I loved reading this Catriona, and I am inspired to write a similar post about my languages. Men criticizing a woman about how she speaks their language is something I have zero tolerance for...I was on the receiving end of that for too long (while the men in question failed to learn my language).
Thanks Liza - do keep me updated if you write a post about your languages - I know you also speak quite a few. Yes I agree there is power dyanmics playing out around language - which one you speak, whether you are doing it right. As I am Scottish I am often told I am speaking English wrong by foreign men who claim to know it better than me. Burmese is the only language I never felt policed as I tried to learn to speak - people were very welcoming to me as a learner. Which might be partly about my own power priviledge in the country but also the history of isolation of Myanmar. As a language learner it was a very different experience compared to trying out French as a learner.
I love this quick trip through your communions and entanglements with language.
I'm studying Spanish after many years of being able to only say basic things in the present tense (or the "future" using "going to"). I first became interested because my ex-husband is a native Spanish speaker and I wanted him to carry that to our children. I simply overheard and absorbed.
Living in the midwest, he actually expressed some shame in speaking Spanish allowed to the children (maybe not caused by, but enhanced by, the stares he received. 🙄) I suppose it was my Anglo privilege that allowed me not to have any sense of that. He slowly came out of it, sort of. But when we divorced he stopped speaking Spanish to the children. They've mostly forgiven him. I had always been the one to sing the few Spanish songs and say the few Spanish rhymes I learned to the children. Odd. And yet it just seemed to dovetail with my desire to wrap them in more of the world.
When I lived in Southern California for 25 years, it would have been a great time to improve my Spanish and I did have opportunities to speak it in my little way. Now I live in Portland Oregon where I almost never hear it and all of a sudden I'm delving in. Go figure. I have nothing philosophical and deep to say about it except that when I'm drawn to something I tend to dive in (haha I guess that's "deep") and I'm really grateful to have the opportunity to learn with an app for an hour a day.
You are an inspiration, diving into so many languages. Your world travels are inspiring. Who knows? Maybe I'll be commenting one day that I've dragged my semi-willing spouse off to a Spanish speaking country to live for half a year!
Thanks JR - great to hear from you. Fascinting to learn about your experience of learning Spanish and the relational/power aspects of this language learning journey within your family. Awesome you are following your inspirations even if the world around you isn't lining up with lots of real world practice opportunities right now.
I did find the fact I was living in places I could practice helped me learn quicker, as the incentive is much higher and for me I have a compulsion to try things to strangers which definately helped. I think that is why I am struggling with Gaelic - it is very hard to find places to practice.
Half a year in a Spanish speaking country sounds a great adventure and a great way to learn, maybe your spouse will become at least 75% willing to join you :) I really hope you can create that - I can already see you wandering the streets of Latin America putting all your practice into action.
I loved reading this, Caitríona, and even though I haven't tallied up as many languages as you, our language-learning journeys are quite similar. And this line, 'When I look at all the languages I learned, I see my efforts to try to belong through verb tables, vocabulary cards and perfectly pronounced vowels', well this line hit very deep. I feel seen.
Annette - I am so touched by this comment - and very happy to connect to someone else who uses language to find a route into belonging. We are not alone.
Ahh those Glasgow school bullies! I had to very quickly lose my English accent and switch to Glaswegian when we moved in the 70’s. Luckily I was already familiar with Scottish accents as my Ayrshire born grandparents lived in Glasgow.
I’ve never been fluent in another language but French is the closest I’ve come to holding a patchy conversation in. I’ve had a go at Scottish Gaelic and Italian, both beautiful languages and am currently learning Polish. I actually love languages but my terrible memory always lets me down!
I’m full of admiration for anyone able to speak another language let alone as many as you!
Hi Margi, thanks for your comment and sharing your own language learning journey. That was good language learning skills to learn the 'right' accent so quickly. Those Glasgow school kids can be unforgiving.
I do think the fact my brain likes words and patterns made it easier to memorise languages. I can not remember phone numbers I have had for years, but I can remember words really fast - so I do think different brains are wired for certain types of learning which make it easier. That said, I struggled with Burmese - there was nothing to latch onto/no connections between words I previously knew and the Burmese version of the word. I had to repeat each word so many times to really remember it.
What a lovely post! I might steal this format (crediting you of course and linking to this post of yours). Languages are such a gift - they're like a doorway to a different world.
Hi Sascha - thank you so much for your comment. Yes please credit me/link to this piece if you use this format. Would love to see what you create if you do explore it. As you say - languages are a gateway to new worlds!
You’re amazing to have learnt all those languages, especially as an adult. I fell into being bilingual English and French as I child as I’ve always lived in Switzerland. My mother is English, my father Italian; I speak Italian but it’s rusty as I don’t use it; and I learnt Spanish at school and am relatively fluent (albeit in a non grammatical way) as we have a house an hour north of Barcelona. My husband is learning Spanish with a teacher twice a week, he knows far more grammar than me but can’t yet carry a conversation the way I can about just about anything. I sometimes think I should take lessons to improve my Spanish but at the moment I’m far too busy with my writing, and my health issues make it hard to plan regular lessons. I do admire your skills and tenacity. And intelligence! Wow! Hugs, Cesca xx
Ah you are so kind Francesca thank you. You also have a pretty impressive language learning history! I always think it is not worth it if we think we should learn something, we need to want to - I think for me the desire to talk to people - with however many grammar mistakes was always a great motivation and it sounds like you are getting by in Spanish without the grammar :D
I read this with such awe and appreciation for language learners like you (you know what I'm like). Really interesting language journeys you've had and I love the way you weave in relationships too. This line - 'He said I spoke Italian like a Spanish hooker. I was ok with that' - I couldn't tell if that was an insult or a compliment 😂
I loved reading this Catriona, and I am inspired to write a similar post about my languages. Men criticizing a woman about how she speaks their language is something I have zero tolerance for...I was on the receiving end of that for too long (while the men in question failed to learn my language).
