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Ex-Languages: reasons for divorce? | ||
Tags: Discouragement from learning | Burn-out | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| ilcommunication Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6692 days ago 115 posts - 162 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Russian, Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 17 of 75 22 February 2011 at 12:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hindi and I never got along all that well, so even though it's a beautiful language and one I want to learn, I've put it on hold for the time being. Just something about it doesn't click with me, and I'd much rather put my efforts into a few other languages before Hindi. Regardless, if I get the chance to go to India, I think I'll dive back into it real fast...nothing like the motivation of travel. Edited by ilcommunication on 22 February 2011 at 12:40pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ilperugino Pentaglot Groupie Portugal Joined 5174 days ago 56 posts - 75 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Mandarin | Message 18 of 75 22 February 2011 at 8:55pm | IP Logged | ||
But if Italian treats you right, all easy and soft on you, why seeing that strange looking, ingratefull Russian? I´m with you garyb, if you feel some others are tempting you, probably you are not that happy (linguisticaly, of course). IlPerugino Edited by ilperugino on 22 February 2011 at 8:55pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ilperugino Pentaglot Groupie Portugal Joined 5174 days ago 56 posts - 75 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Mandarin | Message 19 of 75 22 February 2011 at 8:58pm | IP Logged | ||
Ok, I understand it´s like "It would be better if we´d spend some more time on our own, darling" or "You know, I feel I need more space". 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Élan Senior Member United States Joined 5444 days ago 165 posts - 211 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Persian | Message 20 of 75 24 February 2011 at 1:13am | IP Logged | ||
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For years I was extremely passionate about Chinese/Mandarin. As I got older, I realized that our lives were going in different directions. I didn't think I could ever learn to speak Chinese fluently unless I was able to live in China for awhile. I had planned to do just that, but then I met a wonderful young man and decided to get married to him and "settle down". I still have the utmost respect for Chinese and Chinese learners, but I could not devote the time and effort that the language deserved.
I dated Spanish in high school but we both knew that it was nothing more than a fling, so I would not say I "divorced" that language. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ilperugino Pentaglot Groupie Portugal Joined 5174 days ago 56 posts - 75 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: Mandarin | Message 21 of 75 24 February 2011 at 12:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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Well and this is my story: I, as you guys and girls, fell sorta of in love with Russian some years ago, thinking "why not, I guess we can get along quite well, so many friends in common", but it was - I see it now - a oneway relationship:
I invested, Russian resisted. It was not a real relationship and it let me feeling an arrasser. When I was more in to it, trying to connect, to be a good pal, a good friend, understanding, it strikes me with perfective and imperfective verbal modes. And I wonder "We´re going nowhere, I don´t understand you and you don´t give a damm about me, your family doesn´t talk to me, and even though I was interested in the things you write you never explain them to me, and all these years went by and I can´t even talk to you without a translator". It left me... on a very down mood, and thinking "How not to make the same mistake twice, what language will not be this ungratefull?" And the answer was next to me: a year or so ago I met the beautiful Italian, two or three days it took us to get along, and talk as if long-time friends. It was a summer fling, not as serious as the life-time-endeavour of marrying Russian (I thought). But one was next to my heart, the other wasn´t. The day I said "Russian, I´m divorcing you, for the sake of both", Italian reentered happily in my life. A week went by and we´re getting along just fine. I know it´s heart, and Italian knows mine. It seems so easy-going as it is beautifull. After the coldness of that eastern spouse, now I´m in the warmth of my beautifull Italian girlfriend. 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7156 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish | Message 22 of 75 24 February 2011 at 6:37pm | IP Logged | ||
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BCMS/Serbo-Croatian for me would fit best for this thread. On the surface it looks great and has a pleasing familiarity about it for me. However I had a falling-out with it quite some time ago (especially in its Croatian guise). It just seems so high-maintenance and hard to please with is aura of language purism and the whiff of snobbery from some of its native-speakers who magnify its particularities. An example of a spat is:
Sensitive Croat: "No! What you used is not Croatian because it's not as I use it! You used Serbian, Chung!" Chung: "But you bloody well know what I meant and even other Croats have used what I just used!" Sensitive Croat: "No, that's not the point! Say it like I do! Say '["proper"/"Serbian-free" version]'" Chung: "Oh gimme a f@¢k'n break! Same bloody difference! F@¢k it! That's it, I'm outta here." Needless to say I've got much less guff from the other Slavonic languages that I've come to know. I doubt if I'll be meeting up (or even want to be seen) with BCMS/Serbo-Croatian in the forseeable future. *** In real life I suffer picky or high-maintenance characters poorly. My experiences have hardened me against the idea of language planning/manipulation as a tool in promoting national/ethnic delineation or building barriers between people in general. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| yawn Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5426 days ago 141 posts - 209 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, FrenchC2, SpanishC2 Studies: GermanB1 | Message 23 of 75 25 February 2011 at 10:21am | IP Logged | ||
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I started out with Latin earlier this year, but quickly found out that I don't have the mental capacity to handle
studying two ancient languages at the same time. I dropped it in favor of Ancient Greek, simply because I find Greek more interesting. Honestly, there has to be a reason why Greek was still used as a lingua franca throughout the Roman Empire even though official documents were released in Latin... 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Journeyer Triglot Senior Member United States tristan85.blogspot.c Joined 6868 days ago 946 posts - 1110 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, German Studies: Sign Language | Message 24 of 75 25 February 2011 at 12:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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Spanish has kept coming into my life. We were forced to play together as children, but we never really had much in common. In middle school and high school we saw each other once in a while, but I was dating her sister French more seriously. French and I were making plans, and it was an open relationship with Esperanto, too. But then I went to Mexico as an exchange student for a variety of reasons. Spanish and I never got too close, but we had to learn to work together. At several times I felt the need to take a break from Spanish, and stepped out on her with languages like Lakota and Klingon. Esperanto and I were still seeing each other, too.
By the time I finished up being an exchange student, my relationship with French was falling apart. I guess she was jealous or something. I also met this dazzling lady named German and we've been going at it like drunk monkeys ever since. Spanish and I have learned to appreciate each other, and we can even laugh together once in a while though. We've warmed up to one another, but we'll never be more than friends. French and Esperanto still come around, too, and we've talked about getting serious again. I'm optimistic that we'll get closer, but I think that French and Esperanto and I will never be super crazy about each other. All relationships take work, and sometimes they are passionate, and sometimes they are not. Even German and I have our tiffs, but we always come back for each other. Edited by Journeyer on 25 February 2011 at 7:25pm 6 persons have voted this message useful |
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