You are never too old to learn a language. People say otherwise because of a misinterpretation of research of child development.
Children are born capable of hearing every phoneme known to humanity, but as they grow, they learn to ignore the ones they aren't exposed to. That's why English speakers have trouble hearing the tones in Mandarin, and why Spanish speakers have trouble with /th/ and the short /i/ sound. It does not, however, mean that an adult can't retrain themselves to hear these sounds.
I became fluent in Spanish when I was 18. The /d/ sound is different in the two languages—Spanish speakers jut their tongue forward to make the sound. I couldn't hear it at all at first, but now, it's an indicator I use to hear how advanced someone is in one language or the other. So yes, we can reopen those neural pathways.
Tl;dr The lost neural pathways can be reopened, so never give up on learning languages. You are never too old.
Ooh this is so interesting - I have often pondered how we can't make or hear sounds from other languages, so this makes a lot of sense. Do you think that as well as learning to hear the sounds we can learn to make the sounds? This gives me hope!! 🙏
Absolutely! What helps me with that is the IPA chart (international phonetic alphabet). You can look up what someone's mouth and throat are actually doing to make those sounds, and while some of them may be uncomfortable at the start, you can definitely get it down with practice!
Ah great thanks - I've just looked that up. In my world the phonetic alphabet is the Alpha/Bravo/Charlie etc of aviation!! I've very excited to see this and the different descriptions of the sounds - 'epiglottal plosive', 'alveolar lateral'... just fascinating. Which languages have you learned? x
I'm only proficient in English and Spanish, but I definitely have more on my list! I'm currently focusing on LSM, Mexican Sign Language, to help my deaf roommate learn how to communicate. After that I want to learn either Tzotzil or Tojolobal. Both are indigenous languages in my region. Arabic is also on the list, though further down, because there's a growing muslim population here that I'd love to be able to connect with culturally.
yeah so true! it's all about getting used to them. It happened to me too, and I was older than 18. Plus, it's so wonderful when you understand more people around the world!
Definitely! I do think it's good that we're advancing in translation technology, but nothing can replace the understanding you gain from actually knowing a language.
What a mix of a read. I’d love to go to Marrakesh but my husband doesn’t want to go (a bad experience in Melilla) and I don’t think I’m brave enough to go alone… No, I’m brave enough but I don’t think I’d enjoy it.
I speak Spanish as a second language and it helps understand Italian and Portuguese a little 🤏
I can’t think of anything clever, just silly stuff in Spanish, well Spanish/Andaluz haha 🤣
🥛 Soy la leche - translates as I’m the milk but means I’m the best.
🥒 Me importa un pepino - translates as I care a cucumber but means I don’t care or I don’t give a damn.
💚 Ni fu ni fa - this I like for the sound (pronounced as you read it), it just means so so!
I totally think a 50 can learn a language, is a little slower, it can be. It’s good you have a language from when you were younger as it helps the brain has made some connections before. Learning a language is excellent for the brain and can keep off dementia by years! I’m an English teacher and used to teach a group called the golden oldies, it’s a government scheme here in Spain for retired people to learn a language.
Very pro language learning, and despite the rumours, I don’t think AI will ever replace the importance of learning a language.
I really like Spanish, and yeah, being Italian helped a lot when I learned it.
If you do not want to go alone, I am sure you can find a friend to go with, or, they say when you solo travel you meet so many interesting people who enrich your travel more than you could imagine! Maybe it's something to try!
There are many counties I’ve travelled to alone but what I’ve heard about Morroco is it is difficult to travel as a woman on your own due to the cultural differences. I just don’t think I’d enjoy it. But it seems @Amber wants to go! So I’ll be taking her up on that offer!!
I did a mega solo trip in Australia but perhaps a bit far 😆🙈 I’ve travelled in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, England (depending on the area), Scotland and Ireland solo and love them all. I travelled to Germany with my partner but it felt like a place I’d happily travel alone. I also travelled to the islands of Greece with others and would do those alone, but I wouldn’t do mainland alone I don’t think. I travelled alone in America but there were times when I didn’t feel comfortable, but I was very young so that probably played a role. But perhaps you’ve done a lot of these places!
