{"id":17457,"date":"2011-07-01T11:53:43","date_gmt":"2011-07-01T16:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artofmanliness.com\/?p=17457"},"modified":"2024-07-02T05:47:50","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T10:47:50","slug":"becoming-a-man-of-the-world-how-to-learn-another-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/self-improvement\/becoming-a-man-of-the-world-how-to-learn-another-language\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming a Man of the World: How to Learn Another Language"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Life<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Benny the Irish polyglot who writes at Fluent in 3 Months<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Imagine being able to blend in undetected in another country.<\/p>\n

Imagine exchanging inside jokes at a foreign restaurant in another language.<\/p>\n

Imagine being invited to a festival in the countryside on the other side of the planet, eating with a local family and having no need for an interpreter.<\/p>\n

Sounds like something out of a Jason Bourne novel, doesn’t it? Fortunately, fiction this is not. Today, you’re going to learn how and why you should start learning a foreign language to become a better man. This information could save your life one day. Or at the very least it could make it way more interesting.<\/p>\n

Your education starts now.<\/p>\n

——<\/p>\n

Why is that when we think of languages and language learning, we tend to think more of women? I used to be a translator and the vast majority of those in the industry of translation and interpretation are indeed women.<\/p>\n

If you think back to school, you may remember the girls having a better knack for languages than the boys. It must be genetic, or have something to do with women’s better ability to communicate, right?<\/p>\n

Hogwash! Men are excellent<\/em> language learners, and there are ways we can use our manly differences to our advantage. The sad truth is that most of us don’t<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Many Famous Language Learners Were Men<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The majority of the world’s most famous polyglots (someone who speaks multiple languages) throughout history were actually men. William James Sidis (1898 \u2013 1944) estimated that he could speak more than forty <\/em>languages. Harold Williams (1876 \u2013 1928), a New Zealand journalist is said to have known 58 <\/em>languages, including several dialects.<\/p>\n

More recently, Pope John Paul II (1920 \u2013 2005) used 9 of the 12 languages he had learned quite extensively during his time in the church, regularly giving Mass in these languages.<\/p>\n

If there is a language gene reserved exclusively for ladies, someone forgot to tell these guys!<\/p>\n

\u201cLanguage-Talent\u201d Is Used as an Excuse, Let It Go<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I grew up with this same idea that foreign languages are for girls, but in recent years I am glad to say that I’ve learned to ignore such a useless de-motivator. Right now I can speak fluently and socialize actively and regularly in eight<\/strong> languages (and even know some American Sign Language). At the moment I’m learning yet another one and plan on speaking it at a confident conversational level in just two months. Crazy, right?<\/p>\n

While you may be tempted to dismiss me and others as savants, irrelevant to your situation as an adult that may just speak one language, it’s important that you know in my <\/em>case, I actually had to take speech therapy when I was younger for simple issues learning English<\/em> (my mother tongue; I’m from Ireland). I actually did quite poorly in languages in school.<\/p>\n

When I was 21 years old, I still only spoke English. The German level I had reached from years of schooling resulted in barely a pass in my final exams, and I was not able to use the language even when opportunities presented themselves. I later even managed to spend almost six months <\/em>living in Spain without learning any Spanish.<\/p>\n

So what changed?<\/p>\n

I stopped making excuses,<\/strong> giving in to self-fulfilling prophecies (\u201cI’m bad at languages, therefore what’s the point in even trying?\u201d) and I started to be a man<\/strong> about this language learning thing. One day in Spain, I just swallowed my pride and started using the very little I knew actively until I had no choice but to improve quickly.<\/p>\n

I took control of the situation, knew that I could do it, and was successful because of that.<\/p>\n

The advice I want to give you today has nothing to do with studying right, or which books or software you should buy; instead,  it’s about embracing your manliness and getting over lazy excuses that are the real reason you haven’t been able to learn a second language.<\/p>\n

Speak It from Day One<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Yes, from day one. I’m serious.<\/p>\n

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Stop planning the language into the ground and stop holding off until someday<\/em> when your level is perfect. There are seven days in a week and someday <\/em>isn’t one of them! You are ready whenever you decide you are.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Perfectionism will kill <\/em>your ability to ever use a language. Don’t be afraid of a few mistakes; you really do need to speak it now if you are serious about making rapid progress.<\/p>\n

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But I only know five words! How can I speak now?<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you know five words then use them! Sprinkle gracias <\/em>or s’il vous pla\u00eet <\/em>or Buongiorno <\/em>into your normal conversation. It’s a simple step, but it’s a very important one.<\/p>\n

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The Thousands of Words You Know Before You Even Start<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Actually, you know way more than that, especially in European languages!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Due to centuries of Norman-French rule in England (starting in 1066), English received a huge influx of French vocabulary. This vocabulary also happens to be vastly the same or very similar in many other languages like Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, etc.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You see, in these centuries during the “Dark Ages,” the lower class would maintain their \u201cGermanic\u201d Olde <\/em>English, while the noblemen and rulers would be speaking in something very related to French. Eventually this led to a single language, leading to modern English, where formal register <\/em>would require the French-style words, and informal <\/em>would use the older \u201coriginal\u201d English ones.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So if someone knocks on your door, you could <\/em>say \u201ccome in,” or if you think about it, the more formal (somewhat pompous on occasion) way would be \u201center.” This alternative is actually the way to say \u201cto come in\u201d in Romance languages (entrer, entrar, entrare<\/em>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Instead of saying you want to give someone a piece of your mind (a phrase used in informal register), you could think to share your opinion, perspective, <\/em>or point of view<\/em>. In French: point de vue<\/em>, in Portuguese: perspectiva<\/em>, in Italian: opinione<\/em>. These cognates actually give you a dramatic boost in the language before you’ve even started!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You start off with literally thousands of words.<\/em> It’s true that you have to get used to pronouncing them differently and recognizing them, but with some in-the-field practice this really becomes second nature.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If the language you are learning comes from some other language family, then rather than say you will be stumped, keep in mind that nowadays there are no impenetrable barriers, especially in languages. Most words for technology and the Internet, as well as brand names, truly are international<\/strong>. Nearly every language in the world says Internet, Facebook, Pepsi <\/em>etc. even if they might do it slightly differently.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Starting from absolute scratch is impossible. Find out the words you already <\/em>know and then use them!<\/p>\n

