Adventures in Language Learning

[misericonfit]

I was pleasantly surprised to find this subforum devoted to languages! There must be a lot of language enthusiasts here at Suscipe Domine. So, what languages do you speak and/or read, what languages are you studying, and what would you like to learn in the future? I'll share my own experiences, but it might take me a while to get around to posting it all. 

My first language is British English.
I cannot speak any other fluently.
I have some knowledge of Akkadian AKA Babylonian-Assyrian. The single biggest difficulty is the (fiendishly complicated) verb system - it makes Latin verbs look childishly easy.
Would like to learn Ancient Egyptian, and Quranic Arabic. Probably never will. Biblical Hebrew ditto.
Old English is a more realistic prospect. If I could find some Old Gothic, I would give it a look.
Find Scots Gaelic fascinating
Reading Harry Potter has helped my French. The frequency with which "baguettes" are used by the pupils of "Poudlard" is apt to be confusing.
What little Italian I have is mostly derived from Dante's Commedia - so, not exactly up to date.
I think my favourite language is Greek - mostly NT - or Latin.
I have recently taken up reading Vergil in Latin - there are some very good videos on the Aeneid in Latin on YTube; to appreciate Vergil's skill as a poet, one must read him in Latin; too much evaporates when he is translated.
A friend from Brazil gave me a book on the Rosary, in Portuguese. It is simple enough for me to understood most of it.
A language I would like very much to know is German. Not to speak, so much as to read. A lot of the  things I'm interested in are partly a closed book without at least a working knowledge of German.

[Regina Caeli]

I've studied ten languages. I speak French and Spanish fluently, and I can read Latin at an advanced level. I've also had some German, Greek, and Hebrew, but I didn't make it very far. Maybe someday I'll get back to them. I'm still learning Italian, Portuguese, and Norwegian, and I just started Swedish. I might have to put Swedish on hold until my Norwegian is stronger (or I might have to put Norwegian on hold...) because they are very similar and, though it hasn't happened yet, I could easily see myself confusing them. I haven't decided yet whether to give Danish a try. That might be next.

[Lynne]

I've studied ten languages. I speak French and Spanish fluently, and I can read Latin at an advanced level. I've also had some German, Greek, and Hebrew, but I didn't make it very far. Maybe someday I'll get back to them. I'm still learning Italian, Portuguese, and Norwegian, and I just started Swedish. I might have to put Swedish on hold until my Norwegian is stronger (or I might have to put Norwegian on hold...) because they are very similar and, though it hasn't happened yet, I could easily see myself confusing them. I haven't decided yet whether to give Danish a try. That might be next.

Ooo, a polyglot! I'd love to learn Italian...

[Kephapaulos]

I know Spanish. Yo tenia que hablar español en mi trabajo especialmente. I learned it in school mostly, but I still remembered how to count to ten and make the Sign of the Cross in Spanish from when I was very young.

I know some Italian as well. I especially used it when I had traveled to Italy several years ago. I also can understand and know a lot of Latin more or less from learning it on my own as well from assisting at Mass and praying the Divine Office. I would like to continue reading Scanlon and Scanlon's Latin Grammar to get a better more sort of formal training in it.

Spanish and Italian are important to me because of my Mexican and Italian heritage.

I also know or can understand some French, German, and Portuguese. I would like to learn those more as well as Dutch.

I did learn some Chinese in my university and learned some Japanese. I don't know much though but would like to learn more as well. I used to have the Korean alphabet memorized as well as the Hebrew and Greek alphabets.

Here is famous hyperpolyglot cardinal from days of old: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Caspar_Mezzofanti.

[Kephapaulos]

I've studied ten languages. I speak French and Spanish fluently, and I can read Latin at an advanced level. I've also had some German, Greek, and Hebrew, but I didn't make it very far. Maybe someday I'll get back to them. I'm still learning Italian, Portuguese, and Norwegian, and I just started Swedish. I might have to put Swedish on hold until my Norwegian is stronger (or I might have to put Norwegian on hold...) because they are very similar and, though it hasn't happened yet, I could easily see myself confusing them. I haven't decided yet whether to give Danish a try. That might be next.

¡Qué bueno! Had you also thought of learning Icelandic to cover all of Scandinavia?

Quelles livres sont les meilleur pour apprendre français? Pardonnez-moi, my French is not the best.

[Regina Caeli]

¡Qué bueno! Had you also thought of learning Icelandic to cover all of Scandinavia?

I would love to know Icelandic, if only to be able to read the Norse sagas. But it is spoken by so few people, and it has a complex grammar. I don't really see myself doing that. 

Quelles livres sont les meilleur pour apprendre français? Pardonnez-moi, my French is not the best.

Désolée, j'en sais rien. Je l'ai appris comme enfant. 

[Kephapaulos]

C'est bien.

Do you know Spanish from youth as well?

[Regina Caeli]

C'est bien.

Do you know Spanish from youth as well?

Así es. 

