Register  Login  Active Topics  Maps  

Would you study a language..

 Language Learning Forum : General discussion Post Reply
29 messages over 4 pages: 1 24  Next >>
Delodephius
Bilingual Tetraglot
Senior Member
Yugoslavia
Joined 5405 days ago

342 posts - 501 votes 
Speaks: Slovak*, Serbo-Croatian*, EnglishC1, Czech
Studies: Russian, Japanese

 
 Message 17 of 29
21 February 2010 at 10:55pm | IP Logged 
I categorized my targeted languages. Some like Japanese which I'm learning now I doubt I'll use in the near future, so it is just for fun. Other like German I soon plan to learn for practical reasons, and Latin and Ancient Greek for professional reasons. Most languages I plan to learn are mostly for fun.
2 persons have voted this message useful



psy88
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5593 days ago

469 posts - 882 votes 
Studies: Spanish*, Japanese, Latin, French

 
 Message 18 of 29
22 February 2010 at 3:18am | IP Logged 
Yes. I have been studying Spanish and have many opportunities to chat with native speakers. I have now been inspired by this web site to add a second language. I have begun French. Will I go to Europe or Africa? No. Canada? Perhaps. Never say never, I guess.
   So why learn? I have come to enjoy the challenge of learning for its own sake. I am interested in languages and I like the idea of being able to have the potential at least of communicating with others in their native tongue. I also have a curiosity and a fascination about how Latin (which I studied in high school) gave birth to the other Romance languages.
PS I am not sure how to update my profile to show the addition of French.
1 person has voted this message useful



Journeyer
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
tristan85.blogspot.c
Joined 6870 days ago

946 posts - 1110 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish, German
Studies: Sign Language

 
 Message 19 of 29
22 February 2010 at 4:48am | IP Logged 
Yes, absolutely. Although I usually hold hopes of going to where the languages are spoken or somehow using them with native speakers, I learn them primarily because for me the thrill is in the actual learning itself. Therefore I can learn any language, alive or dead, nearby or isolated on some island somewhere, organic or constructed with zero guilt.

I usually try to explain this to people by saying "Why do people read books, or build models, or have other hobbies?"

If I ever do feel stressed about what I learn, I point out already know English, German and Spanish, which are hardly abstract and "useless" languages.
2 persons have voted this message useful



Levi
Pentaglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5569 days ago

2268 posts - 3328 votes 
Speaks: English*, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish
Studies: Russian, Dutch, Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese, Italian

 
 Message 20 of 29
22 February 2010 at 5:33am | IP Logged 
Yup. I learned Esperanto, and in my whole life I've only met one other Esperanto speaker in person, exchanging only greetings and then conversing in English.

As for my other languages, I only ever get to use two of them around here in the United States: French and Spanish. And French only because I live next to the Quebec border. My main reason for learning languages is simply that I enjoy it. I also hope to get some utility out of them eventually, but I'm not really focused on the near future so much as the long term.
1 person has voted this message useful



Johntm
Senior Member
United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5424 days ago

616 posts - 725 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 21 of 29
22 February 2010 at 6:35am | IP Logged 
Some languages are just interesting. I am not learning one right now where I don't plan
to visit a country where it is spoken, but I'm sure I will eventually/
1 person has voted this message useful



lichtrausch
Triglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5962 days ago

525 posts - 1072 votes 
Speaks: English*, German, Japanese
Studies: Korean, Mandarin

 
 Message 22 of 29
22 February 2010 at 5:16pm | IP Logged 
Until now I haven't learned such a language, but I plan to study Modern Indo-European at some point. However I am hopeful that one day I will be able to travel to countries that use it. Considering the amount of time and energy it takes to become proficient in a language, I like to be rewarded handsomely with lots of interaction with the language.
1 person has voted this message useful





Iversen
Super Polyglot
Moderator
Denmark
berejst.dk
Joined 6705 days ago

9078 posts - 16473 votes 
Speaks: Danish*, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, Romanian, Catalan
Studies: Afrikaans, Greek, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Icelandic, Latin, Irish, Lowland Scots, Indonesian, Polish, Croatian
Personal Language Map

 
 Message 23 of 29
23 February 2010 at 7:29pm | IP Logged 
I spend time right now on Irish Gaelic, which even the Irish themselves don't speak.
1 person has voted this message useful



Johntm
Senior Member
United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5424 days ago

616 posts - 725 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

 
 Message 24 of 29
24 February 2010 at 5:33am | IP Logged 
For most of the laguanges I plan to learn, I want to visit the country where it's spoken. The exceptions are an African click language, Cherokee (I live in North Carolina, there should be plenty of Cherokees here, but I doubt I could find speakers too easily), and Irish Gaelic. Well, I want to visit Ireland, but it'd be hard finding speakers of Irish :(


1 person has voted this message useful



This discussion contains 29 messages over 4 pages: << Prev 1 24  Next >>


Post ReplyPost New Topic Printable version Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum - You cannot reply to topics in this forum - You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum - You cannot create polls in this forum - You cannot vote in polls in this forum


This page was generated in 0.4063 seconds.


DHTML Menu By Milonic JavaScript
Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved
No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization.