"If you don't use it, you lose it."
It seems I spent the later half of my Junior High School, all of High School and early years of College learning Spanish and French, I failed to master it. I could not grasp French well and I managed to be able to read and write in Spanish but never got the speaking in a normal conversation. I could get a few sentences in and understand a few verbal words but it never took. After a few years after not caring to learn any more and not using, much has faded. The most I retained from learning Spanish is from the Taco Bell commercials: Yo Quiero Taco Bell. And French, forget it, all I know is: Oui. I can't for the life of me do the rolling of the tongue to do Rrrrrr, as
in Rrrrrromeo. When I roll the Rrrrrr, nine out of ten times it sounds like I am
about to gargle out some phlegm. Sad is I.
I use to love Russian and Ukraine culture mainly due to ex-girlfriends from those countries and being exposed to their culture when I use to work in Brooklyn. So, when I had the chance to visit Moscow for a few days, I did. This is just speaking of Europe. I am now a big fan of the Dutch lifestyle ever since my first visit to Amsterdam (then the broader outskirts into The Netherlands, meaning not just the Center of Amsterdam). It surely has broaden my view on things. And I have been back so many times not caring to visit many other countries (for the moment). There's a part of me that wants to stay there. With that comes an interest to browse a few other countries that sound interesting: Portugal, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Belgium and a curiosity of the smaller Eastern block countries.
American English has different sounding syllables than the European counterpart. Some of these syllables vary from cut short or to let the sound of the syllable roll. The American grammatical sequence do not follow the same as the European structure. Words do not match up in the way it is written from it's pronunciation. And at times you have to change the whole structure of the way you normally speak (or write) to adapt to the language you are trying to learn. How come -sometimes- a noun will come before the verb, and then sometimes it doesn't? And why in all my years of education did no one teach me what a Finite or Infinitive verb are? My job entails working with people from all over the world. I currently work with business owners. And one should know people come to America from everywhere around the world and open up shop. But my trying to learn another language has nothing to do with it. There's a reason why I am attempting this particular language. I find learning another language has much to do with memory, comparing to your own and just trying to adapt as to how the other culture flows naturally. So, how's this? Foreigners forgive me when I come to your country and I chop up the grammar in your language and I will forgive you when you come to America and tell me "I no understand, I no speakie much English". I think it should be a given, not to be laughed at, maybe humored by. There should be fun in learning and jest in cultural differences not mockery.
Ik probeer Nederlands te leren.
or
Ik ben Nederlands aan het leren
Sound travels in frequencies is a subject I learned in my college courses. That's how waves hit our ears. I never realized this when they were testing my acuity to tone when in my Elementary School's music class. I've fount learning another language applies to this frequency in which we communicate. And in linguistic classes, I learned not having a lazy mouth emphasized the pronunciation of a syllable better. When you speak, move your mouth.
Think about when you were taught the alphabet in your native language. It's the basics of how to communicate in a particular language. By making the simplest sound of a letter in the alphabet, you're learning the cultures language fundamentals. (Going off topic a little here, as I always do) The education of grade school, then college, work experiences
and life experiences are phases in development and change. Specifically speaking of a culture's language, I think in every life cycle, we get about four to
five stages, if given the opportunity: birth to early twenties, early
twenties to mid thirties, mid thirties to forties and fifties to sixties
and there onward to be content or wonder on with learning (this can be applied to language as one subject matter). Heck, even when I was learning Visual Basics is an example. It
formulates in every stage of life and is past onward to build a
particular culture or language. It can change, need adapting to, when something is
created by the freedom of the mind (or our ever so evolving humanity) or
preserved in the name of learning from history. Learning another
language or it's culture is like tuning into another frequency, it doesn't always sync, you just try to make it relevant to understanding it the best you can.
Think about the way you listened how to pronounce things so you can communicate with your guardians as a child. Think about how you phrase things based on the language around you, they aren't always grammatically attuned to the culture's formal language, "word, son"? Foreigners learning your language, are guest trying to tune in to your frequency. Can it be methodical as much as memory is involved to learning or must one be raised in it to be affluent. It takes years of these communicating in frequencies to build a certain culture's language. Learning a language is like a a frequency. And not every language has the same frequency. There are differences in the wave length or amplitude in how a sound comes out (or way it is written).
I never understood why my father never cared to learn different things. He is a very simple man. He's a fanatic basketball watcher, enjoys a narrow range of foods and never really bothered in other cultures except when he needed to. As a small example of one of my father's attributes: I fount one reason why he might behave this way. I learned from an economist: our actions are based on rewards. My father did learn a few sentences and words for certain things in Spanish in order to adapt based on his work. The reward to learning Spanish is to aide in his former career. The one that allowed to provide for in part for my development. Meaning closed minds don't get fed. So why am I reattempting to try and learn another language? It's because culture interests me so much, I just love it. What is my reward? I need language to fit into the culture aspect. It's mainly not for my job. Why do so many non-Asian people eat Asian food (or vice versa) if reasons not for being: cheap (say the cost are the same), having variety in diet or taste (if you can omit this as a reason). What is the reward in trying another cultures food? E.g.: A hamburger (German/American) and a meatball (Italian) are made of the same or similar, right? Why eat one oppose to the other. Every new thing I learn from another uncommon culture is like the YouTube videos of a kitten just in their natural cute behavior, learning another cultures language hits a similar part of my brain.
I like stepping stones, it has created what we call stairs.
