Self-Learning?

Alva writes:
I know people involved in teaching English that refer to a particular course as "a self-learning programme." They speak about "discovering the joy of self-learning."

In the only other language I speak (Afrikaans) it is correct to say "Ek het myself geleer om te dans" which translated directly is "I learned myself how to dance." Also it is correct to say "Ek sal jou leer hoe om te dans" which translated directly is " I will learn you how to dance." In Afrikaans and possibly other languages the same word is used for learn and teach.

My argument is that in the English idiom you cannot say "self-learning" because nobody else can learn on your behalf. Likewise it is incorrect to say " I self ate the food" this does not make sense. Nobody can swallow or eat something for you. The word learn automatically implies doing it yourself.

Please could you shed more light on this question.

You've touched a hot button, Alva. My wife and I always marvel at signs for "Self-Storage," as if customers wanted to put themselves in lockers.

It's interesting that Afrikaans uses the same word for "learn" and "teach." Some English dialects do the same thing, but Standard English does not.

I agree that "self-learning" makes no sense, except in the sense of gaining greater understanding of oneself. The correct term should be "self-teaching" or "self-instruction." A person who learns in this manner is an "autodidact," literally "self-taught." (By the way, all the compound words including "self" seem to require a hyphen: self-absorbed, self-taught, self-propelled, self-respect, and so on.)

Your other example, "I self ate the food," is very incorrect—it should be "I myself ate the food." In this case, we are using "myself" as an intensifier, focusing more attention on the person we're discussing: You think it was the dog who ate the food, but it was actually I who did so. Other examples might be:
"You yourself agreed to the idea" (which you now criticize).
"She herself is a famous scholar" (as well as her husband).
"I'd rather do it myself" (as opposed to letting you do it).

We also use such "self" words as reflexives, describing an action affecting the person performing the action:
"I cut myself shaving this morning."
"We asked ourselves what to do next."
"You're doing yourself a favour."

And as long as I'm on the subject, here's a completely unacceptable usage:
Dave and myself are going downtown.

It should always be "Dave and I are going downtown"! "Myself" is never a synonym for "I" or "me."

Comments

[maria]

self learning actually means "to learn by yourself, at your own pace and not in a group".

[Aleksey Gureev]

Self-teaching means "to learn by yourself" and self-learning means "learning yourself", in my opinion. :)