#I just wish there was more of an input-focused language acquisition community on tumblr

[haru-dipthong]

Imagine languages are race cars 🏎️

There are two ways to be a language nerd: the race car driver, or the engineer.

The driver knows how to use their machine back to front. They make split second decisions without even noticing it. Their conscious mind dictates direction, while their subconscious mind controls the car with no hesitation. They are one with their tool.

The engineer knows how every little piece of the car works in tandem. They might be able to drive the race car semi-competently due to their extensive technical knowledge, but driving is not their specialty. Their focus is on knowledge of the internal workings of the car, not how to use it.

Langblr is full of people who are engineers. It can be seen throughout the “language is art” rhetoric so commonly reblogged. It’s true: language is art, and it is culture, and history. But it is also a tool. And the driver focuses all of their effort on how to use their tool (it takes a lot of time to train your subconscious mind). Meanwhile, the engineer can afford to appreciate the art in its construction, the history of the technology.

In my opinion, if you are an engineer, you are not “learning a language”. You are learning about a language.