thread // day 6

~ French vs. German vs. Irish - my language learning experience (so far)

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These observations are all based on my own personal experiences of the French, German and Irish culture and language. Nothing here is fact :))
I'm more than willing to learn from other language lovers, however no hate please

(1)
Why study French?
Pourquoi apprendre le français?

Language and poetry often seem to intertwine, and students of French can really attest to this.

(2)
Whether it be the phraseology or the pronunciation, French is one to pursue if you're intended on charming a crush or impressing a friend or family member.

my darling // mo chuisle // mon cœur

(3)
In my experience, Leaving Cert French really taught me a love for the French vocabulary.

However, in college, literature, history and culture are often at the forefront.

(4)
Keep this in mind if you're a language lover considering a degree in French!
You are learning about France as much as you're learning about French.

(5)
The French people have a lot of 'fierté', or pride, in their culture... and rightly so!

The Germans are much the same, but I feel like to live in France is to truly live as a French person.

(6)
The culture is everywhere, it's unavoidable. Immersion is the only way to truly learn any language well, and French really demonstrates that.

(7)
Why study German?
Warum Deutsch lernen?

If you're less into the aesthetics of language and more into the mechanics of it, I think that German is the one for you.

(8)
Even though written German has a very distinct and often satisfying aesthetic, spoken and aural German is really what I've grown to love ever since starting college.

(9)
Having spent 2 years learning German, I've found that sentence structure is EVERYTHING, and that once you wrap your head around the order of words, your confidence in speaking the language skyrockets... (or so I've heard)

(10)
Being able to cope with 3 or 4 words being crammed into one is another skill that needs practicing.

For example, German's longest word...

*pause for breath*

Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaftskapitän, meaning Danube steamship company captain

(11)
I actually find German a more satisfying language to speak than French.

I sometimes feel like I am growling the words in German, and that the long and loaded words help to convey emotion. Weird, perhaps. Less thought goes into WHAT I'm saying, and more how I say it.

(12)
If you want to express yourself through sound, German is a good one to consider.

I find that sound dominates my learning of German, whereas words dominate my learning of French.

(13)
While my favourite language to speak is Irish, my second favourite has to be German.

I struggle to explain it well, but I feel like HOW I speak German is much the same as how I speak Irish. It's driven by passion and a desire to do justice to the rich vocabulary.

(14)
When speaking French, I am always very conscious of trying to perfect my French accent, whereas this seems to be less of a concern for the Germans.

While the German accent does require practice, I have found it much easier to at least replicate than the French one.

(15)
An Ghaeilge is great in the sense that we're such a small island, but the various canúintí allow us to speak the language comfortably in our own way.

(16)
Perhaps I am too early into my learning of French, but I find there is a little less leeway when it comes to pronunciation.

(17)
What's most important with German is different vowel and consonant sounds, but also speaking confidently and with a passion for the language!

(18)
I feel like the German accent kind of falls into place after that, but that the French accent is one of the first things you need to try and perfect as a student.

(19)
Having spent a summer working in Germany, I can confidently say that the German people are very willing to help learners of the language along their way.

Therefore, it's a great place to spend an Erasmus year if you're hesitant to speak the language.

(20)
This can, however, pose some difficulties, especially when the Germans want to impress you with their English when in reality you're in the country in order to hear and speak Deutsch!

(21)
My time in France has taught me that listening to French is EVERYTHING when it comes to becoming more comfortable with the language. French is full of very charming idioms that an academic setting might not allow you to fully appreciate. Écouter, c'est apprendre!

(22)
However, it will come as a shock to no-one when I say that an Ghaeilge is my all time favourite language. I think my tweets over the past few days speak for themselves, and that I don't need to babble on anymore about why I love it so much.

end of thread :))