My Language Hobby

The happiest time in my life so far: was when I study in a seminary full time.

My hobby.... to be connected to people from a different part of the world. Therefore I like to learn languages.

It is like you like to sing, but it doesn't mean that you sing well, nor going to be a singer.

Learning languages is a hobby that I don't know when I start to grow into. I just feel closer to the people who speaks it. So learning their rules of sounds, and their basic grammar is intriguing for me. It is like opening up the legacy and culture door of the speakers for me. I like the feeling of being able to pronounce their sounds/words, and being able to know what language they are using, the sounds and rhythms of their language.

Maybe I need 100 times the effort I spend now to be able to really use the language, to speak well. Currently, it is just a door opened for me to peep into their language world.

What do I speak?

My mother tongue is Cantonese. Yet... I can't teach others. I don't know what tones and how to explain the grammar etc to others. I can just speak PERFECT Cantonese, that's all. So when I tried to exchange with my Japanese friend, she taught me Jap, and me Cantonese.... as she opened her Cantonese Textbook... I can't read a thing from there. Full of tonal marks, and English transliteration of Cantonese. I just don't know them at all. So........... I can't exchange with her ah...

My working language is English, as my boss is Irish. Have been using that for all my life, but still far from perfect. Because I did my first degree in UK, and have been working for British bosses in the past decade, I have a slight British accent alongside with my overwhelming Cantonese accent. It is no way I can make it sound kind of like US accent... well... because I am intending to do talking therapy internships in US... It just make me sound more foreign with my current mix of accent. I know minorities are sizable in US, but to me everybody has a more or less American accent, only to different degree.... that's why I am a bit worried

I use Mandarin with my colleagues from China (there are more and more of them these years and so can learn a lot from them about Modern China, and the new growing Middle Class. When I worked in the kitchen in UK, I also used Mandarin as a lot of the cooks speak Mandarin in different accents.

What language am I learning?

I am lucky to be in an university that welcome students to take language courses as a minor or an extra-curricular activity. There are 10-12 languages you can pick, all are taught by qualified lang teachers and in a leisurely way, for which I had taken 4 in the past 3 years. Even I can manage proceeding to the third year of German. But still mixing up the cases and the gender of the words. I got the lowest mark in composition in my class, really saddening...

My faith does give me the reason to take up a language as a course and the motivation to continue learning it. When I was in my first-year in a post-grad Protestant seminary, I found that my ignorance in Philosophy did hinder my study of theology because it is mostly done in the language of Western Philosophy. I know that if I want to do it seriously one day as my proper pastoral training, it would be good to learn German or French. And there are many great psychologist who are German, and so I picked German. I hope I can understand the German terms used in philo more, and be able to pronounce them. Of course, with years to come, and more effort, I hope to have an elementary reading comprehension. Of course, I won't be able to study theology or as such in German....

Mein Chef Lehrer (der Mann am der Link), Meine Leherin diese Jahr (die Frau am der Link).

THE ROYAL CREST COMMEMORATING THE CELEBRATIONS ON THE AUSPICIOUS OCCASION OF HIS MAJESTY THE KING'S 6TH CYCLE BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY 5TH DECEMBER 1999

For Thai, or pha saa thay:

• I have the idea of taking my children to wherever I go, even to the undeveloped areas, if I ever become a missionary, or related work in distant places. I don't know when I cannot stay away from home for too long, eg, when my parents get old.

• I'd like to help Mainlanders later in my work life. Before that can happen, I have been interested in Chinese, like overseas Chinese ever since my Univ days. I am learning to take more interest in South-east Asians, Indians, people who speak Arabian. I don't quite know why. Maybe I get so interested and opened my eyes for them in my multi-cultural project .

Also because I am aware that (from my seminary days) these are the places where Christianity is such a minority. Most of the non-Christians and people who have not heard about Jesus at all are in the 1/3 areas around the equator. THere is a missionary term for that...er..have forgotten tim. And many of them are Muslims, which I gradually found out is a major compatible religion of Christianity. We believe in Yahweh, a religion in divine history (God live in the world, come into the time dimension of human life), believe in giving up oneself and get salvation.

• So I would like to learn another Asian language. First I chose Arabic, but there were not enough students, so I have to choose another. I remembered that my church has missionary service in Thailand for quite a long time, and also in Cambodia. And there is Thai course, and so I took it. The only reason at that time was knowing that I can participate in the summer missionary program, which is highly fesible for me.

• Therefore, I only choose to continue.. or have the effort to continue only for languages that I see direct relevance to my faith development. Spanish was good, as I plan to serve in US for some time... but I had too much hard time as it was the first ever European language I learned with case and all the conjugations, and in seminaries.. usually the pre-requisite is either German or French. Later when I learned Italian, it helped me to overcome part of the fear. --> my theme song in August: Domenico Modungo ESC1958 in youtube.

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