I wish I could give you the source, but I heard this sentence on TV. Now, thinking about it, maybe I misheard it?

• 5

Generally, "to pick up a language" means to learn it, or more realistically to be in the process of learning it.

"To pick up on something" generally means to notice something subtle, to become aware of something that others might miss.

eg

Jane quickly picked up on Tom's mood swings.

Also, some people might notice something but say nothing about it.

"I'd like to pick up on your earlier hint of the anxieties you suffered in adolescence."

In this case "pick up on" means draw attention to, comment on, discuss something that might otherwise have been "forgotten" or ignored.

Last edited: Sep 15, 2013

• 6

  Generally, "to pick up a language" means to learn it, or more realistically to be in the process of learning it.

"To pick up on something" generally means to notice something subtle, to become aware of something that others might miss.

eg

Jane quickly picked up on Tom's mood swings.

Also, some people might notice something but say nothing about it.

"I'd like to pick up on your earlier hint of the anxieties you suffered in adolescence."

In this case "pick up on" means draw attention to, comment on, discuss something that might otherwise have been "forgotten" or ignored.

Thanks Linkway for the explanation. From it, I can see that my sentence makes little sense, and it should be "pick up a language of one's community".

Cheers

• 7

I would have expected, "Children pick up on the language of their community." i.e., as linkway suggested, "to become aware of and adapt to."

• 8

'Pick up on' can also mean 'to notice', I'd say.

I think it's more likely that we're talking about a child picking up [ie. learning] a language in its community, than a child noticing that a language is being spoken there.

• 9

Oh, I see. Thank you, Paul. As to the language, I've noticed that sometimes "language" is treated as an uncountable noun and sometimes as countable. I've seen sentences: "Children have innate ability to learn language" and "Children have innate ability to learn a language" but I don't really know the difference. Is there any?

• 10

In practice, 'language', 'a language' and 'languages' mean the same thing in that context. Technically, they each have a subtly different meaning. 'language' - children can learn the intricacies of language in general, the oral/written method of communication between people, without necessarily mastering one specific language. This would perhaps make more sense if talking about apes or other animals who might learn basic communication without ever learning a complete language. 'a language' - specifically one language as opposed to several. 'languages' - any number of individual languages.

• 11

  'Pick up on' can also mean 'to notice', I'd say.

I think it's more likely that we're talking about a child picking up [ie. learning] a language in its community, than a child noticing that a language is being spoken there.

Thank you, Beryl.

• 12

Thank you, Pickarooney. It's clear now.

• 13

Since we don't know the context, I'd also like to point out that "language" can be used figuratively. One might talk about "the language of finance" or "the language of politics."

If a child picks up on the language of his community, it could mean that the child learns Spanish, because a lot of people in the area speak Spanish. But it could also mean that the child notices, as his parents might not, that some of the people in his community use words in a different way. Maybe the people in his community use a lot of cuss words. His parents might be offended by these words, but the child notices that the people around him use them very casually and don't find them offencive. Or maybe the child notices that people use different slang than his parents use at home. Or that they say things but their tone of voice makes it clear that they really mean the opposite of what they're saying. If the child picks up these verbal mannerisms, it means he adopts them himself. But if he picks up on them, it just means that he is aware of them. These things can be quite subtle, and maybe his parents don't notice them as easily as he does.

• 14

Hi,

A British spy: I picked up a few Cantonese profanities when I lived in Kowloon Walled City. I picked up on a few Cantonese profanities when I lived in Kowloon Walled City.

Would you say the second one is wrong because "picking up on" usually involves more dedicated efforts? It seems inappropriate to a casual acquirement of a few profanities.

• 15

\>> Would you say the second one is wrong because "picking up on" usually involves more dedicated efforts? It seems inappropriate to a casual acquirement of a few profanities.

I wouldn't describe it as wrong, but it does seem less likely than the first.

It's quite easy to imagine someone picking up [acquiring] a few foreign swear words.

If we adopt Linkway's definition of 'picked up on', ie. to notice something subtle that others may have missed, then it becomes harder to imagine a context where the second could work.

It's not that picking up on things requires dedicated efforts - you could pick up on something with no effort at all.

• 16

Thank you all for your posts They are very helpful.

• 17

  Hi,

A British spy: I picked up a few Cantonese profanities when I lived in Kowloon Walled City.

I learnt a few Cantonese profanities

I picked up on a few Cantonese profanities when I lived in Kowloon Walled City.

I noticed and took an interest in some people who mentioned specific Cantonese profanities. The sentence would them continue with something like: "I think that they are actually code-words used by the Blackhand Gang."

Pick up on nghĩa là gì?

Nghĩa từ Pick up on Ý nghĩa của Pick up on là: Chú ý đến điều mà không ai chú ý đến.

Pick up hàng là gì?

Pickup store là mô hình kinh doanh, trong đó, khách hàng sẽ đặt hàng online trên web, và đến lấy hàng trực tiếp tại cửa hàng. Cách làm này được nhiều thương hiệu bán lẻ trên thế giới áp dụng như Walmart, Armani Exchange, Gap.. ngay cả đến Apple cũng dùng đến.

Pick up the phone nghĩa là gì?

- pick up the phone [bắt máy]: I've been trying to call you, but you haven't been picking up your phone. [Tôi đã cố gắng gọi cho bạn, nhưng bạn không bắt máy.]

Pick up phrasal verb là gì?

Phrasal verb pick up something có nghĩa đen là "nhặt cái gì đó, cầm cái gì đó lên". Từ nghĩa đen này phát triển ra rất nhiều nghĩa bóng, tuỳ theo trường hợp mà chúng ta sẽ dịch nghĩa tiếng Việt khác nhau cho phù hợp ạ. I have to pick up my children at five. Tôi phải đến "nhặt" con của tôi lúc 5 giờ.