Crystal Aura Gaze

Learning about different languages has opened up a portal to a much more deeper understanding of the world.

When I was a kid, I didn’t really understand the magic of languages. I thought, the whole world should speak one language, and that way we could all understand each other without any barriers getting in the way.

It was incredibly ignorant of me to think that. And it was especially ignorant of me as an English-speaking US citizen to think that. In no way did I ever think that English was a “better” language — just that we could all speak the same way, whether that meant all of us speaking Spanish, French, Hindi, whatever!

Today, not only do I understand the importance of having a wide, diverse set of spoken languages — but I absolutely admire it. I so much admire it, that I’m passionate about it.

It all started with my quest for learning Latin — an intrigue that began in childhood. I was always very curious about it: how a language that once dominated the world became nearly extinct. (Blame it on my Mercury in Scorpio.)

My school didn’t offer Latin — only Spanish and French. I chose French because I felt more drawn to it; maybe because I did ballet. I was genuinely excited to learn a new language in middle school. However, it would have been so much easier if they began teaching us language in elementary.

I struggled a lot with French in high school. I struggled with most of my school work in general because the educational system is crap. I had teachers who picked on me and bullied me. I was overstimulated during classes. I gave up quickly on French and dropped the course as soon as I was allowed to. In one way I regret giving up, in another way I only wish it had been taught differently.

Outside of school, I displayed an interest in learning a few other languages. When I was around ten-years old, I bought myself a cassette tape on how to speak German. I listened to it a few times but that was all.

When I was thirteen, I was fascinated by two languages — Pennsylvania Dutch and Hawaiian. (PA Dutch because of my grandma, Hawaiian because I was in love with the history and culture.) I remember printing out a list of words and translations and going over it a few times. I gave up quickly, though.

During college, my curiosity for learning Latin had really grown. One summer break, I took it upon myself to buy a book on it and begin teaching myself. I did some studying and took some notes, but it didn’t take me very far. It was hard to stay motivated when I wasn’t being tested or graded on it.

And then, several years after finishing college, I stumbled upon the language learning app: Duolingo (no, this is not an ad!) After downloading it, I was really excited to see that they offer Latin. Duolingo is probably the most fun way to learn a language because it’s like a video game — you have challenges, quests, points to earn, gems to spend, and reward badges. And if you do at least one lesson a day, you build up a streak.

My wish came true. I got to learn Latin — without the stress of school, but enough motivation (through badges and game rewards) to keep me going. It’s so cool!

Duolingo opened up a rabbit hole for me. In their FAQ section, it’s asked, “why does this app offer impractical languages?” For example, the app offers fictional languages from Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. In response, they say, “it’s in our hope that by learning about an impractical language, it opens up a door for learning a more useful language.”

Is Latin an impractical language? It’s certainly not a fictional one. In my eyes, there are many practical reasons for learning it — everything from studying the past to preserving it for the future. However, it’s obviously not a language used in common conversation, not one that you can find by traveling to a certain country or through any modern day movie or book.

One complaint about the Latin course on Duolingo is that it’s much shorter than the other courses. And it doesn’t offer features that other courses have, such as speaking exercises. So, this is what made me intrigued to check out the other languages.

I found it very fun and exciting to dabble in other languages. I took another shot at French, and surprisingly, a lot of what I learned in my school days came right back to me. I tried Danish, because I’m obsessed with hygge culture, and one of my favorite singers (MØ) is from Denmark and speaks the language. I tried Swedish (because — IKEA!), Arabic (because of belly dancing), Welsh (because their flag has a cool dragon on it), Spanish (why not?), Hindi, Greek, Italian, Hawaiian, Gaelic, and more!

Everyone says that you’re supposed to focus on one language. I can’t do that (blame it on my Sagittarius rising.) The best I can do is prioritize Latin while dabbling in one, two, maybe three other languages on the side. Sorry, not sorry.

Learning another language is incredibly challenging — especially after your brain has fully developed past your mid twenties. And that’s the most frustrating part. You may study a language for a full year and still have no idea how to speak it or hear it “in real life.” You may go many years and still feel like you’ve hardly made any progress.

This is something that I have accepted. I will likely never be fluent in another language — not if my only source of learning is fifteen minutes of Duolingo a day. I’m okay with that because I’m not chasing perfection and I’m not focused on an end-goal. I’m in love with the process.

What I’ve started doing outside of Duolingo now is consume media from other languages. This is a lot easier to do with mainstream languages (as opposed to Latin.) I’ve begun listening to music in other languages (the Danes do EDM like no other!) and finding movies or shows in other languages with English subtitles. My aim is not to be fluent, but at least well-versed to a certain degree, in several languages. I think that’s a reasonable motive.

So, now to the point of it all — why am I passionate about learning different languages? The reason is because it seriously adds more depth to life. Language is not as flat as we tend to think it is. Not every single English word can be translated to another language with the exact same meaning — that fact alone shows how much more depth there is to communication than we realize.

Something else I’ve realized is that as a tarot reader, I’m fluent in the language of tarot. Tarot cards can be compared to hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt. When I lay out tarot spreads, I’m conducting a reading. It’s a very unique and special type of language, but a language nevertheless. All of the cards have their own meaning (spelling), and all of their meanings change depending on their context and surrounding cards (grammar.)

Runes, another form of fortune telling, is also another type of language. Each stone, or “rune,” contains a symbol of the Norse alphabet that stands for a certain word. And those words stand for a deeper, spiritual meaning.

Language is not always what we assume it to be. It’s a code that comes with a specific meaning. Language is English, Spanish, French, Danish, Hindi, Arabic, Swedish, and many, many more. Language is also tarot cards, runes, and so forth. Language is also nodding your head, shaking hands, hugging, smiling, rolling your eyes, etc.

Looking back, I can see that a curiosity for language learning was always there. But it was never anything that I could follow through with. And now that I have found the resources to pursue it in a fun and non-stressful way, I hope to continue on with this journey for the rest of my life.