I know vaguely of the science of linguistics and I want to actually try my hand at seriously attempting to learn a language. Unfortunately, linguists keep throwing a bunch of words at my brain like "syntax" and "conjugation" and "grammar trees" that just... go over my fucking head. Is it better to try and learn the structure of one particular language at a time or will understanding linguistics first give me a better edge? And if so, where do I start if I want to sit down and actually try to fluently understand a second language?
So, you're sort of talking about two different things. Linguistics is differently from learning a language. My study of linguistics had me taking courses in anthropology, computer science, cognitive science, and philosophy, if that gives you an idea.
For learning a language, meanwhile, there's different approaches, but it's generally good to have something that is immersive to some extent.
I understand those are two different things but as a native English speaker with virtually no IRL experience with foreign language, I don't really have much of an option to start off with other than book learning unless I want to pay money for a course which uhhh... costs money I don't have. Personally, I'd like to have the best possible understanding of what it takes to learn a language as well as actually trying to learn one. So I guess a better question is: Where do I learn how to learn a language?
learning a langauge is mostly about exposure and time.
my suggestion for langauge learning on a budget would be to maybe start by watching kids shows. it sounds silly, but if you think about it, they are educational, use common. basic words, speak slowly...
So go watch, say French Sesame Street or something. (There are a lot of countries that have their own Sesame Street!)
You end up getting some cultural exposure this way too.
But it's still a time commitment. If you're watching French Sesame Street, watch it with French subtitles too. What you typically want to avoid when learning a langauge is doing translation back and forth between the language and your native langauge.
Unless you're interested in linguistics as a field I wouldn't worry about it at all, almost no one who has ever learned a second language knew anything about linguistics
and honestly the languages I'm competent in were all stuff I learned in school so IDK. I guess my thoughts are that you need a lot of input and that analysing and translating individual sentences out of context (relatively common in textbooks) is not helpful.
the most important thing is motivation, so find something you're passionate about
I think you can't properly study one without dipping your
toeslegs in the other, but focusing on linguistics first as a monolingual seems needlessly confusing. However, Wikipedia is surprisingly good for basic linguistics.IMO the best way to learn a language is like a baby, just listen, watch a shit ton of TV. You can set up VLC to show subtitles in multiple languages at once. You don't even have to try to understand, you just have to listen for recurring things and eventually it will start making sense. If you want to tryhard, start out by reading the "Language X phonology" wikipedia article to try and prepare yourself for potentially confusing sounds. A lot of language education is centered on written language which is strange since language far predates writing.
First step is determining what language you want to learn, Asian languages are vastly different from European languages, that means the difficulty and the methods are very different.
But really if you must have an intrinsic reason to learn a language e.g you want to watch foreign media, or you have family you want to communicate with in a different language, or you are planning to spend some time abroad.
The biggest problem is long term motivation, this is a process that will take at least a few months to years depending on your goals.
