Answers to "Why do you learn L xxx" (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

Answers to "Why do you learn L xxx"
Tags: Reasons for study \| Usefulness
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

49 messages over 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next >>

QiuJP
Triglot
Senior Member
Singapore
Joined 5655 days ago
428 posts - 597 votes

Speaks: Mandarin*, English^C2, French
Studies: Czech, German^B1, Russian, Japanese

Message 33 of 49

05 December 2011 at 6:06pm | IP Logged

Many people have asked me why am i learning Czech and Russian. Both languages are
exotic to the locals here, and many of them have the incorrect image regarding Eastern
Europe and Eurasia.

Here are my answers to the question:

Russian:
(formal) I learn Russian because it is spoken on a country which covers 1/6 of the
Earth's land surface. The country has many beautiful natural scenery as well as a rich
wealth of literature, music and culture waiting for me to be discovered.

(joke) I work for the KGB/FSB, any problems?

Czech:
(formal) I learn Czech because it provide me a view of the culture in Eastern Europe.
Czech Republic is a beautiful country and the better to know her is to learn Czech and
travel in the country.

(joke) Can you pronounce "Strč prst skrz krk. " with out inserting those "u" or "o"?
2 persons have voted this message useful

Cavesa
Triglot
Senior Member
Czech Republic
Joined 4809 days ago
3277 posts - 6779 votes

Speaks: Czech*, French^C2, English^C1
Studies: Spanish, German, Italian

Message 34 of 49

05 December 2011 at 10:46pm | IP Logged

Czech as a representant of "Eastern European culture"? Not sure about it. Firstly, Czech Republic is not Eastern Europe, it is Central Europe with several other countries of the area. What is Central Europe is an interesting question many sociologists, historians etc try to answer. But these days, the Central European culture is not much different from the rest of Europe. If you want something eastern, than you should go a few hundred kilometres further, to Ukraine for exemple.

Secondly, there is nothing like "eastern european culture" appliable to half Europe. Even the differences between Czech Rep and Poland are vast and those are neighbours. (One of the reasons why I plan to learn Polish :-) )

Sorry if I sound a bit harsh but I am quite tired of my country being labeled "eastern Europe". We are just next to Germany and Austria, our culture is very different from Russia and countries around it. But if you are interested in Czech culture especially, than it is an excellent reason to study our language of course and I feel honoured to be part of a nation that seems so interesting to you.
2 persons have voted this message useful

espejismo
Diglot
Senior Member
Russian Federation
Joined 4851 days ago
498 posts - 905 votes

Speaks: Russian*, English
Studies: Spanish, Greek, Azerbaijani

Message 35 of 49

06 December 2011 at 12:52am | IP Logged

starrye wrote:

If it's an American asking, you can almost never go wrong suggesting it has something to do with your job or job marketability. Many Americans see business as one of the few practical reasons to learn a foreign language. It might then lead into a discussion about which languages are more marketable or economical (why not "x" instead of "y"?), and which ones might have more job opportunities... but to many monolingual English speaking Americans, it's enough to say you just want to make your résumé stand out. Saying you are learning a foreign language for fun or cultural reasons is generally seen as eccentric, unless you need to learn the language in order to communicate with relatives, or travel, then it becomes practical again. It's also generally accepted if you happen to be learning a heritage language (say, if you are Chinese-American learning Chinese, or Italian-American learning Italian, etc). I think you can probably see a pattern here, where Americans are concerned, it's always about practicality and productivity, so if you can creatively frame your answer in those terms, you'll generally get a positive response no matter which language it happens to be. :)

This reminds of a Russian professor at Harvard who, when asked by a student why should he read "War and Peace," said "you actually get two books for the price of one."
1 person has voted this message useful

Jarvis1000
Diglot
Groupie
United States
want2speakthai.com
Joined 4688 days ago
74 posts - 101 votes

Speaks: English*, Thai
Studies: Spanish

Message 36 of 49

06 December 2011 at 3:18am | IP Logged

Ari wrote:

Seems a lot of people will answer very rudely to people who are curious about their hobby. This makes me sad.

