I joined, but then left just as quickly

Textkit Community Open Board
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I guess I joined because I was hyped up to learn Latin, even though I didn’t necessarily have a profound interest in learning the language itself but more for things that used the language (fictions / games / Roman army / etc). I know boards like this are not super active because of a lack of eager learners, but if you want to read more, it is ironic what I am about to say.

I started learning Na’vi, the conlang (constructed language) for “Avatar” movie (2009). One thing that surprised me is I think there is heavier activity on those such boards (Specifically the Language Learning board/s for Na’vi) than here. Motivation? Again, from the source of where I mainly witnessed the language. Movie came out in 2009, I didn’t actually watch it until late this February for the first time, and once I found out about the conlang afterwards (after considering it a movie I could undoubtedly call ‘favorite’), I practically dropped Latin altogether, but am learning Na’vi in a way I never attempted learning Latin. (I also plan in the future to continue my Russian as it is beneficial all around, and I still have interest in it)

I hope you found this post interesting into the details of a member that has ceased being active, and enjoy your studies! Hayalovay ma frapo! Eywa ngahu!


Further reading:

It is yet more funny on my choices for languages I have studied, as I typically tried to go for languages harder for English speakers to learn, and then transitioned to a dead language (aka Latin), and now onto a language that isn’t even natural. There is a bumpy line on the graph of practicality I have created for uses of learned languages I decide on haha.

English (Native)

Spanish (High School, but wasn’t interested at all)

Russian (High use for it as one of the most spoken languages, and as a language much of my family speaks)

Arabic (No use for it, so after the challenging alphabet, dropped it)

Latin (Very interested because of hype from 3rd party sources, but not the language necessarily itself,
even if it is very beneficial to the understanding of romance languages)

Na’vi (Profound interest from the movie, and now expectations for the next movies to come even though there is a long wait. Even though the mass activity of the learning forum has died down to ~20-40 active members, the activity that was there was MASSIVE and extremely dedicated, even to the
point of some negative health impacts and a group dedicated to living in the forest as a new tribe
(seriously). There is active voice and instant message communication on a Discord chat server, which
I am also actively on, and the resources available to learn are extremely convenient, and Fluent
speakers and advanced speakers are always available.)


If you are interested in the Na’vi language and/or Avatar, I highly encourage you to first watch the film (preferably the extended collectors edition) and then visit the provided site! (The fancy new graphic next to the first paragraph was created by one of the newer members after myself!)
!!!
web link deleted (Rule is no posting of links until you have made 10 posts
Daivid

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Utcumque de me vulgo mortales loquuntur, neque enim sum nescia, quam male audiat STULTITIA etiam apud stultissimos, tamen hanc esse, hanc, inquam, esse unam, quæ meo numine Deos atque homines exhilaro, vel illud abunde magnum est argumentum, quod simulatque in hunc cœtum frequentissimum dictura prodii, sic repente omnium vultus nova quadam atque insolita hilaritate enituerunt, sic subito frontem exporrexistis , sic læto quodam et amabili applausistis risu, ut mihi profecto quotquot undique præsentes intueor, pariter deorum Homericorum nectare non sine nepenthe temulenti esse videamini, cum antehac tristes ac solliciti sederitis, perinde quasi nuper e Trophonii specu reversi.

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So, a linguistics professor slumming and finding a cash cow in Hollywood, following in the footsteps of Mark Okrand of Klingon fame.

But why ever would anyone want to learn a made-up language when they can learn a real one? (Latin, for instance.) Precisely because it’s not real but pretend-real, I suppose, and so is at home in the insulated world of fantasy games. Plus it’s ongoing, linked as it is to the Avatar movie sequels. I can understand its appeal to a certain type of male teen.

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According to Wikipedia, USC’s Paul Frommer also created spoken Barsoomian for “John Carter of Mars.”

Spoken Barsoomian has mostly lexical words, with the equivalent of grammatical words such as prepositions and pronouns > conveyed telepathically> .

If I went in for fantasy languages, Tolkien would be my first choice. He claimed, and there’s some truth to it, that his motivation for telling stories was “primarily linguistic in origin.” He thought that stories were necessary to flesh out an imaginary language. From his Letters:

Volapük, Esperanto, Ido, Novial, &c &c are dad, far deader than ancient unused languages, because their authors never invented any Esperanto legends.

Tolkien was actually very supportive of Esperanto. He thought that it was aesthetically pleasing (Novial was ingenious but hideous).

The Na’vi forum is surprisingly active, with some good linguistic discussion. Instead of making everybody read the Iliad in high school, proponents of Greek and Latin should probably concentrate on blockbuster movies. (I like to tell younger co-workers that I learned Greek through watching 300 three hundred times.)

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My thoughts almost uerbatim, though I had not courage to say this.

A professor of mine (not a Classics professor, mind!) lost most of his credibility in my eyes when I learnt that he has actually brought up his children speaking Esperanto. Another teacher of mine spoke much much more sensibly Sanskrit to his child, but for some reason gave it up after only two weeks (it was not for lack of proficiency).

I don’t know if you, Joel, have similar ambitions…

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I chat a little bit in Greek to my 3 month old daughter, but I’m not fluent enough yet, and concentrating on correctness limits me to overly simple language. I expect to be more fluent by the time that she is talking. Right now I read a lot to her in Greek though, usually simpler authors. I read to her in German too, but let Audible do that more often, so that she doesn’t have to put up with my accent.

Whether any of this will lead to a more fulfilling life for her, I couldn’t say. Maybe she won’t enjoy the classics or the classical spirit, and then what would be the point to having the language?