Scots Taffer on 27/9/2007 at 06:12
Quote Posted by aguywhoplaysthief
What exactly is the point of learning a language if you don't know anyone who speaks it?
So you can quip lines like a badass motherfucker while striding down the main street with your $15 chinatown-purchased katana.
Spaztick on 27/9/2007 at 06:32
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
So you can quip lines like a badass motherfucker while striding down the main street with your $15 chinatown-purchased katana.
this
Tonamel on 27/9/2007 at 06:40
Quote Posted by aguywhoplaysthief
What exactly is the point of learning a language if you don't know anyone who speaks it? Language was necessitated by the need to communicate with others, so unless you seriously plan on using it (by serious I mean doing international business with people who speak the language, or living in the country where people speak the language), why waste all that effort?
For the same reason that anybody has any hobby, really.
I started learning German because it was required by my high school to take two years of a foreign language, and my ancestry comes from Germany, so I figured 'why not?' I've forgotten a lot since then, and I'd like to relearn it, but I don't really have anyone to practice with.
Some people like languages the way others like cars. That's why there are groups dedicated to (
http://linguists.bahro.com/) the deciphering and teaching of completely fictitious languages.
[edit] Also, what they said ^^
Scots Taffer on 27/9/2007 at 06:55
NAN DAI-OH!
Aja on 27/9/2007 at 06:55
I plan on spending some time in Japan after I get my degree.
I've always been fascinated by Japan's unusual cultural balance - it seems to live in constant fear of losing its Japanese identity, and yet it voraciously consumes and adapts Western cultural practices for its own purpose. From a western perspective, Japan is a dadaist paradise, set to a backdrop of rigid formalities, Shinto ceremony and a pervasive fear of shame. It's mind-bogglingly contradictory, and I love it.
The language itself is elegant and attractive, and even in these early stages I feel a certain pleasure in speaking it. My only other real options were French (fuck that), and Spanish, which is next to worthless up here. All the other languages available were so mired in red tape that I'd have to prove my lack of proficiency to a panel so that I could end up a 2-hour evening course twice a week.
Scots Taffer on 27/9/2007 at 06:57
plus girls without panties in bars with mirrored floors am i rite yeah uh huh lets hear it :cool:
Aja on 27/9/2007 at 06:58
fringe benefits
Scots Taffer on 27/9/2007 at 07:00
more like minge benefits
oooooooooooh he's on a roll
ercles on 27/9/2007 at 09:47
Quote Posted by aguywhoplaysthief
...but I'm going to be critical.
What exactly is the point of learning a language if you don't know anyone who speaks it? Language was necessitated by the need to communicate with others, so unless you seriously plan on using it (by serious I mean doing international business with people who speak the language, or living in the country where people speak the language), why waste all that effort
Being able to read texts written in a second language is a highly rewarding experience. Also, as a general rule, learning another language incoroporates some level of familiarising oneself with the culture of the home nation(s) which can also be highly enriching. I'm pretty sure that there is also research that indicates learning a language (as well as a musical instrument) is great excercise for your brain because it basically has to go way way back and consider things at a basic level not normally required for everyday life. I've often found that there is a similar sensation of really cranking your brain into another gear in both languages and music.
RocketMan on 27/9/2007 at 13:55
hah, now i don't even need to justify myself, looks like everybody else did a good enough job of it LOL. To summarize though, for me its because:
-its easier than chinese (i can't learn a language that has 10 ways to pronounce the same word and they all have different meanings)
-its good for engineers (helps me get a job cuz Japan is a big player)
-all that raunchy stuff mentioned earlier
-its cool to know an asian language?
-i just like it
Mainichi, watashi wa nihongo benkyou o shimasu demo ii janai. Motto shiritai kudasai :)
That's roughly my calibre at its finest....Aja how good are you? (surely you can say more than that). Scots you appear to be an expert so I'd only embarass myself to try talking to you at this point but maybe you have some pointers or tricks to share...
