Reasons some languages are harder to learn

ahh! Very cool, thank you. These features at this point seem like something that can be locked into the look up table. Though, the exceptions rule book is getting pretty big. :P I guess that's where it gets complicated. The features approach kind of compliments my programming part of my brain. Which is also juggling between various features of programming languages and packages within those languages. It definitely takes time to lock in the vocab (I spend on average, measured on a weekly basis, between 30 min-1h30min a day learning Chinese). I'm just 7 months in my Chinese learning experience. In general, I continuously discover more and more depth. What's the amount of time you go back and redo some the earlier stuff you learn?

> Vaguely wondering if I can find a way to concisely frame definite/indefinite in a way that makes its utility to English speakers seem less puzzling.

First, it must be understood that English really many nouns tagged with a determiner; which can be articles (the X, a/an X), possessive or demonstrative "pronouns" (his/her X, this/that X, etc.), or others. (The nouns English doesn't want tagged are proper nouns, or nouns that talk about a type of X rather than an instance of X).

The X means that the question "which X?" is possible/relevant, and that the speaker/writer expects the listener/reader to know/care the answer to "which X?".

A/an X means that the question "which X?" is possible/relevant, and that the speaker/writer does not expect the listener/reader to know/care about the answer to "which X?".

It's important to understand that whether to use the versus a/an is controlled completely by the point of view and understanding of the speaker/writer. If the speaker/writer is setting an expectation the listener/reader can't meet, that's a sign to ask questions, pretend you know, or remember and wait until later for clarification.

I know Russian doesn't have articles but I'm not sure why they're "needed" in English versus Russian.

>“hey why don’t we go for a run, somewhere next Monday maybe around noon, just the two of us. I think there’s a nice track close to my place.”

欸！下个星期我们一起去跑步吧。比如星期一中午，就我们俩。我家附近好像有个挺好的跑道。

That's almost a direct translation that would work just fine in Chinese.

> I though of the activity first then the time then the person. Generally that’s how I come up with how to plan activities.

Then you will be really happy to learn about the topic-comment structure in Chinese. It's exactly what you want!

EDIT:

If you really want to say "go running together" before "next week" then that's also fine:

欸！我们一起去跑步吧。比如星期一中午，就我们俩。我家附近好像有个挺好的跑道。

Sounds like you’ve got the commitment to learn it. Are you self-studying, in class, studying in your home country or in a Chinese-speaking country?

I spend 3 hours per day in class, 5 days a week. We learn about 10 new words and about 2-3 new grammatical structures per day. Outside of class it takes me about 5 hours per day to complete homework assignments and memorize vocab (including writing traditional characters). It’s very brisk and I am barely able to keep up. Every day I feel like I am in a pressure cooker.

Since my homework includes a lot of writing, I tend to peek back at previous chapters and continue to fold old grammar and vocab into my writing. Since I live in Taiwan I have plenty of opportunities to practice. I make it a point to try to put new grammar and words to use immediately while texting or talking with friends. Anytime I’m riding the metro or standing in line or something, I am always practicing flash cards in Pleco. I feel like occasional review wouldn’t be enough for me, I actually have to put it to use to absorb it.

Since I feel like my head is constantly just beneath the water in a perpetual state of drowning, I don’t know if I’m in a position to offer advice, but if I’m offering advice I’d say forget the lookup table. Exceptions abound, and when you start getting into complements and directional phrases and stuff it’s just too much. It’s like trying to memorize the rules for the order of adjectives in English. It’s easier to just practice usage and know when it sounds “off.” Try to find people to practice talking with.

I think this is one of those things that teachers tend to make a big deal out of that doesn't matter too much in real life communication.

It's not unusual in Chinese for someone to structure a meandering sentence like "let's go for a run ba, next Monday hao bu hao, around noon we can meet ne, just us two a, there is a nice track, it's my house nearby de yige, what do you think?"

The sentence order is more important when you already have all the information up-front and you are trying to describe it to someone. So if you have three different runs and someone asks "which run?" then you might say "the just us two next Monday at noon my house nearby de track de nage run". Or drop everything but the last de: "us two next Monday at noon my house nearby track de". In reality, that's a bit of a weird thing to ever need to say, you'd probably just say "next Monday at noon de". Or "my house nearby track de". But if you did say "nage track de nage, my house nearby de nage track, next Monday at noon de, just the two of us going ba, nage run, you know ma", you would be understood too.

Personally i think getting the tones right is the most important part of being understood in Chinese. Some Chinese may pretend not to understand you if you get the formal grammar "wrong", but that often comes across to me as a condescending form of ingrained elitism, because it doesn't happen when you talk to working class or poorly-educated Chinese. Much like in English, as long as the general pronunciation (including tones) is recognizable, you should be able to communicate your intent. It won't get you passing grades if you have to write an essay, but if you just want to talk to people on the street, I think focusing on tones and the small sounds that give contextual hints about what you're saying (ma, ne, ba, a/ya, nage/nege, yige, de etc) is a better investment.