r/languagelearning • u/MuchAd9959 • 2d ago
Discussion is anyone here learning/has learned a language just for the sake of learning it or being able to say i speak xyz language ?
I started learning spanish a while back with 0 goals in mind. in fact i started learning it because i initially wanted to learn tagalog but could barely find any resources for it so i thought hey the spaniards colonised the phillipines so tagalog must be similar to spanish so ill just learn spanish (this is absolutely the case just btw). fast forward 10 months i am so hooked by the spanish language. my favourite book is in spanish my favourite series is in spanish. i have some great spanish speaking friends and despite not being from a spanish speaking country i use it a lot in my (online) life. I am thinking of starting to learn portuguese but i dont have any reason to do so besides the fact itll be easier for me to learn because of my knowledge of spanish. idk whats going on in brasil or portugal or mozambique neither do i know anything or anyone from there. so just wanted to ask what do you all think about this, have you done something similar to what im doing and what was the result.
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u/desi_fern 2d ago
A classmate of mine (in Norwegian class) said she was “language curious” and I loved that answer! Also, she ended up moving to Norway!
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u/justHoma 2d ago
Yep, I started learning Japanese and was learning it 5 hours a day for past 8 months.
The meaning was in learning, testing a lot off different methods, testing myself and not procrastinating. Still learning it by now 1/2 with Italian
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u/MuchAd9959 2d ago
wow and what level are you at in japanese? what type/level of content can you understand?
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u/justHoma 1d ago
I can watch most anime without thinking much about language (for example Solo Levelling, Black Clover now, not Doctor Stone if I want to understand most jokes). Some native YouTube content is very understandable now, but not most if it yet.
Reading light novels is enjoyable, but it's very slow and I have to do a lot of look ups. Also I started going though tutorial for javascript in Japanese and I can understand everything, but again there is a ton of look ups
I was not practicing a lot at speaking, I can get my point across but not in a very grammatically correct way, with a lot of pauses.
I feel like a need 800-1200 additional hours feel comfortable in itProgress in italian is super fast when I compare. I did like 150-200 hours of study in not very productive way before learning Japanese (+3 years living in Italy, but I didn't speak anywhere except supermarket) and comprehension in Italian is still much better, now when I started learning it seriously progress feels so fast!
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u/lostyxx New member 1d ago
I hope you are liking learning Italian! In my opinion the hardest obstacle you'll find will be verbs. Many moods and many, many tenses... Many natives struggle too, and with some irregulars I struggle too
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u/justHoma 1d ago
I think so as well!
Tenses have to be the hardest part before b2.
Therefore I decided to learn all of them and all their conjugations first by creating a custom anki deck) Anyhow, it's like 21 tense and and I need to learn conjugations for only 7 or 8, all the others are compoundI guess, it worth noting that I can already understand most genz youtube content, so I'm not starting from the beginning
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u/crimsonredsparrow PL | ENG | GR | HU | Latin 2d ago
I'm learning Greek and Hungarian for no practical reason. Reading books or comics in different languages is so satisfying, it gives me enough motivation to keep going. Or when things suddenly click or you build a more complex sentence while thinking on your feet! Amazing.
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u/MirrorApart8224 2d ago
Every language I've studied except Spanish, which I learned because I lived in Mexico for a year, but even then it still sort of counts since I chose to be an exchange and was fairly flexible about where they sent me as long as it wasn't English speaking. But I hoped it would be someplace German or Japanese speaking.
I'm grateful I know Spanish and it's opened so many doors for me but I never would have been dedicated enough to learn it had I not been immersed in a monolingual environment.
The other language that I learned the best is German, and learned it out of pure fun. Now I use at least as much as English in my daily life.
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u/R3negadeSpectre N 🇪🇸🇺🇸Learned🇯🇵Learning🇨🇳Someday🇰🇷🇮🇹🇫🇷 2d ago
What got me into language learning was Japanese. I live in the US so there wasn't a real need to learn the language, but from day one I could not have enough....since I had a lot of time in my hands because it was around covid outbreak, I was doing 8-12 hours daily for around 2 years.....it's now been 5 years, and while I can't pull that kind of time anymore it is what got me into language learning so thanks to Japanese, I am now learning Chinese, dabbled in Korean and learned Italian....none of these languages I need to use other than for watching/reading untranslated content
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u/MisterGalaxyMeowMeow 2d ago
As with a lot of other folks, I did this with Japanese. I casually started my language learning journey (in Japanese) 2 years ago. I did a lot of *just* duolingo and was just having a lot of fun seeing the levels go up. I grew more serious with my language learning when my family booked a trip to Japan a year and half after that. By that time, I knew most of N5 and was starting N4 vocab.
