honestly, i'm a fan of language! what i mean is, i love to listen to different languages and if i'm given a super power, i wish than i can master all the languages in this world, even out of this world! my favourite language is japanese. i remembered going for a scholarship interview for studying abroad where you are required to list three countries of your choice. mine is naturally japan being the first, the second and third being uk and us.
the interviewer asked me why japan? and my answer was because i'm a fan of japanese cartoons and dramas (doraemon, masked rider, flashman, maero attack, oshin) and i want to watch them without having to read the subtitles! and then i got my sense back and added that i love their cultures (punctual, advanced technology, etc.) and also i totally agreed with the 'looking east policy' at that time introduced by the prime minister at that time, tun mahathir. haha, i managed to get the scholarship and was send to germany instead (where i didn't finished my study and became one of the greatest regret in my life!) but, Allah knows best and i did finished my study locally (where it would't sound as 'WOW' when you mentioned that you are an oversea graduate, haha..)
okay, one of the good part about being send to germany is i get to learn german. i leaned the language for two year in malaysia and sat for the exam (DSH) which i managed to pass averagely.. and then i got to stay in germany for about three years. unfortunately, when i came back to malaysia, i sort of leaving the language behind. currently, i am only able to understand basic communicative german.. i am still able to read (but unable to understand each word) and converse really really bad! but i know that i am able to grasp back the language if i make the effort to.. the thing about language is, no matter how long you've learned it, but you didn't make use of it, it will gradually gone..
i've learned arabic for seven years (since i was nine years old!!!) but after the 'big arabic test', the things i've learned for seven whole years were gone in a poof! the only language that is left in me aside from my mother-tongue, malay, is english! and even my english is not that bombastic or extraordinary! i've learned mandarin for three weeks (short course training) and the only thing i can remember is wo bu zhi dao, haha.. i learned japanese formally at INTAN for about three weeks and informally by myself for as long as i can remember.. i'm better at japaenese compared to mandarin because i do love the language, hehe.. i can read only hiragana without understand them, naturally.. still learning katakana and i know kanji would be an enormous obstacle, haha.. i am also interested in spanish, again because of the dramas (la usurpadora, mis tres hermanas, rosalinda etc) and korean because of the hallyu wave of course! i'm never interested in french because i think it's a difficult language to learn but i love hearing it..
i think that i have a flair for language, haha!! i can learn them quite fast if i put my effort in it but i usually lack vocabulary! i would do just fine with the daily basic conversation, but don't expect me to write a composition.. right now, i'm planning to brush up back my german and diligently learn japanese. when i'm bestowed with my own offsprings, i would want them to learn one foreign language beside english (it would be easier for them if i marry a foreigner..) they may choose the language they like.. below i made the summary of the languages i know, knew and hope to know..
- malay (mother tongue; first language - intact)
- english (learned since an early age - intact)
- arabic (9 - 14 years old - gone with the wind)
- german (17 - 22 years old - barely there)
- mandarin (3 weeks - what do you expect?)
- japanese (on & off - japanese kindergardner level, maybe lower.. ok, absolutely lower!)
- spanish (want to learn)
- korean (want to learn)
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