Why do I love learning languages?

Part 2: Why do I keep learning languages despite never really learning them

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

The short answer is that I enjoy it. The long answer? I think there are two main aspects, cultural and mind-exercising. Let’s explore it more:

How many languages do you know, that many times you are a human

There’s this saying in Czechia: Kolik jazyků znáš, tolikrát si člověkem. On a quick Google search, I found it attributed to Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (the first Czechoslovak president), Johann Wolfgang Goethe (one of the most famous German authors), or Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (Антон Павлович Чехов, one of the most famous Russian authors). It doesn’t really matter, who said it, but there’s some truth in this despite the curious wording.

Different languages open gates for you. The more languages you speak the more cultures can you truly get to know. Ideas are inherently linked to the language and also restricted by it. Some concepts are only possible in certain languages. Some words only exist in some languages and it is truly fascinating. Knowing different languages can enrich your inner world and you as a person.

Every translation is an interpretation

I have seen firsthand, as a philology student, that every translation is an interpretation. There is very rarely a 1:1 translation. As I’ve already said, some words only exist in certain languages. But even when the words do exist in both, the default language as well as the language you are translating to, the meaning of the word is rarely 100% identical. When there will be two different people translating the same text it is highly improbable their translation would be the same. Often it is similar enough, but a word may have very different meanings and every translator can understand the context differently. You would then get very different translations. Therefore it is always best when you can read the original and decide for yourself.

Get to know work nobody else around you can

Not every book or movie is translated. And not even every great book and movie is translated. The more languages you know, the more gems can you find. It is one thing to be able to watch a movie without subtitles in original sound even when the version in your language is available. But when it is not, you don’t really have any other option. This goes also for songs, although you can partially enjoy at least the music part even if you don’t understand. But if you want to enjoy it as a whole, knowing the language is the answer.

Expand your knowledge

You don’t have to read books and watch videos only for entertainment, but you can also learn from them. Expanding your knowledge thanks to learning a new language is especially relevant to non-English-speakers learning English, as it’s a Lingua Franca. Just like Latin used to be in the whole of Europe a couple of centuries ago, English is nowadays the main language of science. But it is the widest spread means of communication for ordinary life also, as a lot of what you can find on the internet is in English. Almost anything you want to learn – you will find an English tutorial on YouTube. That’s maybe one of the reasons, why so many English speakers are not motivated to learn other languages. But don’t be mistaken! Every language opens a door and some cultural things you can truly understand just in the according language. And you would also need specific languages if you are interested in specific fields. For example, for studying medicine or biology you would need at least a basic knowledge of Latin and probably even Greek. You cannot study law without learning a bit of Latin. The same goes for European history. But for example for central European history, you would have to learn German too.

Travel without fear

Expecting everybody everywhere to speak English could backfire on you. It is one thing being in a restaurant with a menu you can’t understand, trying to translate it with your phone and hoping you will get something edible. And don’t be mistaken, ordering from an English menu doesn’t guarantee you you will get what you want. On our honeymoon in Sicily, my husband thought he was ordering fish and received a mix of seafood we had to google how to even eat it. Either the menu was not translated correctly or/and the waitress didn’t really understand English, so she just translated the order back incorrectly and assumed he ordered something else.

But imagine you’re sick or hurt and you need to explain to a doctor what’s wrong with you. Here you really cannot count on the doctor speaking English. Yes of course, the probability you will have to see a doctor is low, but it happens. And it is especially true if you live somewhere for a little longer. I studied abroad for two semesters in Germany and I met a lot of people there, who studied there and didn’t know German. That seems crazy to me, especially for the people, who didn’t just come for 1 semester, but the whole year or even the whole program of a couple of years! And I also had to go to the doctor as a translator once, because the given person couldn’t speak German and of course, the doctor didn’t speak English. Be on the safe side, learn the language! Especially if you plan to stay longer – the longer the stay, the bigger the probability you will need a doctor.

A different thing is various signs – on the streets, in the buildings, on parking lots. You will usually find important information there and it can cost you quite a bit of money when you ignore them when you for example park somewhere you are not at all allowed to be!

Exercise your brain

Just like sudoku or crosswords, you’re “stretching” your brain by learning a new language and that is always good. But doing sudoku is not much more than that, learning a new language comes with added value of broadening your horizons and providing new opportunities.

It’s fun

All the reasons above make learning a language fun for me, but the process of learning itself is enjoyable because of this next reason. You can see improvements very quickly and clearly. At the beginning, you have a blank slate. You cannot say a word or understand anything. But in a couple of minutes, let alone an hour, you can already say hello and introduce yourself. And you can already hold an easy conversation in a couple of weeks! It’s very motivating to see the progress!

Now that I thought about why it is a great idea to learn new languages, I’m really questioning myself – why do I keep trying new languages but never stick to them? I spend so many hours learning languages but when I don’t maintain them, all this time is wasted! What could I do better?

I don’t maintain what I’ve learned

I mostly maintain English and I’m actively (more or less) learning Greek right now. But what about the other languages? It’s true, I don’t have much time to spare but a little is better than nothing.

The languages most in danger right now are German, Latin, and Italian. I should aim for weekly maintenance both passive and active. Of course, it would be great to speak German and Italian, but in all honesty that’s not what I want to do right now. For now, I could watch 1 video or read 1 article in German and Italian every week, as well as write a page in each of those languages. For Latin, I could read 1 article/page a week and do a couple of exercises after the end of the chapter.

I don’t put enough effort into learning

I started learning Greek on Duolingo months and months ago and long time I didn’t do more than that. If I didn’t feel like it I would do some easy letters-exercise or not even that. So I didn’t come very far in the course. Recently I started to watch videos from Easy Greek, usually one video a day and I’m already seeing some progress. I’m getting Greek in my ear and it’s easier to remember new words I learn in Duolingo if I already heard them in the videos. I also had to make one tweak: The videos come with Greek and English subtitles embedded and I caught myself reading English and not paying too much attention to what I hear. Of course, something still gets through, but I should read the Greek subtitles instead. In that way, I can link the written form with the pronunciation. So I found it is better for me sometimes not to look at the subtitles at all and rather just watch the video and listen. But it’s hard to resist the yearning to understand.

Still, I’m pretty much in the passive knowledge mode, which I would like to change at least a little bit. What I lack is writing and some structure.

I should start a notebook and start taking notes on what I’m learning (and what I already have learned) in Duolingo and maybe build it up from there. I should try to write some very short text on the topics on my own, or maybe even try to comment on the videos I’m watching. I would also like to study more about the culture, history, and geography since we are to go there on vacation and I would like to maximize it as a learning opportunity.

Looks like I have some homework to do!