My linguistic journeys always begin because I fall in love with the sounds and the culture of a new language.
I started studying foreign languages in France at the age of ten. My parents expected me to begin learning English and Latin at that time. I resisted but had no choice in the matter. “Sigh”. Two years later, German was added to the list. When I moved to the US at the age of thirteen, I immediately realized the importance of knowing English and quickly became fluent. (How else could I join a rock group?) I began to study Spanish in High School as well. In college I added Italian to the list.
Then came my true love of the era: medieval Punjabi! What could be fairer to the ear or to the eye? I picked up modern Punjabi and Hindi – a close relative, shortly thereafter. But Arabic caught my wandering eye and ear. Though I abandoned my study, I never lost my love of the sounds of Arabic language and music.
Years passed with no new linguistic journeys, when, in 1993, I foolishly decided to learn Mandarin and Japanese. Though both were amazingly beautiful, I quickly realized that I needed to choose one of the two. (“I wish I had but two brains to give to my country!”) Mandarin it was, since I was enamored of Chinese culture. It proved the greatest challenge for me because of its sound structure and its complex character system. But with Chinese came an enormous body of knowledge, culture and five thousand years of sophistication!
I am still working on mastering these various tongues. Next, I would love to learn a native American language: Lakota, Hopi or Apache. I know very little about their structures or phonetics, but their sounds are pleasing to my ear and I have immense respect for their cultures. This is how I have always begun: by discovering the amazing beauty of a new language and the fascinating culture of the people who speak it.
Jean-Paul at Focus Language
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