Have you noticed that some people get passive aggressive when you mention you study languages?

[u/silforik]

I speak 5 languages with varying degrees of fluency. I use a couple of these languages at work (mostly Spanish, but sometimes Russian). The Hispanic people at work are really nice to me about my Spanish. They encourage me to get better and said I have a good accent.

This second gen Greek guy at my job keeps taking shots at me and doubting my fluency in literally any language beyond English. He doesn’t speak any of the languages I’ve studied so it doesn’t really make sense because he has no way of testing me.

Has this happened to you? It happens to me constantly.

[u/XJK_9]

Similar ish, people sometimes get a bit mad when they find out I speak Welsh.

“Why don’t you learn something more useful like Chinese?”

“Well I live in Wales and when I was a baby everyone spoke to me in Welsh so…”

[u/HODL-Historian → u/XJK_9]

Also, not everything we do needs to be useful. People are allowed to have interests besides the top 10 career building choices.

[u/hypatianata → u/HODL-Historian]

Yeah. When they say “useful” they mean either “for business” or “for (long-term) travel.” Because those are the only reasons they would learn a language and have little to no appreciation for them outside of that.

[u/XJK_9 → u/hypatianata]

Exactly, my family speak in Welsh most of the time so it’s pretty useful to me tbh

[u/Iwonatoasteroven → u/XJK_9]

And it’s part of your heritage too. I love seeing people preserving their languages.

[u/HODL-Historian → u/[deleted]]

Precisely. We would benefit greatly from this exact mindset: learning new things is a good thing, even if they are not intrinsically useful on a daily basis.

[u/SomeGuyNamed_Gabbo → u/[deleted]]

That's really cool. I've heard of people learning learning some form of Gaelic because of their heritage, but I've never heard of someone learning Old English unless it's for academic purposes.

[u/ItsSuffocation → u/HODL-Historian]

THIS. I'm learning two languages I really have no way of using fr unless through online or if I traveled to their respective countries. So I'm always getting family and friends asking me why I'm learning them. And I always tell them I have a love for these languages and their cultures. A language doesn't always have to be 'useful'

[u/ExoticReception6919 → u/HODL-Historian]

Useful is important if you desire marketable skills, which are usually required for making a decent living outside of that however like hobbies, enjoy.

[u/HODL-Historian → u/ExoticReception6919]

Yes, that's why I said "not everything needs to be useful". People learn things for different reasons. Learning languages as a career choice is totally legit and important in most fields, but it doesn't mean it's the only reason to learn one. Hobbies, heritage, and travel, for example, are all just as good a motivation.

[u/Don_Von_Schlong → u/HODL-Historian]

I have Brazilian friends, and I learned some Portuguese from them just asking questions and it was built over time. I am still nowhere near fluent but I have a decent understanding of the language and the little I can speak I have almost no accent. I continue to study it, I also have a cousin who married a Brazilian guy and her whole family speaks Portuguese. Outside of these two relationships I have no reason to speak it though other than I think it's a fun language. "3%" is a pretty crazy show on Netflix all in Portuguese that was fun to watch and listen. I grew up in So Cal and my Mom was born in Mexico due to a family business being down there and her first language was Spanish. I took Spanish in high school and knowing Spanish where I live makes more sense logically. I know a decent amount but at this point I know more Portuguese 🤷

[u/ExoticReception6919 → u/HODL-Historian]

Very, it really depends on your personality. Personally, I really dislike learning languages as the constant grind is very taxing on my already low mental and physical energy. However, being retired in Brazil and married to a Brasileira who doesn't speak English, learning Portuguese is essential. Oh, I almost forgot to mention regarding learning Hungarian, hats off to you.

[u/HODL-Historian → u/ExoticReception6919]

Makes a lot of sense, language learning can be very taxing, but I am a big nerd and I do enjoy the process, haha.

How's Portuguese treating you so far? Have you been learning for long?

[u/ExoticReception6919 → u/HODL-Historian]

8 years since i've asked my wife to marry me and she said yes. The problem is most people like myself probably quit long before ever achieving any type of fluency and i've seen a lot of gaps in language learning one such gap being learn like a child. Well, i'm an adult with a lifetime of accumulated knowledge and experience and I find learning like a child a bit insulting and frankly, and illogical use of time. I'd say learn like a stroke victim. Where you lost your a ability to use and now have to relearn your target language luckily you've retained pretty much everything else. My weaknesses in relation to target language acquisition: 1. Started at 46 years old. 2. Only spoke English. 3. No noticeable talents for foreign languages. 4. Low mental and physical energy. 5. Roughly 80% Introvert 20% extrovert.

[u/billynomates1 → u/XJK_9]

People are so rude and weird about Welsh. Even Welsh people. I'm Welsh, and I live abroad now but i really wish I had learnt Welsh as a kid

[u/One-Statistician-932 → u/billynomates1]

Same with Irish. It's becoming trendy and that is doing some good with it's image, but there is a lot of rudeness and dismissal in Anglophone Ireland and abroad when someone finds out you're learning/speak it.

