What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

General discussion about learning languages
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AroAro
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby AroAro » Thu Nov 04, 2021 8:54 am

Speaking about myself and my personal experience, I tend to "collect" languages just like other people collect stamps and postcards or spend their time on knitting. What drives my interest is the process of learning itself, mastering new words and grammar structures, slowly deciphering a new language and understanding it more and more with each week/month, analyzing the similarities between languages thanks to my (limited but still) linguistic background. I don't know how much time I will continue with language learning, maybe I'll be lured by something else at one point in the future! It's just a hobby after all.

People learn multiple languages for many different reasons that may be specific to these people's interests or musts. It may happen you won't be convinced by any of the reasons that will be listed here (just like no-one will ever convince me to collect stamps!) - it doesn't make these reasons less valid.

I'd like to hear what you mean by "enjoying the culture" if you don't mind. I mean, I read books (I could even say I read quite a lot), I read foreign magazines, listen to foerign radio stations, sometimes even watch TV shows (though I'm not that much into Netflix and all that stuff). And I'm glad I can do that in several languages.
Last edited by AroAro on Thu Nov 04, 2021 9:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby guyome » Thu Nov 04, 2021 9:08 am

Ezra wrote:I would like to have my Classical Chinese textbooks, dictionaries, grammars and readers in Latin only,
As mentioned by einzelne above, there are some Latin tools for Classical Chinese. Not a crazy amount but still a decent one.

Angelo Zottoli, SJ, published a massive Cursus Litteraturae Sinicae (5 volumes, 1879-1882, with plenty of notes, characters lists, indices, illustrations):
For more on Zottoli and the significance of his work, you can read Morrow Williams, "Angelo Zottoli's Cursus litteraturæ sinicæ as Propaedeutic to Chinese Classical Tradition" in Monumenta Serica 63.2 (2015).

Séraphin Couvreur, also SJ, published various Chinese-French-Latin editions and a dictionary:

Here is the beginning of the Analects in both Zottoli's and Couvreur's editions:

Image

Edit. Added Couvreur's Dictionarium linguae Sinicae latinum.
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby RyanSmallwood » Thu Nov 04, 2021 1:07 pm

I mean there's no correct answer, just try not to think too far ahead, and make decisions as you go. If there's more you want to do with the languages you have/are improving, then keep using them, when the scales tip that you want to do stuff in another language badly enough that its worth going through the beginner/intermediate years again, then you start a new one, and see where you end up.

I've discussed this elsewhere, but I'm personally more optimistic that access to tools/resources on the internet will make it easier for people to learn more languages to a higher level. But it still takes time, and there's no point in over-thinking about what might happen later. Enjoy the languages you're working on as if you might never learn another, and if the opportunity comes where you can add another comfortably, then you're fortunate.
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby SCMT » Thu Nov 04, 2021 1:21 pm

acorngalaxy wrote:Obvious economic / show-off benefits aside,



Obvious economic / show-off benefits aside, what's the point of mastering/learning anything?
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby Nogon » Thu Nov 04, 2021 1:58 pm

SCMT wrote:Obvious economic / show-off benefits aside, what's the point of mastering/learning anything?

If I only had learned things for economic or show-off reasons, I'd be very, very ignorant.
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby SCMT » Thu Nov 04, 2021 5:11 pm

Nogon wrote:
SCMT wrote:Obvious economic / show-off benefits aside, what's the point of mastering/learning anything?

If I only had learned things for economic or show-off reasons, I'd be very, very ignorant.


A lot of us would, and we would probably lead less happy and fulfilling lives as well.
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby bolaobo » Thu Nov 04, 2021 7:02 pm

einzelne wrote:
Ezra wrote:Instead of this, to enjoy European literary culture alone, one needs to learn English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Polish... The list is just going on. And one still needs Latin and Ancient Greek!


Hmm, and what's your point? The OP's argument is precisely this: if you have too much languages under your belt, you cannot go deep enough in all of them. Precisely in how many languages can you read comfortably high register literature now?

I sympathize with your feelings because I basically learn languages for the reasons you outlined. But it's one thing to read A Little Prince or Harry Potter in a dozen of languages and completely another to reach the level when you can comfortably read Dante in Italian, Pessoa in Portuguese, Kawabata in Japanese, Sophocles in Greet etc.


Well, how many people read "high-register" literature even in their native language? For a lot of people, it is just not interesting, and modern attention spans aren't what they used to be. For those people, reading visual novels and manga would be more appealing than Kawabata.
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby lingua » Thu Nov 04, 2021 7:07 pm

You may as well ask what is the meaning of life. Why do people do anything?

I imagine most of us do it because we get enjoyment out of it. That's pretty much why I do any of my hobbies. Sometimes I ask myself if I'd rather be doing something else in my free time but so far I've continued with the languages.
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby Herodotean » Fri Nov 05, 2021 4:20 pm

guyome wrote:
Ezra wrote:I would like to have my Classical Chinese textbooks, dictionaries, grammars and readers in Latin only

As mentioned by einzelne above, there are some Latin tools for Classical Chinese. Not a crazy amount but still a decent one.
[snip]

Will I ever study classical Chinese? Probably not. Have I downloaded all of these anyway? Absolutely.
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Re: What is the point of mastering/learning so many languages?

Postby Jean-Luc » Fri Nov 05, 2021 5:03 pm

Some reasons why (in my case) :

Business : as a former export manager in Europe, travel and business with English, German, Spanish, Italian and French available was useful. Latin (and all languages of the world) for current "naming" business is a must...
Friends : Having Russian, Bulgarian and Ukrainian friends makes you want to please them (and travel in their countries)
Curiosity : History, drama, memories... Chinese films with costume, Korean dramas... so many incentives!
Opportunities : My neighbors are Chinese...
Knowledge : Toki Pona, hieroglyphs... If you have some interest in languages !
Life : going to retire in Croatia makes you learn... Croatian!
Last edited by Jean-Luc on Sun Nov 07, 2021 2:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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