Nice! I have been to some of them when I was little as a family trip. The rest (aside Belgium and the Netherlands) I visited with friends or partner. I’ve never travelled alone - like backpack style and I start to feel the pull for it. Maybe the fact I moved alone to a different country and spent so much time feeling alone (not being alone) traumatised me enough that didn’t let me see the potential of solo-travelling. I can see it now so maybe I started my recovery (finally 😅).
I can completely relate to that! I think America took a long time for me to get over, I think I mostly didn’t enjoy it at the time but afterwards I have lots of good memories (that weird juxtaposition). But it took me so long to realise I liked travelling alone. I travelled in Italy alone too and enjoyed it, but that’s no use to someone who’s from there! Though perhaps you could do mini trips first to build up your confidence? Where did you move to alone?
I was actually thinking of doing a backpack hol in Australia / NZ , places I have never been to before, with my partner.. but maybe I could go alone?!mmm
Just beautiful. Those colours are amazing Emma 😍 In the last few years I've been attempting to learn German, Italian and Te Reo Māori.... all with limited degrees of success.... so I do hope that's wrong about learning languages after age 50. I think though, you really need a full immersion in the language and the culture to gain significant fluency with a language (time to move to Italy perhaps.... 🤔)
Oh what a diverse selection of languages - how exciting!! From the comments it seems that all is not lost after 50 - we can do this!! Maybe we can meet for a coffee in Italy and discuss 😍
Amazing! if you are looking for a piece of advice, I'd say to focus on one language at a time.. and if you want to come to Italy, I'd be happily show you around ! :)
I love the pictures and all your outfits! Always wanted to go to Marrakesh and now I want to go some more! Rael has been learning Spanish on duo lingo and he’s 47. I don’t believe the tosh I read about age or the limitations placed on us left right and centre. We are still operating under many outdated paradigms.
Sooo true about the outdated paradigms! Yes I feel that we can break these moulds, and I will learn French!! Marrakech was incredible - you would love it, although it is very full on so build in lots of down time 😍
How wonderful Emma, I have always wanted to go to Marrakech, but have found that my wandering spirit doesn't stretch to such places these days, so I am loving your journey here. I imagine you have to be quite resilient to the bartering and 'encouragement' to buy things. I would love to learn a new language properly, I still believe I can given the space, Spanish or Italian would be my choice I think.
It's not for the faint hearted!! I always thought I'd do French and then Spanish, but having discovered Italian, I've fallen in love with it already. I would highly recommend for the joy of listening to and practising it! xx
Oh how romantic indeed - in so many ways. Whereabouts did you get married? It is a wonderful country, my youngest daughter is desperate to live there so I think it's somewhere I may get more familiar with in the next few years 🤞😍
Sorrento, but the whole Amalfi coast is beautiful. I also loved Rome and Naples is cool too. Oh that's amazing, that would be a fantastic experience. 😍
I've never visited that coastline but I so want to (despite the crowds!!). She wants to live in Rome - she is coeliac, and ironically Italy is the best place in the world for gluten free!! It is amazing - whole gluten free bakeries, pizzerias, pasta restaurants. It's a joy - and then obviously everything else about Italy on top of that! x
Yes, it does get very busy in the summer. Oh, my husband is a coeliac, but wasn't diagnosed the last time we went. I might remind him of that to prompt a visit, he would love that! x
I love this Emma 💞 Such a wonderful account of your adventures in Marrakech - you should seriously consider being a travel writer! Not that you don't have enough to do already 😬😆 I just loved it, what a great read 💛
Aah thanks so much - I actually always wanted to be a travel writer - that was the dream when I worked in travel many many years ago before I fell into air traffic control! I feel that opportunity has passed my by but you never know what may unfold ahead.... 💕
What a lovely piece - so evocative of the market. And of languages too. I was based in Bangkok for a few years and tried to learn Thai. The literal translation of a phrase I used a lot - mai khao jai - I don’t understand - is “[it] doesn’t enter my heart.” When I found that out, I was determined to keep learning and attempting to speak Thai.