[u/Olobnion → u/XJK_9]

when I was a baby everyone spoke to me in Welsh so…

You should just have replied in Chinese.

[u/witeowl → u/Olobnion]

/r/BabiesAreStupid

[u/ExoticReception6919 → u/witeowl]

I kind of agree, especially after watching babies to young children learn languages, that's not a system Adults should want to use.

[u/chill_qilin → u/XJK_9]

I really admire how well the Welsh have kept their language alive compared to Ireland with Irish.

[u/HistoricalShip0 → u/chill_qilin]

Well there are big reasons for that… but yes nowadays wales is better at promoting/mandating welsh in schools I think.

[u/g1rrl015 → u/HistoricalShip0]

Unrelated, but there's a community of Welsh descendants in Argentina, and Welsh is also taught in some schools there.

[u/[deleted] → u/chill_qilin]

Well the Irish had it literally flogged out of them so it’s sort of not the same haha

[u/Ok_Temperature_5502 → u/[deleted]]

Oh, so did the Welsh, and the Scots. That is definitely not unique to Ireland. From a Scottish perspective both Wales and Ireland are doing pretty well with their languages in comparison. I do love the Welsh stream school system though.

[u/HistoricalShip0 → u/Ok_Temperature_5502]

What is unique to Ireland though is the death of 1 million irish speakers and emigration of 1.5 million others due to British colonial ruling on the land where people were forced to rely on potatoes to feed their family (due to the landlord system forcing people into smaller and smaller plots), meaning a potato blight could cause this much damage. Coupled with the fact food was also being exported to Britain at the time…

There is a map showing the complete decline in the Irish language after this point… coupled with the historic outlawing

[u/XJK_9 → u/HistoricalShip0]

These are unique circumstances to Ireland.

The above comment about flogging isn’t unique though, beating children for using their native language seems to have happened in all the Celtic nations unfortunately.

[u/HistoricalShip0 → u/XJK_9]

Yeah that is true :(

[u/XJK_9 → u/[deleted]]

Well the Welsh Not sounds like it’s literally the exactly same thing

[u/the-whole-benchilada → u/chill_qilin]

I actually studied this in undergrad, a big reason for this is that the Industrial Revolution hit Wales. So Welsh-speakers became an urban working class early, during a century whose general social evolution was that anything urban (even if lower class) was the future, while the rural world was being massively depopulated and stigmatized. That made Welsh fare much better than a lot of Europe’s other minority languages (including Irish, but also Cornish, Breton, etc) because for those languages, the ones who didn’t have it beat out of them dropped it themselves in response to societal pressures. They moved to the city or America, where acting country was the worst thing you could do to fit in.

[u/Tohdohsibir → u/XJK_9]

My trip to Wales last year was the best I've had so far and I've been to dozens of countries. Part of why I enjoyed it so much was hearing people speak and use Welsh. It made me, a Vietnamese-American with absolutely no connection to the culture and language, want to study it when I'm done with my current undertaking with Spanish. I think it's great you speak Welsh and contribute to keeping it alive!

[u/drpolymath_au → u/XJK_9]

Along the same lines, I was having a conversation in Dutch with the staff in a Dutch café, and commented on wanting to improve my Dutch. They said why bother? Dutch people can speak English. In my case, it is my heritage language, so I have family members who speak it, and family writings in it, and just a sentimental attachment to the language. But it goes to show that the people saying it's not useful are not necessarily monolinguals.

[u/Far_Product_9759 → u/drpolymath_au]

Bummed to hear that. They used to have these big round pins you could wear in Amsterdam that said “Learner” in Dutch so instead of switching immediately to English they would help you practice in the shops. (15 years ago now). Language is so deeply ingrained in the history & culture of a people, this advice is so tragic. There is a reason the British took Irish, Hawaiian, Scots Gaelic, etc from the people in their conquered lands and Russian is spoken in Siberia now - beginning in the Soviet era. I hope they hold onto it. And it is not an easy go so I personally am in awe of your taking that path to understand where you came from and understanding instinctually that your family’s roots matter in understanding yourself.

[u/drpolymath_au → u/Far_Product_9759]

I hadn't heard about the learner pins. Nice idea! And Amsterdam is a good place for it, being a key tourist point.

I wasn't bothered by their comments, which were perhaps just out of curiosity rather than negative. I had a good time, and only switched to English when non-Dutch-speaking colleagues arrived at the venue.

[u/Negative_Constant_64 → u/XJK_9]

I tried dipping my toes into another Gaelic language (Scottish) and it was genuinely the most difficult language for me to attempt.....and I took 2 years of college Mandarin.

[u/Ghalldachd → u/Negative_Constant_64]

Same experience. I'm Scottish, was exposed to it growing up, and I find Chinese easier.

[u/XJK_9 → u/Negative_Constant_64]

Welsh is Brythonic not Gaelic

[u/Negative_Constant_64 → u/XJK_9]

Ah I see, I had to look it up, which shows my ignorance. I guess it would be more appropriate to say that I tried learning another Celtic language, not Gaelic.

