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Very hard languages for bragging | ||
Tags: Show-off | Difficulty | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| cathrynm Senior Member United States junglevision.co Joined 6126 days ago 910 posts - 1232 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Japanese, Finnish | Message 41 of 53 15 March 2010 at 7:23am | IP Logged | |||||
It is totally possible with massive exposure to pick up absolutely nothing -- especially with English subtitles. For me, if I watch anything Japanese with English subtitles, in my memory characters will be speaking in English. The subtitles combine with the sounds and feed directly into my consciousness -- wiping out all traces of non-English vocabulary. Actually I met several guys in Japanese class who got out with solid B+/A- grades who picked up quite a bit from anime, but they were native Chinese or Korean speakers. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Volte Tetraglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 6440 days ago 4474 posts - 6726 votes Speaks: English*, Esperanto, German, Italian Studies: French, Finnish, Mandarin, Japanese | Message 42 of 53 15 March 2010 at 7:27pm | IP Logged | |||||
I'd say Persian is comparable to Russian. I seem to recall Professor Arguelles calling Russian a "hard easy language" and Persian an "easy hard language" (because of the grammar vs cognates, culture, etc). 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| egbert Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5212 days ago 20 posts - 19 votes Studies: Japanese, English* | Message 43 of 53 21 August 2010 at 8:46am | IP Logged | |||||
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I agree with russian and greek but anything african usually has a very unusual effect on others. the languages that will wow others are probaly:
nerejep klingdon hebrew yiddish zulu moari serbian polish urdu pashto persian housa 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| aarontp Groupie United States Joined 5268 days ago 94 posts - 139 votes | Message 44 of 53 21 August 2010 at 9:46am | IP Logged | |||||
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To be honest, I don't think the average American is very impressed by independent
intellectual cultivation. If you learned Italian by living in Rome for a while, people may find you interesting. If you learned Italian by studying at home on weekends, most people will think you are weird. I can't speak of Europe or Asia, but there is a stigma in America against independent activities or hobbies. You are expected to know stuff, but spend as little time as possible learning by yourself. Think about it. If you've ever read a resume or professional bio, how many independent activities do you see listed? The activities that are held in the highest esteem are charitable and (in particular) income generating. If you are in international business and make lots of money travelling to China, you will look smart knowing Mandarin. If you work at the post office and know Mandarin, people will think you are odd. If you tell people you are learning Japanese in your free time, most will wonder what you are doing with so much free time. Why aren't you using that time to earn more money or raise children, or any of the things "normal" people do with their time. Edited by aarontp on 21 August 2010 at 9:56am 11 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| noriyuki_nomura Bilingual Octoglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 5341 days ago 304 posts - 465 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Japanese, FrenchC2, GermanC2, ItalianC1, SpanishB2, DutchB1 Studies: TurkishA1, Korean | Message 45 of 53 21 August 2010 at 10:29am | IP Logged | |||||
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I won't say that I am learning languages so that I could brag with others, since to me, it's more important or 'spiritually fulfiling' to be able to speak as many languages as possible so that I could use these languages to understand the cultures/histories/politics of the countries/societies that speak the concerned language(s).
Imagine reading the local newspapers in a charming cafe enjoying a cup of cappuccino in the morning, and then being able to discuss politics/current affairs/history with the locals in a nice restaurant in the evening! Edited by noriyuki_nomura on 21 August 2010 at 10:39am 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| patuco Diglot Moderator Gibraltar Joined 7016 days ago 3795 posts - 4268 votes Speaks: Spanish, English* Personal Language Map | Message 46 of 53 21 August 2010 at 12:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
Sadly, this is very true. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Juаn Senior Member Colombia Joined 5346 days ago 727 posts - 1830 votes Speaks: Spanish* | Message 47 of 53 21 August 2010 at 5:41pm | IP Logged | |||||
True and grotesque. Americans as a whole have tremendous contempt for independent intellectual pursuits. They admire wit and despise thoughtfulness. To them learning something means taking a course and receiving a formal certificate for it. While most anywhere else such a person would be met with interest and perhaps even deference, little elicits such violent reaction from Americans as an intellectual. They respect outward certificates of success and recognition, diplomas, positions, publications, etc., not inner, personal cultivation. No wonder then that according to an article making the rounds in the press these days most American college students believe Beethoven was a dog. If I'm allowed a reflection though, it seems to me moral nature abhors a vacuum, and while Americans may be ignorant and crass, save for a passing blunder like the current resident at the White House and his allies in Capitol Hill, they have been over the past century politically far wiser than their more cultivated European siblings. No people is devoid of virtues. 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| deej Tetraglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5339 days ago 31 posts - 38 votes Speaks: Hindi, English*, Italian, French | Message 48 of 53 21 August 2010 at 7:34pm | IP Logged | |||||
Somebody already mentioned Russian and Greek, and I would have to add Hindi to the list as well, once you have mastered the alphabet I don't think it's that challenging but then I learnt it at age 2 before learning English, which is slightly different. But once you learn Hindi, it is easy to move onto other languages spoken in India which have slightly different alphabets, such as Punjabi, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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