>>2876237
Retards, grifters, and larpers completely ruined the possibility of a legitimate conversation about this.

In my experience there are no "basics", there's an inflection point several hundred of hours in. Before you reach this level using the language is pointless, after you reach this level the language becomes very useful. But most retards just swipe away on duolingo and never even approach this point.
The inflection point is when you can understand so much that when a native says an arbitrary sentence, the chances of you understanding it are basically guaranteed. The retards, larpers, and grifters point and grunt out a few phrasebook words and insist they are "getting by" and that their way is the correct way and then they shill you some mass marketed product that in reality has no effect.

>>2876237
I have found success by intentionally studying the language. This doesn't mean passively listening or using a single app like duolingo. You set aside time to learn new words and grammar, read the language, and deliberately immerse yourself in media.
First you think you are doing great because you learn a handful of words, then you hit a point where you plateau really hard and become frustrated because you don't understand enough, and eventually you hit a point where you understand just enough and pick up new words through context. Fluency and mastery are also separate goals as well. To be able to read shit like academic papers in another language takes exponentially longer than to read shitposts on the internet or signs.
I would say ultimately learning a language is a long-term commitment and if you think it is something that can be done in a few months you are doomed to fail.
>>2876240
This is very good advice.

>>2876237
>how do you learn languages?
>Growing up only speaking English
just fyi
you're always gonna play on hard mode
you have 2 chances in life to make learning languages easier
>grow up (actually) bilingual from birth
meaning one parent speaks one language the other the other one
>start to learn second language between age 4-8
everything later and it's harder
>start to learn second language before ~16yo
after that your brain is significantly handicapped in that regard

>authentic conversations
you need to be fairly fluent to get this aka B2/C1 level

>How do you pick up the basics of a language quickly?
really depends on the language
for you, as english native speaker, language like Spanish, French, Italian or German are much simpler to pick up than Arabic or Japanese

>Common phrases etc. how long does it usually take you to get comfortable talking enough to "get by"?
for basic vacation level in the prior mentioned languages
maybe 6month@1h daily and you should know ~500-1000 words + be able to form and understand basic sentences
which is more than enough to e.g. order an beer, get direction etc.
but not enough to have simple conversations

after ~2y of consistent learning you can likely do conversations
3-4y @1h daily and you probably reach basic fluency

again, that's for easy languages from an English perspective and an average
you'll have a somewhat harder time

if you want a few tips
>start learning basic vocabulary from the beginning
>join a class for grammar, speaking and listening
>find a tandem partner as soon as you can (like A2 level)
>switch all your content consumption to target language, such as movies, songs etc.
apps like duolingo are good for motivation but the actual value is very low

File: 71-nJtTInOL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg (81.7 KB)

81.7 KB JPG

Download anki
https://apps.ankiweb.net/
Find a VOICED vocab deck of your target language
Get a basic grammar book and familiarize yourself with the basic structure of the language
Barrons makes good pocket books for this
Find content in your target language you'll enjoy watching
Rewatch your media of choice over and over puzzling out the grammar and different words

Keep doing this

>>2876256
>after that your brain is significantly handicapped in that regard
shitter cope
>>2876265
you dont need tranki, get a grammar book and skim it. come back to it later when you understand the words but you dont know what sentences mean. most important thing is having content for natives that has both audio and text, and having a quick way to look up words in the dictionary

>>2876237
By trying to listen, trying to read, and failing. It's very easy to just Google Lens your way through menus and signs, but try.

Obviously, some languages are harder than others for Anglophones, namely tonal Asian languages. Some languages have more oearning resources than others. The DLI ranking of difficulty is about right.