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Tempted by two languages... | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| rdearman Senior Member United Kingdom rdearman.orgRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5031 days ago 881 posts - 1812 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French, Mandarin | Message 9 of 14 24 April 2014 at 4:02pm | IP Logged | ||
That doesn't bode well for my daughters boyfriend then. He'll be a mental vegetable by 29. :) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| jtmc18 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7040 days ago 119 posts - 140 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish | Message 10 of 14 08 May 2014 at 6:53am | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks everyone for your advice. I apologize for the delayed response, but I recently
transferred back to Alaska, and internet access is somewhat limited where I live. On the flight here, however, I had the chance to peruse through a dual Spanish/Portuguese magazine. I read the Portuguese translations first and understood virtually everything- I feel that learning Portuguese may be, in some ways, less about learning a new language rather than about altering the Spanish structures which have, after all these years, become mostly automatic to me. I have noticed that Portuguese speakers, when they speak Spanish, often have a strong accent and make significant errors. In fact, a Mexican teacher once told me that Portuguese speakers often speak Spanish with less accuracy than learners who have other native languages, simply because they think that they are actually speaking Spanish. The reverse has to be true too, right? I wonder if I could ever speak Portuguese without sounding half-gringo and half-Mexican. As far as Italian goes, it so happens that there is an Italian speaker on our staff this year. I've decided not to abandon this language as I have found a use for it, but I've toned down my overall goals for fluency. Maintaining my Spanish will be a big enough challenge in this environment, as I am the only speaker here. It is still hard to decide where to go long-term, however. I feel that Portuguese is the seductive mistress trying to pull me away from my first love, whereas French is the woman that likes me but whom I simply can't get excited about. Italian is the one I've been staring at for years, but who doesn't give me the time of day. Frankly, I'm tired of all this romance- no pun intended- and it may soon be time to take a break from this Latin drama. Spanish is and will always be the most important language in my life, apart from English, and I intend to remain faithful. I could use a friendly distraction, however, and Russian may be the key. I brought the Penguin Russian course to Alaska, and I intend to dabble in it a bit. I can't commit just yet. I have to know what I'm getting into first. If the cases try to destroy me, then I can always seek refuge in Portuguese. I fully agree with the point that if I'm going to learn Russian, I ought to do it soon. I'm not "old" by any means, but I'm also not getting any younger and I wonder if Russian can fit into my brain now, let alone when I'm older. This would be my fourth language, but it probably counts for two. Thanks again for the advice. And thanks for the links too! Any new techniques and suggestions are always welcome... Edited by jtmc18 on 08 May 2014 at 6:55am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6392 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 11 of 14 08 May 2014 at 12:51pm | IP Logged | ||
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You don't have to learn Portuguese to fluency to enjoy the culture. Simply learning to understand it effortlessly and to keep it separate from Spanish is a worthy task.
Good luck with Russian! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| zografialep Hexaglot Groupie GreeceRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 3934 days ago 41 posts - 71 votes Speaks: Ancient Greek, Greek*, EnglishC2, GermanB2, Spanish, Latin Studies: Russian | Message 12 of 14 08 May 2014 at 5:06pm | IP Logged | ||
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In my opinion(if you haven't decided yet) go for Portuguese.
Since you can speak fluently both Spanish and Italian, learning Portuguese would be a breeze; if you are commited you can probably be fluent by the end of the year, considering that you already know the grammar and the vocabulary shared by the Romance languages. Then , after you finish with Portuguese- or reach a satisfying level, since learning never stops when it comes to languages- you can start Russian and be dedicated,and have no second thoughts. Another reason why I would suggest this approach is that Russian is indeed a hard and demanding language, especially for someone that doesn't already speak a slavic language or a language with cases . It would take years and years of study and dedication to master, and during that time you will most likely not be able to start Poruguese without losing your focus. So this way in about 3 years you will have both and be able to enjoy all of the pros that you wrote down. Whatever decision you make, I hope that it is the best for you and you will not regret it :) Edited by zografialep on 08 May 2014 at 5:13pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Luso Hexaglot Senior Member Portugal Joined 5856 days ago 819 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, French, EnglishC2, GermanB1, Italian, Spanish Studies: Sanskrit, Arabic (classical) | Message 13 of 14 08 May 2014 at 9:15pm | IP Logged | ||
Yes. Maybe the same. Maybe worse. There's this mixed language that almost everyone speaks to some extent on both sides of the Atlantic called Portunhol. On this side the biggest country speaks Spanish, on the other side it's Portuguese. Most people like to think we're very different from one another, but in the end we aren't. I had friends from Argentina living here for years and they thought they spoke Portuguese. Once someone said "wow, Spanish from Argentina is easier to understand than Spanish from Spain". My friend would later say to me he thought he was speaking Portuguese. He had been here for five years. The problem is that you cross the threshold where you can communicate easily very soon. Then most people get lazy. On a different note, I must say I never really understood the "interference problem" thing (beyond a certain point). I'm learning Italian and find my knowledge of French very helpful. Some things are different, but there are ways of pinpointing them and moving ahead. I'm sure there must be many places on the internet with lists of false friends between Portuguese and Spanish. Of course, if you're aiming to be the next Gabriel García Márquez or José Saramago, then I understand. Edited by Luso on 08 May 2014 at 9:40pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 3877 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 14 of 14 09 May 2014 at 6:26pm | IP Logged | ||
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Choose German!!!!
Easier than Russian, harder than Portuguese. Tons of learning material. Tons of literature. Has cases. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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