Learning a language...
-
Result!regmcfly wrote:They never came back and I got some sweet Venezuelan chocolateCome with g if you want to live... -
Brooks wrote:
Compared to how everyone else is handling their late capitalist crises I might want to call it the mercifully stagnant and unturbulent 30 years.Tempy wrote:Brooks is the assumption around Japan these days still that the "lost decade" is now in danger of becoming "the lost 30 years"?
Fair enough, some reading I was doing was folk trying to decide if it was worth extending the traditional definition of the mid 90s slump or not and was interested in those first hand takes.
Flat mate who got a first in the language has no interest in moving there because of the work culture, and he'd have to work. I am enjoying lots of reading that says they have a demand for Order in their society, it seems so hilariously Western implying that but evidence is not to the contrary. -
Was pretty shocked by how scrappy the airport looked.
Even Gatwick feels more modern than Narita.
Not the best indicator of economic performance, true, but it was noteworthy."I didn't get it. BUUUUUUUUUUUT, you fucking do your thing." - Roujin
Ninty Code: SW-7904-0771-0996 -
I absolutely suck at languages and always have done.
Partly, that's due to education. I never had any formal education in English Grammar, and as Yoss rightly states, lacking that basic foundation makes life much harder. It also didn't help that my french teacher was a Spanish woman who spoke only limited English, meaning that all of my French has a Spanish lilt, and some of it I subsequently learned, actually is Spanish.
I have tried picking up languages since. Once in my late teens when I realised that medical schools like you to have at least a halfway passing grade in languages, so I re-sat my French GCSE. I remained pretty awful (but fortunately was just good enough.)
More recently I tried learning Bengali (the in-laws are from Bangladesh), and was an absolute disaster, not least because there are sounds that I simply can't differentiate.
That said, the problem here is predominantly me, and I suspect at least partly my conviction that I'm incapable of learning them, rather than that actually being true. My mother, conversely, has brushed up on her french since retiring, then gone on to learn Russian and is now experimenting with Japanese. So picking up a language in later life is definitely perfectly possible, it just takes time and dedication.
It also helps massively if you are surrounded by people who are speaking the language in question. -
GF speaks Hungarian and there is no way I will ever be able to learn it due to the insane grammar rules it abides by. Frequently considered one of the toughest languages to learn.
edit: i am not helping, sorry dyno. follow ur heart -
My brother's wife is Chinese but raised in Japan. Consequently his kids speak Mandarin, Japanese and English fluently. My boy is a Weegie and barely speaks English.
-
Wait until you inherent the Papa H estate and start recruiting poor sods to venture into the cavernous recesses beneath to find out what gods of strategy he communed with during his life
-
Papa h is the secret dark lord
-
Irl my dad is actual rich which he has always hid from me and I'd like to know his actual wealth
-
I found German much, much easier than French.
It has it's fair share of odd looking rules but the language tends to stick to them unlike ours with all that "I before E except after C expect in these words, or if you add 'ed or 'ing, or if the sun is out and it is a Thursday".
Words can generally be broken down phonetically once you know how things like 'Sch' and 'ß' work.
Syllables are quite strong with hard Ds Gs and Ts so listening to German being spoken can be easier than something like French where words tend to flow into one another.
Hardest part is probably writing as the long words can easily lead to spelling mistakes. -
Tempy wrote:GF speaks Hungarian and there is no way I will ever be able to learn it due to the insane grammar rules it abides by. Frequently considered one of the toughest languages to learn. edit: i am not helping, sorry dyno. follow ur heart
Dude the grammar rules are great, they're so strict you can't go wrong. Just people are scared of Finno-Ugric languages because they're useless outside the Hungary,Finland and Estonia. But being so strict in the rules once you've learnt them it becomes really easy to "conjugate the verb" and all that jazz"I spent years thinking Yorke was legit Downs-ish disabled and could only achieve lucidity through song" - Mr B -
I've been trying to learn Spanish on and off for around a year now and I find it really tough. I took a couple of classes that did give me a bit of a foundation but when it comes to actually participating in conversations I'm useless.
I think what cockbeard said about not being afraid to be a kid is spot on. My girlfriend is Spanish which means I obviously have the perfect opportunity to jump right in and start forcing myself to converse in the language. But I find it really tough to let go of my inhibitions and allow myself to look like a numpty.
We've been to Spain to meet her parents a few times and every time I leave I promise to be able to speak a bit more Spanish next time. And then next time arrives and I'm just as useless as before. It's super frustrating, sitting there like a complete dummy, nodding and smiling while everyone around you chats away.
