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I've picked up some basic Portuguese in 2014. One doesn't need to be anti-intellectual to think that my efforts might be better spent learning a new skill rathe

I've picked up some basic Portuguese in 2014. One doesn't need to be anti-intellectual to think that my efforts might be better spent learning a new skill rather than a small variant on a skill I already have (speaking, reading and writing). There are some benefits - Brazilian and Mozambican ladies are beautiful. But that's hardly an intellectual benefit. So what does "good for me" mean in concrete terms? What am I missing here?

isaacremuant 12y ago
The mental exercise is definitely good. If you only knew one language knowing another will probably increase your knowledge of your native one as well. I'm not saying it's a must but it can come handy and be a healthy exercise.
- isaacremuant 12y ago
  HN is severely disappointing. Here I was thinking it was different from Reddit regarding downvotes and intelligent discussion but it's not. It's downvote on disagreement.
  - dang 12y ago
    Please don't post comments like this. They break the guidelines ("Resist complaining about being downmodded"—https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) and the downvote being complained about is often soon corrected by other users. That's what happened with yours. We all know how annoying it is to have a reasonable comment downvoted, but (a) it happens to everyone, (b) sometimes it's just a misclick, and (c) changing the subject to that only lowers the signal/noise ratio.
    - isaacremuant 12y ago
      Noted. I was negatively surprised after seeing a trend. Won't happen again.
mgbmtl 12y ago
I think most research on the topic is pretty vague, but from personal experience, after learning my 3 languages, adding more isn't much of a hassle (although, to be fair, I live in a bilingual city). The 3rd language was Bulgarian, spoked by probably less than 10 million people worldwide, but it also helps to understand many similar Slavic languages. I have become much more open and exposed to other cultures, feel more comfortable traveling alone off the track (I have hitchhiked in Syria before the war, amongst other places), and I can watch news or movies in a bunch of language (from those 3, I picked up basics of other languages, and from combinations, it can be enough to manage with a lot of situations).
ukigumo 12y ago
Portuguese ladies are also quite something. I should know, I'm married to one :-)

isaacremuant 12y ago

The mental exercise is definitely good. If you only knew one language knowing another will probably increase your knowledge of your native one as well. I'm not saying it's a must but it can come handy and be a healthy exercise.

isaacremuant 12y ago
HN is severely disappointing. Here I was thinking it was different from Reddit regarding downvotes and intelligent discussion but it's not. It's downvote on disagreement.
- dang 12y ago
  Please don't post comments like this. They break the guidelines ("Resist complaining about being downmodded"—https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) and the downvote being complained about is often soon corrected by other users. That's what happened with yours. We all know how annoying it is to have a reasonable comment downvoted, but (a) it happens to everyone, (b) sometimes it's just a misclick, and (c) changing the subject to that only lowers the signal/noise ratio.
  - isaacremuant 12y ago
    Noted. I was negatively surprised after seeing a trend. Won't happen again.

mgbmtl 12y ago

I think most research on the topic is pretty vague, but from personal experience, after learning my 3 languages, adding more isn't much of a hassle (although, to be fair, I live in a bilingual city). The 3rd language was Bulgarian, spoked by probably less than 10 million people worldwide, but it also helps to understand many similar Slavic languages. I have become much more open and exposed to other cultures, feel more comfortable traveling alone off the track (I have hitchhiked in Syria before the war, amongst other places), and I can watch news or movies in a bunch of language (from those 3, I picked up basics of other languages, and from combinations, it can be enough to manage with a lot of situations).

ukigumo 12y ago

Portuguese ladies are also quite something. I should know, I'm married to one :-)