more obvious when the target language is typologically remote and genetically unrelated to the native language: Es gibt zu viele (German) = There are too many (clarifies the meaning) = *It gives too many (renders the structure transparent) Quand je serai grand (French) = When I’m big (clarifies the meaning) = *When I will-be big (renders the structure transparent) Shànghǎi bǐ Běijīng dà (Mandarin) = Shanghai is bigger than Beijing (clarifies the meaning) = *Shanghai bǐ (=than) Beijing big (renders the structure transparent) Although not all constructions can be mirrored quite so comfortably, for Butzkamm this dual comprehension (functional understanding / decoding plus structural understanding / codebreaking) is the most important single factor in language acquisition. Only this kind of double understanding enables the learner to create and risk numerous sentences of his own, making, in Humboldt's words, “infinite use of finite means” (the generative principle): Es gibt zu viele Kinder. There are too many children. Es gibt zu wenige Lehrer. There are too few teachers. Es gibt Politiker, die… There are politicians who… Gibt es Philosophen, die…? Are there philosophers who…? Teachers must teach in ways so that the sentences learners hear or read become syntactical germ-cells and models for many more sentences. Idiomatic translation and mother tongue mirroring combined provide immediate access to a complete meaning of foreign language constructions, often making further explanations superfluous. By contrast, the currently accepted approach seems to see the mother tongue as an intruder only, and a persistent temptation for pupils and (tired) teachers to fall back on, more of a hindrance than a help. The advice commonly given is to use it as little as possible, as a last resort in meaning-conveyance or for grammatical explanations (which themselves must be kept to a minimum). This, according to Butzkamm, is a colossal mistake, and besides, definitely Eurocentric. While acknowledging that the indiscriminate and haphazard use of the mother tongue is all too frequent and must be avoided, Butzkamm insists that we have to re-define the role of the native language as the major resource in foreign language learning and teaching. As children grow into their mother tongue (1) they have learnt to conceptualize their world and have fully grasped the symbolic function of language; (2) they have learnt to communicate; (3) they have learnt to speak and use their voice; (4) they have acquired an intuitive understanding of grammar and have become