A language learners’ forum

Really interesting and great idea!

1) But is there a set goal like learn 100 words or speak with 50 phrases?

2) Hard for me to get at random a language to learn as I need some "connection" (motivation) with it...
Maybe a rule with a bunch of 3 options could have helped.

Jean-Luc wrote:Really interesting and great idea!

1) But is there a set goal like learn 100 words or speak with 50 phrases?

2) Hard for me to get at random a language to learn as I need some "connection" (motivation) with it...
Maybe a rule with a bunch of 3 options could have helped.

If I recall you get a language, and have one veto. You can do the Jam just one day, or two or three. Your "connection" can be all of your friends here who are doing it too!

Mista wrote:Although the word "indigenous" may have been ill chosen, I think the selection of languages was very well chosen, and I'd love to take part in the Jam. Unfortunately the date is the worst imaginable, as I will be trekking in the Alps and hopefully be busy speaking French on that day.

I think the reason behind the choice of words is that 2019 is UNESCO's "International Year of Indigenous Languages", and LanguageJam wanted to commemorate that somehow.

Totally agree with you about the selection of languages! I can't wait to see what I get.

I hope you have a great trek in the Alps.

Deinonysus wrote:Well, to me calling a language indiginous implies that it's a minority language that's unrelated to a colonial language that has become the majority language in the recent past.

To me it doesn't.
Minority language, yes
Unrelated to a colonial language? Why would this be of any relevance?
Recent past? Irrelevant. What is relevant here is that one group of people with their own distinct language and culture was living in an area before another group of people with their own distinct language and culture moved in. When doesn't matter. Just that one group was there first.

I agree with you in that not all the languages on the list should be called indigenous, but languages like Ainu, Kurmanji, Celtic languages, Sami and Lezgian are recognized as indigenous languages by unambiguously indigenous people, and that is enough to me.

Jean-Luc wrote:But is there a set goal like learn 100 words or speak with 50 phrases?

No. You set your own goals. And you can choose your own language, too. It just won't be "official", but - does it really matter?

I wish I'd heard about this before the prep phase, rather than on the weekend it takes place!! Hopefully now by subscribing to this thread I'll hear about the next one in advance.

I did register anyway, and got Scottish Gaelic, with an alternative of Quileute! Like the werewolves in Twilight! Neither option is one I would have chosen to study for myself. (I was hoping for Ojibwe...) But, maybe if I have any free time this weekend I'll learn some bits of Quileute and see how it goes!

Did anyone do a LJ? How did it go?

Bluepaint wrote:Did anyone do a LJ? How did it go?

I did it. My language was Yoruba. It was a good experience for me, despite dealing with heat exhaustion that weekend. But I got to take a crack at a language I've been interested in for long time, collected some more resources for it, got a good idea of how much work I would need to put into to get B2-ish into, and had fun.

Tulipan/Sandra, LJ's host, said that this LJ wasn't as popular as previous ones--fewer registrations and such--and a lot of people on the LJ Discord seemed to think it was because the Indigenous theme was too narrow for some previous participants. Oh well. I liked the theme, but I do hope that the next LJ will have more "regular" selections so I have a better chance at getting a language I'm a false beginner in. There are so many languages I've dabbling in in the past that I wouldn't mind being offered an excuse to dabble in again.

I participated in the last round of the LangJam. The language I got was Faroese. It was fun and I learned a bit about the Faroese Islands. I also became a fan of the singer Eivør. Part of me wants to continue with Faroese but I feel like it would be easier to pick up Swedish or Norwegian. There's just more resources and it's easier to find movies and books in Swedish/Norwegian. I also took part in the LangJam before this last one and got Afrikaans. I enjoy doing the LangJam because it introduces me to new music and little bits of culture. On the downside, it does encourage my wanderlust.

The next Language Jam is next weekend! I just registered and got Dutch. Looking forward to it!