Tumble jumble

I'm learning Indonesian and Tetun so fast it's crazy! Well, so fast my brain hurts anyway. I recently talked to a family and arranged to live in a room in their house (and expressed my profound gratitude) speaking only Indonesian (look, ma, no English!).

It's really curious how I'm learning Indonesian with a vengeance after not even trying in Bali. It really wasn't the language, I think Indonesian is great. It's probably because of how much less useful English is in Timor, as well as how much less people insist (like they do in a tourist town) on communicating with me in the language I feel most comfortable.

Usually, I like to try to pick up the local language if I'm in a place for awhile...

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I've recognised a few distinct stages of this learning (at least for this non-classroom kind).

1. You start out writing every new word you know, and even sentences
2. Your learning accelerates and you find yourself unable to write down each new word because there are so many. Not to worry, so many of them are common-use words that you have no trouble remembering
3. You start to learn grammar instead of following patterns, and you start writing things down again.

There are stages after this one but I don't think I've ever got past number three yet.

Come to think of it, this is pretty close to the phases of learning how to dance as well...

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I was thinking about all this language learning and devised a new system for proficiency, where your ability in a language is measured in years.

No more joking around that you "have the vocabulary of an eight year old". It's an accurate and useful statement to make!

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For example, with English, I'm pretty seasoned, perhaps even an old man, although when I'm tired I'm about six years old.

-in Chinese, I'm maybe ten or so. Probably more like eight.
-in Spanish, fourteen or thereabouts

-in Indonesian, I'm about three years old (got all the food words, as well as yes, no, want, more, less, again and a few other auxiliary words). I'm getting older, I can make small talk with the landlady now, as well as with the folks at my favourite restaurant (out of all five of them) in town. I really like the main guy there, I can only describe him as a huge teddy bear -- he's big, gentle and really really nice, always smiling and singing or humming to himself, and constantly making jokes and laughing with people.

where was I?

-in Tetun, about one and a half...
-I plan to speak Portuguese one day but can't yet, so I'm a foetus. Ha ha! Due in a couple of years when I move to Brazil.

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The best part about this system is that it doesn't involve keeping track of how many words you know and which grammatical hoops you can jump through, and it gives an accurate picture of your ability to use the language in practical settings.

It's easy to find out your proficiency, simply compare yourself to native speakers of various ages.