Languages

I am not very talented at linguistics, however that hasn't stopped me from reveling in the versatility of universal grammar to create languages for conveying meaning between people. One of the nicest things about travelling before I learn the local language is communication solely via cartoon or frantic hand signals, something which is actually not at all difficult to do. Speaking, however, is much easier and rapidly takes over. Then the experience of utter linguistic isolation is lost forever. :(

I've studied/improvised a variety of languages formally or informally. They are

• English (Australian variety)

• Italian (not very well)

• Indonesian (terrible!)

• French (nearly as well as Italian)

• Latin (respectable)

• Japanese (hopeless)

• Russian (respectable)

• Spanish (work in progress)

• Mandarin (some day I hope)

I would like to be eventually conversant in maybe twice as many, but I very much doubt I will have the opportunity to learn before I get to the age at which I forget stuff faster than I learn it.