I haven't put much up because I don't have a lot to say at the moment. I know, here I am typing when I don't have anything to say. Just can't help myself.I am intrigued by the primaries but have nothing to add to the commentary floating about. Not in one of my rant modes at the moment. Fear not, Bush will do something evil or stupid or both very soon and I will be off and running again.
Not full of theological ponderings or spiritual wisdom at the moment either. [You needn't speculate what I am full of because we all know the answer to that.]
A very minor tidbit of news: last night I signed up for beginning Russian to be taught at the University of New Mexico (continuing education program) on Tuesday nights beginning in February. I loved my two trips to St Petersburg and want to go back (and catch Moscow next time around as well). Cassettes and CDs have given me practice saying a limited number of phrases and I have used phrase books to good effect but I want to be able to do more. So, a new linguistic adventure.
Languages for which I have taken classes (of any kind)--plus reasons why I took them:
Spanish - beginning in the 8th grade--because it was there
Latin - beginning in the 10th grade--because I wanted the classical background
French - beginning in freshman year of college and I majored in it--because it was fun
Classical Greek - three semesters in college--because I wanted to read the New Testament
German - one year in college, on review quarter in grad school--so I could understand the Bach St Matthew Passion
Hebrew - one year in seminary--so I could read the Old Testament
Old French - one semester in grad school--to expand my French and read the chansons de geste in the original
Japanese - night classes in adult school but not long enough--because it was so different and I had friends who had studied it in high school; a change to learn a bit more
Armenian - also night classes in adult school but not long enough--because I grew up with Armenian friends and I would be one of the few odars who bothered [an odar to Armenians is like a goy to Jews]
Italian - nigh classes in adult school (plus the menus and operas!)--because it's beautiful, of course
Russian - coming soon at a university near me!--because it is so different from the Romance languages I've studies, has wonderful collisions of consonants, and can get me around in St Petersburg
I have about five sentences of Khmer (Cambodian) just because of Cambodian friends through church. I tried to learn more but, Lord have mercy, have you looked at the Khmer alphabet? I, who learned the Greek and Hebrew alphabets at age twelve (and bits of Russian and Arabic alphabets too), was defeated with Khmer. One can clearly absorb so much more before age 20 than one can after age 55 (over 60 now).
A question for readers: What is the most unusual/exotic/obscure language you have studied and why?
--the BB
19 comments:
Exotic? I got nothin'. A little French, Spanish, Italian, and Latin, in descending order of fluency. Even with the French, which I studied the most, I'm sorry to say I'm not very fluent. Give me a couple of months of immersion in French, and I would be able to make my way.
Ah, Grandmère, nous sommes exotiques en nous-mêmes. Si nous allions en France ensemble? Que d'aventures y-auront-il!
I tried Welsh once because some of my ancestors (on my mother's side came from there). It's a rather difficult language, to put it mildly. And probably even more so when you attempt to learn it through tapes and books.
If you count poking a little way through a self-teaching Arabic book exotic...
French--8th grade through high school
Russian--10th through hs (they wouldn't let me start concurrently)
Spanish--community-ed classes taught by an enterprising friend
Greek and Hebrew--one semester of each
I pick up phrases as I go, but have nothing truly exotic as yet.
D'aventures, en effet, Paul!
Tu es brave d'entreprendre l'étude de la Russe - une langue avec un alphabet différent.
Now, tell me how badly I butchered the French. I'm serious. Correct me.
Korean, definitely.
Episcopollyanna, Welsh! I am most impressed. I have a Welsh-English / English-Welsh dictionary. I bow before you.
I do think self-taught Arabic books, no matter how briefly encountered, do count.
Anyeung haseo, amaebi! I have no idea how to transliterate Korean but greetings and welcome. How did you come to learn Korean?
And, Grandmère, if we ran off together Grandpère would be with us, of course. But wouldn't it be fun to spend a few months in France? Sigh. I'm sure we'd find trouble to get into.
Let's see...
Spanish from grades 7-11. Loved it and excelled until grade 10 when the intersection of a really bad teacher and a really teenage angstish Fran spelled disaster.
Have studied Spanish off and on ever since and having been to Mexico (several day trips plus one long one), Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Boliva, Peru and Spain 4 times I find I can really make my way.
Not to mention having grown up and lived in NYC area most of my life and also LA, lots of opportunities to speak.
And then my nephew married a woman from Ecuador. My little nephews call me Tia Paquita and yo so la madrina de mi sobrinito Mateo!
Most recent serious study- a full week of immersion at a Berlitz class paid for by my employer in Novermber 2005.
