I've got quite a lot in general to say about languages, although I'll try to keep my thoughts as focused as + possible on this page... In any case, I absolutely love languages, and have a long-term goal of learning + as many as possible to a level of total mastery.
+With such things as social media as popular as they are, I've seen LanguageTubers and such other influencers + go a long way to market their skills in a dozen or more languages, but the disillusionment that hits when you + actually speak one of them to great fluency and realize you're spellbound by the good ol' + Gell-Mann Amnesia effect, unaware just how far they are from truly hitting the mark of perfection, is saddening to say the least. + Perhaps akin to the feeling you get when you look at a bodybuilder "enhanced" beyond human limits by scary + amounts of steroids. + In that regard, I want to reach the same level... but for real. I realize that might be a vain pursuit, but... + for now, I'm serious, and I do think it can be done. For some serious examples of linguistic athletics, read on, + I've got quite a few stories to tell.
+ +Tryharding
+Unsurprisingly, putting in mad hours into language-learning will produce mad results, and it couldn't get + much clearer than a seriously revelatory post I read the other day in a Discord server I'm a part of. + This server has a channel dedicated to study-related achievements-in other words, a place to showcase your + progress-and in that channel, a passing user posted the following single line: +
+today marks 1 year of learning japanese and 300 days of jpdb
+
+ + Yes, 30,000 words. Not 3,000. +
This was the result of over 100 new words daily over the course of a year. + This person achieved the "N1" qualification in Japanese, which in a word is the usual intermediate goal + that most learners pursue for several years. I myself took about 3 years to get to that kind of level. + When I saw this, I just felt so deeply humbled, knowing that that's what I would have looked like - if I'd + put in even a fraction of the effort that that person did. Instead, I could only curse the fact that + I'd gotten complacent as usual and let myself slip into unproductive waste and basically convince myself + I didn't need to study anymore.
+ +The lesson I derive from this is the need for constant progress and desperation; if you let yourself + slacken, you'll stop going anywhere and deprive yourself of your full potential.
+On this note, I've been reinvigorated to put some elbow grease back into German, and hopefully make it + to C2 within another year (currently it's the 11th of June 2024). After having studied Japanese, I've been + harrowed beyond what the vast majority of German can scare me with anymore - which just leaves a tremendous + vocabulary grind to bring me up to speed. But now we've seen it can be done; and it shall.
+ +Evgeny Onegin Uskov
+ Evgeny is another testament to the ability of a language learner to attain insane peaks totally unthinkable to + the average learner; he achieved a pass on the 'Kanken' level 1 exam, which, in stark contrast to the + JLPT 'N1' above, is orders of magnitudes harder. Even native Japanese struggle for years to earn it. + Evgeny makes the third foreigner to obtain it, making it honestly look and sound totally trivial + when you look at his YouTube videos describing the process. Even though the exam is virtually the most + elite of its kind in Japan, he proved in practical terms that the formula for passing is really very simple; + you just study words till the cows come home, and everything falls directly into place.
+Just like that Discord user, the path to success is the one that no one's watching you take, which + presents the umpteenth clarion call that what's needed in such times of egotistical infatuation is a total + ego-death, a detachment from any aversion to the pain of struggling, because the goal will vindicate itself + in time.
+Thus I am reminded, yet again, how truly little effort I have dedicated, considered against the effort + I very well could have. Thanks, Evgeny. One day I'll be able to call you a peer, at least in terms + of the certificate; even though you'll always be the king ;)
+ +Emil Krebs
+Emil Krebs is a peerless master when it comes to languages. He attained an almost divine level of language, + able to acquire a new language in a matter of weeks from nothing but reading in it; it's a truly + nutty story, so I can only recommend you check out his Wikipedia page, but at any rate, this man is my + role model in language-learning. I know I'm unlikely to reach even half the level he attained by the end, + and I won't likely have even half the time for it that he did, but I suppose it's better to shoot for the + stars and reach the moon than the moon and land on Everest. (Is that too ambitious...?)
+ + +My goals
+ Well, anyway, enough motivational stories. Here're the languages I'm trying to learn! (Eventually!) +German
+German was the first foreign language I ever learnt, but I learnt it at just 10 years old, so I approached + it with about the expected level of enthusiasm for being forced to do it: indeed, virtually none.
+The consequence was that although I did very well reach a roughly C1 level after 5 years of study, + it did cost a lot, and I was extremely, extremely inefficient in learning. I did do a bit of reading (reading + Winnetou most notably, a childhood classic of my dad's), and a good bit of listening to boot, + but I had a total dearth of vocabulary, and by the time I quit, I still hadn't remedied the matter before moving + onto alternative pastures (Japanese).
