I have been studying Finnish and Japanese for the past few days and of course, Chinese has had to take a back seat and I think that it's gonna be so for a while.
I have experimented a lot and I think it's only reasonable for me to study only two languages 'cos otherwise I am not really able to focus with all my intensity and make quick progress. Japanese is tough and so is Finnish !! The former by the virtue of it's writing system and the Honorific grammatical changes and the latter by the sheer distance with Indo-European languages, though thankfully it has Latin script and both the language are often classified as Agglutinative languages. As I realized this, of late, I am actually focusing on totally foreign languages this year.
My priority order is finally established
Japanese
Tops the list 'cos I just love the sheer complexity of it all and of course it's also because of the fact that I find the Japanese history and society to be one of most fascinating ones. I know for a fact that if I surmount this language than I am never going to look back at languages as being "tough"!! This is the test for all my methods and persistence, it's absolutely gonna be the highlight of my Language Odyssey.. Yes, I do think Japanese is tougher than Chinese.
Finnish
Because of my sheer fascination and love of the North. I love the way the language forms words and that it is so "alien" to me. Their movies are awesome, not that I have seen any yet but I have seen a couple of trailers, I liked them, simple and elegant and focused on the content rather than the special effects. Though this is true for most European movies.
Chinese
Who can forget the Dragon, right. But I am only gonna make this my fall back language as in when I get bored with Finnish and Japanese. Of course, I do!! You can't keep doing the same thing all the time, especially when it's by your own intrinsic commitment rather than an external requirement. I love Chinese history and of course, Buddhism and Philosophy are my main interests in the Far Eastern languages. I am gonna study it passively and see how far I get, I'll keep you posted though.
Hebrew
Trust me I would never consider my knowledge of History being coherent unless I understand this language. Sheer wonder of this beautiful language, resurrected from the "dead" and given a voice again after thousands of years. That's something!! And I am for some reason not into Arabic much, probably because of the too many dialects ( Egyptian would be my preference in any case) but I would put Hebrew first. I just love the entire thing like crazy.
Persian
Poetry, poetry and poetry. I love Rumi and for that single reason I wish to understand the entire legacy of poetry in Farsi. How well his legacy has been continued by his successors. It's related to Indo-European so I have a certain confidence that I can pick it up pretty quickly.
Turkish
Turkish history fascinates me. And Islam has been a big part of my life, as a person in the sub-continent. Farsi and Turkish offer me an improved understand and appreciation of my larger cultural heritage. Yeah, I am more like Pi, as in Life of Pi, seriously I find something breathtaking in every religion I come across, though I don't really believe in any but I just love the sheer expanse of our creativity and I think it's the anthropologist in me who is so endlessly fascinated by people. Actually, I am fascinated by everything, really. Curiosity is my one of my driving urges. But apart form this, I love the fact that Turkish is absolutely phonetic, I am yet to come across a language apart form Esperanto, which can claim such simplicity.
It's crazy I know. I love it;P
This year is about Pushing the Boundaries!
I think if you do something crazy everyday, you might surpass every great you ever knew. Be naive and experiment a lot !!
I have experimented a lot and I think it's only reasonable for me to study only two languages 'cos otherwise I am not really able to focus with all my intensity and make quick progress. Japanese is tough and so is Finnish !! The former by the virtue of it's writing system and the Honorific grammatical changes and the latter by the sheer distance with Indo-European languages, though thankfully it has Latin script and both the language are often classified as Agglutinative languages. As I realized this, of late, I am actually focusing on totally foreign languages this year.
My priority order is finally established
Japanese
Tops the list 'cos I just love the sheer complexity of it all and of course it's also because of the fact that I find the Japanese history and society to be one of most fascinating ones. I know for a fact that if I surmount this language than I am never going to look back at languages as being "tough"!! This is the test for all my methods and persistence, it's absolutely gonna be the highlight of my Language Odyssey.. Yes, I do think Japanese is tougher than Chinese.
Finnish
Because of my sheer fascination and love of the North. I love the way the language forms words and that it is so "alien" to me. Their movies are awesome, not that I have seen any yet but I have seen a couple of trailers, I liked them, simple and elegant and focused on the content rather than the special effects. Though this is true for most European movies.
Chinese
Who can forget the Dragon, right. But I am only gonna make this my fall back language as in when I get bored with Finnish and Japanese. Of course, I do!! You can't keep doing the same thing all the time, especially when it's by your own intrinsic commitment rather than an external requirement. I love Chinese history and of course, Buddhism and Philosophy are my main interests in the Far Eastern languages. I am gonna study it passively and see how far I get, I'll keep you posted though.
Apart from these three languages, I am gonna make an honest effort towards the end of my final year at the University on these two gems as well.
Trust me I would never consider my knowledge of History being coherent unless I understand this language. Sheer wonder of this beautiful language, resurrected from the "dead" and given a voice again after thousands of years. That's something!! And I am for some reason not into Arabic much, probably because of the too many dialects ( Egyptian would be my preference in any case) but I would put Hebrew first. I just love the entire thing like crazy.
Persian
Poetry, poetry and poetry. I love Rumi and for that single reason I wish to understand the entire legacy of poetry in Farsi. How well his legacy has been continued by his successors. It's related to Indo-European so I have a certain confidence that I can pick it up pretty quickly.
Turkish
Turkish history fascinates me. And Islam has been a big part of my life, as a person in the sub-continent. Farsi and Turkish offer me an improved understand and appreciation of my larger cultural heritage. Yeah, I am more like Pi, as in Life of Pi, seriously I find something breathtaking in every religion I come across, though I don't really believe in any but I just love the sheer expanse of our creativity and I think it's the anthropologist in me who is so endlessly fascinated by people. Actually, I am fascinated by everything, really. Curiosity is my one of my driving urges. But apart form this, I love the fact that Turkish is absolutely phonetic, I am yet to come across a language apart form Esperanto, which can claim such simplicity.
It's crazy I know. I love it;P
This year is about Pushing the Boundaries!
I think if you do something crazy everyday, you might surpass every great you ever knew. Be naive and experiment a lot !!
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