Favorite languages to study and learn.

[Sammy-San]

Im not bilingual or fluent in Italian, but I do know a few words, because I have studied Italian in school, and I went to italy for vacation in the summer many times. I can talk Italian on a very basic level (like a 5 yr old.) But it's not really a language that I find to be the most fascinating.

I really think Russian, Japanese, and Chinese are the most interesting languages to learn. I just like the way Russian sounds. The words in Russian music sound nice. Japanese and Chinese are exotic languages-they are interesting for that reason alone. The way words are pronounced and sound is totally different from any language Americans are familiar with and study in school (like Italian or Spanish). Japanese and Chinese have very difficult writing systems, but grammar wise, in some aspects, such as word gender, they are easier than even Romance languages.

 

[Blue Wren]

-

 

[faroukfarouk]

[..]

 

[godenver1]

I think Arabic would be a good language to be able to speak fluently. I can't currently however

 

[SapphiraMM96]

Latin. And Koine Greek. To read and understand the Scriptures. And Biblical Hebrew while you're at it.

 

[Rachel96]

My language is Gaidhlig, which you'd probably call Scottish Gaelic. It's not my first language - that's English - but it's my grandparents' language and I can speak it. Aside from that, I can speak German pretty well - my high school was German-speaking - and manage a conversation in French and Spanish. I'm planning to learn Russian with my father next time the local adult-education centre offers the classes.

I'm learning Hebrew and Koine Greek at the moment, at uni. Greek's a bit... meh, to be honest. It's nothing particularly new, there's nothing really remarkable about it to me, and to be honest, my teacher's not that great, so Greek lessons are just three hours which must be endured for the purpose of reading the Bible. Hebrew I really like, though. Hebrew's great! It's different, very different to anything else I know, which is fun and fascinating. We're reading through Genesis at the moment and I'm constantly amazed at how much we just don't get when we read it in translation. For example, God separated the waters, and He called them "mayim" ("water") and "shemayim" ("heaven"). It's "ishah" because she came from "iysh", and "Adam" was created from the "adamah". I could go on.

I don't think my Hebrew or Greek will ever be very good. The way they're taught at Bible college is very much geared towards just reading and understanding, not actually speaking the language. To be honest, I find this is a little annoying and disheartening. I like being able to speak a language!

 

[faroukfarouk]

My language is Gaidhlig, which you'd probably call Scottish Gaelic. It's not my first language - that's English - but it's my grandparents' language and I can speak it. Aside from that, I can speak German pretty well - my high school was German-speaking - and manage a conversation in French and Spanish. I'm planning to learn Russian with my father next time the local adult-education centre offers the classes.

I'm learning Hebrew and Koine Greek at the moment, at uni. Greek's a bit... meh, to be honest. It's nothing particularly new, there's nothing really remarkable about it to me, and to be honest, my teacher's not that great, so Greek lessons are just three hours which must be endured for the purpose of reading the Bible. Hebrew I really like, though. Hebrew's great! It's different, very different to anything else I know, which is fun and fascinating. We're reading through Genesis at the moment and I'm constantly amazed at how much we just don't get when we read it in translation. For example, God separated the waters, and He called them "mayim" ("water") and "shemayim" ("heaven"). It's "ishah" because she came from "iysh", and "Adam" was created from the "adamah". I could go on.

I don't think my Hebrew or Greek will ever be very good. The way they're taught at Bible college is very much geared towards just reading and understanding, not actually speaking the language. To be honest, I find this is a little annoying and disheartening. I like being able to speak a language!

...

 

[Rachel96]

I've only briefly looked at Pitjantjatjara, but I'm following the ongoing translation work avidly - I know a couple of people who are up there with the team. It's going to be the first complete Bible in a traditional Australian language when it's done (there's a complete Bible in Kriol, though).

If I ever learn an Aboriginal language, it would probably be Pitjantjatjara. Or Kaurna... I don't live in Kaurna land now, but I grew up there, and unlike Peramangk, people actually speak Kaurna. Most of what is known about Peramangk is deduced from what is known about Kaurna, anyway. Besides which, there are classes in Adelaide for both Kaurna and Pitjantjatjara.

Unbelievably, Koine Greek is actually a simplification of Classical Greek! Which is to be expected of a language spoken only by non-natives, rather like the modern "Panglish" phenomenon, but there are so many words for slight nuances of everything. Don't get me wrong, Greek's a good language, and I like people able to read the Bible - as little as I can - in it, because it makes things so much clearer... I just don't like Greek as much as Hebrew.

 

[KCK]

Russian is very attractive to me and I love to sing their songs even if it takes me a week to slowly sing it properly.