It was painful to watch Costner portraying Dunbar timidly offering halting English words to communicate with the Indians. Then, from there, in the course of only a few months of language immersion, he becomes fluent in Lakota. It's hard enough to absorb a relatively easy-to-learn language, like Spanish - but a complex language like Lakota?!? Naah, I'm not buying it.
shareYou'd be surprised how fast you can pick up a language when you're immersed in it and are motivated.
shareHaving majored in languages and lived in several continents, I would, indeed, be surprised. There's more to learning a language than simply immersing one's self in it and magically absorbing it. Don't be misled by Rosetta Stone commercials; there's more required than merely soaking it in.
shareCool story
~ I'm a 21st century man and I don't wanna be here.
Well, he does learn the language over several months and/or years. And he had a translator to help him out.
shareI think movieguy789 wanted an extra few hours devoted to Dunbar practicing linguistics, and a subplot revolving around his attempts to correct his grammar in night classes and learning to stress his vowels properly. Would have been riveting.
~ I'm a 21st century man and I don't wanna be here.
Kicking Bird seemed fluent in English by the end, though
shareDo we actually know how much time he ends up spending with the tribe?
I also thought he learned it very quickly, taking into account how difficult this language is. I'm jealous:)