The proper study of language is not the rote memorization of the vocabulary and syntax of an unfamiliar tongue any more than the rote memorization of multiplication tables is the proper study of mathematics. To truly understand language is to understand all language, it is to understand how we organize sound to convey meaning. There are myriad ways of indicating changes in tense and plurality. Sound clues can be added to suffixes and prefixes or indicated by changes in tonal accents. Who is to say language must be relegated to the spoken word? Many indigenous peoples use a language of whistle calls because of the distance they can carry, from mountainside to mountainside. What other forms of information transfer have existed between peoples? Who has not heard of the "talking drums" of Africa?
To learn a single language is akin to appreciating a single symphony. Dive into the music, revel in the singing poetry of expressing your vision in an infinity of voices.
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