Oh wow Thai is incredibly challenging, well done you for trying. I love that phrase and how it translates - that's a real gem!! This is why I am obsessed with language...x
We went to Marrakech years ago and loved it, although I wasn’t as brave as I am now so we didn’t get into bartering and ended up feeling a little intimidated at times. We did meet the most wonderful man who hailed a taxi for us and bartered a fair price on our behalf.
I have zero language skills even though I’ve lived with a Dutch man for 20 years! He’s from the north so his family don’t speak Dutch at home they speak Frisian which is a completely separate language. It feels closer to English & has more familiar words (Frisian is one of the origin languages of English) but pronunciation feels impossible so it’s always English.
My mother in law however had introduced me to a Dutch word - gezelligheid - which is difficult to translate into English. It’s a bit like hygge but not the same. Our best translation always comes back to cosy. But it’s more than that - it’s having a coffee with a friend, sitting by the fire. It’s ‘encompasses the Dutch culture’
Ooh that's so interesting, I haven't heard of Frisian. That word you describe reminds me of the Swedish word 'Fika' which is almost literally translated as coffee break, but is again so much more than that - it is about taking that pause and gathering with friends, encompassing the social aspect more than the actual break, or the coffee! Thank you 💕🙏
Emma, I LOVE this post. Your photos are delightful, awakening all the senses and unearthing some of my oldest frames of reference. I grew up in the Middle East; the smells and sounds of the souk, the earthy scent of henna and waiting for it to dry, the beautiful Arabic language, and the song of the muezzin transport me back to childhood.
On the subject of language learning, I studied second language acquisition several years ago as part of my teacher training. My understanding is that it is never too late to learn! One of the reasons children learn so quickly does relate to brain to development, but it is also due to them usually learning a language in context, i.e. even if they are new to a language, they are in school, making friends, and acquiring the new language in contextual settings. It's completely different from learning through an app which, to maximize results, is ideally paired with living/working in said linguistic environment.
That said, it is absolutely possible, and the only bit of difference you might find, should you become fluent in another or several languages later in life, is that it is only after about the age of 10 that non-native speakers will have an accent. When children learn earlier than that, they typically speak as natives. Isn't that fascinating?
Aah I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It really is a remarkable place - how interesting to have grown up somewhere similar. That is SO interesting about the accent - I don't mind having an accent! I feel so encouraged by the comments here, I have been busy learning French again and I will try and rebook my immersive stay in the Alps when I can get the chance. Thank you so much for the brilliant comments xx
Agreed! Who cares about an accent if you can communicate? I say absolutely go for it. The fact that you are hungry for it will boost your learning, I'm sure. I did French for a few years early on, and lots of Spanish later. Spent 6 months in Barcelona in my 20s which, I always say, taught me more Spanish than years in the classroom did. However, I don't use it much anymore, so I think I'd need reimmersion to get back to the level I was at when I left Spain. Use it or lose it, right? A few Arabic phrases from childhood. Getting back to Spanish fluency is on my bucket list...I'll put it on the list after "write, and hopefully publish, a novel." 🙌
So nice to read this! Never been to Mar (wait need to check spelling..) Marrakech!
To answer your questions..
Yes you can learn a new language at any age, one of the beauties of neural plasticity :)
It's so beautiful when people living at the opposite poles of Earth can communicate!
I speak Italian, English and a bit of Spanish.
I have a proverb that might be funny to translate into English ---> ' Tanto va la gatta al lardo, che ci lascia lo zampino ' --- see if you can find the translation, then I will explain the meaning...not now or else I'd spoil all the fun 😆
Aah thank you for the encouragement that my neural plasticity will not yet have dried up 🤣. Yes I agree, it is beautiful indeed. I really love that you write your Substack in two languages - that's very special. Ok I'm going to try your proverb.
