I haven't gotten round to anything writing related today.
It all started last night. My told me this morning that I've been talking in my sleep. When I asked her what I said, she said she didn't know, because I was babbling in French.
Now, I haven't babbled anything in French for about four years, so I took that as a sign that my mind wanted to pick up the language again.
Which I am now doing with wild abandon.
I found a great website where I can learn phrases for free and communicate with first language speakers. I also bowed to peer pressure (both my mom and my best friend are learning Italian) and took a second language as well.
So far, I'm finding it so refreshing that I decided to take the day off from writing and revisions just so that I can give my mind another kind of exercise. And let me tell you, my brain would have clapped its hands if it had them.
^_^
If you're interested in joining up, click here. My profile name is MishaG, if you want to friend me there.
Have you ever tried different languages when on a writing break? Which languages would you love to learn?
That sounds like a lot of fun, and good job with taking a break for a while to try new things!
ReplyDeleteI'm breaking a little today myself, and might even leave the house! It's going to feel so weird. :)
I find myself having more and more Spanish-speaking students and wish my high school courses weren't 20 years ago!! So yeah, I should really brush up on my Spanish. (although Christy speaks French, so I'll definitely send her your way!).
ReplyDeleteerica
I would love to re-learn sanskrit, which I learnt in school, but because of lack of use have forgotten. French too is on my list :)
ReplyDeleteI had to learn a language in college. Took Spanish. Was very difficult. Immersed myself in it. Listened to Spanish radio. Tried to read Spanish language magazines. My brothers wife was from Colombia, spoke zero english. He asks me if she could ,with her infant son, stay in my house. He had to travel for his work. Trying to talk to her I learned a lot. Then after 4 semesters I actually got pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThen, she was gone, I graduated ,and my language skill diminished.
Since it was a difficult skill to master, I don't want to re-learn
But thats just me. Good luck to all who wish to learn. One thing, it is good brain exercise.
I have always wanted to speak another language,
ReplyDeleteI was always good at writing and reading french, but not speaking it. I could never roll the R.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with both languages.
I've been the exact opposite today and have a very productive writing day. I was always hopeless at languages at school. I hope you continue to enjoy the new brain exercising you started today. It sounds great.
ReplyDeleteOoh I love languages!! I only want to learn about 10 of them! (probably more)
ReplyDeleteI;m learning Japanese at the moment :)
I always think learning a bit of what I consider "literary" languages is a good thing to help with writing. I include French on my list, (Victor Hugo), and also Russian I think would be AWESOME (Dostoevsky, Tolstoy). Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
I learned a little Thai before we went on a trip to Bangkok and Chang Rai, but it's really hard because it's tonal.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd like to learn Italian or Gaelic. :)
Hi Misha,
ReplyDeleteHow's it goin' eh? It's been ages since I visited your wonderful site and left one of my 'award winning' comments. Well, I have been in Canada for five weeks. Which reminds me, I polished up on speaking Canadian, which involves saying 'eh' a lot, eh :)
I have been contemplating learning the 'English' the locals speak here in my lil' ol' English town. Well, I think they're speaking English....
Take care, eh, Gary :)
That sounds neat. It's especially cool that you talked in your sleep in a different language. I love that.
ReplyDeleteLol Amy I know what you mean. I'm getting out of the house more and fresh air makes me uncomfortable... ;-P
ReplyDeleteErica I'd love to learn Spanish, but it's too close to Italian and I don't want to confuse myself.
Rachna I lost a lot of my French because I didn't read or speak it in five years.
Anthony a new language is quite a challenge. Pity you lost the Spanish, it's a very useful language.
Odie it was always my wish when I was a child. So I jumped for it when I got a chance.
Patti, I'm lucky in that that rolling r is a speech impediment in my mother tongue, so I know how it sounds and how to imitate it. Same with the Spanish lisp.
Rebecca. I'm so glad I took yesterday off. I finished revisions to three scenes today. ^_^
TayLyee me too. Decided to brush up on two and learn a new one. Then I'm half way. ^_^
Sarah that's actually a good point you're making. I suspect that it's me watching Les Mis on Saturday that triggered my French...
Jessica tonal languages can be difficult. I know because I learned Mandarin. I'd also love to learn Gaelic. But I have no idea how I'd practice it in South Africa.
Hahaha Gary so nice to see you again. :-) Some of the dialects that I've heard in England made my mouth hang open. I know it's English, but damned if I knew what they were saying.
Lol yeah... my mind sometimes pulls some interesting numbers on me in my sleep. Every night is like an adventure.
You say you forget some French because you didn't use it for so long. Do you think the same thing could happen with English?
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you're picking it back up! It doesn't hurt to take a breath from writing every now and then. Throwing a hobby in can be a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI've actually started studying Japanese again! I was majoring in it before I dropped out of college and one day it hit me; I missed studying the language! It's slow going, but well worth it. Good luck with studying.
I tried checking out the site, but they're down for maintenance. Boo :(
Hehehe Brooke, not sure. I think it depends on how much you spoke it before you stopped. :-)
ReplyDeleteCaitlin you're the second commenter who's studying Japanese. Maybe and Taylor should become study buddies. ;-)