[ServusMariae]

Hi everyone, I know it's pretty late for me to jump in the bandwagon, but I just saw this thread & so wanna jump in right now. Pardon me! "

The main language that I use & speak on a daliy basis is obviously English, though I have Mandarin for my mother tongue (aka the 2nd language that I had to learn in school since my kiddy days, aka I-suck-at-it.) For me, it's easy to comprehend Mandarin when I listens to others, but it's crazily difficult to utilize in terms of writing & speaking. I do know the very basics ones, but if I have speak or write anything more complicated, I tediously struggle. haha.

Anyways, I also have a grasp on ecclesiastical Latin (thanks to the traditional Latin Mass) & elementary Japanese (thanks to my love for Japanese culture, albeit has little to no practical usage here in Singapore expect if I were to land a job in a Japanese restaurant/bakery or head to natsu-matsuri). Pax vobis & こんにちは to all!! ^_^

[Regina Caeli]

Hi everyone, I know it's pretty late for me to jump in the bandwagon, but I just saw this thread & so wanna jump in right now. Pardon me! "

The main language that I use & speak on a daliy basis is obviously English, though I have Mandarin for my mother tongue (aka the 2nd language that I had to learn in school since my kiddy days, aka I-suck-at-it.) For me, it's easy to comprehend Mandarin when I listens to others, but it's crazily difficult to utilize in terms of writing & speaking. I do know the very basics ones, but if I have speak or write anything more complicated, I tediously struggle. haha.

Anyways, I also have a grasp on ecclesiastical Latin (thanks to the traditional Latin Mass) & elementary Japanese (thanks to my love for Japanese culture, albeit has little to no practical usage here in Singapore expect if I were to land a job in a Japanese restaurant/bakery or head to natsu-matsuri). Pax vobis & こんにちは to all!! ^_^

I would love to learn Mandarin. I hear it’s very difficult.

[Kephapaulos]

Hi everyone, I know it's pretty late for me to jump in the bandwagon, but I just saw this thread & so wanna jump in right now. Pardon me! "

The main language that I use & speak on a daliy basis is obviously English, though I have Mandarin for my mother tongue (aka the 2nd language that I had to learn in school since my kiddy days, aka I-suck-at-it.) For me, it's easy to comprehend Mandarin when I listens to others, but it's crazily difficult to utilize in terms of writing & speaking. I do know the very basics ones, but if I have speak or write anything more complicated, I tediously struggle. haha.

Anyways, I also have a grasp on ecclesiastical Latin (thanks to the traditional Latin Mass) & elementary Japanese (thanks to my love for Japanese culture, albeit has little to no practical usage here in Singapore expect if I were to land a job in a Japanese restaurant/bakery or head to natsu-matsuri). Pax vobis & こんにちは to all!! ^_^

I would love to learn Mandarin. I hear it’s very difficult.

I had learned it myself in college, and it's not as hard after learning the pronunciations, characters, and tones. At least for me as far as what learned anyway. I forgot most of it though since I wasn't being the best student of it at the time.

The language has four tones that denote differences between words aside from pronunciation. That's why there are those familiar up and down sounds we hear when it is spoken. It's also not as hard as Cantonese I would guess since that has seven tones, if I'm not mistaken. Mandarin and Cantonese are only among several dialects or variations of Chinese.

The characters are pretty interesting and neat to learn. I prefer the traditional characters myself, but the simplified versions came around with the advent of communism in China sadly. I tried to write the story of salvation in traditional Chinese characters several years ago. I only wrote so much though.

I would like to learn Japanese too. Aside from the borrowed Chinese characters, it has the hiragana and katakana Japanese phonetic characters.

I remember also learning the Korean alphabet, but I didn't really know much if any Korean.

[Regina Caeli]

One of my best friends is Chinese, so I know some basic phrases. I love the sound of the language, especially the tones. The grammar seems very simple, but the writing system is daunting. I find the characters fascinating, but I can’t imagine being able to remember thousands of them.

[ServusMariae]

One of my best friends is Chinese, so I know some basic phrases. I love the sound of the language, especially the tones. The grammar seems very simple, but the writing system is daunting. I find the characters fascinating, but I can’t imagine being able to remember thousands of them.

I feel you Regina ... the vast treasury of the different characters was one of the many reasons why I have failed Mandarin over & over during my primary & secondary school days lol .. I was so bad, that I had to be put in a special class during Mandarin lessons, haha.

I would love to learn Mandarin. I hear it’s very difficult.

it's not as difficult as Japanese, to be honest. I mean, conversational Japanese that you find in phrasebooks are easy to pick up as cheesecake, but when it comes to mastering katakana & hiragana ... (*faints*)

[ServusMariae]

One of my best friends is Chinese, so I know some basic phrases. I love the sound of the language, especially the tones. The grammar seems very simple, but the writing system is daunting. I find the characters fascinating, but I can’t imagine being able to remember thousands of them.

I feel you Regina ... the vast treasury of the different characters was one of the many reasons why I have failed Mandarin over & over during my primary & secondary school days lol .. I was so bad, that I had to be put in a special class during Mandarin lessons, haha.

(P.S: I'm Chinese too. )

I would love to learn Mandarin. I hear it’s very difficult.

it's not as difficult as Japanese, to be honest. I mean, conversational Japanese that you find in phrasebooks are easy to pick up as cheesecake, but when it comes to mastering katakana & hiragana ... (*faints*)

[ServusMariae]

ok I double-posted ... yikes.