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Easy language to broaden culture | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| JasonE Groupie Canada Joined 4879 days ago 54 posts - 78 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 17 of 42 21 April 2011 at 2:56am | IP Logged | |||||
It's funny that you mentioned Inukitut, a native american language, because I am in fact part Plains Cree. That being said, the cree language kind of scares me. It is reputed to be quite difficult and it has a dearth of materials to learn it. Also, the number of people that speak it fluently is decreasing, and it is mostly older people who still know it. It is an interested and original suggestion none-the-less. Thanks. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5617 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish* Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German | Message 18 of 42 21 April 2011 at 6:54am | IP Logged | |||||
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If you are looking to broaden your world-view, I would have to say that learning one
language is not the best way. If I were you I would research the history and customs of the major cultural areas of the globe. I'd start with India and China being probably the largest and oldest and emerging as current world powers. Have fun with your explorations: check out the different music, food, movies, and, of course, the languages. When I'm curious about a culture I like to find internet talk radio in that culture's language to listen to. Its kinda like walking by a restaurant to see and smell what the food is like. You may not be able to eat it (digest its meaning) but you can get the aroma (phonetics, tempo, etc). Then you can check out some beginner language material on the web or the library just to check it out. Eventually you'll find some languages you want to delve deeper into. Edited by ChiaBrain on 21 April 2011 at 6:57am 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Merv Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5082 days ago 414 posts - 749 votes Speaks: English*, Serbo-Croatian* Studies: Spanish, French | Message 19 of 42 21 April 2011 at 2:43pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I don't understand what you mean by "breaking Anglocentrism"? Is it that you want a more native perspective on
politics or real culture? If the issue is politics, all you need to do is have an open mind and read lots of alternative media. Many of the world developments/events/conflicts are presented in a very different light by different media sources, so knowing additional languages to have access to those sources might be useful. But ultimately, you have to be willing to go beyond what is taught in schools here and what can be read in papers, and that requires a change in your thinking and your attitude towards information (you need to look at it with a critical eye, always). As for true cultural issues, then learning just about any foreign language opens up the literature, philosophy, and other artistic expositions of that culture. So it's really up to you. Some people will learn German to read German philosophy, others will learn Russian to read Russian literature. Pick a field of human endeavor that interests you, identify a culture that has excelled in it, and learn that language. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| jimbo Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6103 days ago 469 posts - 642 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin, Korean, French Studies: Japanese, Latin | Message 20 of 42 21 April 2011 at 4:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
That seems like a good reason to learn it. I've just moved back to Canada and noticed that the Spadina Road branch of Toronto Public Library has some study materials for first nation languages. Not sure if they have Cree. I hope someone is out there making recordings and trying to build up some reference material for languages facing extinction. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Ari Heptaglot Senior Member Norway Joined 6391 days ago 2314 posts - 5695 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese Studies: Czech, Latin, German | Message 21 of 42 21 April 2011 at 4:30pm | IP Logged | |||||
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My two suggestions would be English and French. Both are official languages of many African states and
will probably do more to reduce Anglo-centrism than Afrikaans would. For a language related to English but with a significant root in a non-Western culture, maybe Russian? Further away from the West than that, you'll have to go non-Indo-European. Edit: 'Cept maybe Hindi? Edited by Ari on 21 April 2011 at 4:32pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5190 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 22 of 42 21 April 2011 at 4:52pm | IP Logged | |||||
(disclaimer: I don't know you personally, so this is just a general answer to give you food for thought) Learning another language alone is NOT sufficient to significantly impact one's view of the world, and learning 10 languages does not automatically imply that you no longer view the world the same way. If your goal is to expand your cultural horizons and understand another culture in order to see past your former anglo-centric views, I have to ask: do you really understand Québécois and French-Canadian culture in your own country so well that you already need to learn another culture? Can you put yourself in their shoes and cast a critical look on your own group? Do you understand how their cultural, historical and linguistic heritage tints their view of the world? (I could ask the same of various Aboriginal or minority groups in Canada, but you said you were learning French.) For instance, an election campaign is underway in Canada. I have no intention of starting a political debate in any way, shape or form, but for the sake of the question, can you understand why a large number of Québécois reject the Conservatives, or why the leading party there is the Bloc québécois? Do you understand what motivates so many Québécois to wish for sovereignty? I'm sure you understand the average Canadian's disdain of Québec separatism, but do you know how it feels from the other side of the looking glass? Are you ready to abandon your anglo-centric views to really understand the issue? The views and values of the group we grow up in plays a huge role in the way we see things. To be able to perceive things, genuinely, from the other's perspective is not easy and it requires a lot more effort than shopping around for an easy language that'll give you a bang for your buck. 7 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5190 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 23 of 42 21 April 2011 at 4:54pm | IP Logged | |||||
There can't be too many American alternative media that present the Afghan conflict from a Taliban's point of view or cultural standpoint... 1 person has voted this message useful |
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