learning a new language

[Ardax]

It looks as if so far, I can take the cake for the most useless language "larned" in high school: Latin. Yes folks, the dead language.

Realistically it was reasonably useful, as it's strengthened my grasp on English vocabulary, and made me realize just how much the rules of a language are stretched when you listen to music or read the poetry. (That was a nightmare, Latin poetry... <shudder>)

That said, immersion in the language and culture is probably one of the best ways to learn it.

Another tip is to learn a language that's similar to English, as it would be much easier. Spanish, French, Italian, or to a lesser extent, German or Russian are good choices. Most of the Asian languages or the languages of the smaller island nations (Hawiian, etc.) would be hellaciously difficult to learn, because the evolution of the language had no common roots to English. Hell, even a few of the Asian languages evolved completely differently from each other.

[hertz]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Spanish looks to be the right choice.

(Although comments like "Castillian Spanish will get you funny looks in Mexico" and "Puerto Rican Spanish...that's a WHOLE new ballgame" have me a bit freaked out.)

I think that I'll enrol in a TAFE (community college?) course that teaches introductory Spanish. Better than a book, and probably a good way to meet up with a few like minded individuals.

[Griff]

I took Spanish in college after evading it in high school. It was tough but you really can just jump in at the college level since the advanced students will test out of the intro course. I made the mistake of going to a cowtown college so immersion in spanish culture wasn't gonna happen. Outside of the Puerto Rican girl I tutored in history I really had no real world foreign language experience. I assume it will lie dormant unless I move to latin america. My brother was a terrible language student but by living in various countries over the years he's now bilingual (Spanish) and wouldn't starve in Turkey. He could probably teach a course in spanish language differences, which comes in handy teaching in California. Advice: Go for it! Seek out chances to use it though, otherwise it won't be readily available when you need it.



edit smelling: i before e... like hubris said outa know your native language

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by hertz
(Although comments like "Castillian Spanish will get you funny looks in Mexico" and "Puerto Rican Spanish...that's a WHOLE new ballgame" have me a bit freaked out.)

Nah...don't be.

If you go to a community college, you will most likely learn Mexican Spanish. Although someone in Spain would call this "dirty Spanish," most Spanish speakers would understand. Same if you spoke Spanish from Spain to someone in Mexico.

Just like in English, it's spoken a bit differently, depending on which area you are in. Australia and Britain use words that Americans may not quite understand. How many Americans do you know that refer to 2 weeks as a "fortnight"? Some of us call a bathroom a "toilet," while Brits may use the term "loo." That's how Spanish can be. Where as Mexicans call a bus an "autobus," Puerto Ricans call it a "guagua" (pronounced like the convenience store chain: "wa-wa").

Worry about learning the language first...THEN worry about how to speak it where you're at.

[warch]

Immersion. Travel is Good. I went to Guatemala in celebration of my 30th year, studying Mayan textiles and taking Spanish classes. I was matched with a woman my same age who spoke no English. We really became good friends over 4 weeks, dumping the textbook and just trying to share each others' stories. And my story was nothing compared to her life. Quite an eye opener. (this was in 1993, still very volatile) She was married with 6 daughters, her spouse was an amazing woodcarver. Her father and brother disappeared, her dad was a teacher and radio newsbroadcaster. Something amazingly poignant about her lowering her head, looking from side to side and whispering in Spanish what had happened. The best lesson.

You have to be committed to using it, wanting to communicate enough that you will risk sounding dumb.I havent had many moments, my skills are sketchy, but the coolest thing is when you start to *think* in that new language. Hey maybe I'll keep trying! thanks for the motivation. Maybe I'll catch Eric Estrada on Univision! Adios.

[jaguar]

jsut my 2c but yea - Immersaion is essiential, i learnt friench for 3 years, i leant 10x more in the last year because all we spoke in cals was french, everyhting, the more hte better beause it forces you to rmeember allot ore than being able ot slip back into english..

[SteveDallas]

Originally posted by Undertoad
A few years back my wife and I were comparing notes on our high school experiences. "And I got the Physics prize, for being the best Physics student," she said. "Wow, Physics, I wouldn't have expected that," I said. "Tell me something. What's Ohm's law?"

She didn't know. The most basic law of electronics, a major part of Physics.

Oh yeah I know all about that, something about an Indian and a vulture and a rock? I know about the prizes to... I got a few math prizes, and a French one, and I've got a Phi Beta Kappa key floating around in my dresser somewhere if it didn't get lost last time I moved. Am I glad I got the kind of education I did? Yes. Did it make me a better person? Yes. Do I remember half of it? Do I use half of it? Would I encourage my kids to choose the same kind of education? Ummmmmmm.........

Well back to the languages, I am attempting to learn Ancient Egyptian. You know, hieroglyphs, mummies, etc. etc. It's interesting.. and somewhat frustrating because I can't concentrate on it for periods of time, so I always have to go back and review things that came before. ("Oh yeah, I forgot they could use that as a first person pronoun.") I've always had an interest in Ancient Egypt and it's gratifying to have some knowledge of the language, though I doubt I will ever be able to read anything without a dictionary and a grammar at hand. I am now at the point where I recognize many of the most common signs (even if I don't recognize the words they're spelling), and some of the pharaoh's names & titles that I'm more familiar with. So we'll see how far I can go with it.

What really shocked me, from the aegyptian-l mailing list (which I recommend as a starting point for anybody else who wants to try this) was that for the movies Stargate, The Mummy, and The Mummy Returns, they actually retained a specialist in the ancient egyptian language and used "real" egyptian in the movies. I'd never have imagined they'd go to that much trouble.