I have to agree. Just tell them you enjoy it like some one enjoys chocolate cake. If you have other reasons tell them, but I know for many here the journey is at least half of the high they get from learning new languages so just admit it.
1 person has voted this message useful

jdmoncada
Tetraglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4834 days ago
470 posts - 741 votes

Speaks: English*, German, Spanish, Finnish
Studies: Russian, Japanese

Message 37 of 49

06 December 2011 at 6:30am | IP Logged

The degree of my answer depends on the perceived interest of the person asking me the question. For so me, the question is a very shallow expression of surprise, and for others it is a true question with potential to talk and commiserate on a common interest. So for that reason, there isn't usually one answer for every situation.

If I had to pick one standard answer, it would simply be that I study X language because I like it. That is true of all languages I have chosen to study.
2 persons have voted this message useful

QiuJP
Triglot
Senior Member
Singapore
Joined 5655 days ago
428 posts - 597 votes

Speaks: Mandarin*, English^C2, French
Studies: Czech, German^B1, Russian, Japanese

Message 38 of 49

06 December 2011 at 5:53pm | IP Logged

Cavesa wrote:

Czech as a representant of "Eastern European culture"? Not sure about
it. Firstly, Czech Republic is not Eastern Europe, it is Central Europe with several
other countries of the area. What is Central Europe is an interesting question many
sociologists, historians etc try to answer. But these days, the Central European
culture is not much different from the rest of Europe. If you want something eastern,
than you should go a few hundred kilometres further, to Ukraine for exemple.

Secondly, there is nothing like "eastern european culture" appliable to half Europe.
Even the differences between Czech Rep and Poland are vast and those are neighbours.
(One of the reasons why I plan to learn Polish :-) )

Sorry if I sound a bit harsh but I am quite tired of my country being labeled "eastern
Europe". We are just next to Germany and Austria, our culture is very different from
Russia and countries around it. But if you are interested in Czech culture especially,
than it is an excellent reason to study our language of course and I feel honoured to
be part of a nation that seems so interesting to you.

The following may make a lot of people to be upset, but I still have to justify my use
of the words "Eastern Europe" and "Eurasia".

In many academic publications of the fields of political science and human geography,
there is a trend to define Europe to end at Poland and the Baltic nations. Any country
beyond these countries belongs to Eurasia. In fact, many of these academic publications
are published by American and European scholars and researchers. Many textbooks and
curriculum about this topic said the same thing. In fact, the professor, who taught me
the structure and economy of the European Union and worked in Brussels for the EU, had
said that Europe in the discussion of EU ends at Poland and the Baltic nations. I did
asked her about the status of Russia, and where is Eastern Europe now. She replied that
Russia is in Eurasia and East Europe consist of those ex-Warsaw pact countries that
join EU such as Czech Republic.

The Russians themselves have also admit that they are in Eurasia, by forming the
Eurasian Union, which currently consist of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It is
expected that more former Soviet republics will join Eurasian Union, which have a border-less trade zone similar to the European Union. Given these predicates, it is appropriate for my usage of the words "Eastern Europe" and "Eurasia".
4 persons have voted this message useful

prz_
Tetraglot
Senior Member
Poland
last.fm/user/prz_rul
Joined 4659 days ago
890 posts - 1190 votes

Speaks: Polish*, English, Bulgarian, Croatian
Studies: Slovenian, Macedonian, Persian, Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Dutch, Swedish, German, Italian, Armenian, Kurdish

Message 39 of 49

06 December 2011 at 11:23pm | IP Logged

Jarvis1000 wrote:

I have to agree. Just tell them you enjoy it like some one enjoys chocolate cake.

Or like someone enjoys humping, guzzling or taking drugs.
Unfortunately, these three things altogether seem to be more normal than, let's say, learning Tetum and Macedonian...
1 person has voted this message useful

Jarvis1000
Diglot
Groupie
United States
want2speakthai.com
Joined 4688 days ago
74 posts - 101 votes

Speaks: English*, Thai
Studies: Spanish

Message 40 of 49

06 December 2011 at 11:35pm | IP Logged

prz_ wrote:

Jarvis1000 wrote:

I have to agree. Just tell them you enjoy it like some one enjoys chocolate cake.

Or like someone enjoys humping, guzzling or taking drugs.
Unfortunately, these three things altogether seem to be more normal than, let's say, learning Tetum and Macedonian...

That is true. To learn a dead/minority language is the worst crime in the world for somepeople who then go and read a comic book

1 person has voted this message useful

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