Bearing in mind I have been learning Italian for about 10 hours so far:
Initial attempt: 'when I go to the fridge I find wine' (actually I think that's just my wishful thinking)
Google translate tells me it is: ' The cat is so fond of lard that it leaves its paw in it'!!! I LOVE this!!! Although I am not entirely sure what it means - tell me more!!! 😍
Oh this is brilliant - so you can't keep getting away with it!! I am going to compile these - did you read Sheila's Spanish sayings in the above comments?
What an absolute joy it was reading this piece on Marrakech, a place a friend and I visited 40 or so years ago back in the old days when there was a small company prop jet to bring a just the two of us to Paris with a stop in Marrakech. I'd love to go back (no company plane in my life now!) especially since you confirmed my expectation that little has changed.
Oh a company plane - different times indeed!!! I expect very little has changed in Marrakech, it had that kind of timeless aura that I expected - I felt like I was in the scene of any number of films. I am quite a hearty haggler - my husband is utterly hopeless - they try to get him to part with the money as he's busy emptying his pockets whilst I poke him in the ribs 🤣
You are never too old to learn a language. People say otherwise because of a misinterpretation of research of child development.
Children are born capable of hearing every phoneme known to humanity, but as they grow, they learn to ignore the ones they aren't exposed to. That's why English speakers have trouble hearing the tones in Mandarin, and why Spanish speakers have trouble with /th/ and the short /i/ sound. It does not, however, mean that an adult can't retrain themselves to hear these sounds.
I became fluent in Spanish when I was 18. The /d/ sound is different in the two languages—Spanish speakers jut their tongue forward to make the sound. I couldn't hear it at all at first, but now, it's an indicator I use to hear how advanced someone is in one language or the other. So yes, we can reopen those neural pathways.
Tl;dr The lost neural pathways can be reopened, so never give up on learning languages. You are never too old.
Ooh this is so interesting - I have often pondered how we can't make or hear sounds from other languages, so this makes a lot of sense. Do you think that as well as learning to hear the sounds we can learn to make the sounds? This gives me hope!! 🙏
Absolutely! What helps me with that is the IPA chart (international phonetic alphabet). You can look up what someone's mouth and throat are actually doing to make those sounds, and while some of them may be uncomfortable at the start, you can definitely get it down with practice!
Ah great thanks - I've just looked that up. In my world the phonetic alphabet is the Alpha/Bravo/Charlie etc of aviation!! I've very excited to see this and the different descriptions of the sounds - 'epiglottal plosive', 'alveolar lateral'... just fascinating. Which languages have you learned? x
I'm only proficient in English and Spanish, but I definitely have more on my list! I'm currently focusing on LSM, Mexican Sign Language, to help my deaf roommate learn how to communicate. After that I want to learn either Tzotzil or Tojolobal. Both are indigenous languages in my region. Arabic is also on the list, though further down, because there's a growing muslim population here that I'd love to be able to connect with culturally.
yeah so true! it's all about getting used to them. It happened to me too, and I was older than 18. Plus, it's so wonderful when you understand more people around the world!
Definitely! I do think it's good that we're advancing in translation technology, but nothing can replace the understanding you gain from actually knowing a language.
and the joy of it 😊
The cultural side is massive
What a mix of a read. I’d love to go to Marrakesh but my husband doesn’t want to go (a bad experience in Melilla) and I don’t think I’m brave enough to go alone… No, I’m brave enough but I don’t think I’d enjoy it.
I speak Spanish as a second language and it helps understand Italian and Portuguese a little 🤏
I can’t think of anything clever, just silly stuff in Spanish, well Spanish/Andaluz haha 🤣
🥛 Soy la leche - translates as I’m the milk but means I’m the best.
🥒 Me importa un pepino - translates as I care a cucumber but means I don’t care or I don’t give a damn.
💚 Ni fu ni fa - this I like for the sound (pronounced as you read it), it just means so so!
I totally think a 50 can learn a language, is a little slower, it can be. It’s good you have a language from when you were younger as it helps the brain has made some connections before. Learning a language is excellent for the brain and can keep off dementia by years! I’m an English teacher and used to teach a group called the golden oldies, it’s a government scheme here in Spain for retired people to learn a language.
