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Josquin’s Language Symphony (RU, IR, 東亜) | ||
Tags: Gaelic (Scottish) | Gaelic (Irish) | Icelandic | Portuguese | Multilingual | Total Annihilation Challenge (TAC) | Italian | Japanese | Russian | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Teango Triglot Winner TAC 2010 & 2012 Senior Member United States teango.wordpress.comRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5549 days ago 2210 posts - 3734 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Russian Studies: Hawaiian, French, Toki Pona | Message 425 of 646 11 May 2013 at 9:28pm | IP Logged |
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I think you're making the right decision here Josquin. It's vitally important to have balance in life, and from what you say, it sounds like you probably need to take a good break from all this language study for a little while, or at least relax your schedule a wee bit, so that you can better focus on all those other important goals in life.
Maybe when you've had time to address these other areas, you'll feel more refreshed, eager, and ready to return to your language studies in time (especially Gaelic ;) ). Language learning should always be fun and engaging, something you want to do; never a dull chore. I hope you find postive direction in the coming months, teammate, and continue to post logs here on the forum, even if less frequently, as they're always enjoyable to read. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| AlOlaf Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5141 days ago 491 posts - 617 votes Speaks: English*, GermanC2 Studies: Danish | Message 426 of 646 12 May 2013 at 2:22am | IP Logged |
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Vielen Dank für deine Unterstützung, Josquin. Du hast mir sehr geholfen.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Emme Triglot Senior Member Italy Joined 5340 days ago 980 posts - 1594 votes Speaks: Italian*, English, German Studies: Russian, Swedish, French | Message 427 of 646 12 May 2013 at 3:21pm | IP Logged |
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Hi Josquin!
I wish you all the best with the important things in life. And if once in a while you feel like dropping by, I’m sure we’ll all be happy to hear from you, Emme 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Expugnator Hexaglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5159 days ago 3335 posts - 4349 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, Norwegian, French, English, Italian, Papiamento Studies: Mandarin, Georgian, Russian | Message 428 of 646 13 May 2013 at 10:04pm | IP Logged |
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Josquin, I admire what you have been doing and I know how you feel. Sometimes it's important to set some limits. I feel I'm too worried about language learning. I have time for languages because that's the most appropriate thing to do in dead time at work (and I have a lot of dead time even if I also have to do overtime because I have to wait for others), but I shouldn't allow myself to worry so much about fulfilling or not my schedule. I know that for me, too, language-learning works as an escape from other activities, other things I should be studying and don't feel like.
I hope you will find the balance and enjoy this new phase. =D 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| BAnna Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 4615 days ago 409 posts - 616 votes Speaks: English*, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Turkish | Message 429 of 646 14 May 2013 at 2:02am | IP Logged |
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You hopefully won't read this for a while...I 100% support your decision. It's frightfully easy to become obsessed with languages and forums, and so many other things that don't serve our interests in the long run. Knowing when to step away and actually doing it is hard. Ich gratuliere dir. I believe you'll figure out what you really want and Icelandic, Russian, this forum, etc. will be there waiting IF you want them back in your life. You were very helpful to my language learning, so I also just want to thank you.
Enjoy your life and do what makes you happy. Viel Glück! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Josquin Heptaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4837 days ago 2266 posts - 3992 votes Speaks: German*, English, French, Latin, Italian, Russian, Swedish Studies: Japanese, Irish, Portuguese, Persian | Message 430 of 646 23 May 2013 at 2:56pm | IP Logged |
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THURSDAY, 23 MAY 2013
Thanks for all your kind words! I really appreciate your support and encouragement. I have been thinking a lot during the last two weeks (and not studied for a single minute) and I have come to the following conclusion: I will continue learning languages but in a different fashion from how I used to do it. I have just returned from spending a week with my friend in Ireland and I’m still fascinated by the beauty of the country, its culture, and its traditional language. I even bought Mícheál Ó Siadhail’s Learning Irish in Dublin, but I won’t use it for a while. Instead, I’ll go on studying Scottish Gaelic and get a good foundation in it before I’ll take a closer look on Irish. The Celtic languages interest me the most at the moment, so they’ll be my focus. I’ll read some Russian or Icelandic or listen to podcasts when I feel like it, but there’s no pressure on this. I won’t study Russian and Icelandic actively and I won’t use Anki for a while either. However, I haven’t finally decided yet what I’ll do with Japanese. I guess I’ll do a lesson of Colloquial Japanese now and then, but there’s no pressure behind that either. Generally speaking, I still want languages to be a part of my life, but not such an important part as they used to be during the last few months. Languages are fun, but as I don’t live in a multilingual environment and don’t get to travel very much I can’t use them a lot, so there’s no sense in studying like a berserk. That’s why I won’t set me any goals any more but rather study when I feel like it. It’s my attitude that has to change in order to find more inner balance, so I’ll just do what’s fun. Maybe this will result in rather flirting with languages instead of studying them seriously, but I’m okay with that. Languages are only my hobby, not my life and this forum, as great as it is, can’t be a substitute for satisfying social relations. I’ll continue writing in this log, but not as frequently as I used to before. See you again soon! Tha mi ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig a-rithist. Mòran taing airson ur cuideachaidh agus slàn leibh! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| liammcg Senior Member Ireland Joined 4597 days ago 269 posts - 397 votes Speaks: English* | Message 431 of 646 23 May 2013 at 9:41pm | IP Logged |
