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I have always found foreign languages fascinating. They're like some kind of organic encryption or code that ties into cultures and history. If you travel a lot for your job like I do, learning the local language, or at least parts of it, really give one insight into the culture. People treat you better. The experience is enhanced.
I was watching Bloomberg News the other day (it is the only English-speaking channel I can watch, with the exception of Sky News) and they were interviewing a big AI CEO type. I forget his name, but he said something profound: The language one speaks is their operating system for their world. I had one of those 🤯 moments.
I go through phases where I'll pick up a language book or start watching videos in a target language online, or join in a chatroom for the target language. After awhile, I just give up. Without daily use in an autheitic environment, there are limits to what one can do. It's not that I'm thwarted by the challenge; I look forward to the chance to grow, even slightly. It's better than doom scrolling or sending dick pics or chatting about something inane. Studies have suggested that language learning wards of dementia and can improve memory function. Think of it as exercising one's brain.
I have a few languages that I am considering learning, or becoming familiar with. As far as what I already am familiar with, I can (or rather, could) already speak basic Sesotho. I learned this on the ground working a humanitarian contract almost twenty years ago. There were scant resources to study, so I learned by immersion and experience. I found this technique to be the most effective way to learn a language. I'd say I was a B1 or B2 on the CEFR scale. The language has a small vocabulary, consisting of rotating prefixes, base words, and suffixes. Locals who speak it know all of the words because one has to only remember one-, two-, or three-piece combinations to memorize vocabulary words. This is not too dissimiliar to Esperanto. The idea of not knowing all the words in one's language and requiring a dictionary to reference always surprised them. "How could you not know all the words in your own language?" they would ask. Well, English has hundreds of thousands of words, some being very technical. If slang and obsolete words are included, some say there are millions of words. Depending on the source, Sesotho has "tens of thousands" of words. They have specific words for different kinds of cows in different conditions, with different colors, ages, spots, functions, etc. Kind of like how Eskimos have fifty words for snow (I have no idea if that is really true about snow).
After Sesotho, I studied German from a textbook and cassette tapes during my uni years. I was probably a B1. Maybe it's a German-specific problem, but I feel like I spent too much time during drills trying to remember the fine grammar points and to make it perfect. It didn't just flow like Sesotho did. I have trouble multitasking, so remembering the sentence and listening for the verb at the end was just too much for me.
My third language was Putonghua (aka Mandarin Chinese). I was living in southwest China at the time so I was able to have the on-the-ground experiences. I also committed time to learning from a book too, so I was able to see tremendous gains, very quickly. Putonghua really isn't that difficult. Cantonese, on the other hand, is nightmare mode difficult. This is probably my strongest second language. However, when I tell a Chinese person that I can speak basic Putonghua, they 1) compliment me (your Chinese is so good!...yea right) then 2) start rambling in Chinese. Then I'm like "woah woah woah...slow down. You know what? I don't understand what you said." Maybe I don't speak it well after all.
During the 2020-2022, I took up Esperanto. I really like the idea of it and was able to communicate with people from all over the world. I chatted with a Ukrainian guy who was doing research in Cuba. He told me about how Cuba has two or three of their own home-grown Wuhan Coronavirus vaccines. That doesn't get a lot of press at all. I also chatted with some girl in Iraq for awhile and she sent me pictures of street life out there. I remember conversing with some dude in the Congo at one point too. It's so easy to learn and I think it really does serve a purpose if you want it too. I hate the sound of Esperanto though and it needs a marketing face lift. Rename it and make it cooler. It carries too much baggage. I think Toki Pona might be the heir to Esperanto, but it's still very young. When I go into a Toki Pona chatroom, it's all westerners. I also hate having to use five or six words to say one thing. In Esperanto, there's a word for BRICK. In Toki Pona, one must say something like "red rectangular object that is used to build walls". Something like that.
Now that I've established a baseline to work from, here are some languages on my radar and what I think about them.
Russian: The best sounding and the coolest looking language, period. I could listen to Russians talk to each other all day long, and I wouldn't know (or care) what they are discussing. Total bad ass language, S tier. However, I don't think I'll ever find myself in any of the countries where it is spoken. Can I even visit Russia in 2023? Would I even want to?
Spanish: The most practical language that opens up the most doors. From Mexico all the way down to Tierra Del Fuego, and all the food, cool people, pretty girls, and great weather that goes with it. Very simple language, but not great at conveying information. That's why they speak so fast...got to fit it all in before the interlocutor loses interest. However, I just can't get into it. I've tried and I'm just not drawn to it. I realize the practicality, but without motivation, it's hard to stay focused.
German: I already have a background in it, so I wouldn't be starting out from square one. I think it still sounds bad ass, and there's tons of media. I also would like to visit Germany one day. I visited once, in January 2010, and it was the coldest cold I ever experienced. Everybody spoke English to me. I tried to speak German I got blocked at every turn. However, I find German difficult because one needs to remember to listen for the verb at the end of the sentence and I have poor short term memory. When I'm trying to remember the verb, I miss the rest of what's being said.
Esperanto: Every so often I'm like "I'm done with this stupid language" and convince myself I'm 100% never going back to it. However, it's so easy and useful, that I always end up coming back shamefully. I just hate how it sounds though. According to an study I read, they ran Esperanto through a program with a database of languages to look for relationships between it and other languages. It turns out it's most similar to Russian, then English, then French, in that order. I played some clips of it, Pepsi Challenge style, and asked people "what language does this sound like to you?" The most common responses were Romance Languages. Gag.
I tried to make a travel vlog video in Esperanto and it came out awful. I wanted to comment on things and didn't have the vocabulary word handy, and it just sounds weird when I'm talking to myself. There's definitely a niche there, but I need somebody to practice with to take it to the next level. It would be cool to team up with somebody and put on a weekly show online where we discuss stuff in Esperanto. There's more people than you'd think that are into it and there's not a lot of content that doesn't involve more than one person. But I'd have to wear a mask because if my community found out that I am an Esperantist then I'd probably neck meself.
Irish: For personal reasons, I have the most motivation to learn this one, but I lack resources, it isn't widely spoken, and it's impossible to pronounce anything. Irish has like three different dialects in a country the size of a small US State. It will require a ton of work for almost no payoff. I'm not talking about monetary terms; without daily maintence it's just time wasted. There's the part about maintaining one's culture, but I'll probably die first. I can't learn this one from a book. It's just way too difficult. I need backup. Plus, all the Irish speak English. I watched a Youtube Video named NO BERLA, which means something like "I don't speak". This guy tried to go from coast to coast in Ireland, only speaking Irish, and it was almost impossible. How depressing is that? It sounds badass and sweet at the same time. It also has it's own awesome font. Unless I go to the Gaeltacht, I don't think I'll be having any luck with this one. I wish.
So there you have it. Russian, German, Spanish, Esperanto, and Irish. I wish I could speak them all fluently. Russian is the most bad ass. I have a more solid foundation with German. Spanish is the most practical. Esperanto is the easiest. Irish is most appealing to me at a personal level. I don't know which way I'll go.