Thoughts on Language Learning

-These are my thoughts on language learning after learning Spanish for three weeks, he estado aprendiendo español por solo tres semanas pero planeo aprender de por vida.

-You're brain is actually learning something so new, so different, that it's teaching you to think differently, think differently in another language.

-It's like that science fiction movie from 2016, starring Amy Adams, Arrival, in which she learns how to communicate with aliens. 

-Her brain gets rewired, she learns to think so differently, that she learns to think like the aliens and communicate with them.

-The revolutionary philosopher Wittgenstein says, "life is language games," well the more different words in different language that you know, the more you see that this is the case.

-Sometimes when sleeping and upon wakeup, you're thinking about all the new words, phrases, and accents that you've learned. At first this freaked me out because I wasn't used to a cacophony of words of different languages in my head, however, you soon realize that you'll become used to it, and that you've begun to learn to think in those other words/languages.

-It's a fun activity for me, I learn on the google translate app or google translate on my computer, sometimes I learn for 5 minutes a day, sometimes for over an hour, and sometimes 20-30 minutes. Because I'm not being forced to learn against my will, my mind is open and I've even begun to become something of a miniature polyglot. 

-The vast wealth of beauty that exists in language appear to me in the form of Spanish, Italian, and French. However, I do find a different kind of beauty in the languages from the Far East like Chinese and Japanese.

-Upon reaching my fourth week of Spanish language studies, and learning bits and pieces from other languages, you soon realize that all of the information will be forgotten unless the material is consistently repeated and reworked over and spoken aloud with others, speaking the words aloud is the most consistent way to reinforce your memory. 

-Once you learn more words in other languages, the sound of the languages, the sound of the culture becomes a part of you, thus you are able to articulate and understand English much better as a result.  

-Spanish is the best language for me because it is the first language I wanted to learn, then next in line is Italian because it sounds muy bonita, then French because its very useful and also sounds great.

-There is somewhat of a correlation between the thick European languages like German, Russian, Swedish, and say Chinese [Mandarin, Cantonese] and Japanese, although it is very small.

-The root of all my language learning, as what Wittgenstein would call language games is all based on Latin, the godfather of Romance Languages; Learn Latin, and I can finally read Ovid's Metamorphosis in its original format, a true worthy goal of artistic expression and understanding. [Very difficult and would take years]

-The case is that once you start learning you can't stop otherwise your vocabulary of phrases, words, grammar, visual memory of the words, and accents will slowly fade away, so don't give up. 

-An end goal would be to travel across the world and speak whatever languages I need with ease. 

-A much more difficult goal could be to learn Spanish, Italian, and French, and become a translator and do that as a career.

-An easier goal, move to another country that speaks Spanish, Italian, or French [or even China to speak Mandarin], and get a job teaching English, and learning their language from the locals. 

-You're brain is rewired and overloaded with so much new information every time you learn, you must remember to always get plenty of rest. Day naps and night naps are both needed!

-Sometimes upon wakeup you'll think thoughts in Spanish as you get out of bed, at first it's a bit scary and unusual, but you soon get used to it, and recognize the fact that you're thinking in another language but that you're fundamentally the same animal. 

-Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's Don Quixote is one of my primary inspirations for my Spanish learning, as Cervantes' has been called the godfather of the Spanish language, for good reason, his Spanish language style is unmatched. 

-After quarantine is over, I want to visit Mexico, and have a blast with Spanish.

-What better way to spend your time in quarantine than learning other languages and appreciating other cultures? The world doesn't revolve around just America or just English. In the brand new emerging world, the times they are changing. 

The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha

"The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (Modern Spanish: El ingenioso hidalgo (in Part 2, caballero) Don Quijote de la Mancha, is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. It was published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615. A founding work of Western literature, it is often labeled "the first modern novel" and many authors consider it to be the best literary work ever written." [wiki]

 The book is about an old noble named Alonso Quixano, who reads so many books of knighthood and chivalry that he goes mad out of his mind, decides he's a knight, and goes out on adventures; helping fair maidens, righting wrongs, dreaming the impossible dream. Once he reinvents himself as Don Quixote de la Mancha, he recruits a simple farmer named Sancho Panza as his squire. Although Sancho is a simple farmer, he speaks eloquently at times throughout the novel, and he's a master of endless proverbs, much to Quixote's chagrin. 

