Going off the "why did you learn a language" post and hearing all the beautiful stories, I thought I'd talk about the other side of the spectrum. Has anyone ever given you a reason for why you shouldn't learn the language that you're learning, what was their reasoning and did you prove them wrong?
Has anyone ever told you that you "shouldn't be" learning the language you're learning and why?
In Brazil, people look at you differently (in a not good way) when you tell them you're going to study a language at college. Most of my family gave me congratulations when I told them what I wanted to be (I have a licentia docendi/Licentiate Degree in Languages-Portuguese/English), but there are always those people who say that only the less-smart ones take that as a career choice as Brazil doesn't respect its teachers very much and that I should have taken something that would bring me more money, like Administration, Medicine or Engineering. The only problem with that is that I'm not really into Math and Medical Sciences... It's very bad people want only to see you being rich and have much money, but not doing what you love. They didn't understand that I knew too much of English not to do anything with it...
I graduated with a higher-than-the-average grade and with several praises from teachers/college staff, and that proved them wrong ;). The only thing they got right is that I wouldn't get a job straight after graduating, but as I plan to enroll in a Master Degree program, this is not a big issue for me at the moment.
Yay! Good for you, that's really impressive! At least your family was supportive!
That is horrible. I know a ton of people who feel that way though and it makes me so sad. But it's a really common way of thinking here in America :(
I've tried (and failed) to learn finnish, and I guess the main argument people have had against even attempting to learn that language is the grammar (15 cases!)
Yeah Finnish grammar is pretty hard, I've tried learning it myself and I couldn't do it.
That is horrible. I know a ton of people who feel that way though and it makes me so sad. But it's a really common way of thinking here in America :(
This comment would sound a lot better if the comment before it hadn't been deleted
My family discouraged me from studying languages in general. They wanted me to learn English but they did not want it to be my life. I was good at physics and chemistry so good that my teachers in high school begged me to study science butI kindly refused as I was into English. Then during my second year at the high school I started learning Bosnian. Little did I know was that the Yugoslavic languages would also become a part of me. My mom was agaiinst me learning Bosnian, my dad was shocked but there I was learning. Then I started Macedonian almost 3 years ago. In the end they let me be. Meantime, I also studied Romanian and got certificate for it. And currently I am studying Russian. I am aiming for Bulgarian. :)
In high school I told the guidance teacher I was applying to study Russian at university (I did anatomy which I'd wanted to do since childhood but I applied for languages too just in case!) and he told me not to bother because Russian economy was declining and that I should learn Mandarin instead as the markets were increasing. I told him I wasn't studying the languages for economical reasons, lol. And funnily enough I am studying Mandarin now anyway!
Also I have been told not to bother with languages like Slovenian because they have "so few" native speakers.
If I had time, I would study every language possible, so people can never really discourage me :)
When some colleagues of mine found out I was studying Japanese on my own, they laughed and told me it was just too difficult and that I should be using my time on "more useful things".
A friend I used to have also that told me that learning more languages was a waste of time because I was already good at English "and that was enough".
I really can't understand why some people think learning another language is Crazy and/or A Sin of sorts. I mean, you can be okay with only knowing (a) certain language(s) and that's cool, but there's no need to shame or discourage people who are interested in learning more, y'know.
When some colleagues of mine found out I was studying Japanese on my own, they laughed and told me it was just too difficult and that I should be using my time on "more useful things".
Learn Japanese anyway. It's a beautiful language.
Well, I'm from Estonia originally and I speak Estonian natively. My mom is from Korea and she has very strongly encouraged me to learn Korean and she used to get really upset if I wanted to learn something else. I'm at a very low intermediate level in Korean and I can understand way more than I can speak and that's ok with me. I much prefer Japanese. I told my mom I wanted to learn Japanese because it interests me more and she was actually upset. She still tells me "It's the wrong language for you, Ebba." and "You're not Japanese." or "Stop thinking you're Japanese."
Learn Japanese anyway. It's a beautiful language.
That's just what I'm doing. I'm actually getting ready to see if I can go for N4 :D
Korean.
My grandma is really old-fashioned, she thinks that I should finish my school studies before I start learning another language. She tells me several times that I should cut it with Korean, I don't know if it's because of the culture, her experiences or something but it pisses me off.
Yes, yes, yes.
People very often tell me I "shouldn't be learning Spanish" and they don't accept any of the answers I give.
Person: "Why are you learning Spanish? Do you think it will help you get a job or something?"
Me: "I am enjoying myself, meeting new people, and gaining access to a huge array of music, movies, books, and culture. There are about 20 Spanish-speaking countries, including one in Africa (Equatorial Guinea) and the Philippines in whatever continent you feel that is."
Person: "Are you going to go to Equatorial Guinea? Why are you learning Spanish?"
Me: "I am enjoying myself. Do you know how much music there is in Spanish? Do you know how good it is? I didn't, until recently."
Person: "More people speak Mandarin. I think China is going to overtake the US in GDP pretty soon."
Me: "I would love to speak every language. I don't care about the GDPs of countries that speak languages. I am not trying to make money. Also, China won't give me a visa. I'm going to learn one language at a time, and if China won't give me a visa, I think that is a bad first choice. I honestly have no idea whether Equatorial Guinea will give me a visa, but Colombia probably will and Colombia is BEAUTIFUL. I also have about 18 more fallback options."
It is very frustrating how people feel like English is "all you need". I don't need to listen to music at all. I enjoy listening to music. I don't really need to talk very much, I could probably limit myself to 500 words per day and get enough food, water, and shelter to survive. I would probably die of loneliness and boredom, but not hunger.
What do you think the purpose of life is? If you can't answer that in a convincing way, then don't tell me that learning Spanish "for no good reason" is not in some way a step toward fulfilling my life's purpose.
I'm also learning guitar. It sounds AWFUL. For some reason, people don't ask me why I am learning guitar. They don't ask me if I think I will get good or if I will make money as a famous rock star.
I also get this response sometimes:
Person: "They made me study French in school and I hated it."
Me: "Cool story. I'm not in school anymore and I'm not sure this was related, but yes, I also had several classes at school that I did not enjoy. I can identify with your experience, but I think you just failed to identify with mine."
(I am not actually that rude. I usually say, "That's too bad. I hated ALL my classes in middle school." Then I change the subject.)
Spanish is the second most spoken laguange in the world, so their points are invalid, lol.
and he told me not to bother because Russian economy was declining and that I should learn Mandarin instead as the markets were increasing. I told him I wasn't studying the languages for economical reasons,
I hear that so often. And they always say "learn Mandarin". They always mention how much money China is about to have and how many people live in China. This is not a numbers game and it is DEFINITELY not about making money. I already have a job.
Several hundred million people speak English and I'm not learning Spanish because that wasn't enough people to talk to. That would be insane. Why are we counting humans like this? How many people do you plan to talk to in your lifetime?