Current less serious study, just starting an informal class with a parishioner at church who is willing to teach us.
I call myself the Zen Spanish speaker - I can basically only operate in the present tense so I live in the moment!
In college I studied Italian for two years but have lost most of it.
I went through a real French phase and self-taught for many years with books, cd's etc plus lots of time in France. I can function but not well in that language.
Since I love language and I have traveled widely I have varying amounts of the following, conversationally only:
Hebrew
Arabic
German
Polish
Greek
I have the ability to say a few words in each with what must be a reasonably good accent, because in each place I have said one of my small short phrases and of course, was met with full conversation and me in full panic mode!
I would also like to point out I have been forever intrigued by some of the New Mexico Spanish that I have encountered and once bought a book about it.
I guess lots of leftover language from the colonial days.
Sadly that book is no longer with me.
Fran, I know which book you mean, unless there are several of them out there, and I picked it up but have not gone through it. There are lots of holdover colonial terms and new forms that are used only here. In my temp work I have had coworkers who were very good at helping me with local terms. Evidently Canadian French also has some elements of archaisms because of isolation from France where the language evolved more freely.
Travel phrases are so helpful and yes, they can lead to a flood of language beyond one's phrasebook. I think my most fluent phrase in Russian is "Excuse me, I don't understand." Making the effort to speak even a little goes a long way in breaking down barriers, though. I try to respect the people I visit. If the speak English, fine, but the burden is on me to operate in their terms, not the other way around, and to the extent I can I enjoy learning to think through their tongue.
Hey, Paul. There doesn't seem to be a standard transliteration of Korean, so dree your weyrd. :D
My husband is a 1.5 generation Korean-American, we adopted a son from Korea, and Korean is a really useful language for a Untied Methodist pastor. So far, I don't know much, and living in Wyomiung single-parenting for much of the week doesn't really make it possible for me to use much but Pimsleur. But even knowing a little Korean is very, very unusual, and helpful.
I'm also learning Mandarin-- we're in the process of adopting a daughter from China-- but orally Mandarin's a lot easier than Korean.
Kamsa hamnida, amaebi.
LOL, I have no idea how well I'm doing at transliterating a language I only know aurally/orally. We have also just about exhausted all of it that I know.
What a great motivation for leearning Korean and, now, Marndain. I congratulate you on your embracing love and adventurous spirit. I am adopted so appreciate those who welcome children into their home. Blessings to your whole family.
My knowledge of Russian is mostly tapes which is why I look forward to doing more with it. The tapes certainly have helped, though.
Korean! Mandarin! I am swooning with admiration! And learning them for such good reasons of love, amen amen.
Reading these comments again reminded me of a strange and wonderful moment that I will blog about soon - I was walking from Israel into Jordan, as if that were not weird enough and then I passed a group of Polish senior citizen tourists and their guide.
The dynamics of blogging!
Fran, it is a delight that we can remind, provoke, encourage, and stimulate each other--and in the process we share stories, one of the most human things one can do.
Cajun French has many elements of old French. Some Cajuns are ashamed of their French, believing it is bad French, when it is actually French from over two centuries ago.
One word which did not exist at that time, such as "un camion" is now "un truck" in Cajun French. I find Cajun French difficult to understand, because the French that I heard when I was growing up was French from France.
In France, the Cajuns get along very well in speaking and understanding, as do French visitors in Cajun country.
I came back to say one thing...
Khmer?
Wow.
Fran, while Khmer is, for an American, pretty exotic, in my context it wasn't. One fifth of the congregation were Cambodian-American, survivors of the Khmer Rouge and their children and grandchildren, not to mention the owners of most donut shops in the Bay Area. I could always practice my five phrases when I indulged in donuts. (Greetings. How are you? Thank you. I'm going home now. Farewell.--Hardly a full conversation)
We did learn to sing a Sanctus composed by a Cambodian-American who, it turned out, is related to a member of our church. We sang it in English, then Khmer, then English again.
Here is the Christ of the Khmers icon:
http://bearfeathers.blogspot.com/2005/02/christ-of-khmers.html
Hi Paul, just checking in. I am trying to learn human speak but, as you probably know, it's real hard. I do believe that inter-species communication is the cutting edge in language studies.
Love,
Rowan
Rowan, you are very much in the vanguard (that means out front). From the first time I saw you online I knew you were a very progressive dog.
Of course, you dogs have the advantage. You can speak more with one lick than we humans can with dozens of sentences. Still, I'm glad we are trying to keep up the communication between species.
I got some lovely licks from Simba last night and, as always, it made me feel better.
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