Today I started learning Norwegian

[disappointed_lesbian]

This is my seventh language. I wouldn't have started learning a seventh language so blithely, especially so soon after starting a sixth (I started my sixth, Czech, in January of this year), except that I read that Norwegian is very similar to English and that it's in the Germanic language family (along with German and English).

Those two characteristics are significant because Norwegian's similarity to English makes it relatively easy to learn, so adding it to my study roster won't interfere too much with learning the other six. Also, I'm becoming sick of German, I'm assume because I don't actually like German much and because I've really been exposed to it a lot lately since I'm studying an intensive German vocabulary program (a set of books called Deutsch Intensiv). I'm trying to reach at least a C1 level of reading in German by the end of this year. I'm currently slogging through the A1 book (after that is A2, B1, B2, C1, and beyond that is C2), a process that started off meh and is slowing down, so looking ahead isn't very motivating.

If Norwegian had been on my radar when I was starting German, I would have gone with Norwegian instead. I consider them somewhat fungible because they are in the same language family. I didn't know much about Scandinavian languages back then (still don't, actually); I thought they all had crazy grammar and were therefore difficult to learn. Russian and Czech have crazy grammar, and they're enough for me. Even if Norwegian had been on my mind back then, I likely would never have started studying it because I wouldn't have found any of the kind of learning materials I like (untranslated ones).

Norwegian is easy so far; I can even muddle through the Norwegian-language grammar text I found despite knowing almost none of the language. Between my knowledge of English and German, much of the vocabulary is familiar or easy to guess. Given this plus my years of language learning experience, I'm moving through this language like lightning. I'm going to try to learn hundreds of words per month, and, if things continue to be smooth sailing, maybe I'll aim for fluency.

The tough part will be getting speaking practice. That is something I need to buckle down and work on for all my languages (well, not really for the ones I've made little progress in). I've been looking at language exchange sites (of which there is a large and disconcerting number), but I never seem to get anything settled. I think some I thought were free turned out to require payment.