Learning a new language...

[SnoopDog]

...oh boy am I excited. I have just started to learn Spanish.

It's the language I always wanted to learn since I love it so much.But I wasn't able to in school. so now, I started at university. Hooray. Althouhg it's gonna be a shit load of work and i'm having some trouble with the spanish 'r'. But, who cares.

Es mui bien.



What language do you want to learn desperately?





Snoopyio

 

[Elsie Grey]

I want to learn Gaelic! And if I ever find a course round here I'm definitely going to sign up, but there don't seem to be any!

Elsie

xxx

 

[MaeveoSliabh]

I want to learn Gaelic! And if I ever find a course round here I'm definitely going to sign up, but there don't seem to be any!

Elsie

xxx

heh... That's where shacking up with an Irishman comes in handy.

Also have this book that -usually- comes with audio CDs, but I didn't get the CDs (of course). He says it's a good one that covers all the basics. If you'd like I can dig it out and let you know hte name, publisher, etc.

 

[CeriseNoire]

I'm currently learning Spanish, then I think I'll brush up on my German. After that, I'd like to learn one of the African languages and maybe Japanese as well.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

I'd love to learn Japanese but I suspect that Spanish will be more usefull in the US in the near future.

 

[CeriseNoire]

I'd love to learn Japanese but I suspect that Spanish will be more usefull in the US in the near future.

I'm sure it will soon be indispensable. My brother is currently learning Japanese, so I figure that by the time I'm ready for it, I'll just hit him up for help.

Being fluent in French, I figured Spanish would be easier to learn for now.

 

[rgraham666]

Chinese. I suspect it's going to be the next English.

And I'd love to be able to read Art of War in its original form.

French or German because I'll probably be moving to that area of the world someday.

 

[CeriseNoire]

Chinese. I suspect it's going to be the next English.

And I'd love to be able to read Art of War in its original form.

French or German because I'll probably be moving to that area of the world someday.

French is not too difficult if you have the time to study (of course this is my totally biased opinion). I had learn German as a kid (though I lost most of it due to a decade in the US), and that was quite difficult. There's so much you have to master before people can even understand you

 

[Elsie Grey]

heh... That's where shacking up with an Irishman comes in handy.

Also have this book that -usually- comes with audio CDs, but I didn't get the CDs (of course). He says it's a good one that covers all the basics. If you'd like I can dig it out and let you know hte name, publisher, etc.

That's be great if you could! Thank-you

Elsie

xxx

 

[MaeveoSliabh]

That's be great if you could! Thank-you

Elsie

xxx

This one!

It's the cheapie cheezy course, but one that he recommended.

 

[cloudy]

I love learning new languages.

Spanish was my first - it's probably the easiest to learn.

Since then I've learned some Danish (they make noises in that language that Americans just can't), A LOT of Cherokee, and a LOT of Ojibway. Ojibway's particularly difficult because a lot of it it depends on who you're talking to, and what the subject being discussed is, etc. - there are about twenty different words for "help," all depending on who is being helped, and what said help consists of.

 

[FallingToFly]

Chinese. I suspect it's going to be the next English.

And I'd love to be able to read Art of War in its original form.

French or German because I'll probably be moving to that area of the world someday.

I'm siting here with Chinese soap operas that are subtitled in French playing. Not so bad on the readign side- I always could read it better than I could speak it, but the Chinese is giving me a headache. Their syntax is screwy!!!

 

[N0madS0uL]

English with a Sicilian accent - Now that's a language Sadly, I know only 1 human language (English) and a fair share of computer ones. I love to learn spanish though.

 

[FatDino]

Hmm...My first language isn't English, it's Vietnamese. Surprising, eh?

Okay, not really.

Currently learning Chinese.

Spanish and French are next in line, also considering Egyptian.

 

[elsol]

...oh boy am I excited. I have just started to learn Spanish.

It's the language I always wanted to learn since I love it so much.But I wasn't able to in school. so now, I started at university. Hooray. Althouhg it's gonna be a shit load of work and i'm having some trouble with the spanish 'r'. But, who cares.

Es mui bien.



What language do you want to learn desperately?

Snoopyio

I'll ask my girl for her spanish diction rhymes.

She just finished a spanish major; early on, I made her watch spanish TV and on this reality show, a diction coach was trying to fix a woman's accent so he gave her a set of nursery rhymes which were excellent for learning how to say the R's and other latin sounds properly.

Actually, worst spanish thing for non-native speakers... is no its... everything has a gender, and your noun pointers and adjectives must match.

 

[bluebell]

Welsh.
Almost desperately, in fact. Good thing I have a Welsh aunt to hit up for pointers.

 

[JPMMURPHY]

Japanese. I need some lines for a book. Besides, how else will I order a shot of Tequila if I go to Tokyo.

A suggestion from someone that learned his first second language at the age of 30 - long past the maximum absorption point of most brains. Go to Tower records prepared to spend several hours. Find a nice cute Spanish speaker to act as your guide. Listen to a ton of music and pick at least 10 CD's that you like just cause ya like the beat, tonality, look of the singer on the cover - whatever. Then listen to it all the time. As you learn the melody words will start to appear - that's called developing your ear - then, bit by bit, as you actually have to ask someone, or look up words, you'll understand about a third of the song. The rest will define itself. Mechano was my breakthrough group. Marcha a Nueva York, Mujer contra Mujer (what a visual that one conjers) and a bevy of others made it happen for me. So much better than class work.

