This is a list of languages that I know, that I am in the process of learning, or that I want to learn. My proficiency level, reasons for learning, and progress are listed with them.
Japanese
Reading: 5/10; Spoken: 7/10; Written: 6/10
I started teaching myself Japanese when I was about 10 years old. For a long time before this, I had a fascination with Japan as a country, and I rented books about the country, learning about it. One day I watched the anime Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (known commonly as just Sailor Moon in the United States) and I got hooked. When I searched it online, I found out that Sailor Moon was not an American cartoon, but anime, or Japanimation. I got hooked and couldn’t stop after that.
Formally, I’ve had about a year and a half (three semesters) of completed Japanese language, culture, and history education at Michigan State University. My keigo (Japanese hyper-polite language) was apparently exceedingly good, and I latched onto it well. I’d like to finish what I started and eventually go live in Japan for a few years, living out my girlhood dream of living there and teaching English.
French
Reading: 4/10; Spoken: 6/10; Written: 4/10
In high school, I chose French as my two-year language of choice to rebel against the fact that people had tried to force me to learn Spanish, and to be spiteful of the fact that my school did not offer Japanese language courses. I had the choice of Spanish, Latin, and French, so I chose French. I also wanted to move to Canada and become a quebecois.
I know enough French that I can speak with people who speak it natively about day to day things and the things that I know and like. I speak to the African students from French-speaking countries at times, which is pretty damn fun, to be honest. They’ve typically been great. Sometimes it confuses people, because they will assume that I too, am from Africa, and they ask me what country I’m from. It was also helpful for flirting with extremely attractive French-speaking foreign exchange students for a few years…
Thinking about it now, I really should pick this up.
Spanish
Reading: 2/10; Spoken: 2/10; Written: -10/10 (haha)
I can understand Spanish because when I was a little girl, my dad spoke it to me. That’s about as far as I’ve gotten with the US’s unofficial secondary lingua franca. To be honest, I haven’t been that interested in learning to speak Spanish for various reasons, including my thought that if someone comes to your country as a long-term guest or plans to join your society, they should learn your language. Personally, I think that it’s just a courtesy and it shows respect to the culture you’re joining. I would do the same for any country that I plan on visiting or staying in for some time.
After learning about the multiple language fluency that people from Europe and from India have, however – and paired with the fact that I seem to pick up languages very easily – I have begun to feel lazy. I want to flex my brain and my language skills. On top of that, I am currently living in the Dallas, Texas, and it would be very beneficial to my skill set and financially to be able to speak the language.
Lastly, my father, younger brother, and sister are fluent in Spanish, and it would help to understand just what they’re yammering about!
Hindi
Reading: 0/10; Spoken: 1/10; Written: 0/10
My current partner is from India, so I have picked up about 50 or so words and things to string together and ask questions, just so that I have a basic understanding of what he and his friends are talking about. As a matter of association, I now have acquaintances who come from India, and sometimes it seems like they forget that I don’t speak their languages. There are hundreds more languages in India, which I’ll never have time to learn, but I figure I should probably at least get comfortable or familiar with Hindi while I still have the chance to learn.