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Ever fallen OUT of love with a language? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| jdmoncada Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5034 days ago 470 posts - 741 votes  Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Finnish Studies: Russian, Japanese | Message 1 of 32 05 June 2012 at 8:04pm | IP Logged | ||
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I know that some times during our study languages come and go. Maybe we set one aside because we need to focus on another one instead. Just because we quit active study of a language doesn't mean we don't like it any more.
So I'm not asking languages you've started and then later decided not to do any more. I am wondering if you've discovered you just don't like a language you thought you once did. Is it ever possible to get the love back, or does the "separation" lead to a permanent "divorce"? Here's my story: When I was 20 or 21 I started studying Hungarian independently because I decided to wanted to go study there as part of a university exchange. I worked hard at learning the language, but when my placement came, I was sent to Finland instead. So I had to change my focus on which language to study. Through the years I kept Hungarian in the periphery of my thoughts, but I year and a half ago, perhaps even 2, I looked back at my materials and realized I just didn't like the language any more. What had once been familiar to me was strange and incomprehensible. Two few weeks ago, I decided to give it another shot, and I downloaded all the content from HungarianPod101. I listen to the language, and it's still difficult for me. It's hard to imagine that at one time I knew the basics of this language. So I seem to have fallen OUT of love with Hungarian. That's my shame. (Meanwhile, thanks to the 6WC I have fallen more deeply in love with Russian, a language I had studied only briefly back when I was 17. You win some; you lose some, I guess.) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6597 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 2 of 32 05 June 2012 at 9:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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Too much formal study made me like German and especially English less. Then I got kicked out of uni and now I'm at a less prestigious one where your overall level actually matters (unlike at my previous uni). The classes are more enjoyable so now I love English again.
And with Karelian the situation is similar to my German. I didn't get to study it when I wanted it most. (with Karelian I didn't have good materials, as for German I just didn't even think of learning it on my own, at about 11) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| hribecek Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5349 days ago 1243 posts - 1458 votes Speaks: English*, Czech, Spanish Studies: Italian, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Toki Pona, Russian | Message 3 of 32 05 June 2012 at 10:15pm | IP Logged | ||
As a lover of Hungarian, I'm sad to read that someone could fall out of love with that language. I hope it never happens to me, I can't imagine it. I hope you fall back in love with it. I gave up Mandarin at the end of 2010 and now I have no interest in going back to it, so that's my 'fall out of love with' language. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| fabriciocarraro Hexaglot Winner TAC 2012 Senior Member Brazil russoparabrasileirosRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4715 days ago 989 posts - 1454 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, EnglishB2, Italian, Spanish, Russian, French Studies: Dutch, German, Japanese | Message 4 of 32 05 June 2012 at 11:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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It's kind of happening now with me and Esperanto. I still think it's an awesome idea, incredibly easy, etc etc, but now that I'm studying Russian, Dutch and maybe will start off with French, Esperanto kind of seems useless.
I still understand most of it though, just don't know until when. 1 person has 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 5 of 32 06 June 2012 at 12:34am | IP Logged | ||
This reminds me of this thread. The nearest that I've done to kicking a language to the curb is what happened between me and BCMS/SC as described here. When I come across the language now, whatever good feelings I had for it as built up through use in good times with friends in the Balkans are more than offset by the degree to which that medium has been a toy for blockheaded political thinking. I have no problem talking about it in threads involving comparative Slavonic linguistics or when exposing the flaws of prescriptivism but when I just look at it in my textbooks and old notes, I can't shake the idea that many of these prescriptions have a putrid political subtext. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Fenn Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4891 days ago 51 posts - 119 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian | Message 6 of 32 06 June 2012 at 12:44am | IP Logged | ||
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Im falling out love with Italian, it seems every other language i flirt with is just a
little bit easier, plays less mind games and will treat me better in 5 years. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tanya b Senior Member United States Joined 4778 days ago 159 posts - 518 votes Speaks: Russian | Message 7 of 32 06 June 2012 at 2:44am | IP Logged | ||
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You can fall head over heels in love with a language, and then a negative incident may take place which you may forever associate with that language, causing you to do a 180.
For me, that language is Spanish. I started studying it twice, as it is virtually the second official language of the US. Not only that, it is quite beautiful to the ear, and I understand it fairly well sometimes. Recently an on-line job became available requiring fluency in English, Russian, Armenian and Spanish. I am only 3 out of 4, so I couldn't apply for the job. However, what has prevented me from going all the way with Spanish is that I associate it too closely with the many Spanish-speaking barrios here in the US, with their own subculture and street slang regarding female anatomy which is all too often shared with others. Those of you in Europe probably associate Spanish with Spain, an awesome country in many ways, and probably fewer negative connotations (except for those bloody bullfights). This is not an anti-Hispanic rant. I refer you to the story of Alejandro, an immigrant to Canada from Latin America, who could not, or would not learn English because the US supported a dictatorship which persecuted his family for generations. After initially desiring to study English, he grew to hate it, because it would always remind him of the dreaded Yankee oppressor. Adios 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| maydayayday Pentaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5219 days ago 564 posts - 839 votes Speaks: English*, German, Italian, SpanishB2, FrenchB2 Studies: Arabic (Egyptian), Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Polish, Persian, Vietnamese Studies: Urdu | Message 8 of 32 06 June 2012 at 8:06pm | IP Logged | ||
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Languages are like girlfriend/boyfriends in that you'll have flings with a few, probably, but one two or a few (Ahem!) will stick by you and you by them.
I like to think I can keep them all entertained and them me. 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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