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Planning your polyglottery | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Polyglots |  | |
| Icaria909 Senior Member United States Joined 5593 days ago 201 posts - 346 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 9 of 16 30 November 2011 at 3:33pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think you can plan on becoming a polyglot, but it has to be with the recognition that
you cannot put an exact timetable to it. As Iversen pointed out, if you say I have to know x languages by 2018(random date), then you will drive yourself insane trying to meet that very difficult goal. It is far better to say, "at some time in my life I would like to be able to say I am polyglot. I do not know when that will happen, but I know I will enjoy every step along the way." And that is what it boils down to: being a polyglot is not so much a goal in itself but simply a recognition for your love of languages and foreign cultures. It demonstrates the level of commitment you have for your love and underscores the many studies you will most likely continue in your future. That is why I also believe you cannot just learn a language to a basic level in order to say you are a polyglot. Many of the greatest joys of learning a language come during the intermediate to advanced period when you can read a book of philosophy in your L2 and you come across a way of expressing an idea that you have never seen in your native language. That moment when you realize you can actively enjoy music from exotic places, or that you could debate confidently with someone when you know that this could never have happened without you're ability to speak in your L2. That is why, in my opinion, to learn multiple languages to a basic level so one can that they are a polyglot cheapens the experience of becoming one. You would be denying yourself many of the most rewarding joys of language learning by not continuing immediately to an intermediate or advanced level. As to how proficient you need to be before you start a new language, that is something that really depends on how you want to use it in the future. For me, I will not move onto a new language until the majority of my learning comes from reading books, watching movies, and being able to converse with natives. When I can set those grammar books away, stop mimicking pronunciation, and put away my word lists of new vocabulary, then I may consider moving on. But it really depends on what you are learning your L2 for. I must say this was strictly my opinion. I am not a polyglot like the rest of you but these are the conclusions I have come to over my years of studying. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Hendrek Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 4884 days ago 152 posts - 210 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Persian | Message 10 of 16 30 November 2011 at 7:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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What I've realized for me is that I enjoy the feeling of progress in my language studies. It's a great feeling to each day feel like I've improved in my ability to communicate and understand.
So, I will probably continue to study just one language until I get to the "plateau" which I think is inevitable where diminishing returns kicks in. At that point, it's just maintenance work (read books, talk to people... maybe write a little) and I'd consider starting with another language for the intensive study hours. Why not? I actually enjoy the intensive learning process, so when I'm no longer learning at as high a throughput rate with Italian, I'll probably be eager to hop to another. So for me, I don't predict I'll jump ship until I've reached a B2-C1 proficiency, but I've no "plan" either way... which I now see is basically what Icaria909 said above! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6599 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 11 of 16 01 December 2011 at 3:58am | IP Logged | ||
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Depending on how quickly you want to learn, it might be fine to be a beginner in more than one language - when you've already learned a few;)
And far more importantly - go with your heart. I spent two years putting off starting Finnish "till I reach a good level in German" - thanks God I took the plunge! (I was 15) I still haven't reached basic fluency in German, but I've reached advanced fluency in Finnish. Also discovered the joy of independent language learning :) So if your question about planning includes making plans like "in year X i'll start language Y and i'll be fluent by year Z" - better don't. it's fine to make lists of the languages you want to speak but unless it involves other things in life, don't plan it. like for example I recently saw someonee ask (not at this forum): "which language should I learn, Russian or Danish?" I was very tempted to say that most likely, neither. Let the language make you fall in love with it, let the desire get unbearable... then start:) If it's the right language for you, sooner or later you will be studying it. Based on my previous experience, I was planning to reach basic fluency in Portuguese and, you guessed it, German, before moving on to other languages... I ended up starting more Romance languages, each of them improving the others. I doubt I'm going to regret this, I definitely don't as of now. BUT you really have to reach basic fluency in a few languages first. I could've been studying Finnish for 10 years by now but I started it much later and it's also something I don't regret. I'd not have achieved a lot anyway - not only because I was just 11. My English was also just upper intermediate. I checked out your posts, you sound very motivated for Mandarin. So go for it! But perhaps try to keep your Spanish alive. What I would do is getting an L2-L3 dictionary (even if it's more of a fun thing). Unless this sounds too intimidating;) 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| BobbyE Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5249 days ago 226 posts - 331 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 12 of 16 07 December 2011 at 7:19am | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks Serpent, i'll take all that in. I have a very strong impulse that I believe will
compel me to move to Asia and hopefully travel. The languages on my mind for Asia are Mandarin, Hindi, and Arabic. I have a really amazing kung fu teacher from China, and his teaching really changed my life, not only that, I love the philosophy in China, and I also resonate with buddhism too. With all that, and despite the practicality of Spanish in the US, I already started on Mandarin and I really look forward to the class. I'm still learning new words and having conversations in Spanish at work. Also, the occasional Spanish song or video, might start watching Spanish movies or tv on occasion too just for fun. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| BobbyE Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5249 days ago 226 posts - 331 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin | Message 13 of 16 07 December 2011 at 7:22am | IP Logged | ||
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Icaria, someone with only basic language skills in many languages and fluency in none,
who considers himself a polyglot, should consider himself a joke too. My question hopefully implied returning to L2 to take it to an advanced level once L3 is basic or advanced or whatever you choose. Obviously, this is not ideal... but unfortunately it's what I have to do to move forward in my life. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| KevC Bilingual Tetraglot Newbie South Africa mzansifinance.com Joined 4739 days ago 1 posts - 1 votes Speaks: English*, Afrikaans*, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Mandarin | Message 14 of 16 07 December 2011 at 8:05am | IP Logged | ||
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I agree with what the majority are saying here.
My first attempt at languages as an adult started with learning Spanish and french at the same time. This first attempt failed miserably, because the languages were too close to each other and I ended up getting seriously confused. I really enjoyed the immersion experience and this is how I ultimately started enjoying learning languages. I enjoyed staying in Latin America and Brazil for extended periods and the daily practice really makes the language come alive. It is also a lot more fun when you are at a higher level and you can start enjoying the literature and unique cultural differences, plus it is very motivating to be able to pick up a book or go on the internet and enjoy what you read. I wish though, when I was younger, that I had used the opportunity when I had it to learn and practice. At times I have lived with roommates from Mauritius (where they speak french) and Russians, who spoke more of these languages in conversation than English. If I had only learnt the languages when I had people to practice it with! I'm having a crack at Mandarin right now, hoping to be able to go to China in a couple of years to stay. It is a challenge not having people to practice with, though... 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6599 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 15 of 16 07 December 2011 at 10:54am | IP Logged | ||
depends on what you mean as "returning"... normally it's better not to stop and then resume, but rather to continue studying the language at a lower pace. even more so with the languages you plan to study - I'd assume it would take you quite long to afford the luxury of not having to practise the writing systems at least 4-5 times a week. (if you love the hanzi, calligraphy, try scriptorium! one problem I see is that it might take you quite long to just learn about yourself, your learning style as you finally learn a language to fluency. don't any relatively easy exotic languages interest you? like Indonesian, Swahili... :) It will be quite a bit easier after one language, even more so after 3-4. and really I found that even having learned a language without reaching fluency already helps... so feel free to flirt with the languages on your hitlist ;) oh and also, while it's possible to learn a language without going to the country of your target language... i'd recommend you to plan some separate visits to China, India and the Arabic countries before you settle in Asia (and travel again). Better if you're at high intermediate/basic fluency by then - a level where your language skills won't suffer during immersion in another one. Edited by Serpent on 07 December 2011 at 11:01am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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