be multilingual

Or… Albanian, I’m learning bits and pieces. Having to live here for two months is helping. Will be spending a month in Rhodes after this for classes(taught in English). Will be picking up a little Greek this summer as well.

I’ve started learning Chinese and am now living in China. I should be fluent in 4 years, when my degree is finished.

I want to learn one language from every continent.

English, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Setswana
Maybe Korean too if I’m still alive.

Not a particularly short-term goal, but a worthwhile one. :)

I’ve always dream of being multilingual. I started learn French when I started high school, at age 11, and I took up Spanish the next year. Unfortunately, Spanish was dropped after 2 years, but I continue to study French to this day. I’ve been taking some classes as part of my BA at uni, and although I am not fluent, I feel somewhat proficient in French.

I took up German last year, and have completed 2 intensive courses. I have a grasp of the basics, and next year I’ll be moving into the more advanced stuff. German is a challenge, particularly grammatically, but I love it.

My favourite language is Japanese, and it is a dream of mine to spend some time in Japan before I settle down. I started studying Japanese by myself while in high school, with varying amounts of success, then chose it as one of my majors at uni. I’m conversational now, and am looking forward to the challenge of the advanced courses I will be taking next year. :D

Slowly but surely seems to be the key!

My goal is to be able to comfortably converse in other languages.

As of today, these are the languages that I plan on learning:

Spanish

Japanese

Korean

Chinese

French or Italian (haven’t decided on which one yet)

I will tell you my reasons for wanting to learn these specific languages.

Spanish – Yo hablo Español malo ahora. LOL Well, at least I can speak bad Spanish in a sentence, right? It seems like more and more people are speaking Spanish in this country. Also, it seems like you become more valuable to a company if you can speak more than one language. I chose to continue learning this language because it will help me communicate with others who speak Spanish but not English.

Japanese – What can I say? I love the Japanese language. It is so beautiful. At first, I was scared to learn it because of the Kanji and Kana. Once I was able to figure out an easy way to learn the foreign symbols, I was able to see that it is in fact very easy to learn this language. I love listening to J-Pop music as well.

Korean – Lately, I have been into Korean game shows. Even though I don’t have a clue as to what they are saying (unless I find a show that is subbed in English), the shows are still very entertaining. I also enjoy Korean (K-Pop to be exact) music. I just wish that I could understand what was being said!

Chinese – Do I really need to have a reason for wanting to speak Chinese? This is the language to learn! I WILL learn it!

As far as French and Italian go, I want to learn Italian, but French seems like it would be more helpful to me in my lifetime. I haven’t decided yet, but I will not make a decision until I can converse in the languages I mentioned above.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

I have never even entertained the Idea of trying to learn some of the language in India, knowing how many different languages and dialects exist there. Now, I have a friend who has just moved from his home there. It makes me consider seriously attempting at least some spelling and memorization of terms. Probably good, in case I ever make the trip. His family produces Sari’s, and I think it would be enlightening to travel if the opportunity present’s. One more language(or like 18 more languages) on the list.

Art, Architecture and Poetry:
Oakland’s funerary art is unequaled in the area. Elaborate mausolea, soaring sculptures and effusive inscriptions speak of an age when the bereaved found consolation in extravagant expression.

Impressive art and architecture can be seen in many styles: Victorian, Greek Revival, Gothic, Neo-classical, Egyptian and Exotic Revival. Several mausolea feature stained glass windows from Tiffany Studios. Bronze urns over six feet high were cast at Gorham Factory in New York, the first art foundry in America. Read about the rewards of exploring Oakland. (Link to Exploring Oakland) http://www.oaklandcemetery.com/history.html

Figures carved from stone droop in sorrow, gaze pensively or reach to the heavens. The best known is the massive “Lion of Atlanta,” marking an estimated 3,000 graves of unknown Confederate soldiers disinterred from the battlefield. Icons are everywhere, employing symbols that speak a language of grief unknown in contemporary culture. The expertise of Historic Oakland Foundation plays an important role in preserving knowledge of 19th Century funerary symbolism and communicating its meaning. Learn what the symbols mean. (link to Symbols) http://www.oaklandcemetery.com/layout.html

La classe ha finito lunedi. Era buona, ma molto difficile. Ho imparato tanto, forse troppo. Non voglio dimenticare, quindi devo esercitare. mio marito non vuole parlare con me in italiano perche’ parlo troppo lentamente. Ho bisogno di qualcuno parlare con me.

currently taking an intensive italian class – 20 hours per week for six weeks! my husband speaks italian, so i already had a bit of a base. it’s going really well, but tough – information overload. i’ll be visiting italy in october, so my goal is to actually be able to hold some sort of conversation with his family this time.

So far I have a computer program that I study, however I have now officially decided to learn French. I will start by taking a class next semester. I will keep you updated on my progress.

Loving my Italian class so far! I can sing the alphabet and “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”