Favorite Foreign Words

I've been meaning to pick and write about my favorite words in the languages that I have learned. I would call myself someone who likes to and quickly jumps around from various languages, desiring and seeking inspiration along the way. I will go in order from the language that I've been studying the longest to the one that is the most recent.

The language that I've been studying the longest is Chinese (Mandarin). Winter reminds me of studying this language interest of mine, since I started learning in Winter of 2014. The often cold and dreariness of the Winter weather can get me in the mood to study something inspiring such as a language, and Chinese has been that for me. A word in Chinese which I have easily remembered since the start of learning is 东莞周大 which means California State University East Bay. I've always remembered this, and maybe also because it has to do with how personal my school has become for me. I like to say this word, I think it gives me comfort and I'm proud to say it, knowing that it belongs to me. 

After a year of studying Chinese, I dived into Russian. I liked the sound of it and still do. I think it's a beautiful language, one of the top spoken slavic languages. Unlike Chinese, Russian has an alphabet, yet some look like English letters and others sound like them, and still others look and sound nothing like English. This excited me, and I thought the letters of the alphabet looked cool and exotic. It's been a while since I've studied this language thoroughly and diligently but I know there's still an interest hidden somewhere, and will come out every now and then. The word that I really like to say, and like it's meaning is пожалуйста. This word simply means please or you're welcome. This is one of the words in Russian that I have remembered. It is a very useful phrase but also I really like the way it sounds, it's almost as if it rolls off of the tongue, so gently and elegantly. 

About a year ago, my interest for Arabic took off. I soon became interested in this part of the world and this almost scary and daunting looking language. Almost all of the letters connect, and it looks so fluid and flowy. It took some time to get used to writing from write to left, and knowing all of these letters and how to write them. There are a lot of gutteral and airy sounds in this difficult language but it makes the challenge even more present. One of my favorite words in Arabic is صباح الخير, which means good morning. It's such a simple word but this could be the first word you say to somebody and yet it's so important. I like this word becasue of that, and also because of the way it sounds, rolling off the tongue, and with the back of your throat also having a role. 

The most recent language that I've been studying is Hindi, as of early Fall. I enjoy learning this language, it's so different but I find myself immersed in it every time I study it. I want to create goals for myself with this language, since there are so many things to learn and to keep learning and challenging myself is always something good. The word that I really like in Hindi is कोई बात नहीं, which means it's alright or no problem. I feel that I say this word a lot in English anyway and it's a useful word. Soon I will make flashcards for Hindi and will need to start memoriszing more words and phrases. Happy language studies!