This may sound weird, but so be it. I have been trying to think of hobbies that are language related, but the only one I can come up with is Conlanging (constructing languages). I would like to find some hobby that is language related so as to help me learn French (or any other language for that matter).
Does anyone have any suggestions, or anything they do to help them learn languages that is fun?
Just a thought; does anyone have a hobby that they apply language to? For example, a person likes to garden, so he learns all of the names of the plants in a foreign language instead of his native language.
Does anyone do this? Or something like with their personal hobby?
A few language-related hobbies I can think of at the top of my head:
Reading
Creative writing
Crossword puzzles & other word puzzles
Mad Libs
Ambigrammy
Palindromy
Sniglet-smithing
Spelling bees
Debating (there are actually people who *enjoy* doing this as a hobby)
I believe most of us native speakers on Antimoon see discussing the English language as a sort of hobby. Why else would we want to discuss the language if we don't have a peculiar passion for it?
Thanks all. I guess I am searching for a hobby to enjoy, but I have not found one that seems very interesting. Learning languages can get dull after a while, so I have been looking for a way to spruce things up a bit.
This might sound rude, why is the "d' " used in the following fragment in French: "et bien d'autres fantasmes et délires"
I have not take the time to translate it, but maybe someone knows why?
You could have love affairs with women who speak the languages you like as their native tongue. If that doesn't spice things up, nothing will.
I'm not joking. Language is a communication tool so the best way to make it more interesting is to use it to meet interesting people.
I see your point, and I do that to a certain extent (that is to say, I like to speak to people--I do not, ah, have sex with them).
Seriously though, here are some hobbies that someone else thought of concerning language:
1.) Collecting books in a foreign language.
2.) Conlanging
3.) Learning to speak languages by collecting grammars and teach yourself books
4.) Reading, writing and watching various things to help learn the language(s).
I like to play Scrabble in English, in order to improve my language. Therefore, I guess you can try it in French in case you like to play it.
If you like reading or writing, you can always write poems or stories and read as such in the language you want to learn. I always been fascinated by Latin poetry so I started to learn Latin more though it is a hard language, I believe.
If you could find a strong motivation to learn the language, it would help you a lot, I guess. For example, I love Italian arias so I learnt Italian and I am going to Israel in a work visit so I decided to learn some basic Hebrew. I would not recommend this but in case you like etymology that can be a hobby, I guess.
Yes; I have said the exact same thing before. And my hobby is enabling myself to be able to speak to people in several differnet languages. But doing my hobby can get a bit dull, so I would like to spruce it up a bit.
Your post was not there when I posted Bayou Rover. How would you say etymology is a hobby? Finding out where words came from and stuff?
Simon, my Welsh name is thus:
Clachwamcc ap Clark y Byr o Hen Diroedd Madog
Bayou Rover, you are a Godsend!!! You have just given me the idea to compose short stories in French and some of my Conlangs.
Thank you so much! I have tried to write short stories in English, but I get too caught up with details, or too little details, and so I never write any. I think if I could write some paragraph size short stories in foreign languages, that would be so cool! Plus, I have just worked out an exercise routine, and you are thinking what does this have to do with language; well, I think that this exercising will get me in better shape and in better spirits, not to mention more energy to do my language projects/stories.
All right now. It is 2.13a here in California, so I am off to do a quick set of tricep dips, and then to bed avec moi.