2 Comments
User's avatar
Shane DeMeulenaere's avatar

Where would you place a motivation of pure curiosity about history and understanding how the world works? I'm studying Old English right now, largely because it represents a significant portion of the history of my own mother tongue, Modern English. I'm leaning more towards integrative, but I'm interested to hear (read) your thoughts.

Expand full comment
Colin Gorrie's avatar

I think this construct has difficulty with languages without a community of speakers – but I'd place what you describe closer to "integrative" than to "instrumental". Actually, Old English does have some second-language speakers on the internet, so true integrative motivation may be possible there too! But I share your interest and motivation for studying Old English – intellectual curiosity seems to be a very powerful motivating force!

Expand full comment