A Revamped Newsletter
How's this newsletter evolving and what it means for you.
Side Update
Before we get into the main topic, I’d like to announce my new eBook about learning languages through RPGs and adventure games will be out next week.
In this ebook, I talk about what can be useful in RPGs to learn languages and how we can take advantage of those. I then dive into all the different tools you can use.
I’ve combined all of this with some screenshots to make sure everything is as clear as possible so you can dive into the magnificent world of language learning through video games as quickly as possible.
I started working on this eBook over a year ago so I’m happy to finally let it see the light of day.
Paid subscribers with a yearly subscription will get it for free in their inbox by the end of the month. If you choose to become one too (even after this month), you will also receive this ebook for free.
Otherwise, I’ll give you the link to buy it in next week’s newsletter.
I can’t tell you how amazing this feels to finally put this out in the world. I truly hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
Where this is coming from
I started this newsletter in early 2020 and moved it to Substack in late 2021, about halfway through what became a 100-week-long series I called 7 Bullet Points About Languages.
I loved this series but as time passed, I felt constrained by the sections I had set for myself. Each week took longer than the previous one and I felt myself rambling, struggling to feel excited to write.
My goal as a language learner writer is to help others start and grow to love languages and learning them. That format wasn't cutting it.
And so, in January 2023, I began a new series called TL;DR (Talk. Learn. Discover. Repeat). I wanted to breathe new life into this newsletter but quickly fell down a similar pattern.
I'm already way too talkative when I talk about one subject. So 4 each week? Well, you've probably seen the result: A newsletter so long most people probably never made it through a complete edition.
Another problem with that format is that I needed to make you want to read each section separately because there was never a true link from section to section. It became a chore and I think you've probably felt it these last month or two.
Do I regret the TL;DR format though? No.
I feel TL;DR was a stage I needed to go through to experiment and push my curiosity further. One of the things I'm most thankful for is the sheer number of languages I've discovered and dug into. I'd have never found the time or energy to do it had I not needed to write about it each week.
Still, it was time for a change so let me stop rambling and tell you all about the new changes you'll see in the coming weeks.
A return to the roots
What most of you might not know is that this newsletter started as a place for me to share every discovery and research I fell upon with the few people who followed me.1
Basically, a place for me to share my excitement and what I learn in my life that could be useful to all kinds of learners.
I’m going back to this because I want to talk to you like I would to a friend.
The only limitation of this weekly series will be that it should be related to languages. Duh.
Most of it will revolve around learning them but some might be about linguistics, scripts, history of languages, or whatever. You get the gist.
Of course, I'd also love to hear if there's anything in particular you'd like me to write about! Don't hesitate to comment your ideas or send me an email.
Series evolving
While the short Lesser-Known Languages (LKL) section will sadly disappear, I don't plan on giving up my research about lesser-known languages.
Deep-dive LKLs will remain but will only become a once-every-two-month kind of thing. This will allow me to spend more time with them and potentially even reach out to some people online who could help me understand the language.
I will also probably stop going around the world as much as I did. I'm more passionate about Asian languages, their scripts and structures so I'll probably spend more time in this area of the world.
Some of the languages you can expect to hear about in the future are Yonaguni (a language from a Japanese island only 108 km away from Taiwan and 2,025 km from Tokyo) or Ryukchin (the only remaining Korean dialect with tones).
As for Thursday's Thousandth Thought (TTT), this bi-weekly series where I share more personal updates and thoughts with paid subscribers will turn into a monthly one to leave some space for the next big point I'll tell you about in a moment.
But before, about the other "dead" series like "Dazzled By Korean" or "A Complete Journey Into a New Language", these are actually not completely left behind and you can expect them to pop up once in a while again.
An artificially intelligent series
I've mentioned my deep interest in AI many times but could never delve deep. Despite countless hours playing with ChatGPT, articles read, videos seen, and even a great Coursera course taken, I've only scratched the surface here.
Most other people who have written online about using AI to learn languages have also only scratched the surface.
AI can be so much more than a basic teacher or conversation partner.
Provided you give it the right prompts.
Talking to AI systems is a language in and of itself.
Just like learning to speak Japanese or German, there are rules, patterns, and methods to make yourself understood by the AI so you get a response you can use for your language-learning journey.
I'll kick things off with ChatGPT but you can expect me to branch out to tell you about other AI tools that could be great support to any language learner. I'm thinking image creation, audio, and so much more.
Now.
I'm still no expert. I've probably played with AI in this context more than most but there's still so much more to learn so this won't be a perfect how-to-be-great kind of newsletter. I will also share frustrations and failures I'll have faced (and that you'll probably experience too).
I believe The Language of AI, as it'll be called, should be of interest to anybody trying to learn languages but I reckon some might not want to hear about it too much.
For this reason, I'll create it as a different section from The Average Polyglot. All of you are already subscribed to both the "standard" one and The Language of AI but you can choose to unsubscribe to one or the other by in your account section here.
I hope you'll stick around for both though!
The Language of AI will start next week, on September 5th, and continue biweekly (ie. once every fortnight) from there on, although this may change in the future.
The update's TL;DR
What did you expect? Me not rambling? Sure you're reading the right person?
Still, I understand you might just want to know what's happening without knowing the why. So here you go:
TL;DR Newsletter → Turns into a biweekly newsletter about language learning tips and tricks mostly.
The Language of AI2 → New biweekly newsletter about how to use AI to learn and practice languages.
Lesser-Known Languages (LKL) Deep Dives → Now once every two months or so, with information from speakers directly when possible.
Thursday's Thousandth Thought (TTT) → Now monthly (paid subscribers)
In short, if you stay subscribed to both, you’ll still get one newsletter a week and then once in a while an extra from another series.
Be ready for quite the ride!
Take care,
Mathias, an average and curious polyglot
Thank you to those of you who've been here since the beginning!
TLOAI? TLAI? tLoAI?
So excited for this, although sections contain us, but i really loved the culture part in the previous editions. Onto new chapters.