Very pro language learning, and despite the rumours, I don’t think AI will ever replace the importance of learning a language.
I’ll meet you in Marrakesh !!! I’ve always wanted to go, we should do it? Xx
Yes please! 🙏
I really like Spanish, and yeah, being Italian helped a lot when I learned it.
If you do not want to go alone, I am sure you can find a friend to go with, or, they say when you solo travel you meet so many interesting people who enrich your travel more than you could imagine! Maybe it's something to try!
There are many counties I’ve travelled to alone but what I’ve heard about Morroco is it is difficult to travel as a woman on your own due to the cultural differences. I just don’t think I’d enjoy it. But it seems @Amber wants to go! So I’ll be taking her up on that offer!!
Oh I do understand that.
What was your favourite solo holiday? Looking for recommendations as I want to try it myself 😁
I did a mega solo trip in Australia but perhaps a bit far 😆🙈 I’ve travelled in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, England (depending on the area), Scotland and Ireland solo and love them all. I travelled to Germany with my partner but it felt like a place I’d happily travel alone. I also travelled to the islands of Greece with others and would do those alone, but I wouldn’t do mainland alone I don’t think. I travelled alone in America but there were times when I didn’t feel comfortable, but I was very young so that probably played a role. But perhaps you’ve done a lot of these places!
Nice! I have been to some of them when I was little as a family trip. The rest (aside Belgium and the Netherlands) I visited with friends or partner. I’ve never travelled alone - like backpack style and I start to feel the pull for it. Maybe the fact I moved alone to a different country and spent so much time feeling alone (not being alone) traumatised me enough that didn’t let me see the potential of solo-travelling. I can see it now so maybe I started my recovery (finally 😅).
Thanks for all the tips!
I can completely relate to that! I think America took a long time for me to get over, I think I mostly didn’t enjoy it at the time but afterwards I have lots of good memories (that weird juxtaposition). But it took me so long to realise I liked travelling alone. I travelled in Italy alone too and enjoyed it, but that’s no use to someone who’s from there! Though perhaps you could do mini trips first to build up your confidence? Where did you move to alone?
I was actually thinking of doing a backpack hol in Australia / NZ , places I have never been to before, with my partner.. but maybe I could go alone?!mmm
Oh the madness that is the Medina! A complete assault on all of your senses - imagine going there on magic mushrooms!!! 😂
Did you go there on magic mushrooms!??!?! Not a chance!!! 🤣
🤣 I have never actually ever tried a magic mushroom - just the thought of it!!! 🤣
🤣🤣
Just beautiful. Those colours are amazing Emma 😍 In the last few years I've been attempting to learn German, Italian and Te Reo Māori.... all with limited degrees of success.... so I do hope that's wrong about learning languages after age 50. I think though, you really need a full immersion in the language and the culture to gain significant fluency with a language (time to move to Italy perhaps.... 🤔)
Oh what a diverse selection of languages - how exciting!! From the comments it seems that all is not lost after 50 - we can do this!! Maybe we can meet for a coffee in Italy and discuss 😍
I can book a table for 3 🤩
yes!! 🥰
Amazing! if you are looking for a piece of advice, I'd say to focus on one language at a time.. and if you want to come to Italy, I'd be happily show you around ! :)
Awesome 👌
I love the pictures and all your outfits! Always wanted to go to Marrakesh and now I want to go some more! Rael has been learning Spanish on duo lingo and he’s 47. I don’t believe the tosh I read about age or the limitations placed on us left right and centre. We are still operating under many outdated paradigms.
Sooo true about the outdated paradigms! Yes I feel that we can break these moulds, and I will learn French!! Marrakech was incredible - you would love it, although it is very full on so build in lots of down time 😍
I’d like to add that Rael in a weekend from that time of Duolingo was picking things up here! I was impressed!
He would’ve excelled in Spanish if spending some proper time there, something I can hope we can do more of in the future 😎
How wonderful Emma, I have always wanted to go to Marrakech, but have found that my wandering spirit doesn't stretch to such places these days, so I am loving your journey here. I imagine you have to be quite resilient to the bartering and 'encouragement' to buy things. I would love to learn a new language properly, I still believe I can given the space, Spanish or Italian would be my choice I think.
