Why do some people like to learn strange languages?

Question

i am studyng greek and i love it!! everybody tells me that i am insane, but the thing is that i just love to learn languages. ps: theren't greek ancestors in my family! what do u think? am i mad?

Answer 1

You're not mad. You're furthering your education. Learning a new language is intriguing and challenging, and you'll be better off for having done it.

Answer 2

No you aren't mad, you want to learn something a bit different which could lead you up an unpredictable path.
When people talk about some languages being more useful than others, or there being "world languages" I am always sceptical.

For one thing, Greek may 'only' have 15 million speakers worldwide, but what proportion of those are you going to meet, and how many of the thousands of books in Greek can you read? Spanish or French may have many more speakers and a proportionally larger literature, but how does it affect you?

There is also a certain intrinsic worth to possessing less obvious combinations of languages. There is a 'wow' factor to saying "I speak Modern Greek (and say, Latvian) which you don't get with French. Plus the rarity of it might make it more useful, especially if you need to translate from and into languages apart from english, which increasingly acts as a mediator.
I know from learning Polish to an advanced level that Poles were delighted that I could speak their language well, and always fairly amazed that I had bothered. Now I am experiencing similarly gratifying responses from Hungarians.
This doesn't happen with more widely learnt languages, where instead you tend to get the response "Hmmm, his French/Spanish isn't quite right" even if you get to a very high level.

There is also the issue of having the chance to use the language in a meaningful way. A native English speaker learning German will find that in Germany s/he has very little chance to actually practise speaking German, because people will switch straight to English. I am sure this is less likely with Greek, once you get past the agonisingly slow beginner stage.

So press on, and think of the horizons that will be opened to you..oh and the kudos, if you'll pardon my Greek.

Answer 3

Why do people think you're insane? Learning languages is a perfectly natural thing which I've been doing all my life. You should learn as many as possible while your brain is still agile, although I have friends who are past retirement age and who are still absorbing new languages and finding that those languages have enabled them to travel even more widely and pleasurably than before. Greek is an excellent choice and will enlarge your horizonsand also improve your English vocabulary, as so much of the English language derives from Greek. Winston Churchill referred to learning "Latin as an honour and Greek as a treat". He was referring to ancient Greek, and you may well be studying modern Greek, but you may confidently quote him nevertheless to these extraordinary people who don't see the point!

Answer 4

Go for it! I studied Koine Greek when I was in college so I could read the New Testament in the original. The problem was, I was doing it on my own (not part of a class) and didn't have the time. Unfortunately, I never did finish (I did learn German in college, and learned Esperanto a couple of years ago).
I am currently trying to learn Cherokee (since part of my ancestry is Cherokee), but I'm falling into the same boat, though it's work that tends to get in the way now. Greek has many practical applications in the scholarly world, it isn't insane to study it.

Answer 5

Some people ought to be locked up in a room and made to repeat "I'm an ignorant" as a mantra for hours on end.
Who on Earth do they think they are, criticising someone who gets out of their way to broaden their horizon?!
I commend what you are doing. Learning a language is the most respectful thing you can do towards a culture. It's the most enriching thing you can do.
I speak 4 languages fluently, started modern Greek a while ago and also had a dab at Lakota. I also taught myself baby signing and still use it wih my bilingual child (actually trilingual because of the signing). I dream of learning Klingon and Elvish but just haven't got round to.

I totally understand your attraction to learning something intrinsically communicative and find it a hundred times healthier than wearing blinkers like the people who made such comments to you.

Languages influence and make the superstructures of the mind. They are an invisible influence that shapes your mind right from the start.
Germans are said to be strict and straight forward, their language is regimented by grammatical rules.
English is short and rhythmical, it is THE language of pop music.
I could go on for a while, but what you are doing is gaining inside knowledge into a culture, a way of thinking, a way of being. You are training your mind to understand subtle differences between people from a different geographical area. You are literally building bridges and reaching out for people you would normally have little in common with.

People who reject languages have no leg to stand on when it comes to understanding other human beings. And I mean understanding in the true and complete sense.

I'm annoyed at them now, send them to me for a good talking to!

Answer 6

You're not alone. I don't have any German in my ancestry, and yet I'm continually motivated to learn German.

As for why that's the case with me, I can only speculate. Either I'm suspected of having Asperger syndrome, or I've been diagnosed with it and haven't been told. (At least I show some of the symptoms.) According to Wikipedia, it's a neurobiological pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) "that that is characterized by deficiencies in social and communication skills. It is differentiated from other PDD's in that a person with AS also has normal to above normal intelligence, and standard language development compared with classical autism...AS can involve an intense and obsessive level of focus on things of interest." Learning foreign languages is one particularly common interest.

I'm not suggesting *you* have AS, but this helps explain why some people are into learning foreign languages. Of course, this is only part of the answer, as those who learn foreign languages are composed of more than just those who have AS. You may well be of some other sub-group.

Answer 7

Learning languages can only increase your understanding of other people and cultures, but I sometimes wonder how people come to learn a certain language. I mean once in Istanbul I came across a Turkish tour guide who spoke fluent Japanese. Now how did that happen?

Answer 8

I don't think you're mad, and I don't think Greek is a strange language.

I think language learning is its own reward. Not only does it make it possible for you to communicate in new ways, but you can also communicate with new groups of people.

Answer 9

You are not insane, I think people study languages not only to understand other people better but to open their minds. When you only speak one language you tend to think unilaterally, but when you speak several languages you start to see so many aspects of yourself and other people that would not have been possible before. I think you should continue learning Greek and your own heritage.

Answer 10

If you like it you should learn it. Your not crazy. besides, if you say learning Greek is a strange thing, I'm sure Greek people will get offended.