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Next, Learn What You NEED, Not What the Grammar Book Says<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

So many of us have <\/em>studied a language before, possibly even for years. The problem is that the academic approach is based on a black-and-white\/right-or-wrong attitude. Every mistake is punished, rather than good attempts that get the job done being rewarded as they are in the real world<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is a much more practical hands-on <\/em>approach than simply trying to learn the entire language’s structure. If you are good with your hands, can repair things, or have ever employed temporary duct-tape style fixes, you’ll know what to do here!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since I didn’t have a talent for languages, I actually ended up studying and getting a degree in (electronic) engineering. An engineering philosophy<\/a> involves tweaking something until it works<\/em>. Then you <\/strong>ship it<\/strong>. When it does work, then <\/em>you improve on it in later upgrades. This philosophy is simply more practical<\/strong> since you can use something now <\/em>even if it isn’t perfect, and it works so well because of that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This is what us men do when we learn so many things in the world, including our native language. Why not learn a foreign language in this way? Trying to learn everything before even using any of it is a recipe for disaster.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s true that being prepared is a huge advantage. It’s great when there are instructions for you on things like changing a flat tire<\/a>, but most of us actually learned these things by trial and error and know them better because of this. We have a better feel for it thanks to the experience, an experience that no set of instructions can fully convey.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So put aside the grammar book and get yourself a travel phrasebook instead (they are small and only cost a couple of dollars). Learn the essentials in a few hours that would be pretty universally needed as the core of basic conversation, and then learn what you <\/em>want to say.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A standardized word-list can’t cover this; I need to say that I studied \u201cengineering,” and that word is usually a low priority in generic courses. I find what I <\/em>talk about and learn that and talk about it with natives or other learners.<\/p>\n

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Learning Words<\/strong><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

There are many ways to actually learn these words, and I’ll mention two that I like. The first is image association.<\/p>\n

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For example, if I want to remember the word playa <\/em>is Spanish for beach<\/em>, I’ll picture a player<\/em>–some overconfident pick-up-artist with too much gel in his hair–walking along a beach in Spain trying to pick up girls in their bikinis, probably getting a few slaps in the face in the process.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s a silly image, but it works! The association of beach to player to playa works both ways; when you want to say it and when you want to recognize it. If I asked you what playa <\/em>meant (presuming you didn’t know it already) this time tomorrow, it’s very likely you’ll remember if you properly visualized this story. Same as if I asked you how to say beach <\/em>in Spanish.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After this, another trick for vocabulary is flashcards that you look at when you have a moment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My favorite method to learn new words is a program that is free on your computer, and a free app on Android phones and jailbroken Apple devices (or a paid app on normal ones): Anki<\/a>. Decks of vocabulary are prepared in advance and as they come up you can dismiss the easy ones and see the hard ones come back repeatedly until you know them. You can also simply delete words that are irrelevant <\/em>to you, making your study time much more efficient.<\/p>\n

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Face Your Fear and Just Use the Language! Your Instinct Can Get You Far<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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With an intensive dive into the language, to learn what you absolutely require to get by, you should be ready to use it right away.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When someone speaks back to you, you may not understand everything <\/em>they say, but you can try to be analytical outside of all the grammar and vocabulary. This is when intuition comes more into play. In the situation and context you can see what they are talking about and based on key words that you do <\/em>understand, you can fill in the gaps.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For example, I’ve found that all over the world whenever I go shopping in a chain supermarket, before I hand them money they usually always ask me, \u201cBlah blah blah <\/em>blah?\u201d I don’t need to actually know the specific language when this happens. I can see their finger hesitating over the till to close the receipt before telling me the price, in most countries there is no \u201cpaper or plastic\u201d question, and I’ve heard this many times before: It’s: “Do you have our club-card?”<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Of course they’ll phrase it differently or mention the name of the club-card, but the context is key here; it tells you so much that helps you fill in the gaps while you are learning. In this case going with your gut is essential because there are so many cues outside of pure language that we are excellent at picking up!<\/p>\n

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In school, not knowing every single word earned you a big red X. In the real world, you can still make comfortable progress without knowing everything and function at an incredibly high level of efficiency.<\/p>\n

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What it all comes down to is fear<\/em>. A perfectionist (academic) approach to language learning is based on fear of being embarrassed, fear of disappointing people, fear that you aren’t good enough, etc. Every mistake is the end of the world!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But in reality, when you make mistakes, people are very forgiving. In fact they are usually so pleased to see an English speaker genuinely try to learn their language that they will encourage you to go on, and you’ll have the momentum to keep communicating. Progress is a natural consequence of this.<\/p>\n

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Resources to Speak with People<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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Of course this advice is hard to follow if you don’t have a native to practice with, so here are a few very useful resources:<\/p>\n

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