Something was off for a few years. I felt like I was running off steam and couldn’t find the right time in the day to journal, or write on any of my blogs, for that matter. I couldn’t wait to do analytical work (numbers, data) in the mornings. In the evenings I mainly wanted to tune out, watching shows and movies.
But lately, something was REALLY off. I couldn’t stand screens anymore. Not even checking emails. Luckily, as a freelancer, I was able to reduce screen time to a minimum for a while. (Plus, hello, it’s summer.)
In the past weeks, in addition, I strangely switched from learning Spanish to Scottish Gaelic on Duolingo - improving one of the foreign languages I study is a daily habit. Blame Outlander partially for my interest in Gaelic, but if I could, I would study all endangered languages. Also, those that are not really endangered (for now) but spoken by the least numerous nations.
I just needed to do something completely enjoyable for a while without worrying about its usefulness.
I love Spanish, but it’s also useful to know it. Oh, how convenient.
I chose Scottish Gaelic not only because I resonate with the Scottish culture, but because learning it is quite the challenge, even for a linguist like me (I also tried Estonian and Navajo for a while, back when the last thing I needed was yet another difficult thing to attempt.) I recognized some words borrowed from English and other Germanic languages. But the bewildering apparent disconnect between pronunciation and spelling was nothing short of exhilarating for me.
I remembered the times when phonetics and pronunciation was the most enjoyable part of learning a language. The time when I pestered one of my childhood friends who lived in Israel and had grandparents in my hometown to teach me the Hebrew alphabet just out of sheer curiosity. The times when my favorite male character in The Simpsons was William Angus MacMoran (groundskeeper Willie).
And because all good fun comes to an end, I am quite sure that being familiar with Scottish Gaelic will come in handy someday. I have a first cousin and a pen pal who live there. Then there’s my fascination with the Highlands. A new adventure is brewing.
I can peacefully switch to Spanish now.