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Just for the fun of it | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5463 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes  Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian | Message 1 of 10 05 January 2010 at 9:00am | IP Logged | |||||
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I have just started to study Georgian. I'm at the very earliest stage, when it is all still quite exciting, not too diffcult, and easy to keep motivated.
And yet, to be perfectly honest, I have no reason whatsoever to study Georgian. I have a deep fascination with the old Eastern Bloc, but my interest has always been focused mainly on Russia, and to a lesser extent Poland. I don't know much about the history and culture of Georgia, and up to this point my only contact with the country has been some nice food in Georgian restaurants in Moscow. I live in Japan and am therefore highly unlikely ever to come across a native speaker of Georgian. I may visit the country one day, but I have no plans to in the near future. I tell myself that I would be satisfied if I can reach a level that allows me to read some Georgian literature, but I don't even know if Georgia has any literature worth reading! I decided to study the language simply because I liked the sound of it, I thought the alphabet was beautiful, and I've always been attracted to the unusual and obscure. But is this enough? When I first started studying French and German at school, I had no interest in those countries, and yet I enjoyed learning about the mechanics of the languages themselves. Language for its own sake, you might say. On the other hand, the only language I have ever achieved true fluency in is Japanese, and the fact that this is the only language I have ever really needed to study (to facilitate life in my country of residence) is surely not just a coincidence. So I would like to hear from people in a similar situation to me, i.e. those who are studying a particular language purely for the hell of it. What kind of level have you reached in that language? Have you suffered from a lack of motivation? Have you created or found reasons to continue studying as you progressed? Does anyone think it's pointless to study languages in this way? I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts. Edited by TixhiiDon on 05 January 2010 at 9:02am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Principiante Senior Member United States lucasgentry.com Joined 6257 days ago 130 posts - 138 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 2 of 10 05 January 2010 at 9:10am | IP Logged | |||||
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Well, I think that's similar to my Korean studies, though I suppose I do have a bit more utility to learning. I had someone willing to teach me, who was a native speaker. I had no plans of visiting Korea. I had no particular interest in the culture, though I wanted to learn the culture, to be able to properly act around Koreans with whom I came into contact.
What came of it? I still can say a few phrases and still mostly know how to pronounce things. It was fun. But it wasn't a big passion, and it wasn't critical to learn, so it just got swept away. I don't think it was a waste though, and I doubt that you'll have wasted your time learning Georgian. If you think the language looks cool, and you learn the basics of the language, maybe it'll come in handy one day in your pursuits of Russian. Maybe you'll make a friend, or make someone's day with a well-timed greeting to a stranger far from home. I say, go for it. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| kyssäkaali Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5552 days ago 203 posts - 376 votes Speaks: English*, Finnish | Message 3 of 10 05 January 2010 at 5:05pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I started studying Finnish when I was 16 just for fun, for the same reasons that you proposed (liking the sound of the language, etc.) I ended up becoming conversational over time and got to study abroad in Finland for 4 months, where I really improved my speaking and listening ability. Two or three years ago I would have never even considered studying in Finland or even visiting the country, but because I fell in love with the language, I did.
You don't need to justify your desire to pursue Georgian. If it appeals to you and you want to follow through with it, go for it! Perhaps you will end up learning the basics before moving on to another language, or perhaps you will end up fluent and immigrate to Georgia. It's impossible to tell! But just have fun! We get one shot at life, and that's too little time to be wasted studying only "useful" languages that don't even appeal to us. 11 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| gogglehead Triglot Senior Member Argentina Joined 6074 days ago 248 posts - 320 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Russian, Italian | Message 4 of 10 05 January 2010 at 10:38pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Good luck! I have never seriously considered studying Georgian, but it does have my second favourite script (after Mongolian)!!! I think it looks very cool in a strange kind of way.
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| zhiguli Senior Member Canada Joined 6440 days ago 176 posts - 221 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian, Mandarin | Message 5 of 10 06 January 2010 at 12:14pm | IP Logged | |||||
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One of my reasons for learning Russian in the first place was to be able to use textbooks for Georgian (and other languages of the former USSR/CIS) written in that language. I've been able to stick to Russian because there's so much more out there for it than for Georgian, way more native speakers, and...it's just more useful.
On the other hand, I haven't been able to keep up with Georgian (or any of the rarer languages, for that matter). The enthusiasm is there, the base knowledge too, but without anything tangible to back it up it always ends up at the same dead end. But by all means, don't let that stop you.
There's plenty of good literature and a lot of it is available online (http://literatura.iatp.ge - but the site has been down for a bit, use google cache). There's also this related site for children, which has some easier texts. And some Georgian novels have been translated into Russian, so that can help. (Edit: and this excellent reader with full translations, glosses and grammar notes, sadly out of print) But as with almost any literature it'll be a slog, a good deal harder than the simple(r) language of blogs or news reports.
One of my Georgian friends told me of a Japanese professor with a Georgian wife who teaches Georgian in Japan, so that might be worth investigating (I wasn't able to find any more information about it). Edited by zhiguli on 06 January 2010 at 12:21pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| TixhiiDon Tetraglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5463 days ago 772 posts - 1474 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese, German, Russian Studies: Georgian | Message 6 of 10 06 January 2010 at 2:41pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Thanks for the information zhiguli. I'm nowhere near proficient enough to start reading yet, but hopefully one day if I stick at it... After a quick search I actually managed to find the person I think you are talking about. Her name is Medea Gotsiridze-Kojima and she does indeed teach a Georgian class here in Tokyo. That's definitely something to check out.
And thanks for the encouragement from everyone else! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| zhiguli Senior Member Canada Joined 6440 days ago 176 posts - 221 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Russian, Mandarin | Message 7 of 10 06 January 2010 at 3:48pm | IP Logged | |||||
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And thank you for the follow-up. It is indeed her. And it appears her husband, who himself is fluent in Georgian, has translated a couple of novels into Japanese, including the popular "Me, Bebia, Iliko da Ilarioni" by Dumbadze (Russian translation here. movie here.)
1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| unityandoutside Diglot Groupie United States Joined 6013 days ago 94 posts - 149 votes Speaks: English*, Russian Studies: Latin, Mandarin | Message 8 of 10 07 January 2010 at 7:44pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I've also been really strongly looking at Georgian lately, in fact, I recently ordered Aronson's "Georgian for Reading Knowledge," and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I also have doubts about its usefulness, but I have no doubts about its awesomeness. Also, I just discovered that one of my girlfriends professors for the upcoming semester is Georgian. I never imagined actually coming across a native speaker, but if I do end up pursuing the language, knowing that there's a native speaker in town will be a great asset.
However, Georgian is currently facing hot competition from Turkish, another "just for the hell of it" kind of project. So we'll see which one wins out. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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