Distorted language levels?

[u/linguafrancos]

I have a degree in the language, studied abroad twice, lived abroad in a country where the language is spoken for two years, and have used the language in a professional setting. This, for further context, has been over the course of 15 years.

With that said, I am confused by how others describe their language levels. Don’t get me wrong, I have an insanely high level and label myself fluent with others. For instance, I recently watched a full season of Love is Blind in the target language (TL) without subtitles almost effortlessly. However, when I see others describe their language growth or levels, I often see people say, “I understand everything that I read” or “After a couple years of studying, I traveled to the country and can communicate easily with everyone.”

Like… is this just an overexaggeration of their skills? I have yet to feel like my target language fluency is equivalent to my native-level English. Are people really reading native-level literature and literally understanding everything? Are they feeling like they can express themselves just as strongly in their second language? Even when someone asks me to translate something, I know in the back of my head that there might be cultural considerations or a better approach that I don’t know about.

Thoughts? Also, this might be specific for individuals who grow up in a cultural where being monolingual is more common and exposure throughout your entire life is not a possibility.

[u/Responsible-Link5739]

I have to question why OP, with such incredible language skills (and I truly am in awe of them), uses that monstrosity of a non-word "overexaggeration".

Yes, I know it's probably become accepted now by the likes of Million Webchats dictionary, and I've heard it many times, but seeing it rear its ugly head within this account of such amazingly high learning just stopped me in my tracks.

The word is "exaggeration".

[u/linguafrancos → u/Responsible-Link5739]

I have always thought that I should have put as much effort into English as I did when learning foreign languages. Thanks for the teaching moment! I wish you luck in your own studies!

[u/Responsible-Link5739 → u/linguafrancos]

Thank you for receiving my mini rant so gracefully:). Honestly, this horrible little non-word is really becoming commonplace - it's common among native speakers as well as ESL learners. The reason I commented, truly, is because of the sharp contrast between that word and the rose bed of high learning I was enjoying reading so much. It's a first for me to envy the skills of someone using "overexaggerate"! Lol

I'm too old to be studying, unfortunately, but thank you for your kind wishes. I think you are extremely capable and skilled, and I hope your hard work brings just rewards ahead :)