1 00:00:07,133 --> 00:00:10,453 Speaker 1: You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Team podcast 2 00:00:10,613 --> 00:00:11,453 Speaker 1: from News Talks. 3 00:00:11,493 --> 00:00:16,813 Speaker 2: At me, as someone who considers themselves at least semi literate, 4 00:00:18,173 --> 00:00:21,493 Speaker 2: with the benefit of a reasonable education and at least 5 00:00:21,493 --> 00:00:24,973 Speaker 2: a passing interest in the world, I can confirm there 6 00:00:25,013 --> 00:00:29,053 Speaker 2: is nothing there is nothing quite so humbling in middle 7 00:00:29,093 --> 00:00:34,173 Speaker 2: age as trying to learn a new language at short notice. 8 00:00:34,333 --> 00:00:37,933 Speaker 2: I'm hoping to briefly visit a Latin American country for 9 00:00:37,973 --> 00:00:40,693 Speaker 2: my work in a few weeks time, and so in 10 00:00:40,733 --> 00:00:44,613 Speaker 2: preparation this week, I downloaded a few apps and subscribe 11 00:00:44,653 --> 00:00:49,733 Speaker 2: to some podcasts to try and re up my Spanish. Now, 12 00:00:49,733 --> 00:00:53,493 Speaker 2: my history with Spanish is one of really big surges 13 00:00:54,053 --> 00:00:58,493 Speaker 2: and then even bigger retreats. I studied it at high 14 00:00:58,533 --> 00:01:01,173 Speaker 2: school until about seventh form. I wasn't very good. In fact, 15 00:01:01,213 --> 00:01:03,533 Speaker 2: I was very bad, but at the very least I 16 00:01:03,653 --> 00:01:07,013 Speaker 2: learned a few nouns and I could ask some basic questions. 17 00:01:07,693 --> 00:01:09,853 Speaker 2: But then when I moved to New York in my twenties, 18 00:01:09,893 --> 00:01:12,133 Speaker 2: I decided that I would learn Spanish in a way 19 00:01:12,173 --> 00:01:14,213 Speaker 2: that I never had when I was a teenager. I 20 00:01:14,413 --> 00:01:18,533 Speaker 2: deliberately moved to a Latin neighborhood. I did thrice weekly 21 00:01:18,733 --> 00:01:22,013 Speaker 2: lessons on Skype, just just speaking with a tutor friend 22 00:01:22,093 --> 00:01:26,413 Speaker 2: in Mexico's South. After a few months of studying, I 23 00:01:26,693 --> 00:01:31,893 Speaker 2: decided to visit her is stoy ex citalo, I said, 24 00:01:32,653 --> 00:01:36,493 Speaker 2: trying to express my excitement at the impending trip. Once 25 00:01:36,533 --> 00:01:40,013 Speaker 2: I bought my tickets, my tutor just burst into laughter 26 00:01:40,253 --> 00:01:43,933 Speaker 2: and explained that I had just informed a conservative Catholic 27 00:01:44,013 --> 00:01:45,373 Speaker 2: mother that I was horny. 28 00:01:46,173 --> 00:01:56,333 Speaker 3: Ah Ga, h is stoi tan embarrazada, I blushed, She 29 00:01:56,453 --> 00:01:57,933 Speaker 3: bent over and laughter again. 30 00:01:58,533 --> 00:02:04,893 Speaker 2: Turns out m barrazada does not mean embarrassed. Embarrazada means pregnant. 31 00:02:06,813 --> 00:02:10,893 Speaker 2: What immersion will do, though, Ah When I visited Chapas, 32 00:02:11,213 --> 00:02:13,813 Speaker 2: I would collapse and be exhausted at the end of 33 00:02:13,853 --> 00:02:16,853 Speaker 2: every day from twelve hours of speaking. But honestly, after 34 00:02:16,893 --> 00:02:20,333 Speaker 2: just a few weeks I could swear I was just 35 00:02:20,613 --> 00:02:23,533 Speaker 2: starting to dream in Spanish, and that's when you know 36 00:02:23,813 --> 00:02:30,133 Speaker 2: that it's sticking. Then, though, ugh an almighty retreat, I 37 00:02:30,253 --> 00:02:33,533 Speaker 2: fell out of lessons and Spanish fell out of my head. 38 00:02:34,013 --> 00:02:36,973 Speaker 2: I eventually moved home and I studied MILDI, which I 39 00:02:37,133 --> 00:02:40,733 Speaker 2: absolutely loved, but which has a similar vowel sound to 40 00:02:40,813 --> 00:02:44,573 Speaker 2: Spanish and often over the years, when I've reached for 41 00:02:44,653 --> 00:02:48,213 Speaker 2: a word, I've pulled a noun from the wrong language. 