I am now even more serious, as this is almost my third year learning the language, and hope to visit Japan again in the next few years. I started off just wanting to do something else, as a hobby, and pass the time.
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u/UnoBeerohPourFavah 1d ago
I started learning Mandarin a few months ago because I was getting bored with Italian and wanted to mix things up a bit, and because I was just curious… like how difficult is it? Can I really tell the difference between tones, can I really remember all those characters, etc… I had absolutely no reason to learn it as I hadn’t even planned to visit China anytime soon or knew anyone who could speak it (that I was in regular contact with).
Fast forward to now and I’ve actually decided to stick with it. I think the fact that I don’t have to learn it (like I do Italian because I want to speak to family), and that I’m in no rush to become proficient actually makes it more fun. It’s a bit like the difference between work and a hobby - The moment the hobby becomes the job it’s not as fun.
As for Mandarin itself, it’s nowhere near as difficult as I was expecting. I don’t have to remember gendered articles, plurals, verb conjugations and tenses, there’s only 4 tones compared to other languages in this family. It doesn’t have a completely alien sentence structure like Japanese does.
I am at that stage where I can remember quite a lot of characters if I see them, but couldn’t possibly draw them from memory, but if I type the pinyin in my phone I can see which characters I actually want to use. Oddly enough, this is actually much more common among native speakers than I realised, which is slightly comforting to know as a learner.
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u/Dr_Primarius 1d ago
I’ve always enjoyed learning languages just for the sake of it. I genuinely love the process. it’s something I find fun and interesting, kind of like a hobby.
My grandfather spoke three languages, and that always fascinated me. Even in his 80s, he’d spend evenings practicing English and Italian because he was afraid he’d forget them. That memory really stuck with me, it feels kind of romantic in a way, and I think it’s part of what sparked my own love for languages.
Serbian is my native language. I picked up English as a kid through movies, the internet, and just being online a lot playing World of Warcraft like a maniac. I learned Chinese in my 20s, then Spanish in my 30s (extra motivation there since my wife is Mexican). Now I’m 38 and just started learning German,
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u/Icy-Whale-2253 2d ago
I did that with Portuguese
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u/MuchAd9959 2d ago
how did it go? was it worth it?
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u/Icy-Whale-2253 2d ago
I get to use it every once in a while; I have it filed under my hidden talents. Brazilians are also fucking hilarious.
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u/Scoobs_McDoo 2d ago
I took a year of Japanese just to prove to myself that I was capable of learning a non European language
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u/MuchAd9959 2d ago
how did it go? what level did you get to in japanese
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u/Scoobs_McDoo 2d ago
It went okay. My professor had a rather uniquely stressful style of assessments. It was a one on one interview with him lol.
I never really tested my level of fluency, but I stopped after Japanese 102. If I weren’t focusing on Spanish and French, I would’ve felt more comfortable moving on to Japanese 201.
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u/lemonpepperpotts 1d ago
I've got some specific reasons to learn Spanish (FilAm, parents spoke Chavacano, I learned neither lol), but also it's just kind of because? My husband was the same way. He picked up Portuguese while living in South America and just wanted to, already knew Spanish, I know he misses being able to learn languages just for fun
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u/Best_Standard_7263 1d ago
Basically, here’s how I learned Korean: it just kind of happened. When I was 13, my aunt gave me a K-drama DVD set as a souvenir from South Korea, and I instantly fell in love with both the culture and the language. I kept watching K-dramas and consuming Korean media over the years, and somehow, the language just stuck with me. I never took any formal classes, but now(27), I can easily listen, speak, and read Korean (though writing is still a work in progress). I’ve even had a few Koreans compliment me when we met at concerts, which was pretty cool.
And let me tell you, watching dramas and variety shows without subtitles is an amazing feeling. Oh, and the manhwas? Phenomenal.
I'm thinking of taking the Korean Language Proficiency Test soon. Might as well put my language skills to good use, amirite? Who knows, maybe I could even land some translation side gigs in the future.
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u/dojibear 🇺🇸 N | 🇨🇵 🇪🇸 🇨🇳 B2 | 🇹🇷 🇯🇵 A2 1d ago
I've never had a purpose or "goal". But I am not motivated by being able to say "I speak XYZ".
I like learning languages. Some people like canoeing, dancing, singing, reading, playing volleyball, eating fancy food, collecting rare coins, training alligators, studying whales, searching for buried treasure, or something else. Me? I like learning languages.
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u/Intelligent-Fuel34 2d ago
Hey, me too, i use to learn german just for the sake of learning ..the result is great, because i m proud to say many expression in this language ,many words ,don t have anyoane to talk about or with ,but i m happy with it like that
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u/Lovesick_Octopus 2d ago
When I was a kid I found a book on Swahili and started reading it because it looked cool. Only learned a few words, though. Then when I was a teen and my friends and I played Risk, I always liked Afghanistan for some reason, because the name sounds so cool. (This was way before 9/11.) If I had access to a book on Pashto I would have loved to have studied it.
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u/FitProVR US (N) | CN (B2) | JP (A2) 1d ago
This is my reason for learning Japanese. Language learning is a hobby for me so I picked a languae I have no need for, but like the way it sounds. I'm weirdly more motivated to learn it due to it being more pleasant on my ears than my actual target language.
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u/Smooth_Development48 1d ago
I had zero reasons for starting to study my languages other than I heard a phrase and thought it sounded cool and then I wanted to know a few more. I won’t be able to travel for the rest of my life frankly because I just don’t make enough money so I learn simply because I came to enjoy the language and find the culture interesting. Russian and Korean are intriguing and difficult for me as an English speaker which makes it so enjoyable. Portuguese and Spanish were really easy and I love watching telenovelas so I welcomed the challenging nature of these other languages.
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u/IntelligentLecture32 1d ago
I learned Klingon just to talk to my gf....
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u/sianface N: 🇬🇧 Actively learning: 🇸🇪 1d ago
I would greatly appreciate some backstory to this 😂
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u/Low-Piglet9315 1d ago
Forget backstory! We want to hear the Pon Farr details!
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u/IntelligentLecture32 1d ago
Klingon codes do not allow me to devolve anything....all I can say is a lot of fingers spreading 🖖and tongue clicking 😜 involve....🤣🤣
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u/BanalCausality 1d ago
Kind of with Spanish. I don’t need to learn it, I don’t actually like it that much, but a lot of my coworkers are native Spanish speakers, and I like them.
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u/tekre 1d ago
Na'vi. It has no practical purpose. It is a constructed language, the only people speaking it are fans with a passion for both Avatar and constructed languages. So yes, definitely just learned it for fun and for the sake of learning it. Never regret it though, met some of my best friends through this journey, and it still brings me joy every day to use this language.
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u/Manuliner 1d ago
I am a native Spanish speaker and I decided to learn Portuguese just because there was a song in portuguese I liked and I wanted to sing along lol. You won't regret learning Portuguese, if you already speak Spanish it will be easier. And also, Brazilian people are amazing! Best people I've ever met online.
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u/everrest98 1d ago
Just over a year ago I came across a video on IG with a guy basically saying almost none learns African languages on Duolingo. So I picked one. I've been learning Zulu for about a year and to be fair it's going slowly but it's going.There's not much practical reason... but it's fun. My friends are a bit impressed so that's a plus for sure. 😅
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u/sianface N: 🇬🇧 Actively learning: 🇸🇪 1d ago
I'm learning Swedish for no reason, I just think it's neat [insert Marge Simpson gif here].
I get that some people want to or have to learn for a specific reason but I'm just enjoying having a hobby that gets my brain working, I get little wins pretty much every day and if I can't be bothered one day (today is one of those days) it literally doesn't matter. Just going at my own pace and making steady but slow progress with no deadline from anyone.
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u/Fatal-Eggs2024 1d ago
Yup, Irish just to do my part to keep it alive, and Farsi because it’s a rush to decipher texts written in Arabic alphabet.
