UP THE CREEK WITH AMAZON

 

 Let me explain this as briefly as possible. 

I put up a review of a book on Amazon.co.uk. 

I already have 83 reviews on this site.

Subsequently, a relation put up her review of the same book, in the course of which she replicated two sentences from my review. My review was long and hers short. I gave a 5 star rating and she gave a 4 star rating.

My review suddenly disappeared, and on querying this with Amazon my attention was drawn to their [bot?] having found similar material in the reviews and that two [even independent] reviews of the same product are not permitted from the same household. 

And, moreover, when you get taken down they will not put you up again regardless. 

Mental.

This did not stop them taking two payments from the same household for two separate copies of the book.

Clearly,  guidelines, which attempt to stop manufacturers or retailers spamming the reviews, which may be appropriate in the case of other products, are not suitable in the case of books. 

Two people from the same household who have separately bought a book and are expressing their own opinions, even where the odd sentence is the same, should not be stopped from posting their separate reviews. 

 Also there was clearly no case of spamming here as these were the only two reviews to have appeared at that time. 

A human idiot could have seen all of this but apparently the human idiots are not allowed any discretion when it comes to the guidelines, so we're sadly in the hands of the bots/algorithms. Seems to be the way the world is going generally.

So when you get botted by one of these multinationals, and despite the sheer stupidity of some of their guidelines, you are done for without the opportunity to effectively appeal this unreasonable behaviour.

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My review

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This is a good, provocative and wise book and well worth a read.

It is designed to give learners of a foreign language the confidence to do so and progress beyond mere fluency. It emphasises that language is for communication but that it also carries in itself the resonances of generations past and the personality of the speaker. That's why learning a language must, of necessity, be an exploration of self.

Now all that may sound a little concentrated but if you read the book, you'll see where it is all coming from.

I'm coming from having, Irish, reasonably good French, and a smattering of Welsh, and I remember well my own learning experience and can identify with the book's advice.

The French seldom refer to the French language on its own. The term they use is “langue et civilisation française”. The civilisation bit shows that they consider that their language incorporates their view of their history,  of the world at large and their own particular character. This is the sort of thing Maria gets across in her book. You need to go with the full flow of the language you are learning and not end up with mere transliteration.

She points out that you should learn the language with your whole being and not just your brain. You have to soak it up and let it stew. Give your body & your subconscious the space to absorb it and come back later. This resonated with me.

There are lots of terms and concepts in the book which I found to be very true, though they could be challenging.

The idea of what you are learning of the target language being a thread to be part of the ultimate weave, rather than a finished cloak that you cover yourself with, should be an encouragement to learners. It is an exciting idea and goes well with the advice that confidence in the new language does not require perfection. It's more important to jump in the deep end and communicate as best you can. Learning is an evolving process and mistakes can be overcome by seeing them as signposts on the way to improvement. The important thing is to go with the flow of the moment.

There is lots and lots more in this book and it has all come out of Maria's own life experiences as a student, teacher and human being.

Learning a language can be a journey in self-knowledge and development and if you want to see how, read the book.

 The book page on Amazon