Thanks Liza - do keep me updated if you write a post about your languages - I know you also speak quite a few. Yes I agree there is power dyanmics playing out around language - which one you speak, whether you are doing it right. As I am Scottish I am often told I am speaking English wrong by foreign men who claim to know it better than me. Burmese is the only language I never felt policed as I tried to learn to speak - people were very welcoming to me as a learner. Which might be partly about my own power priviledge in the country but also the history of isolation of Myanmar. As a language learner it was a very different experience compared to trying out French as a learner.
I love this quick trip through your communions and entanglements with language.
I'm studying Spanish after many years of being able to only say basic things in the present tense (or the "future" using "going to"). I first became interested because my ex-husband is a native Spanish speaker and I wanted him to carry that to our children. I simply overheard and absorbed.
Living in the midwest, he actually expressed some shame in speaking Spanish allowed to the children (maybe not caused by, but enhanced by, the stares he received. 🙄) I suppose it was my Anglo privilege that allowed me not to have any sense of that. He slowly came out of it, sort of. But when we divorced he stopped speaking Spanish to the children. They've mostly forgiven him. I had always been the one to sing the few Spanish songs and say the few Spanish rhymes I learned to the children. Odd. And yet it just seemed to dovetail with my desire to wrap them in more of the world.
When I lived in Southern California for 25 years, it would have been a great time to improve my Spanish and I did have opportunities to speak it in my little way. Now I live in Portland Oregon where I almost never hear it and all of a sudden I'm delving in. Go figure. I have nothing philosophical and deep to say about it except that when I'm drawn to something I tend to dive in (haha I guess that's "deep") and I'm really grateful to have the opportunity to learn with an app for an hour a day.
You are an inspiration, diving into so many languages. Your world travels are inspiring. Who knows? Maybe I'll be commenting one day that I've dragged my semi-willing spouse off to a Spanish speaking country to live for half a year!
Thanks JR - great to hear from you. Fascinting to learn about your experience of learning Spanish and the relational/power aspects of this language learning journey within your family. Awesome you are following your inspirations even if the world around you isn't lining up with lots of real world practice opportunities right now.
I did find the fact I was living in places I could practice helped me learn quicker, as the incentive is much higher and for me I have a compulsion to try things to strangers which definately helped. I think that is why I am struggling with Gaelic - it is very hard to find places to practice.
Half a year in a Spanish speaking country sounds a great adventure and a great way to learn, maybe your spouse will become at least 75% willing to join you :) I really hope you can create that - I can already see you wandering the streets of Latin America putting all your practice into action.
I loved reading this, Caitríona, and even though I haven't tallied up as many languages as you, our language-learning journeys are quite similar. And this line, 'When I look at all the languages I learned, I see my efforts to try to belong through verb tables, vocabulary cards and perfectly pronounced vowels', well this line hit very deep. I feel seen.
Annette - I am so touched by this comment - and very happy to connect to someone else who uses language to find a route into belonging. We are not alone.
Ahh those Glasgow school bullies! I had to very quickly lose my English accent and switch to Glaswegian when we moved in the 70’s. Luckily I was already familiar with Scottish accents as my Ayrshire born grandparents lived in Glasgow.
I’ve never been fluent in another language but French is the closest I’ve come to holding a patchy conversation in. I’ve had a go at Scottish Gaelic and Italian, both beautiful languages and am currently learning Polish. I actually love languages but my terrible memory always lets me down!
I’m full of admiration for anyone able to speak another language let alone as many as you!
Hi Margi, thanks for your comment and sharing your own language learning journey. That was good language learning skills to learn the 'right' accent so quickly. Those Glasgow school kids can be unforgiving.
I do think the fact my brain likes words and patterns made it easier to memorise languages. I can not remember phone numbers I have had for years, but I can remember words really fast - so I do think different brains are wired for certain types of learning which make it easier. That said, I struggled with Burmese - there was nothing to latch onto/no connections between words I previously knew and the Burmese version of the word. I had to repeat each word so many times to really remember it.
What a lovely post! I might steal this format (crediting you of course and linking to this post of yours). Languages are such a gift - they're like a doorway to a different world.
Hi Sascha - thank you so much for your comment. Yes please credit me/link to this piece if you use this format. Would love to see what you create if you do explore it. As you say - languages are a gateway to new worlds!
You’re amazing to have learnt all those languages, especially as an adult. I fell into being bilingual English and French as I child as I’ve always lived in Switzerland. My mother is English, my father Italian; I speak Italian but it’s rusty as I don’t use it; and I learnt Spanish at school and am relatively fluent (albeit in a non grammatical way) as we have a house an hour north of Barcelona. My husband is learning Spanish with a teacher twice a week, he knows far more grammar than me but can’t yet carry a conversation the way I can about just about anything. I sometimes think I should take lessons to improve my Spanish but at the moment I’m far too busy with my writing, and my health issues make it hard to plan regular lessons. I do admire your skills and tenacity. And intelligence! Wow! Hugs, Cesca xx
Ah you are so kind Francesca thank you. You also have a pretty impressive language learning history! I always think it is not worth it if we think we should learn something, we need to want to - I think for me the desire to talk to people - with however many grammar mistakes was always a great motivation and it sounds like you are getting by in Spanish without the grammar :D
I read this with such awe and appreciation for language learners like you (you know what I'm like). Really interesting language journeys you've had and I love the way you weave in relationships too. This line - 'He said I spoke Italian like a Spanish hooker. I was ok with that' - I couldn't tell if that was an insult or a compliment 😂