42 00:02:48,613 --> 00:02:51,293 Speaker 2: And now it's even more complicated. I'm embarrassed to admit that, 43 00:02:51,893 --> 00:02:56,373 Speaker 2: although my wife is Persian in Farsi, I can't even 44 00:02:56,413 --> 00:03:00,453 Speaker 2: say hello. Now, there are some people for whom language 45 00:03:00,493 --> 00:03:02,693 Speaker 2: comes a whole lot easier than it does for me. 46 00:03:03,053 --> 00:03:07,093 Speaker 2: I'm always so envious. See See, I'm really good with sound, 47 00:03:07,493 --> 00:03:10,373 Speaker 2: I'm really good with languages sound, and I'm good at 48 00:03:10,453 --> 00:03:14,413 Speaker 2: speaking with false confidence. But I'm very poor with grammar. 49 00:03:14,733 --> 00:03:16,933 Speaker 2: My brother, on the other hand, is much more studious 50 00:03:17,013 --> 00:03:19,733 Speaker 2: than me, but I swear he also just he gets 51 00:03:20,053 --> 00:03:24,253 Speaker 2: grammatical structures. It's like he sees the matrix when he's 52 00:03:24,413 --> 00:03:28,613 Speaker 2: studying language. And I'm fascinated by people who can speak 53 00:03:28,853 --> 00:03:33,093 Speaker 2: multiple languages. There's this New Zealander, a guy called Harold Williams, 54 00:03:33,133 --> 00:03:36,253 Speaker 2: who basically no one has ever heard of, who is 55 00:03:36,533 --> 00:03:40,933 Speaker 2: widely considered one of the greatest polyglots in history. He 56 00:03:40,973 --> 00:03:43,613 Speaker 2: was the foreign editor for the Times newspaper in London, 57 00:03:43,733 --> 00:03:47,853 Speaker 2: a foreign correspondent, and spoke as many as fifty eight 58 00:03:48,173 --> 00:03:52,773 Speaker 2: different languages, yeah fifty eight. As a lad in christ 59 00:03:52,893 --> 00:03:56,133 Speaker 2: Church in the late eighteen hundreds. He said that he 60 00:03:56,293 --> 00:03:58,013 Speaker 2: one day woke up and felt like he had a 61 00:03:58,053 --> 00:04:00,533 Speaker 2: brain explosion. That's how he described it. When he was 62 00:04:00,533 --> 00:04:03,733 Speaker 2: about seven years old, and he just started buying himself 63 00:04:04,013 --> 00:04:07,613 Speaker 2: copies of the New Testament in every language that his 64 00:04:07,693 --> 00:04:12,373 Speaker 2: bookshop could order, and he taught himself languages that way. 65 00:04:13,093 --> 00:04:23,133 Speaker 2: I reckon our historic comfort in our majority monolingualism is 66 00:04:23,173 --> 00:04:27,213 Speaker 2: maybe one of the great faults of New Zealand culture. 67 00:04:27,973 --> 00:04:33,413 Speaker 2: It's really sloppy, it's really insular, and honestly, it's embarrassing 68 00:04:33,773 --> 00:04:37,253 Speaker 2: to visit poor neighborhoods in poor countries and realize that, 69 00:04:37,293 --> 00:04:42,253 Speaker 2: despite the relative lack of educational opportunities, kids can speak 70 00:04:43,133 --> 00:04:47,453 Speaker 2: many more languages than most of us can. It's wonderful 71 00:04:47,493 --> 00:04:50,573 Speaker 2: to see the revitalization of Taday or Maudi, but New 72 00:04:50,693 --> 00:04:55,693 Speaker 2: Zealand must still be one of the most monolingual developed 73 00:04:55,693 --> 00:05:03,013 Speaker 2: countries on Earth. So here we go again. Like trying 74 00:05:03,053 --> 00:05:05,213 Speaker 2: to start a lawn mower that has been sitting in 75 00:05:05,253 --> 00:05:08,733 Speaker 2: the shed for fifteen years, I am pulling at the 76 00:05:08,773 --> 00:05:14,213 Speaker 2: starter a chord and pleading the engine to fire. The 77 00:05:14,493 --> 00:05:18,493 Speaker 2: cat likes to sleep. I would like to buy a 78 00:05:18,533 --> 00:05:23,173 Speaker 2: ticket for the train ugh. It is just so humbling 79 00:05:23,213 --> 00:05:27,773 Speaker 2: to go so far back m batazada even, and yet 80 00:05:27,853 --> 00:05:33,213 Speaker 2: still so rewarding when you feel something stick exitao. That's 81 00:05:33,253 --> 00:05:36,853 Speaker 2: the thing about language, a more than vowels and consonants. 82 00:05:37,133 --> 00:05:41,253 Speaker 2: It's the front door to culture, a gate to a 83 00:05:41,333 --> 00:05:42,573 Speaker 2: whole new world. 84 00:05:43,413 --> 00:05:46,533 Speaker 1: For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live 85 00:05:46,613 --> 00:05:49,773 Speaker 1: to News talks'd B from nine am Saturday, or follow 86 00:05:49,853 --> 00:05:51,413 Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio.