The History of English Podcast

Over the past few months, I have listened to every episode of The History of English Podcast. It was a good reminder to study my primary language sometimes, not just new ones. I had tried before with podcasts like Grammar Girl, or I Should Be Writing, but I never really felt that sense of technical study that History of English provides.

I still have several German language podcasts in my rotation, but its a token effort; my language studies are stagnant. Instead of retreading old ground, why not start a language I've never studied? And it should be a language I have no desire to go deep on, just something passing that might give better perspective.

Maybe something like Dutch. I partially got the idea from the podcast, which traced the roots of English through Europe, back to its roots.

I, Polyglot

Polyglot was taken, so i-polyglot it is, which is ok, since I want to be one. I've always assumed I would become one, somehow, but there's this whole work and dedication part that's been lacking, and so I'm recording a few things to help me better reach my goal.

My first language was Hungarian (thanks mom!), but I had to switch over to English when I hit kindergarten. Regular visits to Hungary (and other places) made it seem right and natural that one should know multiple languages. At an early age I read most of the existing James Bond books, and it seemed any worldly and interesting person should naturally be able to speak several languages. I also read Tolkien, and gained an appreciation for the art and beauty of language in and of itself. And I read the Dune books, which gave me a sense of the history of language.

I seem to have a slightly better than average proficiency with language acquisition, but I'm too lazy to make it pay. I've made many half-hearted attempts at various languages over the years, and its hitting home that I should make some real attempts, or abandon the desire.

The first step is keeping track.