Q&A: What is the part I love most about learning languages?

Every month, I publish an answer to a reader’s question. Here’s a transcript of my answer to the reader’s question about learning languages.

Heey Lisanne, you’ve shared before that you are into learning new languages. I find it incredibly hard to do. What do you love about it?

When people talk about learning new languages, they often think of it as memorizing the grammar and learning a bunch of new words.

I like to think of it as an exercise in acting and imitating others. Native speakers all have their own little habits of expressing themselves through words, and those habits can be observed, closely read, and absorbed.

Therefore, I derive a lot of joy from imitating native speakers as naturally as I possibly can, by picking up small hidden cues and studying the intonation, pronunciation, accents, and rhythms. I also love to get into the slang of a language, and there are a bunch of great videos out there that you can watch.

For example, Latin speakers roll their “r”s more profoundly, their intonation is steady and they often speak quickly and without too many pauses. In Japan, it’s common to be more indirect to show politeness, and you’ll learn this hidden cue by observing and copying how native speakers phrase requests or apologies. By observing native speakers, you will learn not just what is said, but how emotions and humor is expressed in different contexts.

In other words, learning languages is more than a study of remembering words. The words we use, the way we speak, and even how we structure our sentences reflect the culture we come from. Therefore, language is closely tied to culture, and it certainly is a study of people and how they behave in their natural habitat.

Also, Spanish is such a rich, beautiful language. But by learning it you’ll quickly realize that “speaking the Spanish language” is a broad term. Argentinan-Spanish for example, is very different from Colombian Spanish, as people from Argentina pronounce the “ll” and “y” as “sh”, while Colombians pronounce them as “y”. Additionally, vocabulary differs, so even when you know the words, the cultural context affects the effectiveness of your communication.

So studying the culture is the part I love most about learning languages, and I believe the real speaking eventually comes from living in the country every day — being fully exposed to both the language and the culture at the same time. I have some friends from Colombia and Chile so that helps a lot.

Are you learning any new language at the moment? Share your reaction in the comment section!

Thank you for reading. This reader’s question is part of the Ask Me Anything series. I’d love to answer more of your interesting questions and get a sense of your interests. If you have questions to extend this Ask Me Anything section, please let me know. I like to hear from you. Send me your question via team@lisanneswart.com

Here is a list of the last 3 readers’ questions I’ve answered:

• Is it more important to do what you love or to love what you are doing?
• What do I enjoy most about my newsletter?
• What small act of kindness was I once shown that I will never forget?

» Explore more answers to thought-provoking questions