The Loose Connections Recommender #22

On Learning, Getting Lost In Language & Leaning In To Being Someone Else

Jun 16, 2024

For ten or twenty minutes for the past 157 days, I have lost myself in the joyous process of learning Italian via the Duolingo app on my phone. It has become a form of meditation for me, a complete mental break from whatever it is I’m supposed to be thinking about and a wild release into not only a whole other world, but a whole other me. I like the person who I become when I use Italian words; I feel smarter, sexier and possess serious ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibes. Instead of smiling like an idiot all the time like I usually do, I raise one eyebrow, pout and shrug my shoulders a lot. My voice is deeper and more authoritative. I’m probably far better dressed too.

I’m similar in French but with added dismissive, ennui-filled eye rolling and tres chic mien.

When speaking Spanish words, I am straight out of an Almodovar film; dramatic, sassy, laughing wildly, sneering, smoking incessantly. I become a very hot tamale.

When first learning Spanish in my early 20’s from my friend Fede (hola Fede!) I especially enjoyed learning the slang and swear words that, pre-internet, were very difficult to find in language learning books! Based on our laughter filled lessons, I ended up writing a highly dramatic, curse filled song called ‘Estoy Follada’ which loosely translates to ‘I’m So F...cked’ but also sounds like ‘I’m So Tired’ so has a kind of double meaning, like how we use ‘f…cked’ in English to say ‘I’m done/at the end of my rope/exhausted beyond belief’ type thing. It would culminate in an intense flamenco inspired dance that would generally end with fist or tambourine smashing the floor. It was such an enjoyably cathartic song to perform, and a definite audience favourite.

English songs with foreign language hooks are a great way to introduce a little international wordage into your life. Who hasn’t sung along with Psycho Killer, Qu'est-ce que c'est?/Voules vous couchez avec moi/Que Sera, Sera or Living La Vida Loca without even thinking about it? My ear has always been attuned to the thrill of hearing words in another language - when you don’t know what it being said the possibilities are endless. I loved learning ballet terms in French as a kid - ah, the poetry that lives inside pas de chat (or the step of a cat) . I spent an inordinate amount of time attempting to translate the French verse in Blondie’s ‘Denis’ as a teenager with minor success, using vocabulary learned at school. Apparently Debbie just riffed on the bits of French she knew, resulting in a kind of pidgin French. Chrysalis Records insisted the band re-record it with more grammatically correct French, but the band preferred the original take and that was the one that became their breakthrough hit in the UK and Europe. I also wasted time trying to work out what the hell Emmylou was saying in Chuck Berry’s ‘C’est la vie’ (was it ‘Same with me, say the old folks’??) before finally understanding she wasn’t speaking English and working it out. I love that I can now read along with lyrics in other languages on various streaming services.

I have dabbled with all of these languages since first learning some Italian in Grade 3 - and I must say I still recall every word I learned at that age, which makes me think 7/8 years old is a really good time to start one’s language journey. My vocabulary is pretty good but I can barely string a sentence together despite my ongoing obsession/s. But as much as I would love to have a free flowing conversation in another language one fine day, for now the joy is in the learning, the rolling of the words on my tongue, the losing myself in imaginary cities and situations, while inhabiting an entirely different reinvented version of myself.

I also find much entertainment in the absurdity of the Duolingo lessons, and have discovered it is a ‘thing’ with its own ‘Shit Duolingo Says’ Reddit.

I will include some of the most bizarre sentences posted there for your weekend amusement:

'I'm sorry, it's Monday'

‘I am sad because you are stupid.’

‘The bear is wearing her dress’

‘He has a bigger duck than me’

‘Excuse me, I am an apple.’

‘Is this soup or water?’