What Is Interlinear Text
Interlinear text in foreign language learning varies from a text in a foreign language with the complete translation of that line below it, to having a word for word translation below every word.
The advantage of having a complete translation of every line is that you understand the story. However you may not learn the meaning of every word, as foreign language idiom is replaced by idiom in your own language, and often individual words are translated differently.
Word for word interlinear translation, or a translation with interlinear gloss, is a foreign language text where every word has its meaning underneath. The difficulty there is that knowing the literal meaning of every word of a foreign language sentence might not reveal the meaning of the whole line.
So the most ideal interlinear text includes both a word for word literal translation and a translation that explains the idiom in the student's language. This is what HypLern is offering.
The Advantage of Studying with Interlinear Text
A foreign language text with an interlinear word for word translation is basically the same as a foreign language reader with a word index, but the big difference is that the meaning of every word is right below the original, and not in the back of the book, and every word has a meaning, and not only those deemed "difficult" by the author.
This has the advantage that it makes reading an interlinear foreign language reader much faster and easier and since that makes it more immersive, it makes it more fun. It also means you don't have to study the words separately, but you can practice difficult words or paragraphs just by reading and re-reading sentences or chapters.
The final result of this is an extremely reduced study time. If looking up a word in an index or dictionary costs you 20 seconds to 2 minutes, and looking at the word in an interlinear reader just means flashing your eye below the original word for a fraction of a second, it means that having an interlinear word for word translation makes studying 20 to 120 times faster!
Adding Software Power to Foreign Language Studying
Apps and computer programs that aid the memory or help you learn also claim to reduce study time. Some programs however are merely the online or software version of the standard language text books out there, consisting of short texts or sentences, with some vocabulary study, and maybe a grammar rule added to it.
The programs that reduce study time the most is spaced repetition scheduling software. What re-reading interlinear texts and sentences for difficult words does for memorizing them, is automated using Apps providing this SRS technology.
HypLern combines both the immersive re-reading of interlinear or pop-up texts with SRS in our new App for learning foreign languages, HypLern Dutch Reader, HypLern French Reader, HypLern German Reader and so forth. Go to the Microsoft store, Apple iTunes or the Amazon Android App Shop to find out if you like to work with a reader App that provides interlinear, interlinear on-demand or pop-up word for word translated text, and integrates a Spaced Repetition Schedule, or whether you'd rather stick with the brilliant interlinear word for word e-books and paperbacks that HypLern offers!