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Great to hear that you're continuing on with Gaelic a charaid. I haven't had the chance
to study for over a month but hope to get back into it from next week on! Also, great news about Irish. Did you get a chance to hear it during your stay here? I'd be interested to hear if you were able to decipher it based on your knowledge of Gaelic. The 'Celtic bug' also bit me this month, leading me to buy Colloquial Welsh. No immediate plans but we'll see what will happen! If you need any help with Irish in the future don't hesitate to contact me. I myself will be starting German this summer, so I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine;) Edited by liammcg on 23 May 2013 at 9:43pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Josquin Heptaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4837 days ago 2266 posts - 3992 votes Speaks: German*, English, French, Latin, Italian, Russian, Swedish Studies: Japanese, Irish, Portuguese, Persian | Message 432 of 646 26 May 2013 at 3:42pm | IP Logged |
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Mo Sheachtain in Éirinn
So, I am back to studying but in a much more relaxed fashion than before, and I must say the fun in language learning is finally back. I am now aware of the parts of my life that have to change and I don’t use languages as an excuse to ignore them any more. But instead of me rambling about my life, let me rather tell you of my trip to Ireland. I arrived at Dublin Airport late in the evening and went by bus to my hotel where I took a shower and drank a good pint of Guinness before going to sleep. The next morning, I had a full Irish breakfast, which consisted of tea, eggs, bacon, baked beans, a sausage, a tomato, and "white pudding", some other kind of sausage. It wasn’t bad, but the sheer amount of salt and fat that early in the morning nearly sent me back to sleep again. So, I drank another cup of tea in order to stay awake and set out for the city. The hotel was near O’Connell Street, so I only had to take a step out of the door and I was in the city centre immediately. I took a good walk around the town, looked at the General Post Office, Trinity College, Dublin Castle, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, had lunch in the Temple Bar District, and took a rest in St. Stephen’s Green, then I went back to the hotel, collected my luggage, and went by tram to Heuston Station. From there, I took the train to Cork where my friend waited for me at Kent Station. All announcements in the train were in Irish and English, so I could listen to the Irish language for the first time. I even recognized some words which were similar to Scottish Gaelic, but I couldn’t understand the general sense at all. My friend collected me at the station and we then went to the next pub, had another beer and some "pub grub", then we went on to her flat. During the next days, I got to know Cork, saw the old houses, the churches, and the university campus. We visited the pub every evening and I was thrilled by the traditional Irish music that was being played. There were even people dancing to it. I had never seen anything like that in a German pub. I was even more fascinated by the beautiful landscape that I saw on some trips to the countryside. My friend, her flatmates, and I went to a beautiful strip of coast where a river runs into the Celtic Sea. We saw sea weed, crabs, and anemones, let stones skim over the water, and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Then we went on to Rocky Bay Beach where we climbed some rocks, discovered two caves, and waded through the cold sea water. Unfortunately, I didn’t watch my step and so I slipped on a slippery rock and fell on the back of my head. Thank goodness, I didn’t pass out, didn’t bleed, and didn’t feel sick, but we nevertheless had to go to the hospital in order to have everything checked. So, I spent the entire Sunday evening in Cork University Hospital. Well, everything was alright except some minor headaches, so I returned to Dublin the next day. I had originally intended to view some more parts of the town, but as I didn’t feel too well after my fall I simply went to Temple Bar, had some dinner, and returned to the hotel early. I watched some TV on my room and saw a broadcast of a Gaelic football game on TG4. Well, I didn’t watch all of it, but it was another opportunity to hear some Irish. On Tuesday, I felt much better, so I took another tour round the town. I bought some books about the history of Ireland and the Irish language as well as some CDs with traditional music. In Cork, I had already bought an original Irish Tweed cap, which suited me quite well, so I had my fair share of souvenirs. In the afternoon, I took the bus to the airport and flew back home. It feels a bit surreal to be home again and to go to work as if nothing had happened. I really lost my heart to Ireland, its landscape, and culture and I will definitely return some day. I have always been fond of the British Isles, their different countries, peoples, and languages and this trip has reinforced this fondness. It was good to finally use my English in real life again, to see and hear the Irish language, and especially to listen to the wonderful British accent of my friend’s landlord, who’s from London. I feel a bit alien in Germany now and I’m thinking about moving to the UK or Ireland one day if there should be an opportunity. Well, that’s all about me and my trip. Now, I’m back at home, indulging myself in memories, and studying Scottish Gaelic again. Tomorrow, I’ll be back at work and my vacation will be well and truly over. Go raibh maith agat, a Éire. Bhí sé go hiontach! Edited by Josquin on 27 May 2013 at 8:34pm 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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