It's not for the faint hearted!! I always thought I'd do French and then Spanish, but having discovered Italian, I've fallen in love with it already. I would highly recommend for the joy of listening to and practising it! xx
Oh who doesn't love listening to an Italian accent! 😉 I got married in Italy and would have gladly lived there, everywhere feels romantic.
Oh how romantic indeed - in so many ways. Whereabouts did you get married? It is a wonderful country, my youngest daughter is desperate to live there so I think it's somewhere I may get more familiar with in the next few years 🤞😍
Sorrento, but the whole Amalfi coast is beautiful. I also loved Rome and Naples is cool too. Oh that's amazing, that would be a fantastic experience. 😍
I've never visited that coastline but I so want to (despite the crowds!!). She wants to live in Rome - she is coeliac, and ironically Italy is the best place in the world for gluten free!! It is amazing - whole gluten free bakeries, pizzerias, pasta restaurants. It's a joy - and then obviously everything else about Italy on top of that! x
Yes, it does get very busy in the summer. Oh, my husband is a coeliac, but wasn't diagnosed the last time we went. I might remind him of that to prompt a visit, he would love that! x
And yet most of Italian expats hate it 😂 ( including me lol)
hate which bit?!
The Italian accent when they speak English 😂😬😬
oh I love that!!! But yes, I get it 🤣
Yeah where did u get married? 😍
Sorrento Annalisa, it was lovely 😍
Yeah, I have been there when I was little.. a beautiful gem, that and Capri together!
That brings back so many beautiful memories. The last time I saw my Dad before he passed away during Covid was in Marrakesh. Thank you for sharing
Oh Julie I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m glad this has been able to connect with happier memories ❤️
I love this Emma 💞 Such a wonderful account of your adventures in Marrakech - you should seriously consider being a travel writer! Not that you don't have enough to do already 😬😆 I just loved it, what a great read 💛
Aah thanks so much - I actually always wanted to be a travel writer - that was the dream when I worked in travel many many years ago before I fell into air traffic control! I feel that opportunity has passed my by but you never know what may unfold ahead.... 💕
What a lovely piece - so evocative of the market. And of languages too. I was based in Bangkok for a few years and tried to learn Thai. The literal translation of a phrase I used a lot - mai khao jai - I don’t understand - is “[it] doesn’t enter my heart.” When I found that out, I was determined to keep learning and attempting to speak Thai.
Oh wow Thai is incredibly challenging, well done you for trying. I love that phrase and how it translates - that's a real gem!! This is why I am obsessed with language...x
We went to Marrakech years ago and loved it, although I wasn’t as brave as I am now so we didn’t get into bartering and ended up feeling a little intimidated at times. We did meet the most wonderful man who hailed a taxi for us and bartered a fair price on our behalf.
I have zero language skills even though I’ve lived with a Dutch man for 20 years! He’s from the north so his family don’t speak Dutch at home they speak Frisian which is a completely separate language. It feels closer to English & has more familiar words (Frisian is one of the origin languages of English) but pronunciation feels impossible so it’s always English.
My mother in law however had introduced me to a Dutch word - gezelligheid - which is difficult to translate into English. It’s a bit like hygge but not the same. Our best translation always comes back to cosy. But it’s more than that - it’s having a coffee with a friend, sitting by the fire. It’s ‘encompasses the Dutch culture’
Ooh that's so interesting, I haven't heard of Frisian. That word you describe reminds me of the Swedish word 'Fika' which is almost literally translated as coffee break, but is again so much more than that - it is about taking that pause and gathering with friends, encompassing the social aspect more than the actual break, or the coffee! Thank you 💕🙏
It’s where the cows come from! Ooh I like the fact that Sweden have a word for coffee (tea) break. We definitely should have one in English
I know!! We definitely should 😍
Emma, I LOVE this post. Your photos are delightful, awakening all the senses and unearthing some of my oldest frames of reference. I grew up in the Middle East; the smells and sounds of the souk, the earthy scent of henna and waiting for it to dry, the beautiful Arabic language, and the song of the muezzin transport me back to childhood.
