What have you given up on?

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księżycowy
Re: What have you given up on?

Postby księżycowy » 2017-10-11, 20:23

For all intents and purposes, I've given up on French and the Romance languages in general. I've never really been that interested in most of them anyway, but French was holding my interest for a little bit. But I've only got so much time, and more interesting (to me) languages to learn.

Karavinka

Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Karavinka » 2017-10-11, 21:34

I've given up too many languages to even list them all, but I think Thai is the one that I lament the most. It's been years, but I can still read the Thai script -- although the exacts of the tone rules baffle me by this point.

I've been treating French as if it's a dead written language for so much of my life, living outside of the French-speaking communities. I don't even know why I started this in the first place; maybe the bilingual brands and signs in Canada, and that I couldn't stand not knowing what's written around. Strangely enough, although I've moved to Montreal about 2 months ago, I don't feel motivated to learn any more French. My French sucks, especially when I speak; but so long as I understand nearly everything that's written around me (which I do) and I can rudely talk back in filthy Anglo, my life seems just fine without fluency in French. I'm a dirty Anglo with an Asian skin who refuses to speak French while secretly observing and overhearing what's going on around me. Creepy.

After moving out of Austria, I stopped German almost entirely. Once I had the level of competency around B2~ish level in spoken German (C1+ at least for understanding written German), I didn't bother perfecting my spoken German skills because, well, I was busy with other things. But I don't really see my life crossing with German in any near future, either for working, living or personal interests.

One comforting thought is that I don't really value the "practicality" of knowing a certain language anymore. My work mostly involves reading and writing stuff in Japanese now; my clients must think they're corresponding with a Japanese, and indeed I'm the only non-native in this Japanese team. One might say that I have a practical benefit of knowing this language as I'm using it professionally. There are still things that I need to learn to polish up my command of the language, and I've come far beyond any standardized test or textbook. I'll need to dedicate another 10~15 years of my life if I am to gain professional competency in another language, and it's simply a bad investment. Spanish, you can't tempt me.

Meera wrote:At this point Hindi is the only language I have not given up on.


When you know a language well enough, you come to a point where you can't give up that language, just as you cannot un-learn breathing. I hope you're there (or getting there)!

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Antea » 2017-10-12, 8:23

I don't like to think that I have "given up" on a language. I usually think that I am "postponing it", because I don't have enough time just now :whistle: . So, a language that I have postponed is Chinese (I started last year, but could not stick to it). And then, there are languages that I am interested in learning, but that I have barely started at some point like Kazakh, Serbian, Hawaiian, Swedish, Swahili, Romanian, and that I suppose I would continue at some point.

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby voron » 2017-10-12, 14:07

I've given up on Polish and Romanian, which I don't regret a bit. Islamicate languages totally consumed me so I don't have capacity even to think about anything else.

Serbian - I haven't done anything with it for years, but I am still good at speaking and understanding it, so I can't say I've given up on it.

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby vijayjohn » 2017-10-12, 14:44

Antea wrote:I don't like to think that I have "given up" on a language. I usually think that I am "postponing it", because I don't have enough time just now :whistle: .

Same!

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Luís » 2017-10-12, 15:45

I decided not to give up on German after all. I'm going to finish the book I'm currently going through (just a few more pages left) and keep on doing my daily Anki reviews. I won't be studying it actively (or adding new words to Anki) after that, though
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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby linguoboy » 2017-10-12, 16:17

Luís wrote:I decided not to give up on German after all. I'm going to finish the book I'm currently going through (just a few more pages left) and keep on doing my daily Anki reviews. I won't be studying it actively (or adding new words to Anki) after that, though

Freut mich sehr, das zu hören!

I feel like I've given up on learning languages in general. It used to be that a couple times a year, I'd fall into intense study of a particular language. Sometimes it was one I'd studied before, sometimes a completely new one. But that hasn't happened for a while now.

I figure what I really need to spur me on is an upcoming trip. The last time I really worked hard on a language was when I was cramming Irish in preparation for an event at the Irish Books and Music festival in Chicago, and that was two years ago this month.
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Meera » 2017-10-12, 18:10

Karavinka wrote:
Meera wrote:At this point Hindi is the only language I have not given up on.


When you know a language well enough, you come to a point where you can't give up that language, just as you cannot un-learn breathing. I hope you're there (or getting there)!


I hope I'm getting there :P I feel like Hindi is as attached to me as a body part and I'd be lost if I stopped it lol
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Ciarán12

Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Ciarán12 » 2017-10-14, 5:48

Over the last few months I gave up on every language except for Portuguese. I don't like saying I've given up on a language as it sounds so permanent, but there's definitely a few I don't see me going back to. I tried Lithuanian for a while, and I very much doubt I'll be back to that. I remember I got quite into Serbian a few years back and it's unlikely I'll be back (but who knows...).
I think the last wanderlust I had was a brief attempt to learn some Finnish a few months ago, which fell flat on its face about 2 weeks in and I probably won't be back to it.

Then there's Ainu - the reason I found this forum years ago - I would love to learn it, but it's just not doable from where I am as far as I can tell. I tried twice to learn it, but you can only get so far and then unless you have people to talk to/teach you, you're kind of screwed.

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby vijayjohn » 2017-10-14, 6:12

Ciarán12 wrote:Then there's Ainu - the reason I found this forum years ago - I would love to learn it, but it's just not doable from where I am as far as I can tell. I tried twice to learn it, but you can only get so far and then unless you have people to talk to/teach you, you're kind of screwed.

Given some of the languages I've been trying to learn, you'd think I should learn a lesson from this, and yet... :whistle:

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Yasna » 2017-10-14, 6:30

Ciarán12 wrote:Over the last few months I gave up on every language except for Portuguese.

