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Balancing medieval and modern languages | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Lessons in Polyglottery |  | |
| CatoTheElder Pentaglot Newbie United States Joined 5606 days ago 2 posts - 4 votes Speaks: English*, German, Latin, Ancient Greek, Old English Studies: Icelandic, French | Message 1 of 3 15 December 2008 at 1:41pm | IP Logged |
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Greetings,
Relatively recently I have begun to expand the number of languages that I am attempting to learn and have increased the amount of time that I spend daily in studying language. My primary questions are related to developing a constructive and manageable method for approach language study. First let me describe my background in language, my current study method, and my short and long term goals. My background in language study is relatively short. I have studied German for three years and have achieved a solid reading knowledge and basic conversational fluency. I have studied Latin for a year and have a very decent grasp of grammatical forms but my vocabulary and sight-reading ability without of the aid of reference materials could use some strengthening. I have been studying French for less than a year and have little more than a basic introduction to the language. I have also very recently (past month) began a study of Middle High German and Old English and have focused primarily on memorization of grammatical paradigms and learning sound changes and correspondences with modern German and English. So as it stands, I am currently working on the nuts and bolts of three languages, bolstering my grasp on one, and increasing my practical workability in another. I am, as you can see by the length of time I have been studying each language, a relative new comer to the study of multiple languages at once. My primary goal for studying languages is to increase my ability to pursue my major field of study, Medieval history. Toward this goal my primary focus is on improving my abilities in Latin, German, and French. I would also like to eventually tackle Italian, Dutch, Old French, Gothic, and possibly Welsh. I am currently a Junior undergraduate student at Loyola University of New Orleans majoring in History and minoring in German and Medieval studies. With work and classes, I usually only have 1-2 hours a day (usually closer to 1) to devote to language study outside of the classroom. My primary questions are about creating a working method for approaching the study of languages. Is it usually best to study several languages for small periods of time a day (15-20 minutes each of German, French, Latin, Middle High German, and Old English which would fill up my daily allotment of study time) or spend longer segments of time focused on particular languages every few days? Also would it be best to have a formula for approaching the languages? Something like a set order of which languages to work on per day or a chart for which languages to study on which days. Also, given the short amount of time I can devote to study what is a reasonable number of languages to attempt? I am currently working on 5. Also, how deep of a grasp should I have on a language before attempting to study its predecessors? Do I need relative fluency in French for a study of Old French to be useful? Any replies to these questions would be greatly appreciated. Jason Straight. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |
| ProfArguelles Moderator United States foreignlanguageexper Joined 7038 days ago 609 posts - 2102 votes  | Message 2 of 3 16 December 2008 at 7:31pm | IP Logged |
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Dear Mr. Straight,
I am very happy to have the opportunity to attempt to help a burgeoning scholar such as yourself develop a manageable and constructive program of study for the multiple languages that you will need in order to engage in medieval historical studies in a well-rounded rather than an over-specialized fashion. Presuming that you are able to sustain such a program, then there is no reason why you should not be able to ultimately attain a decent reading knowledge in all ten languages that you mention. Indeed, as time goes by your list may change somewhat, and you may even choose to add more languages – Old Norse and Irish most likely. If you can organize your life so that you not only budget the time to learn them, but also to regularly maintain them, then you will have a very enriching lifetime of exploratory reading ahead of you. For now, I believe it is essential to begin to really develop an ingrained habit of language study that will become a life-long character trait. I think that you are very much on to the right track in seeking a formula and planning to keep a scheduled study chart, as discipline and regularity are very much the key. However, these things (study charts and formulaic patterns for study) tend to work best when they are used to impose order upon less regular but nonetheless ongoing study habits; if they are set up and planned in advance as a means of forcing yourself to study when you have not been doing so, you will probably find them counterproductively constraining. So, do what it takes to enjoy your learning first and foremost, and then set these organizers into place so that you get more out of your studies. Now, on to your division of time. I am not positive I understand what you mean when you wonder if you ought to “spend longer segments of time focused on particular languages every few days,” but if by that you mean study each language in turn for a day or two, letting it rest for the rest of the week while you do the same for others, then no, this is not a good strategy for learning, although it is fine for use or “maintenance” once you have advanced further in your studies. However, if by this suggestion you are only wondering if you ought to budget larger time segments than 15-20 minutes, then there are several considerations. How are you faring beginning MHD and OE simultaneously? That is the kind of challenge that confuses some people, but if you are managing to keep them distinct, then there is no reason why you should not be able to balance a maximum number of simultaneous languages at that minimum rate of 15 minutes a day, each and every single day. However, your rate of progress will be slow, perhaps merely frustratingly so, but perhaps also unacceptably so given your need to begin reading certain languages for your formal studies. In the latter case, then I would recommend concentrating for at least 30 minutes at a time, which may entail working on few languages. In other words, no, it is not really reasonable to expect to make progress in 5 languages at this minimal time allotment. I believe that you should use the drive and energy that you had to conceive of making a study schedule to do an overall analysis of your use of time during a given 24-hour period. I know that you say that you can generally only manage an hour a day for your language studies, but if you carefully structure all of your activities, it is generally possible re-prioritize something so as to steal a bit more time for something more important. Now, language study is not and should not be a top priority for everyone, but frankly speaking, for someone with your goals, interests, and aspirations, it should rank fairly high. In order to develop into a good humanistic scholar, the acquisition of language skills is really the key to knowledge, and frankly I do think that you ought to be giving them more than just one hour a day. And now to your final question about how firmly you need to grasp a modern language before examining its earlier stages: first of all, let me point out that you could very obviously easily reverse the equation, but in either case, I do think it makes sense, on purely philological grounds, to gain a firm command in one stage of a language before you look at another, precisely so that you can better understand the changes in a comparative context. Moreover, and perhaps most particularly in the specific case of Old French, it would also be circumstantially very beneficial to go a long way to “mastering” modern French first. This is because more Old French texts are offered in bilingual editions with a modernization side by side than are offered in exclusively Old French format. This can greatly facilitate your understanding and study of Old French through assimilation by means of comparison – but only, obviously, if your modern French is good enough to allow you a smooth reading of the left hand page to begin with. I do hope this has answered all of your concerns? You are in an enviable position: Parzival and Tristan, Lancelot and Guillaume d’Orange await you in the original. Believe me, you have particularly rich fruits in store, so best of luck to you in your studies! Alexander Arguelles 5 persons have voted this message useful | |
| RBenham Triglot Groupie IndonesiaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5425 days ago 60 posts - 62 votes Speaks: English*, German, French Studies: Indonesian | Message 3 of 3 19 June 2009 at 11:32pm | IP Logged |
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Gentlemen, with respect I think it is silly to try to learn so many languages at once with so little time to devote to them.
With one or two hours a day, I would try to devote almost all of it to learning one language and the rest to maintaining the ones I already knew. That said, I think that Old English is a great language to learn, especially for a native English speaker. That said, there is no reason at all to learn a modern language before learning its mediaeval antecedent. French people in the Middle Ages had no trouble learning Old French without knowing anything about Modern French. (The same argument applies against those who say you should learn Latin before attempting Greek.) That said, it is obviously easier to learn Old French if you already know Modern French and/or Latin. Many textbooks for mediaeval languages seem to be written on the assumption that you already know the modern language, and start by pointing out the major differences, and this could be a barrier if you don't have the assumed knowledge. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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