’m also pretty certain he used sock-puppet accounts as well.
Wow! Was not aware of this. I used Tae Kim for a while but stopped due to his style being too informal for me. I’d prefer him just to use the linguistic terminology rather than his own cryptic definitions. Imabi is, therefore, my primary resources for the time-being.
Wait, you’re saying because the businessman Tae Kim bio you found doesn’t mention Japanese, you think the person who made Tae Kim’s guide might not know Japanese?
I don’t think anyone else doubts that whoever wrote the guide has studied Japanese for a significant time, it’s just the details.
I don’t know, I started this post to see if anyone would come up with answers such as “[somewhere] it’s stated he’s been studying Japanese for many years” or “yes right, it’s like an Italian who teaches Spanish pretending to know it”… but all people can do here is criticise the others… ![]()
Yea, once upon a time in /r/badlinguistics there was a great thread about how he didn’t understand marked vs unmarked word order, because he claimed Japanese wasn’t SOV, and then hijinks ensued.
What a rolercoaster of emotions this thread has been
I’m glad I’ve stopped to read it. From language discussion to cults. Are we on a list yet? ![]()
Absolutely didn’t know anything about Cure Dolly. Which doesn’t make her content any less good, but… I’m really concerned.
I’m not familiar with the concept of marked vs unmarked word order, besides briefly reading the top of that article. Is it like how German is not considered to be SVO despite sentences like “I am German” being “Ich bin Deutsch”. (typically depending on other clauses and adverbs it’s either VSO or SOV I believe).
Hey folks,
Given the amount of flags that have flared up in this thread as well as the twists and turns it has taken, we have decided to close this thread. We’d also like to remind people that again, when you are engaging in discussions that to take a step back and take a breath before hitting post and think about what you are going to say. Is the message you’re about to put up something worthwhile and conducive to that discussion? Or is this going to make you and other users more heated?
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