Can you learn a foreign language?

Written By Mikhail Menschikov

The answer? No, you can't. Period. (Sorry.)

But wait - just like you can't completely "learn" your own native language either, there's always room for improvement—there is always something.

There will always be one more mistake, one wrong preposition, one letter off in an ending (more relevant for Russian than probably any other language. Any Russian learner comes to the painful realization: IT'S ALWAYS THE ENDING). One more new word. And that's not even counting the constant flood of new words appearing literally every single day. You might not know them simply because you're not part of a certain social or age group that actively uses them. Professional slang, obsolete words no one cares about anymore (but then you see them in a book written a century ago and think, OMG, how did I live without knowing this?).

Language is alive.

It is technically considered inanimate even in Russian (a language that cares about such things), but maybe it shouldn't be. It evolves, shifts, and will continue to change in the future. Even native speakers don't speak "the same language."

For example, in the UK (since I'm writing this in English), it's said that every 42 kilometers, you can hear a different dialect—sometimes so distinct that a Northerner might struggle to understand a Southerner. This might be somewhat of an exaggeration, but it serves as a great example of how language varies even within a single country. The same or similar happens in Russian, Spanish, German, and every other language out there.

Never ask a woman her age, never ask a man his salary, never ask a German why his grandfather is in Argentina

Some Real-World Examples of Language Evolution

Since Spanish is my third language now, I can provide examples of how it blends with other languages in bilingual environments:

1. Belgranodeutsch (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

This is a mix of German and Spanish spoken by German immigrants and their descendants in Argentina. While following German sentence structures, it borrows heavily from Spanish vocabulary and even grammar:

  • Example: Ich afeitiere mich jetzt. (I am going to shave now.) • Uses the Spanish verb afeitarse instead of the German rasieren but keeps the German reflexive structure.

  • Example: Traducierst du das mal? (Can you translate this?) • The German verb übersetzen (to translate) is replaced with a hybrid form traducierst, derived from the Spanish traducir.

This linguistic blend developed naturally as German-speaking families interacted with Spanish-speaking society, leading to a hybrid of the two.

2. Miami English (Florida, USA)

In South Florida, where Spanish and English coexist closely, Spanish grammar and expressions have crept into the English spoken there:

  • Example: "Get down from the car." (Standard English: "Get out of the car.") • A direct translation from Spanish bajarse del carro, where bajar means "to go down," resulting in an unnatural-sounding phrase in English.

In both cases, these linguistic influences are so strong that even monolingual English or German speakers living in these areas may unknowingly adopt them.

So, Can You Really "Learn" a Language?

No.

But don't get me wrong—I'm not saying this to discourage you. Quite the opposite. That shouldn't stop you.

The very fact that there's always something new to discover should make learning even more exciting, not frustrating. Instead of chasing an impossible "end goal," focus on making actual progress. (It's the perfect illustration of the idea that a samurai has no goal—only a path.)

  • Expanding your vocabulary

  • Gaining confidence

  • Training your brain to think in a new way

You don't have to "finish" learning a language to enjoy it. The process itself is the reward—and you can experience that from day one.

Oh, and by the way—learning a new language isn't just fun, it's also great for your health. But more on that later!

Mikhail Menschikov