Things you wish people would stop saying when you tell them the languages that you're learning
Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 11:01 am
Are there things that people say to you over and over again when they find out that you're studying a language?
I hear the same things repeatedly and, although I know that people don't usually mean anything by it, it does get a little...irritating after a while.
I've given up trying to answer these on most occasions. Now I usually just give vague responses "I like it/enjoy it" etc. and wait for the subject to change (conversations rarely stick to languages/language learning for long anyway).
Here are the most common ones that I hear for my languages...
German
"That's a harsh language/sounds ugly."
Mandarin
"Oh that's such a difficult language./How can you study something that hard?"
"Why not learn 'insert language name here' instead it's much easier." (Usually said by someone who hasn't attempted to study the language that they're recommending).
Czech
"Why? What can you do with Czech?/Wouldn't you rather learn a more useful language?"
General assumptions about why I'm learning languages
"Oh, so you want to be a teacher/interpreter." (Note: I don't think there's anything wrong with these professions, it's just not what I want to do)
I hear the same things repeatedly and, although I know that people don't usually mean anything by it, it does get a little...irritating after a while.
I've given up trying to answer these on most occasions. Now I usually just give vague responses "I like it/enjoy it" etc. and wait for the subject to change (conversations rarely stick to languages/language learning for long anyway).
Here are the most common ones that I hear for my languages...
German
"That's a harsh language/sounds ugly."
Mandarin
"Oh that's such a difficult language./How can you study something that hard?"
"Why not learn 'insert language name here' instead it's much easier." (Usually said by someone who hasn't attempted to study the language that they're recommending).
Czech
"Why? What can you do with Czech?/Wouldn't you rather learn a more useful language?"
General assumptions about why I'm learning languages
"Oh, so you want to be a teacher/interpreter." (Note: I don't think there's anything wrong with these professions, it's just not what I want to do)