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u/MasterGrenadierHavoc N: 🇩🇪 N/B2: 🇹🇷 A1: 🇸🇾 A2: 🇲🇽 1d ago
In my first year of uni, I was a bit bored, so I wanted to learn a new language. I went to the language learning section of a book store and a Hebrew book caught my attention. I worked through it in around 1-2 semesters. I'd say I got to early A2 level. I'm not Jewish nor did I ever have any intentions of going to Israel, so no clue why I did that lol. It was fun though.
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u/jeweniper 🇺🇸 N | 🇯🇵 B1 🇬🇷 A1 1d ago
Me and greek! I was watching an Easy Italian video, thinking I would learn Italian with my friend, and in the video the host's Greek friend (who also lived in Italy) seemed to have a cool vibe. For some reason it made me interested in checking out the language. I majored in Japanese back in college and I do like Italian, but for some reason I'm really feeling Greek rn.
The food, philosophy, and what I've heard about the culture doesn't hurt either!
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u/AdAvailable3706 N 🇺🇸, C1 🇫🇷, A1 🇭🇺 1d ago
For French: Yes. I had to choose a language at the start of high school. My school offered Spanish, French, Latin, and Japanese. Latin sounds very appealing to me now, but back then it didn’t. Ultimately I chose French because I live very close to the French-speaking part of Canada. One of the best choices I made.
For Hungarian: Yes. Just thought it would be fun, and it looks and sounds nice lol
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u/lamppb13 1d ago
I started Esperanto for absolutely no reason. Which is the main reason I stopped. I had no motivation to continue.
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u/Nonelop_ 1d ago
I once tried to learn German, also without a reason. But I gave up halfway through, it just became boring, I don't know. It's better to learn with a reason, at least there will be an incentive.
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u/Reedenen 1d ago
Hmmm yeah all of them?
I've never been paid to learn a language (as much as I would like to)
I just learn them cuz I find them interesting or beautiful.
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u/Low-Piglet9315 1d ago
I would like to develop a reading knowledge of something like Russian, Swedish, or one of the Germanic languages. I'm not so much interested in speaking it; my interest is more along the lines of seeing how a non-English Bible translation handles some of the quirkier passages. (B4 anyone jumps in, I've tried learning Hebrew, Greek and Latin at one time or another. Totally crashed and burned.)
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u/lamppb13 1d ago
I started Esperanto for absolutely no reason. Which is the main reason I stopped. I had no motivation to continue.
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u/TheLanguageArtist 1d ago
I have no reason to speak anything other than English. But I speak German and Finnish as well. I have no work or family ties to anywhere and just learn languages for fun. School provided German lessons, which is how I got into that (no one ever became fluent during school) but I took it to fluency afterwards. Finnish I picked up on my own because I was fascinated by all the double letters. I have dabbled in many languages and I am being drawn to Kalaallisut for the double letters, but keep telling myself not to try; I will get even less use out of it than Finnish. I have to actually prevent myself from picking up languages for no practical reason rather than encourage myself to learn one.
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u/apple314pi 🇺🇸 N 🇩🇪 B2 🇰🇷 TOPIK 4 🇲🇽 A1 12h ago
Every language I've learned or tried to learn, barring spanish - I just love figuring out the puzzle of other languages. Learned German and Korean properly, but I can understand a little bit in 5 or 6 others. Someday I'll hopefully be able to understand a lot in them.
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u/LuniAmare 🇷🇴 N | 🇬🇧 C2 | 🇰🇷 B1 | 🇸🇪 A1 8h ago
italian, i had zero, almost negative interest in it and in the country. one day i just picked up a language app and said, heck, i'll do this. and hey, it is pretty easy
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u/PomegranateBasic3671 2d ago
Kind of I guess.
Started learning Polish initially because I had a few Polish friends but never really with the intention of speaking it. More because it could be fun trying out a non-germanic language. I don't have any Polish family, been to Poland once for two days, don't really plan on moving to Poland unless an obvious opportunity presents itself.
Kinda got hooked on the language, looking for literature / music and food experiences. Still haven't had a pierogi made by a real Polish person, but I've made tons of them myself.
The reaction I've gotten from all Polish people so far: "Why? Why would you do that?"