If you could wake up tomorrow and be fluent in any language you don’t currently speak, which would it be? Why? What’s the first thing you do with your new linguistic skills?
Photographers, artists, poets: show us TONGUE.
Ah, I love languages, all of them. I think our world is so blessed in many ways to have so many different languages spoken. The Daily Post for today is all about languages and which ones we want to learn.
I know exactly which language I would love to be fluent in. The language of my Native American ancestors. I’m half Potawatomi Indian. I look like my German father, though. But inside, my heart, my soul is Native American.
It’s so sad that so many Native American languages have become instinct. A lot of them are passed down through the elders to the young. Unfortunately the young don’t seem to want to learn. Such a shame. Some Native American languages don’t have a written one, just oral. Luckily Potawatomi language has both.
Potawatomi (also spelled Pottawatomie; in Potawatomi Bodéwadmimwen or Bodéwadmi Zheshmowen or Neshnabémwen) is a CentralAlgonquian language and is spoken around the Great Lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as in Kansas in the United States, and in southern Ontario in Canada, by 1300 Potawatomi people, all elderly. There is currently an effort underway to revive the language.
So for my first lesson I will learn how to say; Today is Monday ~~ Ngot gizhget ngom.
If you go to the link that I included in the sentence you will be able to hear what it sounds like.
Then of course there is just good old English. I have yet to conquer ‘proper English’. haha!
What languages do you wish you could know overnight?
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I never thought about the languages dying out but I guess that makes sense. What a great answer!
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Thanks!
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I think learning different languages is a good idea. To learn your own is more important. My Dad put emphasis on know your own language and as many others as possible. We therefore know our language and two others.
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Your father was a wise man. Thanks for stopping in!
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I had no idea you were part Native American! So so awesome 🙂 I watched a video on Upworthy earlier about a photographer that is capturing the Native American heritage in such a beautiful way. If I had the money to spend now I’d totally support her project.
I’d love to learn Japanese overnight or Italian (part of my heritage), but learning a language that is dying out would be even better! 🙂
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Thanks TJ! That is so great about that photographer! Do you happen to have the link? I would love to see that. Japanese is one language I wouldn’t mind learning also. We should learn together! 🙂
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But of course!! I didn’t want to link drop out of the blue haha.
http://www.upworthy.com/its-been-over-100-years-since-an-artist-has-done-this-in-america-about-time-someone-did-it-again?c=ufb1
And yes! Learning together would be fabulous! 🙂
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Thank you TJ, I will go see what it is all about. 🙂
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Your answer is perfect, Jackie! I followed the link. It seems like a difficult language to learn. Maybe because it’s so different from anything I’ve heard before. Are there “sounds” to learn first – to help you with pronunciation?
I would love to learn French as that is my heritage, and I absolutely love the sound of the language, but I don’t know when I’ll ever have time to learn anything other than to ask for the cheese. 😉
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Maddie!!! There is a website I found that teaches you the main sounds of the language. For me all new languages would be hard to learn, but I think once you get into it they would get easier.
French is a pretty language, I took it in high school. Have forgotten everything. ha! 🙂
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Speaking English with some sense of rightness and order is hard enough. As an Australian we speak wrong to start with, so we are up against it to begin with, but despite that we are fun to listen to.I think I would like to be able to speak French as I have ambitions of visiting France one day.
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Ambitions are a good thing. I often wondered about France myself. I would love to visit the country side. Everyone visits Paris, I like being different. ha!
You Australians speak just fine. I love listening to any of you speak, it draws me in.
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You haven’t herd me yet darl.
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haha, so true. But somehow I think I would enjoy the experience.
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We’ll test it out one day.
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It would be Italian and French for me, Jackie! I just love how these languages sound, not to mention the beautiful countrysides that these dialects float around in. 🙂
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Great choices Brigitte! I’ll take the country sides too! 🙂
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I think it would be wonderful if you could learn to speak Potawatomi at least a little. I followed the link and listened to many of the sentences. I don’t think it’ll be easy to learn the correct pronunciation of the words and how they float together in a sentence. It would be nice if you find someone you could talk with 🙂
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It’s hard to find someone who speaks the language any more. My mother doesn’t. And right now I’m in the wrong part of the country to find someone who does. 🙂 So I go on, on my own.
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That’s awesome, Jackie! I took some Native American Studies classes in college… that part of our country’s history and culture is so fascinating, if not a bit heartbreaking. I’m actually going to New Mexico for the first time ever next weekend because I want to see pueblos haha. There is some community who is still living on top of a mesa that’s been there since the conquistadors. I sound so ignorant right now but…*mind blown*
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Thanks Aussa! That part of history is heartbreaking. In college they don’t always teach you everything that went down back then. You’ll love New Mexico, I know I did the few times I was there. It’s an awesome place. Have fun and take lots of pictures!
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I think it would be wonderful to speak another language and I admire you for learning the Potawatomi language! Keep the lessons coming to us and we may all be fluent in it one day 😉
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Thank you Dianne! maybe I should give lessons huh? That might be an idea! 😉
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You learn best what you teach. I’ve read all the comments and they are all interesting. I’m with you in learning your language of your heritage. It’s too bad so many of the Native American languages are dying out. I’m learning my German again with a new German friend. We meet once a week and I buy her a Starbucks for the hour she gives me. I would love to learn many languages. I hate not being able to understand when people talk about you when they think you don’t understand. . I fooled them in Kindergarten when they thought I didn’t understand English. 🙂 I learned a bit of the language in Taiwan but they advised us against us. The inflections can change the meaning of the word. I thought they were speaking a different language when I first moved to Georgia. 🙂 My aunt lives in Australia and when you hear an Aussie with a German accent, it’s a hoot, but so is she. Keep up your studies. I’ll get to mine now. The grammar is a bi**h.
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It’s a hard language to learn that’s for sure. But I always wanted to learn it. Good luck with your German. 🙂
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It’s so cool that you want to learn the language of your heritage, though it looks difficult! I speak Arabic and English, though I would like to speak French. I’ve learned it for a while, and I’ve all but completely forgotten it! Italian is another language that could be interesting to learn! 🙂
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