On the subject of language learning, I studied second language acquisition several years ago as part of my teacher training. My understanding is that it is never too late to learn! One of the reasons children learn so quickly does relate to brain to development, but it is also due to them usually learning a language in context, i.e. even if they are new to a language, they are in school, making friends, and acquiring the new language in contextual settings. It's completely different from learning through an app which, to maximize results, is ideally paired with living/working in said linguistic environment.
That said, it is absolutely possible, and the only bit of difference you might find, should you become fluent in another or several languages later in life, is that it is only after about the age of 10 that non-native speakers will have an accent. When children learn earlier than that, they typically speak as natives. Isn't that fascinating?
Aah I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It really is a remarkable place - how interesting to have grown up somewhere similar. That is SO interesting about the accent - I don't mind having an accent! I feel so encouraged by the comments here, I have been busy learning French again and I will try and rebook my immersive stay in the Alps when I can get the chance. Thank you so much for the brilliant comments xx
Agreed! Who cares about an accent if you can communicate? I say absolutely go for it. The fact that you are hungry for it will boost your learning, I'm sure. I did French for a few years early on, and lots of Spanish later. Spent 6 months in Barcelona in my 20s which, I always say, taught me more Spanish than years in the classroom did. However, I don't use it much anymore, so I think I'd need reimmersion to get back to the level I was at when I left Spain. Use it or lose it, right? A few Arabic phrases from childhood. Getting back to Spanish fluency is on my bucket list...I'll put it on the list after "write, and hopefully publish, a novel." 🙌
What languages have you learnt? Have you found some easier than others? x
So nice to read this! Never been to Mar (wait need to check spelling..) Marrakech!
To answer your questions..
Yes you can learn a new language at any age, one of the beauties of neural plasticity :)
It's so beautiful when people living at the opposite poles of Earth can communicate!
I speak Italian, English and a bit of Spanish.
I have a proverb that might be funny to translate into English ---> ' Tanto va la gatta al lardo, che ci lascia lo zampino ' --- see if you can find the translation, then I will explain the meaning...not now or else I'd spoil all the fun 😆
Aah thank you for the encouragement that my neural plasticity will not yet have dried up 🤣. Yes I agree, it is beautiful indeed. I really love that you write your Substack in two languages - that's very special. Ok I'm going to try your proverb.
Bearing in mind I have been learning Italian for about 10 hours so far:
Initial attempt: 'when I go to the fridge I find wine' (actually I think that's just my wishful thinking)
Google translate tells me it is: ' The cat is so fond of lard that it leaves its paw in it'!!! I LOVE this!!! Although I am not entirely sure what it means - tell me more!!! 😍
Hihih it’s not the wine 😂 sorry to disappoint you
Yesss that’s correct- it’s like “So many times the cat reaches for the lard, that it loses its paw/leaves its paw print on it“ (2 versions).
The meaning is a warning for whoever keeps hiding what they do .. that eventually they will pay for the consequences 😅
Oh this is brilliant - so you can't keep getting away with it!! I am going to compile these - did you read Sheila's Spanish sayings in the above comments?
Yep I know the meaning as I speak Spanish, but they are not used in Italian.
Well same as “Ho versato il tè” translated from English.. it makes absolute no sense in Italian, rather than the actual accident 🤣
What an absolute joy it was reading this piece on Marrakech, a place a friend and I visited 40 or so years ago back in the old days when there was a small company prop jet to bring a just the two of us to Paris with a stop in Marrakech. I'd love to go back (no company plane in my life now!) especially since you confirmed my expectation that little has changed.
Congrat's on your haggling skills!
xx
Oh a company plane - different times indeed!!! I expect very little has changed in Marrakech, it had that kind of timeless aura that I expected - I felt like I was in the scene of any number of films. I am quite a hearty haggler - my husband is utterly hopeless - they try to get him to part with the money as he's busy emptying his pockets whilst I poke him in the ribs 🤣