3 reasons why trying to finish a language is a bad idea

Some people here in Greece share various assumptions about language learning which I find particularly disturbing. One of these assumptions has to do with the idea of 'finishing' a language. And these people usually mean that if you have managed to attain some certificate (some refer to them as 'degrees', which I find particularly annoying) you have 'finished' the language in question.

I believe that trying to finish a language is totally a bad idea, even dangerous, I’d say, mainly for three reasons:

#1 BECAUSE IT LEADS TO PERFECTIONISM

The idea that language is somewhat finite is completely absurd. A language can never be finished: even native speakers have to study it again and again if they want to use it smoothly. That is why this idea can lead to perfectionism, and perfectionism in language learning is a motivation killer. Since the finishing line can never be visible, the task of language learning becomes both vague and unreachable.

#2 BECAUSE IT LEADS TO FEELINGS OF DEPRIVATION

During your course of learning a language, it’s possible that at some point you’ll just feel like exploring other languages. That means you’d like to check whether you like them, and if you do, you’d really like to start learning them. However, the idea of finishing a language makes this forbidden: you think you should try to finish what you have started first, whatever this is supposed to mean! So, you end up feeling somewhat deprived, even angry towards your new language, which just refuses to finish in order for you to move on.

#3 BECAUSE IT LEADS TO INACTION

Finally, it is possible that sometimes we just get stuck in our learning and we need a break. When this had happened to me, I thought this time could be used on a new language. But then I felt I just had to finish the first language in order to pick a new one. And when I forced myself to go on with the first, it just didn’t work, and guess what happened: I stopped studying altogether!

Instead of trying to fit into others’ expectations and try to ‘finish’ a language, it is important to be able to create your own personal milestones to look forward to. In other words, to pinpoint certain moments that from that point onwards you will regard as milestones, and which will give you the courage and the strength to move on with your language learning, which never finishes, of course.

One such milestone for me was the moment I finished reading the first English book I ever read. Since then my English is much better, but at that precise moment I felt I had really made much progress, and I still look back to that moment with feelings of pride and accomplishment.

Thanks for reading! 

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How many things you love can you share in 10 minutes?

Olga Arakelyan was the first to share in ten minutes the things she loves.

Then, her blog post inspired Alina Cincan from Inbox Translation to ask a group of fellow translators to do exactly the same. I feel so happy that she included me in this group as well. And I have to say, after reading Alina’s post I feel I know her on a more personal level.

Hopefully the same will happen to you with me and my list.

It is great to be able to connect like this through blogging, and I'm grateful to have met all of you.

So, how many of these things can I share in just ten minutes?

1. Books. I read a lot of books. Around forty a year. And I’m buying more books than my bookcases can hold.

2. Language learning materials and dictionaries. I am addicted to them!

3. Good food, preferably exotic and difficult to pronounce. I also love trying new recipes!

4. The Acropolis. If I don’t go downtown to see the Acropolis from afar at least once a month, something’s not quite right with me.

5. Walking in Athens. In this respect, I’m a flâneur… love to stroll about, catching glimpses of this ever-changing city.

6. All things English.

7. JethroTull.

8. Christmas decorations. One can never have too many!

9. Travelling and exploring new places.

10. The sea.

11. Snow.

12. Cats.

13. Maps and geography. Since I was a kid, I was always on the lookout for the most faraway places and said: I shall go there one day!

14. Icelandic mythology… trolls, giants, Loki, etc.

15. Antique surveying instruments.

16. Astronomy.

17. Mount Hymettus.

18. Birdwatching.

19. Gardening.

20. Baking bread.

Thank you so much Alina for having such a wonderful idea. Looking forward to your next one!

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Translating the translated

During the process of translating a literary work, it is possible that we come across a bit of text which does not belong to the work as it is.

We may meet epigraphs, for example. Epigraphs are short quotations which have been put at the beginning of chapters, and which belong to another work. Even though they (may) appear in the same language as the literary work, it is likely that they are translations themselves, translated from another language.

