Learning Other Languages
Remember 2 things:
- Languages are simply specifically structured sounds
- Languages are easier to learn if you write them down and practice - just 10 words at a time - for at least 30 minutes a day.
If you can learn the latest slang or jargon, then you can learn another language.
Yes We Can
My favorite phrase is Yes, Oui, כן (כן is pronounced Ken in Hebrew and means Yes).
These 3 words literally mean Yes Yes Yes (or phonetically, Yes we can).
Learning other Languages is important, this is so that you understand what you are reading.
Women
Women are generally better at learning languages because they actually spend more time practicing.
You are lucky that these days you have the internet so you can quickly cross reference almost anything.
Find a translation site which also has Voice Bytes.
NOTE: many online websites with language sound bytes, [like Hebrew] often give you the wrong "sound" because of the lack of Vowel points in words.
One example is cHocH-mah (Hebrew) where the translator often calls this cHocH-A-Mah) - so you need to be aware of this common failing.
Another example is Japanese where the language is often melodious and LILT structured so for example asking for Potato or Chips or even Potato chips gets you nowhere especially in smaller towns and rural areas (even in Sapporo I have discovered), but asking for Poh-Tae-Toe will make your stomach happy. This is exacerbated if you have your own strong regional or country accent.
A third example is where you get a translation done by someone with a strong regional accent.
And then you have slang...
While there are 2 main words used in English as slang or associated with most slang, this video will give you an idea just how confusing things are sometimes when you are translating ancient texts - and where the "standard" translations do not take into account the range of certain slang words. 
Back in my earlier years, I had to write down words, then go into town and look up whatever was available at the Library. Basically a minimum of 6-7 hours out of my day. Because way back then I could not even get many Bi-Lingual dictionary's.
Conjugations ↟↟
TIP: Any language you learn, my tip is to master the alphabet first (excluding Japanese, Pinyin and Korean). Then focus on common conjugations.
Japanese, Pinyin and Korean do have primary characters which means that these are commonly used as part of other words. This you should learn.
So, using the Japanese writing system as my example, Japanese comprises three primary, co-existing character sets: Hiragana (46 phonetic characters for native words/grammar), Katakana (46 phonetic characters for foreign loanwords/emphasis), and Kanji (thousands of logographic characters for roots of words).
I suggest that when learning Conjugations, that you just do 1 word a day, for example.
Most people commonly use conjugations as part of their daily speech. The word EAT is one example.
I ate, you ate, she ate, he ate, they ate etc (and any applicable gender associations).
Bamboo Slip Texts
↟↟
Then you have another aspect which most people in the world have never encountered and that is direction. Japanese "characters" can be written horizontally (left to right) or vertically (top to bottom, right to left).
There are some very famous Chinese texts written vertically on Bamboo Sticks (called "Zhujian" 
), 2 notabe examples are
"Sun Tzu's The Art of War" and "The Philosophy of Confucius".
Remember
Remember that languages are simply structured sounds which have meaning.
This is different from word-salad sounds many politicians say.
And just like in our own legal system, many words have more than one meaning and then you have to understand context as well as slang.
The Easiest Way To Learn
There are 2 easy ways to learn a language.
- 1) is have a photographic memory
- 2) is to learn 10 words a day
2a) Let's just go to the second option shall we.
2b) I have found that writing down and saying 10 words a day gives me a good realistic conversational grasp of a language after several months and by the end of 12 months, this is better than good.
The real "trick" - if you will - is to actually speak the language with people who are native speakers.
Many languages have intonations, accentuations and drop offs.
Speaking in Japanese for example, is like riding a roller coaster. Then you also have to deal with word structure. Older people, younger people, children, friends "may" all have different words associated within the conversation which mean the same thing.
Most people know of SAN in Japanese, but if the person you are talking to or about is much younger than you, then you would probably use the "suffix" of CHAhN (instead of San). Especially for children, nephews, nieces etc.
Then if you are being extra polite to customers, or older people, you would use the suffix SAMA.
Hebrew usually has softer endings - and then you have the gutturals.
Arabic also has soft gutturals like when you say SUH'TAIN (bon-appetit). The SUH sound is pushed out from the chest like a forced exhale. Also, if you are learning Arabic, it is suggested that you learn Egyptian Arabic because Egypt is the greatest exporter of movies to the Arab world. This means that most other Arab countries have a good understanding of the Egyptian dialect.
Then you have HIGH languages.
This is where you learn (for example) High Spanish, which most Spanish speakers (Central and most of South America) understand - because Español is their Lingua Franca - but it is Not their "local dialect" (especially in the more remote areas) which is usually clouded by lots of slang and the incorporation of older Native words. [FYI] In Spain, however, the Spanish language is called Español and Castellano ("Castilian" 
).
This defines High Spanish from local dialects such as Asturian, Basque, Catalan, Galician, Valencian etc.
However, "The Spanish Constitution" of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole of Spain. (Ref wikipedia)
This is why it is critical to talk with a native speaker as well as READ newspapers or books so that you can become familiar with word structure and local slang.
Luckily these days, you have access to many online newspapers via the internet. Just make sure that you read a newspaper by people who work for a reputable online news group.
Some of the biggest problems you will face will be slang and new 21st Century words. This is compounded by a high illiteracy rates in many countries and TEXTING jargon incorporated into what many people write.
SUMMARY
TIP: Spend at least 1 - 2 hours a day speaking, reading and writing that language. It is all about memory.
Older People
Most older people (these days) have increased hearing loss as they get even older.
This is also a great impediment to learning a language especially languages with "soft" vowels like Sanskrit and others.
The higher the volume you listen to, the greater the damage to your hearing.
Learn Hebrew Online ↟↟
Learn Sanskrit Online ↟↟
Disclaimer
I am NOT associated with either of these 2 websites or companies and I receive NO financial incentive or other from either site.
Please email a friend
