What type of linguist are you? :)
A question once asked by my language teacher in which she told us as an example that she was a "touchy feely" linguist. hahaha "Us" being 20 or so 13 year olds....i bet you could guess what our reaction was 
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She then went on to explain that as a "touchy feely" linguist, she learns new things in a language and likes to experiment and be creative with it. Thinking about it, i guess I'm this type of linguist too- I like trying to express things in creative ways and if i don't know how to say something i'll experiment with ways to get around it.
What type of linguist would you say you are? Do you always follow the rules? Do you like to stretch your capabilities in a language? Do you have the courage to be creative make mistakes and then learn from them? Are you a "touchy feely" linguist hahaha? Or are you a different type? 
I'm really interested to find out
Cardiff
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7 Answers
I follow the rules by the book until I hear something different, then I add that word/phrase to my vocabulary.
For example, "chaqueta" and "coger" are okay in España but not okay in México. Mexicans use "chamarra" and "agarrar."
This is a very interesting question as I never heard it expressed exactly like this. I do know that I like to try expressing what I feel, including the "round about" way, but in the end I want someone to tell me about mistakes because I want to speak correctly.
I like to approach learning Languages such as Spanish from two different perspectives, simultaneously Like Marianne I want to learn to speak Spanish correctly and so I spend time learning the verb forms and when to use the different 1 tenses and 2 moods eg1 Future indicative and 2 subjunctive, respectively and how to use indirect objects and other grammatical rules/guidelines.
At the same time I like to experiment and learn new ways to express the same things eg idioms, and to be creative like in Gekkosan's creative translation exercise a while ago.
I learn a great deal in the process of trying to help others when I answer their questions - both at Spanish Dict and outside of Cyberland - as well as receiving responses to my own questions. I also learn a tremendous amount from practising my Spanish with natives whether in chatrooms or the real world lol 
It has been said that we (people) learn more from our (their) mistakes than from the times when we get things right, but like most people, I don't like to make mistakes in public lol 
All in all I try to be creative in my use of the language ( eg expressions, ) while balancing that with my need to learn to speak Spanish fluently ie accurately
I can't learn with rules...just can't. That's why I joined this forum (before I was against talking on internet and not live). I challenged myself to learn Spanish without any teacher. Then searched for creative ways not to get bored - still, learning is sometimes hard ( I am reading a grammar but it is so slowly and I am sure will take a lot of time to end this) - so I started listening to the music, then weekly threads here. Now I even started a serious book and I am so happy I don't wanna put it away at all. I watch tv online, whatever it is, educational, documentary, or simple soap opera. What I love about learning the most, I don't have where to practise, but I'm starting to think in Spanish. When I'll get a chance I guess I'll talk non stop. And another thing - I love to discover new words related to my hobbies, personal life or proffesion. And it seems that nowadays they're just falling from nowhere.
Is there a 'build as you go' category?
I like learning (committing to memory) well structured sentences or phrases.
Being comfortable with a sentence and then only having to substitute the appropriate word is much easier than figuring out how to put the entire sentence correctly.
Vocabulary surrounds us and is easily picked up, for me at least. And when all else fails, falling back on an English word is not so terrible. And sometimes, pointing will work. But I have to commit the sentences to memory to be able to use the words.
After I get started, then I want the rules to be able to build on.
I do not understand Chinese, I do not speak Chinese, I cannot read Chinese. But I can say 'in Chinese': " I would like to have 2 bottles of beer, please." In place of beer, I can point to anything in the place and without taking my shoes off I can order any number from 1 to 10.
So put me in the 'build as you go' category of linguist!
I was focused on learning everything precisely from text books and grammar books, but then would become easily flustered when someone said or wrote something that didn't fit in with those rules.
I have been following a daily on line video course created by a language teacher from Peru. He stresses listening to the rhythm of the language and trying to absorb as a child would rather than trying to memorize endless charts and rules.
This new method seems to be working much better. I am more relaxed and seem to absorb a bit more. Of course I still refer back to books and other sources, but I don't make them my only source of learning.
If you take notice, I guess children learn in the "touchy feely" way you describe. They listen, imitate, experiment, make mistakes and then start all over again. This is probably the most natural way to learn, although as adults, I think we want to know all the rules and regulations and be able to do things perfectly rather quickly.
I guess I am a rules follower too... I like to know how, why and when to use the words and pharses I have am learning. If I am having trouble expressing myself (which is all the time with the little Spanish I do know) I try and learn the correct way, rarely venturing off the logical path.
Bob