So, what can be done in this case? 

Some translators translate roughly from the translated and think that this is okay.

It is not.

This bit is not equivalent to the rest of the text.

This bit belongs to another literary work, and we have to deal with it as such.

First we have to do some research in order to identify the work from which it has been taken.

For example, this bit could be an extract from the Bible.

In this case, we have to go to the Bible’s official translation, find the relevant bit, and insert it into the target text. In order to avoid endless translator’s notes that may disrupt the reader, we can cite the source in the work’s introduction.

Or, this bit could be an extract from a classic work such as the Iliad. In this case, we can use any published translation we think that fits the style of the text we are translating. Again, in order to avoid endless translator’s notes we can cite the source in the work’s introduction.

Bear in mind that it won’t be such a good idea to try your hand at translating this bit yourself!

When we translate a work from a language into another, such problems come up very often. So, since translation demands from us to re-create the work into another language, before getting down to the actual translation work it is imperative that we 'unlock' the source text. Keep in mind that processes such as literary allusion and intertextuality can transfer significant tension from the source text to the target text. Therefore we must be ready to move between texts the way we move between languages, keeping at the same time our eyes open in order to avoid traps as the above.

Have you ever met a bit of text that was itself a translation? What did you do?

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New words are our new friends

When I’m learning a new language, I’m always on the lookout for effective ways to deal with grammar and vocabulary.

Grammar rules tend to stick to my mind rather easily, even though they tend to… disappear right when I need them! But vocabulary is a different story. Learning vocabulary in a new language takes both time and patience. What’s more, if we don’t see new words often, they constantly slip our minds. 

Maybe this happens because new words are like new friends. We have to meet them often in order to be their friends.

I find it impossible to take a list of new words and learn them by heart. Even if some of them stick, I am going to forget them later on.

Just like people I met once. They are not my friends.

But if I meet them one day at the grocery store, the next day at the supermarket, or at a friend’s house… First they are acquaintances. Yet slowly, these people become my friends.

That’s exactly what we need to do with vocabulary.

Not only should we meet new words again and again but also we should meet them in various environments or contexts.

This way they will stick to our minds much easier.

 And how are we going to do that?

By increasing the possibility of meeting new words again and again. That’s what I have done when I learned English:

I listened to songs and looked up the lyrics.

I saw movies without subs.

I read a great amount of novels and non-fiction.

I noticed everything written in English.

I looked up stuff that interested me such as recipes, gardening tips etc.

I looked up every single word in the dictionary.

All the above involve spending amounts of time just hanging out with the new language. And without stressing, just hanging out, it was much easier to learn.

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Quotes about writing

I found some very nice quotes that can give us inspiration to write, especially in the days it gets very difficult. I would like to share with you the ones I think are true for me:

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” 

― Maya Angelou

It is important to be who you want to be, in this case a writer. It is pointless to try to become anything else.

“A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” 

― Maya Angelou

Sometimes there’s no need to hear the answers. You need only to feel that people share with you the same questions.

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” 

― Stephen King

All writers had a passion for reading. 

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” 

― Jack Kerouac

No universal truths were verbose.

“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” 

― Anton Chekhov

Don’t be analytical in your writing; you have to show, not to tell!

“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” 

― Henry David Thoreau

But many people have been inside their homes all their lives, yet have written great novels. It depends. Nevertheless, I like this quote.

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” 

― Stephen King, On Writing

Again, don’t be verbose in your writing. 

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” 

― Stephen King

“Always be a poet, even in prose.” 

― Charles Baudelaire

In this case, writing will never be boring.

“One always has a better book in one's mind than one can manage to get onto paper.” 

― Michael Cunningham

“You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” 

― Jack London

“The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.” 

― Anaïs Nin

Many times when reading a novel I have realised that the writer has shaped many of my thoughts into words.

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” 

― Stephen King, On Writing

In other words, don’t over-analyse. Readers want you to be subtle, and to let them finish the job.

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” 

― Nathaniel Hawthorne

Thanks for reading.

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