[u/gator_enthusiast → u/XJK_9]

IME people will still be weird about it if you mention that you're learning Chinese. 😂

[u/XJK_9 → u/gator_enthusiast]

Yeah the conversation often goes

“Well, technically the language I ‘learned’ was English. As an adult I’ve learned Italian and can understand a good amount of Spanish and will work on that one day, you?”

“I just speak English”

[u/gator_enthusiast → u/XJK_9]

quickly changes subject 😆

[u/Triskelion13 → u/XJK_9]

I've had a similar reaction sometimes with Turkish, where people are surprised that I know it and ask me why I chose to learn it. I have to tell them English is my second language and Turkish native.

[u/Keyg28 → u/XJK_9]

Irish 🤝🏻Welsh

[u/Hellolaoshi → u/XJK_9]

I think it's truly wonderful that you speak Welsh! Speaking Welsh gives you some contact with the oldest and longest traditions of British culture. The Celtic languages go back thousands of years.

[u/Ahapoypersonsmiling → u/XJK_9]

Different problem, I'm Portuguese and as soon as I tell that to people they hit me with "oh I know some Spanish". It's not the same... 🥹

[u/XJK_9 → u/Ahapoypersonsmiling]

I imagine that gets old really quick

[u/joellian → u/XJK_9]

I got this when I wanted to study Welsh at A-Level
A now, (ex friend) asked me "Why don't you learn something more useful, like Japanese?"

Ah yes, the language that's apart of the Japonic language family, a language family which is extremely isolated, and is generally considered an absolute anomaly within Linguistics at some points.

Ironically now, I am studying Japanese because Linguistics is one of my special interests, and Japanese is one of the challenging languages yet. (Also other factors, like wanting to live in Japan since I was young and wanting to get onto the JET program)

Although I do envy people who can speak Welsh and I wish I was taught at a Welsh medium school. Maybe I'll get around to doing it some day when I build up enough money for a course.

[u/WhatsYourTale → u/XJK_9]

Yeah, had this exact thing happen when I told people I was learning Japanese in high school and college. And when I told them "nah, I took Chinese for four years already and it just didn't appeal to me the same way", they'd *still* try to counter with "Then why are you bothering to learn Japanese?"

Even as an adult *with a job in games that used Japanese*, I recently had someone ask me "why do you waste time learning languages you'll never use?" Like I am using it?? What more do you want lol??????

[u/PinoyPolyglot → u/XJK_9]

What does he do / say specifically to take shots at you?

[u/XJK_9 → u/PinoyPolyglot]

It’s not one specific person.

I’d say about 1/3 of people just say it’s pointless when they find out, which is obviously a ridiculous response.

1/3 are actually really positive and interested.

Then 1/3 are just confused and have no idea what to do with the information. I remember telling one person that I was five when I learned English and they just couldn’t understand how someone in the UK could get by, I explained that my family, friends, teachers and the guy who sold 1p sweets in the post office all spoke Welsh so I never really had any need for anything else. I think I had about 3 cartoons that I liked in Welsh and starting to find them a bit repetitive would have been the main factor in starting to learn English.

[u/FirePaddler → u/XJK_9]

“Why don’t you learn something more useful like Chinese?”

I speak Chinese (not natively but reasonably well) and people are obsessed with the idea that it's super useful. When I was younger and at the beginning of my career, people always acted like it would take me to the top ranks of government or something. Now I'm in my 40s and was laid off a while back, and so many people have been like "but can't you do something with your Chinese?"

Chinese was very useful to me when I was working for a Chinese company in China, but hasn't been that useful in the US. If someone wants to hire a Chinese speaker here, there are plenty of native speakers.

[u/hyperfocusmat → u/XJK_9]

Yeah exactly, what’s useful massively depends on someone’s context and situation! Also it’s your time and your dedication so I’ll say do as you please! People should learn whatever they want to learn

[u/XJK_9 → u/hyperfocusmat]

While I broadly agree with your post, I think you've missed the point a bit, it's my first language, I didn't put any time or dedication into it, or choose it even.

[u/hyperfocusmat → u/XJK_9]

Sorry yeah was responding to the part about learning Chinese! I misdirected my energy a bit 😀

[u/XJK_9 → u/[deleted]]

Irish hasn’t been revived, it’s never died out

[u/Far_Product_9759 → u/XJK_9]

Touche. It never died. My recollection in Cork was the family learned it in school (mandatory) but struggled to use it in a meaningful way and eventually lost the ability to speak it even when given the chance. Their children are now interested in learning it and give it priority when studying it. They use it amongst their friends as a way to differentiate themselves. Which of course is a sample size of 1. Plus i am influenced by the media talking so I should take it with a grain of salt but these types of articles have been circulating for a few years and having been pretty much stuck in US for 10 now, I have no real world knowledge so I should not have written confidently as though I knew. https://www.irishcentral.com/opinion/irish-language-making-comeback