I realize I posted that I’ve been studying languages with DuoLingo nearly daily for FIVE YEARS, but didn’t write what I’ve studied during that time. It’s time to expand on this enthusiasm further!
German: my most dedicated area of study, and the reason I picked up Duolingo in the first place. I had studied German for four years in high school, stemming from the fact that my father was stationed in Germany with the army, and became strong conversationally: books in our house in German frustrated me in childhood because I couldn’t read them, so this was an easy choice in school. Infrequent use made it weak, and so my work for an employer in Switzerland required real preparation! Duolingo got me back where I needed to be, only to find myself tripping over the unique dialect of Basel Stadt in Switzerland. (Have I written about that?) German is the language of two pen friends, and so I read and write it this several times each month.
Japanese: the language of fun material culture during high school (hello, anime!) and the culture my architecture teachers attributed my design influences to. My mother recently started taking credit for walking me around Japan Center almost daily while I was a stroller-bound infant, which would explain my feelings of home-y comfort when I go there now! While it is easier to visit Japan without Japanese language skills than it was in 1992, I still enjoy being literate – it makes a difference. I brushed up before both of my trips, and found it very beneficial, even though I often lacked the specific words I needed for niche situations (relating to art supplies). I ramped up my studies during the COVID restrictions for a trip that wasn’t possible but will surely happen soonish. Duolingo’s lessons are both challenging and impressive, and include kanji!
French: I love Paris, and French sounds so cool. I know enough to navigate museum explanatory panels – I impressed a friend at the printed fabric museum in Mulhouse, but being a printmaker who has used etching presses and other technologies, the niche vocabulary didn’t scare me. I sometimes bicker with subtitles for French films, but I’m being too literal, while they are being more poetic. I can only say basic transactional things, which I forget instantly. (My big achievement during a business trip was stating that the entree was not my meal, which was instantly understood.). I worry that I will be very effective at buying paint regardless, especially at Magasin Sennelier and Charvin Arts.
Spanish: after understanding the abuelas who needed my help getting things off high shelves throughout my youth, I figured I should learn things non-grandma-related. Maybe even verbs! It doesn’t stick well, because I’m not watching telenovelas anymore, but has improved my eavesdropping.
Hawaiian: it is super interesting, and has so many vowels! The lessons still feel early in development, relative to the subject content of other languages.
Dutch: this was before a trip to the Netherlands, and it had too many random similarities to German UNTIL IT DIDN’T, and this left me more confused than it would have it I hadn’t thought I knew what was happening. If I’m going to be confused, it needs to be a language with clearer dissimilarities, like Icelandic or Swedish.
Somehow, I’m resisting Korean… so far.
Duolingo remains a satisfying way to practice existing language skills AND to develop new ones!
