Studying language with little time?

[SGP]

Splitting up my answer for the sake of legibility (there may or may not be some content density). That way, you can read one post, and then push the "pause" button .

I don't know if I have necessarily had a problem "confusing the dialects" but I have certainly stumbled on occasion when I am speaking in real time and have to stop and think about it. I also speak Hakka decently, which is my family's main dialect, and between Hakka, Cantonese and Mandarin there is significant overlap in very similar sounding pronunciations. I honestly don't know if it will be trouble for me...I have never tried to seriously increase my vocabulary in multiple Chinese dialects at the same time.

Using several dialects without mixing them up definitely can be done. I.e. it is Very Possible, even if not necessarily every single person would manage it all the time .

There are countless examples of native speakers of "any language" who keep in touch with people from different parts of the same country. When talking to them, some might fully switch to the local dialect, while others simply would prefer the Standard Language and Dialect Mélange. (Mélange: a french loanword meaning blend or mixture).

Before [*], I didn't feel too comfortable learning Spanish and some other related lenguajes at the very same time. Even if I still was giving each of them a share of my attention. But I used to prefer to spend some time with a non-Romance one between the first and second visitation of the first and second Latin Daughter. Later, things changed. It has been made possible for me to talk to any of these five daughters (ES IT FR PT RO) without confusing one for another. This is about establishing a stronger personal connection to each of them.

[*] This usage of "before" may or may not be colloquial. I.e. "a long time ago".

Now some of you might mistake me for The Riddler from any of the Batman series. Thus clarifying it some more. Well, I also could rephrase the previous paragraph. But I do like using some allegories and analogies, because they can additionally explain these linguae matters that I really hold dear. Even if some allegories themselves would first need to be explained. #WhatAnIrony #OrNot

In other words, there was a time when I didn't feel too comfortable learning some Spanish and then immediately switching to French. Because both of them are Romance languages (i.e. they are descendants of Latin). But later, some strong personal connections to each of them appeared. So I don't feel like having to do anything between learning e.g. Spanish and French. Even an immediate switch would be possible. Having said that, I still do prefer not to do it like this in some cases, for the purpose of strengthening the Language Brain Pathways even more.

[SGP]

And as for the dialects of German (being a native of it), it feels even easier to me not to mix them up. There are some really strong personal connections to some of them, and some personal experiences as well. While we aren't infallible, and "we" definitely includes myself as well, without the slightest shade of doubt, I can't imagine mixing them up that easily. Personally, I don't speak Hamburgense. However, if I heard any Hamburger [*] greeting one of his fellas by saying "Yo, Diggah, was geht'n?", I don't think that I would mistake him for a Bavarian.

[*] Capital H; inhabitant of Hamburg

Now I'd like to end this post by breaking down this colloquial expression. Then you could think of the Chinese Dialect Counterparts, and this just might include one out of many puzzle pieces that could be helpful for your Multi Language Learning Side-Quest. For some of the non-natives of English [**] reading this, "to break down" something, in this context, isn't about bulldozers and stuff. It simply means "to disassemble something and then to look at its individual parts and their specific functionalities".

[**] This theoretically includes me, too, because I am not a native of English .

But before starting the Colloquial Hamburgense Dialect Breakdown, I'd just like to side-note that I do hope that my non-conventional way of writing doesn't, well, "scare you off" ("you": projectmaximus). It's just that, while I don't call myself "Mr. Angewandte Kommunikation" ("Mr. Applied Communication"), some others still might secretly do so. Because of that non-standard and "très bizarre" Applied Communication Log I maintain (German, but replies can be made in other languages as well). And it's title already did become one of my personality's parts, there is no point in denying the obvious.

"Yo": as in English.

"Diggah" means something like collega (IT) / colega (ES) which is a part of Colloquial German as well. It (collega/colega, but not necessarily "diggah"!) could even be used in most or all parts of the country in some situations.

"Diggah" isn't restricted to Hamburg either, but sometimes, it does remind one of some of these Hamburg City Rappers out there.

"Was geht'n?" is similar to "Was geht?".

It literally means "what goes?", and the meaning is "what's up?".

[SGP]

The sea consists of countless tiny drops of water.
Knowledge is no different.
Step by step.