To put it simply, Don Quixote doesn't want to or simply doesn't understand or take the world for what it is [1600s Spain] and instead decides to live in a fantasy where he's a knight. The book takes place in the 1600s, in Spain, so at that point the people of his world think he's a lunatic, for knighthood and chivalry were seen as things of the past, medieval. People had already moved past that at this point, in the novel, and in the real time period in which Cervantes wrote the book. 

"The book was a bestseller and had a strong impact on the literary community, influencing works like Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers (1844) and Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). The 19th-century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer cited Don Quixote as one of the four greatest novels ever written." [wiki]

I consider Don Quixote as the all time best example of the first modern novel. It bridges the gap between medieval classical literature and modern literature. Why is this the case? Well, for starters, the old medieval literature that comes before this period puts God above all else. As above, so below. The ancient literature might not be about the Christian God, rather it revolves around other deities, like the Greek or Roman gods, or others. Literature back then was meant solely for the glorification of God or gods, sometimes employing heroes to carry out their bidding.

Here comes Don Quixote in 1605. Although it isn't the "first" example of what I would consider modern literature, it's surely the best and does it the best. This differs from ancient and medieval literature because its one of the first and best examples of the transition from ancient/medieval literature to modern literature. Why? Because you can clearly see that the transition from glorification to God goes to being about the individual, becoming less religious, but still examining central themes that every novel has; looking at virtue, the mind, the body, and the soul. Just as important is the fact that this is the first example in literature where we have a linear story-line, stellar story telling, narrative development, and a beginning, middle, and end. Mostly all other works of fiction prior wasn't like this although you can find little snippets and elements throughout various time periods and other countries' works of fiction. For these reasons, Don Quixote is in my opinion, one of the best books of all time, maybe the best novel ever written. 

Don Quixote is considered both a comedy and a tragedy. For its time it was considered comic. You can say its central idea is that individual can be right while society is wrong. It was considered social commentary, satire, if you will. 

What does it mean? This is a hard question to tackle, because the work is open to many different interpretations. For myself, I saw the work like a comedy or satire movie. I watched a man bewitched with his silly knight-errantry. I laughed throughout most of his silly adventures but there was always certain moments when I would stop laughing and think this is quite sad, this gentlemen being so far out of wack that he doesn't even know when he's being taken advantage of. The beauty of the work is that even if you find it tragic, or even if you find it too funny, you're never laughing or crying too long, because Cervantes throws so much at you; more plot development, more characters, more actions, more dialogue, more of everything, more is more. Because of this you don't [or at least I didn't] get bogged down by my emotions. 

The one truly emotional part, for me at least, was at the halfway mark through the book, where Don Quixote gets into too much trouble, gets really hurt, almost dies, and goes back to his house to get rest and heal from his wounds. This is where he might denounce knighthood and end it all forever, and just relax at home. When he gets home, his niece and his maid are worried sick for him, and are so afraid he might die from his wounds, that they are tearing their hair out and cursing knighthood and chivalry. That was when I realized how powerful this book truly is and was.

What the book means to me is quite simple. Even if you are mad, your reality is only substantiated by society so much. In a way, you are your reality. I think, therefore I am. Don Quixote thinks he's a knight-errant, so he is a knight-errant. It's very simple but very deep in a philosophical way and individualistic way. 

Lastly, it must be mentioned that this novel made me see the development and history of the novel in good form. The progression of beginning, middle, and end, development of story, narration, dialogue, action, plot, climax, are all great elements within the novel. Although I was aware of all of these important literary devices, it was only while reading Don Quixote that I came to understand, see, and analyze these devices in other works of literature, news articles, and even in spoken dialogue between friends and family. There's a form and there's substance, you can see it when it's there, and you can see it when it's missing. This was such a big revelation to me as a reader and a people's person, who gets so much out of spoken dialogue with friends, family, acquaintances, and customers. 

There's a way to tell a story and Cervantes was a master of doing so. I'll definitely check it out again at some point and take a look at some other translations. I switched between reading the late 1800s Ormsby translation and the modern Edith Grossman translation. I like the older translation better for a more literal older style and I liked Edith Grossman's translation for its simplicity. This is one of the best novels, you must read this if you like books, especially classics of the western canon. Even if you can't read all 800 pages, just being familiar with the work will make an impression upon you.  

"Bewitched with his silly knight-errantry."