Wish ya luck. Once you lick Spanish, French and Italian will be a breeze.

 

[cumallday]

I want to learn Gaelic! And if I ever find a course round here I'm definitely going to sign up, but there don't seem to be any!

Elsie

xxx

Cumann in Gaelic means friendship, love; companionship.
Cumallday means friendship, love; fifty dollars on the motel nightstand.

 

[S-Des]

I took French in High School and College, but never had the chance to use it. I'd love to take a refresher course if I had someone to speak it with. It's such a beautiful language. *sigh*

 

[togitc]

Japanese.

I'm learning through books at the moment and finding that kids picture books are really helpful. The only thing they don't have is sentence structure and sentax.

So I don't know if it is (forgive the spelling, it's from memory and I desperately need sleep)

Konichiwa, Amerika-jin desu

or

Konichiwa desu Amerika-jin

 

[CeriseNoire]

Japanese.

I'm learning through books at the moment and finding that kids picture books are really helpful. The only thing they don't have is sentence structure and sentax.

So I don't know if it is (forgive the spelling, it's from memory and I desperately need sleep)

Konichiwa, Amerika-jin desu

or

Konichiwa desu Amerika-jin

I don't know the rule, but both my brother's old Japanese teacher and the people on the tape exercises he had to listen to always seemed to put "desu" at the end, right after the addressee.

 

[Salvor-Hardon]

I know a few words in Russian already and would love to expand that vocabulary into a full working knowledge to visit St Petersburg and Moscow.

then maybe Spanish and Portuguese, then Italian and French. If my brain hasn't exploded after that, then German or Greek maybe. Something that will get me around most of the Mediterranean.

 

[CharleyH]

...oh boy am I excited. I have just started to learn Spanish.

It's the language I always wanted to learn since I love it so much.But I wasn't able to in school. so now, I started at university. Hooray. Althouhg it's gonna be a shit load of work and i'm having some trouble with the spanish 'r'. But, who cares.

Es mui bien.



What language do you want to learn desperately?

Snoopyio

Since I am living here in Portugal - Portuguese. It's not the easiest language to master (I keep lapsing into French and Spanish enunciations) but I am on my way to mastering it without having been taught a word. I am doing well. I just wish I was doing better, but a course from English to Portuguese sadly costs 600 Euros.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Japanese. I need some lines for a book. Besides, how else will I order a shot of Tequila if I go to Tokyo.

A suggestion from someone that learned his first second language at the age of 30 - long past the maximum absorption point of most brains. Go to Tower records prepared to spend several hours. Find a nice cute Spanish speaker to act as your guide. Listen to a ton of music and pick at least 10 CD's that you like just cause ya like the beat, tonality, look of the singer on the cover - whatever. Then listen to it all the time. As you learn the melody words will start to appear - that's called developing your ear - then, bit by bit, as you actually have to ask someone, or look up words, you'll understand about a third of the song. The rest will define itself. Mechano was my breakthrough group. Marcha a Nueva York, Mujer contra Mujer (what a visual that one conjers) and a bevy of others made it happen for me. So much better than class work.

Wish ya luck. Once you lick Spanish, French and Italian will be a breeze.

Ordering alcohol is a universal language- tequila is tequila, although in Japanese it sounds more like "te-ki-ra" (the "R" and the "L" sounds meet haclfway in betweet in a kind of soft "D"- but an "R" is much easier for them to pronounce)
Beer is "bee-ru"
whiskey is "wi-su-ki"with that "su" syllable said very quickly so that it's only almost three syllables instead of two.

Japanese is utterly easy to pronounce, pretty much every vowel is identical ti Italian, and all the consonants are clean and hard. It's the grammar and construction that make it almost impossible to learn and become fluent in. Even the native speakers- they count status by language ability. When you get a promotion you go back to school to learn how to speak according to your new rank. On the other hand, it's easy as hell to memorise songs phonetically, and if you can mimic the emotives well enough, you can choke up your lissteners on Karaoke nights...

Great advice on the music! Try Los Lobos for Mexican-style Spanish

 

[JPMMURPHY]

Ordering alcohol is a universal language- tequila is tequila, although in Japanese it sounds more like "te-ki-ra" (the "R" and the "L" sounds meet haclfway in betweet in a kind of soft "D"- but an "R" is much easier for them to pronounce)
Beer is "bee-ru"
whiskey is "wi-su-ki"with that "su" syllable said very quickly so that it's only almost three syllables instead of two.

Japanese is utterly easy to pronounce, pretty much every vowel is identical ti Italian, and all the consonants are clean and hard. It's the grammar and construction that make it almost impossible to learn and become fluent in. Even the native speakers- they count status by language ability. When you get a promotion you go back to school to learn how to speak according to your new rank. On the other hand, it's easy as hell to memorise songs phonetically, and if you can mimic the emotives well enough, you can choke up your lissteners on Karaoke nights...

Great advice on the music! Try Los Lobos for Mexican-style Spanish

I like the bar room shopping guide. Cute.