I would say some of the apps are quite a fun way to learn a few words, such as Duolingo. -
cockbeard wrote:"conjugate the verb"
Why the quote marks? Conjugating verbs definitely exists. I just did it there, see? -
I've been learning Japanese for a few months now, building on the ever so solid foundation videogames and anime gave me as a child.
It's been going pretty good tbh, so bits are harder than others but I find quite a few areas of the language quite logically structured, which helps. The missus is Japanese so I usually practice what I've learnt during the week on her, which she finds hilarious/annoying (I sounds like a toddler or such struggling to say a single simple word and getting it a little wrong, 'Bednesday!' or such).
I'm enjoying it although have been neglecting the hiragana; I can pick out some of them but there's a fair ways to go.
I found watching Japanese language shows helpful in motivation if not actually learning. There are a few Japanese speakers in our office and I can now ask them some basic things like how their day was, what they're up to at the weekend etc etc. -
Most couples I know who are a split of Spanish (or another language) and English generally end up speaking English. Partly because of the enthusiasm of non-English speakers to learn English and also because English speakers have less need to learn another language. They also have very little understanding of the structures of their own language, let alone another. (As mentioned above) -
I'm onto advanced Chinese now - need to pass HSK6 (the highest level) in the next 2 years if I want to graduate. Lacking motivation and it's kicking my arse, tbh, but it's not impossible if you actually put the effort in.
The key, imo, is to actually put time into study. I know that sounds obvious, but a couple of hours a week is not enough. If you really want to learn a language you've got to study or use it, at least a little, every day. Every single day.
If you can commit time to constantly improving your language ability then you'll make massive strides. Regular formal classes are also a huge help.
But, if language is something you'll attempt for a bit then be happy to put off until "tomorrow " then you're gonna plateau and get frustrated at yourself fast. -
Kow wrote:Most couples I know who are a split of Spanish (or another language) and English generally end up speaking English. Partly because of the enthusiasm of non-English speakers to learn English and also because English speakers have less need to learn another language. They also have very little understanding of the structures of their own language, let alone another. (As mentioned above)
Mentioned elsewhere, but yes, not learning grammar at school definitely holds us back. Whenever I've dated foreign girls which is about a 50/50 split they've laughed at me struggling to describe grammar"I spent years thinking Yorke was legit Downs-ish disabled and could only achieve lucidity through song" - Mr B -
It also means English speakers have no idea what's easy or difficult in their own language, leading to the classic shouting at foreigners so they understand better scenario.
-
cockbeard wrote:Kow wrote:Most couples I know who are a split of Spanish (or another language) and English generally end up speaking English. Partly because of the enthusiasm of non-English speakers to learn English and also because English speakers have less need to learn another language. They also have very little understanding of the structures of their own language, let alone another. (As mentioned above)
Mentioned elsewhere, but yes, not learning grammar at school definitely holds us back. Whenever I've dated foreign girls which is about a 50/50 split they've laughed at me struggling to describe grammar
That's not a situation unique to the English, from my experience. -
Kow wrote:It also means English speakers have no idea what's easy or difficult in their own language, leading to the classic shouting at foreigners so they understand better scenario.
If anything, I wish to kill my own ignorance towards this very idea."I didn't get it. BUUUUUUUUUUUT, you fucking do your thing." - Roujin
Ninty Code: SW-7904-0771-0996 -
Cinty speaks truth, although I suspect we're worse than most.
-
Huh, you don't get grammar lessons in school? I remember having Dutch from the start of elementary school to the end of high school. English and French or German (you could choose) would be added at some points. Could have Latin if you were smart enough. Not that any of that helped me, I just never clicked with languages.
Little niece of mine is now close to 4 I think and she can switch on the spot between Dutch and English (the UK English), but if she's says she's going to a party it's American English, which her dad hates. Met a friend of hers at her birthday and that boy would listen to either Spanish, German, Dutch or English, was impressive to see. -
We did but they were really piss basic.
Ev is now trying to explain Hungarian suffixes and affixes, and how nouns haves 18 cases and it is apparently an agglunitive language ok -
I know what a noun and a verb is. I used to know what an adjective was but I've forgotten.
-
SpaceGazelle wrote:I know what a noun and a verb is. I used to know what an adjective was but I've forgotten.Spoiler:
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- All Discussions2,715
- Games1,879
- Off topic836