Flag of Singapore, where four languages are official.
Problem
I want to be a polyglot. Poly, as in polytechnic, means many. Glot, as in glottal stop, is connected with language. A polyglot means a person who speaks many languages. When I was at school I wanted to learn German and Spanish, but the way the timetable was arranged, I could learn only French.
Czech Linguist
I was impressed by people who spoke many languages. The father of a relative of mine spoke eight languages. He came from the Czech Republic. I assumed he was a very bright person. If you look at the map, you will see the Czech Republic is surrounded by countries where other languages are spoken. Czech is not a language taught widely so when Czechs meeting others, have to be the ones making more effort.
Bilingual Canadians
Some people are forced to learn to speak two languages proficiently. When lived in the USA we travelled across the border to Canada, and learned that in the capital, Ottawa, government officials have to speak French and English and documents must be in the two languages.
Romania
When I went to Romania on a hiking holiday with a group of hiking ex-pats from Indonesia, I discovered that Romanian is similar to Italian. The name Romania comes from Roman, because Romania is near to Italy and they were influenced by the Italian language, in the same way that many English words have Latin roots.
This reinforced the new idea that learning languages was not difficult. You could not help doing it. Starting is the hardest part. Once you have got over the fear that another language is too difficult, it becomes easy and fun.
My big breakthrough came when I discovered Duolingo, the online course which offers free language lessons. You can opt for as little as five minutes a day. The system sends you a reminder every day. When I want a break from work, I do five minutes of learning a language.
It is now my policy to learn a few words of the language of every country I visit. Every time I speak to a taxi driver, a waiter in a restaurant, or anybody else, I ask them their native language and ask them to say a couple of words, such as goodbye and thank you, or count from one to three.
I worked out that if I learn only one word of another language every day, by the end of the year I will know more than 300 words. Three hundred words is get by level, enough to read a map, a menu, and signs in a street or hotel.
If I learned a new language every year for the next ten years, I would have a smattering of ten languages.
Some people have a head start. They have parents from different cultures, or live in countries with another language across a nearby border, with street signs in two languges. Learning a new language impresses others, helps you start conversations with other people, and gives you confidence when travelling and a sense of achievement. Those hours spent sitting on a plane or train or waiting at bus stops need not be wasted.
LANGUAGES
Earworms
earwormslearning.com
(This is a shortened version of Berlitz where you hear the words, provided on a disc or download, but the addition of music in the background makes it relaxing when you listen and they claim improves the speed and ease of learning). I bought the German and Spanish, then added other languages when I saw the discs available at low prices second hand on ebay. The booklet is amll and easy to carry. The print is small and hard to read in a poor light at night but much better in daylight, outdoors, such as when waiting at a bus stop.
It is written with the traveller in mind, starting with words you need on a flight.
Duolingo - my absolute favourite system. It's free.
duolingo.com
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages. Workshops and speeches for students and businesses.
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