What other languages have you tried to learn?

[Jeremy Andrews]

The only other languages I've tried to learn are Latin and Spanish.

With Latin, I have no idea if my pronunciation was right because it's a dead language. I took that in HS, was disappointed at the end when I realized there was no way to ever speak it.

With Spanish, I spent over a year trying, but I couldn't make that trilled "R" sound. I listened and listened, but my best effort sounded like a "dth" or something. I found over time that I really didn't like the way the language sounded, to be honest... I mean, it wasn't ugly or anything, but it just didn't sound as nice to me as English does.

Also, this is totally subjective... but when consuming Spanish media, the associated culture has this really aggressive, passionate quality to it in general. The culture surrounding the language was somehow... uncomfortable to me. I'm sort of a withdrawn, sensitive, and analytical person... sometimes a little paranoid or obsessed with order. And the Spanish/Latin American culture just somehow seemed to clash with that somehow.

I finally realized that I only wanted to learn Spanish because it was so common where I live, and because I was told it was easy to learn, but that I really didn't care for it.

I heard that Chinese was nearly impossible to learn, so I hadn't considered it at first. But then I actually listened to it being spoken... and I really liked the sound. So I looked into it more. I found that where Spanish felt familiar but unpleasant, Chinese felt alien yet comforting. Most importantly, the media I consumed didn't give me the same uncomfortable, aggressive vibes as Spanish.

So, now I'm trying to learn Chinese. Even though it's challenging and may not be very useful, I find the attempt rewarding somehow. And it helps a lot that I actually LIKE hearing it enough to listen to the same phrase over and over.

EDIT: Oops, I didn't see the subforum above this one, Other Languages & Cultures... umm, this thread may need to be deleted or moved, sorry about that. Hope I haven't caused too much inconvenience.