Why I love learning languages

[Recursion]

In Bengali, when I use a pronoun to refer to a third party, I have six options, based on the person's physical and social distance from me. But I cannot indicate whether that person is male or female.

In Objibwe, when I use a pronoun to indicate a plural first-person, I can also specify whether the listener is included in the pronoun or not (ie, "we (you and I) went to the mall" vs. "we (somebody else and I) went to the mall&quot . This is an excellent distinction and I think English should adopt it. English rarely has shame adopting things. As a linguistics prof. I had once said, "many languages borrow from other languages. English follows other languages into dark alleys, beats them over the head, and takes their entire wallet."

In Swahili, during an ongoing narrative, I can specify whether the current verb happened because of, despite of, or without reference to the previous verb. I cannot (easily) specify whether the action was in the past, present or future.

Anyways, languages are cool.

[My Good Babushka]

1. I wish my children were taking languages

I think U.S. children should start languages earlier. I loved taking languages in college, but now I've nearly forgotten everything. I took German and Latin. Someday I would like to learn Polish. Maybe I'll try that Rosetta Stone software.

[Recursion]

2. I'm a 3/3 in 5 languages. Here's my tip.

Learn the accent first. Seriously.

If you can pronounce a few words correctly, you're better off than mispronouncing a bunch of words you know the meaning of.

It's better to do a little bit well than a lot badly.

[My Good Babushka]

3. I once had a teacher who recommended "self-declining" endings

If you are in a foreign land and struggling through a sentence, someone will usually take pity on you and finish your sentence. People are usually delighted that you are even giving it a try.

[Recursion]

4. Totally agree

A bit of correct pronunctiation, socially, does you better than a correct declension or conjugation. Just my two cents.

[DFW]

5. That sometimes gets me into difficult situations

I was trying to get a friend from Transylvania on the phone and only his older aunts were at the house. His English was fluent, so I thought they would know some, too. I asked if my friend was there. "Nem." I asked when he would be back. "Nem bészel angolul (I don't speak English)." Great. I asked if they spoke French or German. "Bészel frangolul? Bészel nematul?" No luck: "Nem." I sighed, "Magyarul (Hungarian)."

The old lady answered enthusiatically, "igen, igen, magyarul (yes, yes, Hungarian)." I said "nem értem magyarul (I don't understand Hungarian)." She then went on some kid of tirade to the other ladies in the house that I could barely make out to mean," there is some idiot on the phone telling me in perfect Hungarian that he doesn't understand Hungarian."

Maybe if my accent weren't so good, she might have believed me.

[pinboy3niner]

8. LOL!

I guess it can be a double-edged sword.

[Paulie]

7. I've been trying to work on Polish for a decade

Those extra letters throw me constantly. Sz, Cz, Rz and the three slightly different Z sounds. Klingon was easier.

My 7yo daughter in weekend Polish school reads well but my accent is better while she has 50x better vocabulary. I'll keep trying though, can't have the kids plotting stuff right in front of me because nie rozumiem.

[a la izquierda]

11. You might try duolingo online. I have no clue if they have Polish, but they have a few others.

It's fun. I'm using it to brush up on French.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. Don't bother with Rosetta Stone

It's overpriced and not that effective. For that price, you could take a community college class with a real teacher.

If you're self-motivated, get one of the Teach Yourself Books (about $40 with CDs) or take a community college class or find a Polish ethnic organization that offers classes. (I don't know about Polish in the Twin Cities, but there are ethnic organizations that teach German, Russian, and Norwegian.)

[DFW]

6. I wish I had time for languages I don't need in my daily work

I work in Europe, and the 9 (and a half, if you count Schwyzerdüütsch) languages I do know are ones spoken in countries a maximum of 3 hours' flight from here (the German Rheinland), i.e. all European. I know a smattering of non-Indo-European languages (Basque, Hungarian, Turkish, Japanese, Finnish, Mandarin), and I can pronounce what I know correctly, but know nowhere enough of them to say I can speak them.

[davidpdx]

9. I was always reluctant to learn another language

Made it through undergraduate and graduate school without it. Then I moved to Korea.

I did some tutoring for professors at the university I worked out a few years ago. One of them told me a joke.

What do you call someone who speaks two languages?

Bilingual

What do you call someone who speaks one language?

American

[yuiyoshida]

10. Japanese has many many borrowed words...

Bread - (Spanish: Pan) Pan
(English words)
Maiku ---- microphone
Suupaa ---- supermarket
Depaato --- department store
Biru ---- building
Biru -----Beer
Irasuto ---- illustration
Meeku ---- make-up
Daiya --- diamond
Pasokon ---- personal computer
Waapuro ---- word processor
Amefuto ---- American football
Aisu kuremu ---Ice Cream
Kohi --------- Coffee
Rabuhoteru----Love Hotel
Doraibu suru ---- to drive
Kisu suru ---- to kiss
Nokku suru ---- to knock
Taipu suru ---- to type

[a la izquierda]

12. I speak Spanish and read some French. I'm getting better at French.

I'm a 19th century Mexican historian. For Latin Americanists, the logical choices are Spanish and Portuguese. But for Mexicanists, especially those who work in the 19th century, French is more helpful, as is German. German, however, seems a pain in the ass for me, although an article I read recently suggested that English is something like the love-child of French and German, so I might do okay with it.