+All told, having now grown a great deal in my language wisdom (though still far from fully mature), I think + I'm much better prepared to finish acquiring German to a truly advanced level. My goal, as with all + languages I learn, is the top, which may well mean C2, or even higher. I would judge my level of English + as being a good yardstick for the desired level of attainment, and as yet my German level is nowhere + near such heights. At the very least I lack a great deal of natural expression, which may well never + be remedied, considering how universally entrenched English is in my life, but I still believe I can + get to nearly the same level given a truckload more reading and vocabulary cramming.
+Japanese
+My goals in Japanese are Kanken level 1 and Nihongo Kentei level 1. If these mean nothing to you, let it + just be known that there oughtn't be any higher level (of exam) to attain than them; I can quit in good + conscience when I get there!
+Rather, if I don't get to a level at least commensurate with these exams, I cannot convince myself + I've truly reached an acceptable standard that I can feel secure in. Until I reach such a level, I don't + dare say I truly "speak" Japanese; even though I suppose the truest sense of fluency doesn't depend on + one's literary trivia, but one's ability to string normal sentences together, I still have no interest in + "studying" everyday speech in its place, so this shall have to do.
+Latin
+I love Latin, but I've not been able to learn it yet in much depth because I've had other languages on my mind, + namely German and Japanese, but there's no chance I can pass up learning it.
+I picked up a dictionary in Latin a few weeks ago, and I intend to eventually learn that thing front to back + (maybe skipping the English-to-Latin section and focusing on Latin-to-English...); the beauty, in any case, + of the Latin language, is the wealth of wisdom penned by our ancestors that has since been effaced from the + public consciousness because of our going illiterate in the Latin language. It feels like you get to reconnect + with the shared heritage of all Europeans learning Latin, despite the lack of real people to talk to once you do; + perhaps the ultimate vanity it may be, but the idea of learning Latin is deeply romantic for this reason. + I also dream of making new content in Latin, which would be super hype, lol.
+ +Ancient Greek
+Much like Latin, Ancient Greek (Attic or Koine I suppose, but I've not figured out which) is another language + I'd much like to learn, but don't dare to whilst already learning another language; I triage it a good bit lower + than my other priorities right now though, as it's mostly only really good for a select few ancient texts, + and the Bible, since a great part of Ancient Greek writings have been lost to time.
+Indeed, the Greek language is also incredibly beautiful, and exceedingly mystical compared to other + Indo-European languages: it has a quite unique feel despite technically falling into the same language family as + our own, maybe because of its pre-Greek substrate lending it a lot of insular character... in any case, I love it, + and will eventually endeavour to learn it. I've got a Greek New Testament (translations of which Emil + frequently employed to study, btw!) and a textbook so far, so I hope to eventually supplement these both with a + hearty dose of spaced repetition.
+ +Korean
+Okay, this one's just to flex on my friend.
+ +English...
+Embarrassingly, my level of English has actually probably significantly declined over the years, + on account of a decreasing use of any florid language in my daily affairs; I used to use it much more when + I needed it for English essays in school, but as of graduating from that obligation, I've neither continued to + read much fiction, nor made any effort to learn literary or fanciful vocabulary, leaving me a little poor in + terms of thesaurus-power... I'm sure my 14-year-old self would've massively trumped me in a battle of words + if we were to do it today, which is a matter to be cried at. I therefore want to eventually do the same thing I + do for foreign languages - study English! I used to have an Anki deck like that, but on account of not treating + it with respect, I stopped doing it, and am still languishing a little English-wise. Sometime in the future + that'll change, though.
+ +Bulgarian
+Despite being my mother tongue, I'm not awfully proficient in Bulgarian, to a degree where I might + even well be called illiterate by Bulgarian standards. By no means does that word really apply, but + I definitely don't possess even a high-school level of knowledge, which is pretty poor.
+I've done a lot for my language ability from my contributions on Wiktionary, but these are only a fraction + of the language, and a tiny contributor to my overall ability compared to what a good healthy can of reading + would do if I were to make an effort in that direction.
+ +To that end, although it's not particularly high on my priority list, I do intend to pick up my native + language for a bit of traditional study. Hopefully my ancestors will then be proud and smile at me + from the skies :)
+ +Others...?
+Well, I've probably had many idle fantasies of learning loads of other languages, but I won't deign to put them + all here, since doing so so prematurely would divert my focus more than it already is; I can't be getting so many + simultaneous priorities up in here!
+Something about chasing two rabbits, but catching none...
+ + +