Tags: Culture, language, learning.
Categores: Culture, Daily Life, Opinion, Site Updates.
In an article from New Scientist, a man claims that his grandfather could speak 70 languages, and write in 56. And he’s never even attended school. This man also explained that while they were traveling to Thailand, his grandfather admitted that he couldn’t speak Thai. However, in less than 2 weeks, he was able to argue with vendors for discounts - like a native! Years later, the writer was sent to Thailand for a job, and returned to converse with his grandfather in Thai. Even after spending months in Thailand, his command of Thai is still far below his grandfather’s.
As ridiculous as this story might be, it is a true one. And according to many experts, the existence of of hyperpolyglots are not uncommon throughout history. Why hyperpolyglots have sprung up throughout history, no one knows. Some experts claim that it’s intelligence. Others say that it’s a talent. Some others say it’s a side effect of a medical condition. And a few reckon that it’s pure hard work and interest.
For me? I would have to agree with the latter. Learning a language is not a talent and has absolutely nothing to do with your IQ. It’s a process, and with time and effort, normal people like you and me can do the same.
I’m not incredibly smart. I suck at math. I suck at art. I don’t particularly like science. I don’t particularly like school. But one thing’s for sure: I never ever stopped learning languages. When I was a child, I started speaking so late in my life that my parents thought that I was mute. It probably had something to do with the way I was raised. My father spoke to me in English. My mother spoke to me in Mandarin. My grandmother spoke to me in Hokkien. Once I started speaking, I always spoke in three languages, often repeating myself. If I wanted apple, for example, I’d always say “apple, ping guo, peng gor.” I’m not sure why I did that, and why I’d know that apple stood for ping guo and ping guo stood for peng gor. But it happened.
Currently, I understand 8 languages and 2 dialects. In terms of proficiency, I’m bilingual in Hokken and English; almost bilingual with Mandarin, and passively bilingual to French. (Passive here means that I can understand and read French fluently, but I still struggle with speaking and writing.) I’ve had formal education in Spanish, Malay, Indonesian and Korean. I’ve also picked up Cantonese colloquially to survive in a cantonese-dominant city. And recently, I’m also able to understand intermediate colloquial Japanese and basic Kansai dialect as an unintended side effect from watching too many animes. My Japanese understanding is at the point, where I don’t need sub-titles for certain genres of anime anymore.
(To the ignorant South East Asians, Malay and Indonesian are very different languages, despite sharing some similar vocabulary. The difference between Malay and Indonesian is like the difference between Portuguese and Spanish. You can’t count them as the same language just because they share a common pool of words. The grammatical structure between Malay and Indonesia are so different that misunderstandings can occur in a 5 minute conversation between a Malay and an Indonesian.)
My point here? A superior brain is not needed in learning multiple languages; it’s passion. For me, learning a language is the only way to completely understand another’s culture from their perspective so I always try to learn new ones. And as the number of languages I know increases, the easier it becomes to learn a new language, since most languages share similar roots. For example, since I read French and Spanish, I can understand some basic Italian.
But of course, learning a language and mastering one is completely different. Mastering a language requires a lot of painful effort and time, if you’re not a language genius. I needed 7 years of school, starting from 5th grade to 12th grade to be passively bilingual in French. I needed 4 years at university to be almost bilingual in Chinese. And even then, both are still lacking compared to my English.
But then, I was inspired. I stumbled upon many blogs, where Japanese people blog in English so that they could improve their English. The amount of effort, the amount of pain, the amount of time they put in so incredibly admirable. All this make me wonder, if I had put in that much effort into learning French and Chinese, I’d be fully bilingual by now. But I’m only 22; I have a lifetime left to master all these languages. So, I decided to have my very own second-language blog, where I will predominantly blog in Chinese, and occasionally in one of the 6 other languages. I’ll start with one entry per week, and slowly build up from there. I now present to you:
LANGUAGEDIARY.COM
So ありがとうございます Kirin, PONTA, Weber, Little_sun and Natsuwo-beer for being wonderful inspirations. I hope that as you all improve your English as I’ll improve my French, Chinese, and Japanese (once I find myself a teacher) too!
So do you speak a second language? How long have you learned it for? If you don’t, do you want to learn a new language? Which ones? Why?
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I’m sorry if this entry is lackluster. Call it writer’s block if you will, I’m just not feeling the passion to write recently.
Tags: japan, shopping, tea.
Categores: Culture, Daily Life.
I’ve always been an avid tea drinker. My daily tea usually consists of black teas because only they are strong enough to leave a bittersweet aftertaste, which then ends with a sort of sour afterthought in the middle of my tongue. I never drink tea with milk. Just a lot of sugar to counter the bitterness since I never take out the tea leaves or tea bag from my drink. And I would wait for my tea to hit that exact temperature and finish it in a few sips. I have no idea what the temperature is since I don’t have a food thermometer. One degree too hot and my tongue will be swollen from being slightly burned, my throat would sizzle in agony. One degree to cold, and the tea loses flavor immediately. All I’d taste is bitterness and flatness. I generally dislike infusions as well, because I like tea for tea not strange fruit, flower or herb mixes. But I make exceptions for jasmine green tea. And recently, I’ve made another exception, a strange one at that: Kiri no Koucha Milk Tea 霧の紅茶 ミルクテイー
Kiri no Koucha Milk Tea
I don’t drink milk tea, I don’t drink infused teas, and heck, I would never be caught dead drinking teas masquerading as some soft drink. This tea is supposed to be everything I don’t like, and yet… I’m addicted. I walked to Korean Town in the rain to get me 3 cans today because that’s all I could carry along with my groceries.
My first encounter with it was a month ago, when my boyfriend and I went to Korean town to pick up some groceries. As usual, we’d idlely stand in front of the drinks section because the supermarket has a range of mysterious drinks from the Far East. Out of curiosity, my boyfriend picked up this can that strangely looks cute and elegant at the same time designed with a mix of Japanese and English words.
The English reads:
Prepared according to the time-honored golden rules of English tea-making, using the finest teas selected for the most discerning connoisseur. You can enjoy the fashionable & fascinating tea time.
My boyfriend was laughing at how strange the English was. Well, that’s expected from a Japanese product but for some reason the strange English had my mouth watering. Or maybe it was just the logo of the cup of tea with cream that looked like something the Duchess of York would drink out of. Whatever the case, out of curiosity, I bought one.
The taste was quite strange at first. When I opened the can, I detected the scent of a flower and maybe a few spices. At first sip, the tea was smooth and refreshing like cold green tea. Then the cream and milk momentarily overwhelms the tea. At the peak of the taste, I begin to taste the spice, which then is gentle toned down by the mild sweetness. And the aftertaste? There’s no mistaking it; it’s exactly the same as my usual black tea. That sour afterthought lingering in my tongue was simply exquisite.
The taste is so unique that it was impossible to forget. Well, humans generally don’t forget smells and tastes but this taste would linger in my mouth for weeks. I couldn’t forget how it is smells like or how it tastes like. I even kept the can from the first try. I just had to go back for more. And I will after I finish my last can tomorrow.
霧の紅茶 ミルクテイー Kiri no Koucha. The character 霧 (Kiri) in Chinese means “mist”. I guess this would mean that this exquisite soft drink is “Tea of the Mist” or “Misty Tea”. What an appropriate name for such a mysterious taste.
Do you like tea? Are you addicted to any drinks? What about habits on how you like your drinks? Do share your experience!
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Sorry I’ve been away from the blog scene. I’ve had to run errands these past couple days. I will be returning comments soon! 