I notice you have quite a few languages that you have rated with multiple stars, even some with three stars. So how are we to interpret this statement?
Ein Buch muß die Axt sein für das gefrorene Meer in uns. - Kafka

Ciarán12

Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Ciarán12 » 2017-10-14, 6:47

Yasna wrote:
Ciarán12 wrote:Over the last few months I gave up on every language except for Portuguese.

I notice you have quite a few languages that you have rated with multiple stars, even some with three stars. So how are we to interpret this statement?


As me not having been active on Unilang in at least year and not having updated those yet...?

Edit: updated my profile now!
Last edited by Ciarán12 on 2017-10-14, 6:58, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Yasna » 2017-10-14, 6:53

Ciarán12 wrote:As me not having been active on Unilang in at least year and not having updated those yet...?

So you gave up on Japanese and Spanish too? Maybe I've had a couple too many drinks tonight, but it seems like languages at that level become such an integral part of our lives that it's not really possible to give up on them.
Ein Buch muß die Axt sein für das gefrorene Meer in uns. - Kafka

Ciarán12

Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Ciarán12 » 2017-10-14, 6:57

Yasna wrote:
Ciarán12 wrote:As me not having been active on Unilang in at least year and not having updated those yet...?

So you gave up on Japanese and Spanish too? Maybe I've had a couple too many drinks tonight, but it seems like languages at that level become such an integral part of our lives that it's not really possible to give up on them.


You'd think so, but life can change pretty drastically. Like if you live in Japan, there's no getting around learning and using Japanese, but if you leave Japan and stop making any effort to maintain it it will fall away pretty quick. Ditto picking a new one up, c.f. my experience with Portuguese.

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby Multiturquoise » 2017-10-14, 19:28

I've given up on every language except for Greek in order to focus on my studies, since I'm a student of Modern Greek language and literature, I only have lessons in Greek and Turkish, and next year our lessons will be taught almost completely in Greek.

Maybe, when I have much more spare time, I'll continue learning other languages again, especially Faroese and Czech.
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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby kevin » 2017-10-14, 21:11

Ciarán12 wrote:Over the last few months I gave up on every language except for Portuguese.

Even Irish? :shock: :(

Ciarán12 wrote:You'd think so, but life can change pretty drastically. Like if you live in Japan, there's no getting around learning and using Japanese, but if you leave Japan and stop making any effort to maintain it it will fall away pretty quick.

I doubt that you'll really lose it that quickly. It may become rusty, but don't such languages tend to come back relatively easily when you get some exposure again? I mean, you will probably forget something, but far from everything.

And of course, welcome back once again. ;)

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby vijayjohn » 2017-10-14, 21:20

kevin wrote:
Ciarán12 wrote:Over the last few months I gave up on every language except for Portuguese.

Even Irish? :shock: :(

That's what I was wondering, too. :(

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby dEhiN » 2017-10-14, 21:56

Meera wrote:At this point Hindi is the only language I have not given up on.

Well I guess and Arabic, since your Masters is in Arabic Studies! :P

vijayjohn wrote:
Antea wrote:I don't like to think that I have "given up" on a language. I usually think that I am "postponing it", because I don't have enough time just now :whistle: .

Same!

Same here; there are a number of languages that I started learning in the past 2-3 years and that at one point I had even listen in my sig (albeit at "A0" since I only knew a few words, expressions such as greetings and basic phonology). But even in those languages, the little I knew I'm starting to forget. But I see it as "I'll eventually get back to those languages"; not that I've permanently "given up". Plus for a lot of them, I still have Anki cards from back when I was learning them, so I can go back and relearn those words/expressions.

linguoboy wrote:I figure what I really need to spur me on is an upcoming trip. The last time I really worked hard on a language was when I was cramming Irish in preparation for an event at the Irish Books and Music festival in Chicago, and that was two years ago this month.

I remember that trip. That is, I remember you talking about that trip and focusing on Irish as a result. But it seems to me that since then you've been able to maintain your Irish; I remember you were able to help księżycowy earlier this year (if I remember correctly) when he started learning Irish.
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księżycowy

Re: What have you given up on?

Postby księżycowy » 2017-10-14, 22:35

dEhiN wrote:
linguoboy wrote:I figure what I really need to spur me on is an upcoming trip. The last time I really worked hard on a language was when I was cramming Irish in preparation for an event at the Irish Books and Music festival in Chicago, and that was two years ago this month.

I remember that trip. That is, I remember you talking about that trip and focusing on Irish as a result. But it seems to me that since then you've been able to maintain your Irish; I remember you were able to help księżycowy earlier this year (if I remember correctly) when he started learning Irish.

I remember that too.

And he still helps me.
I just don't have as much free time as I had, so I can't post as much. Or work on Irish as much. :cry:

vijayjohn wrote:
kevin wrote:
Ciarán12 wrote:Over the last few months I gave up on every language except for Portuguese.

Even Irish? :shock: :(

That's what I was wondering, too. :(

Me three.

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Re: What have you given up on?

Postby linguoboy » 2017-10-14, 22:39

dEhiN wrote:But it seems to me that since then you've been able to maintain your Irish; I remember you were able to help księżycowy earlier this year (if I remember correctly) when he started learning Irish.

I double-check everything I tell księżycowy just to make sure I'm not getting it wrong. Today a sean-nós singer I know tried to chat with me on Facebook and I put him off partly because I was fixing lunch but mostly because I realised my Irish just wasn't up to it. I couldn't even remember for sure how to say "later" without looking it up.
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons


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