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Too Many Choices | ||
Tags: Choosing a Language | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| yantai_scot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4613 days ago 157 posts - 214 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 1 of 7 22 April 2012 at 10:12pm | IP Logged | ||
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Where I live in Scotland, the choices for classes for beginners I'm considering are: Italian, Scots Gaelic, Polish, Turkish, Russian,and Japanese. And Latin and Ancient Greek via the Open University. What would you recommend for me?
My main motivation is the intellectual challenge then access to written and online materials for enjoyment and friendship. As a kid I remember enjoying Serbo-Croat that I was learning via the Teach Yourself book. Due to immigration, Polish is often heard spoken in the streets- we have several Polish shops so knowing what's in the packets of food would be handy. I have beginners French and German. I recently spent 5 months in China where I learned basic Mandarin. Loved the challenge, the sounds and could read some characters in daily signs/ bits of texts. I was of average/good ability but illness has forced me back to the UK and I'm actutely aware of the need to be immersed in it for a few years to make progress so that's why I'm looking at doing something else. I do like non-latin alphabet languages because of how they look. As I'm trying to be a visual artist, I don't have any career needs for anything specific. What would be the best fit? Thanks Edited by yantai_scot on 23 April 2012 at 8:22pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Gosiak Triglot Senior Member Poland Joined 4937 days ago 241 posts - 361 votes Speaks: Polish*, English, German Studies: Norwegian, Welsh | Message 2 of 7 22 April 2012 at 10:42pm | IP Logged | ||
If you want to make new friends I'd suggest picking a language that you often hear on the streets. Maybe you already have a friend/friends that speak languages that you listed? I'd use the opportunity to speak and socialise with native speakers. Good luck! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Quinn Senior Member United States Joined 6134 days ago 134 posts - 186 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, Italian, Spanish | Message 3 of 7 22 April 2012 at 11:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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I agree with Gosiak. It's difficult to really internalize a language that you will not be able to use regularly, especially if you haven't already attained fluency in another foreign language.
I'd recommend Italian, French or Spanish, as Romance languages are not too difficult for native English-speakers and you should be able to find opportunities to practice. As an artist, Italian and French would both serve you well. You are very fortunate to live in Europe where one can take a short flight or train ride and get some immersion practice once you have mastered the fundamentals. After you have one of these relatively easy and widely-spoken languages under your belt, you can always tackle something more exotic, depending on your interests and opportunities. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Rowerzysta Newbie Poland Joined 4423 days ago 12 posts - 20 votes | Message 4 of 7 23 April 2012 at 1:52pm | IP Logged | ||
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I wouldn't take "hear on the streets" as your main criterion. Having some Polish shops and a Polish immigrant community in Scotland is different than being immersed in the language in Poland.
On the other hand learning Polish (or Russian) will certainly create associations in your mind with what you learned a few years ago, even if you fear you've forgotten all the Serbo-Croat. Between those two, I suggest that, if you want to eventually study both, you better start with Russian and later continue with Polish, than the other way round. Polish has plenty of consonant changes, but once you understand the Russian palatalized/unpalatalized ('soft' vs 'hard', that is) system, Polish becomes almost logical, and for example all those changes in the locative are directly comparable to the adding of palatalizing (softening) -e in Russian. Other than that, Italian might be refreshingly easy (but not void of intellectual challenges) and a starting point for Romance languages dead and alive. Italian is almost required knowledge in the world of classical music and it should be the same in the world of visual arts. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| yantai_scot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4613 days ago 157 posts - 214 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German | Message 5 of 7 23 April 2012 at 8:30pm | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks very much for your replies! Aside from the Polish and Czech/Slovak communities, everyone else I know are monoglots.
So, Russian and/or Italian? Cool. If I get super keen, there should be scope to find a face to face language exchange partner locally. The local uni is running 6 week evening courses in a couple of weeks, so I'll see if I can get a spot in Russian as my first choice, Italian as my second! Brilliant. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| darrenb Newbie United Kingdom Joined 4409 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dutch | Message 6 of 7 26 April 2012 at 3:46pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hi yantai_scot, it seems we have a few things in common, namely being newbies here, both Scottish and also trying to break out of being monoglots. Out of curiosity, which part of Scotland are you from?
I recently faced the same issues as you did when choosing what language(s) I wanted to study. Italian was on my list as it is on yours, but I didn't (and still don't, yet) intend to touch a slavic language. Personally speaking, I've toyed with too many languages in the past (Italian, Spanish, Japanese, German, Dutch) and have decided to stick to one - Dutch - until my proficiency is upper intermediate. This goal is really just to act as a kick in the backside to actively study more. Genuinely, I'd pick whatever you feel will be most fun/useful/interesting overall. There was a good point made above about Italian/french being great languages for arts, which is great if that holds interest for you. I'm particularly keen on Italian, so I fully endorse that choice! I also think you'll have an easy time finding Russian resources and maybe some locals who speak it to various degrees. In bocca al lupo! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Марк Senior Member Russian Federation Joined 4867 days ago 2096 posts - 2972 votes Speaks: Russian* | Message 7 of 7 26 April 2012 at 4:42pm | IP Logged | ||
Russian certainly suits you. It is written in non-Latin alphabet, it can be considered an itellectual challenge, it has plenty of materials, native and non-native speakers. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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