Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Any other languages?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #91
    Re: Any other languages?

    Originally posted by Unlogisch View Post
    I'm brand new here so I think I'll wait a bit before I start making requests.

    It's a great language but it can be frustrating to not have anyone to talk to. I discovered recently, however, that one of the guys who lives in my building is fluent so we'll probably converse a fair bit.
    Yeah, that should be helpful. We're all different when it comes to how we learn languages (as adults at least), but for me, the language remains a dead collection of facts and equations in my brain, unless I actually use it. Even then, I'm still in the process of switching to being able to just say what I feel without consciously worrying about conjugation and so on. German was even worse for me, because of all the gender, irregular past tenses, nonsensical plurals and so on. Word order matters so much more in German too. It was just too much to think about each time I opened my mouth to speak. I hope I get the chance to try again with the language one day.

    Oh and to all language learners: have you tried Anki? It is a flashcard program that you can write your own flashcards with. You have to use it daily or you end up with loads to review, but it is very effective and the review intervals are really well timed for maximum retention. You can even upload your decks to the online site and access them from anywhere, which is handy if you're away from home and don't want to fall behind on your study. I have always used flashcards (well lists actually, but the same idea), but this program has really reinforced my study. It works for remembering anything, not just languages. It was one of the members of the oshaberikai (Japanese Stammtisch) I run who told me about it and I wish I'd discovered it years ago!
    夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

    Comment


    • #92
      Re: Any other languages?

      Originally posted by PainAndLight View Post
      I see thread for Japanese and Arabic. Was wondering if anyone out there is working on any other languages?
      Does English count? My native language is Norwegian, and I know Swedish as well. Understand Danish, but can't write or speak it.
      My blog
      On Instagram
      On Witches' Voice

      Comment


      • #93
        Re: Any other languages?

        I speak competent Indonesian, and now I teach it. Only been there once, but was surprised with how I was able to make myself understood, and how much I understood. I didn't look at all 10 pages, so, apakah ada orang yang juga bisa berbicara bahasa Indonesia di forum ini?
        ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

        RIP

        I have never been across the way
        Seen the desert and the birds
        You cut your hair short
        Like a shush to an insult
        The world had been yelling
        Since the day you were born
        Revolting with anger
        While it smiled like it was cute
        That everything was shit.

        - J. Wylder

        Comment


        • #94
          Re: Any other languages?

          I'm moving this conversation here, because it wasn't really a rant anymore, hope Heka doesn't mind.

          Originally posted by Heka View Post
          German and English are the most similar I think.


          But Indonesian is easiest. No tense!

          Originally posted by Jembru View Post
          NO tense? Really? That is amazing. I thought Japanese was generous with only two! Mind you, I recently found out that Japanese is more relaxed about tense than we are. Does Indonesian have plurals? What about irregular verbs? Are adjectives inflected?
          Can I rewind 8 years and develop and interest in Indonesian instead?

          Sorry. Erm, maybe we need to take this to the any other languages thread...

          Originally posted by Heka View Post
          Indonesian plurals just repeat the word, eg pohon-pohon is trees. One pohon, one tree

          Verbs all surround two prefixes, with few exceptions. When you get REALLY into Indo, the suffixes get a bit tricky. But I just use the slangy version - only the base word!

          And i don't know what you mean by inflected adjectives.

          And OF COURSE you can get interested in Indonesian!
          I think I'm getting genuinely tempted to take a sneeky peek at this language. Sounds heavenly.

          I just meant like, you know verbs change their endings in English? 'I write', 'she writes', 'I wrote', 'It is written', to use an irregular verb so it looks better. Well in both German and Japanese, adjectives change their endings. I'm not going to try to explain the German form because there are 3 different types of declension depending on the word, but both the gender and the case of the item being described, change the ending of the adjective. It's not pretty.

          Japanese is much simpler, but it too has adjectives that change their endings. The reason they change is different though. Rather than indicating gender and case, they inflect for tense or other things Japanese verbs conjugate for (which is a lot). They also have two classes of adjective, some that act like nouns and some that act more like verbs, but the noun-type are pretty straight forward really.

          Mind you, some things we'd describe in English with an adjective, can also use a verb in Japanese, such as when we speak of a person being fat or thin, we tend to use the verb, for 'to gain weight' or 'to lose weight' in its present perfect or past tense.

          So yeah, does Indonesian do any of that? Or can you just say, 'it's a small box', 'the box was small'. 'it's a small and light box' 'it's my brothers small box', 'I broke the small box' and in every case, the word 'small' stays the same? Or is it mean like Japanese, or downright sadistic like German?

          Japanese wins on the plurals though. There generally isn't one! Living things can take a suffix to indicate the plural, but it's only preferable, not essential, but otherwise you just have to use a counter, or adverb of quantity (many, few, some, loads and so on) to indicate the amount. The Japanese sometimes repeat words like Indonesian, but it's for emphasis. As such, it can sometimes imply a greater quantity, but it's not generally a rule as such, and tends to be a spoken thing (I doubt you'd ever see this technique used in writing unless it's a comic or novel where someone is speaking).
          夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

          Comment


          • #95
            Re: Any other languages?

            Ah ok. Yeah Indonesian is like the small thing. Words don't change. Ever. You can have time markers. Or maybe they do. Those complicated verb rules for advanced learners can change this subtely but adjectives don't change. And they do the qualifier thing on plurals too. Depends on context. Look at the tree-tree. Or there are many car.

            - - - Updated - - -

            And German sucks. I hated learning German. Why can't I just know it instead?
            ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

            RIP

            I have never been across the way
            Seen the desert and the birds
            You cut your hair short
            Like a shush to an insult
            The world had been yelling
            Since the day you were born
            Revolting with anger
            While it smiled like it was cute
            That everything was shit.

            - J. Wylder

            Comment


            • #96
              Re: Any other languages?

              Originally posted by Heka View Post
              .. And German sucks. I hated learning German. Why can't I just know it instead?
              Curious is that low German or High German your learning? I discovered that is still alive and well when I tried to translate a couple of things. In some ways I guess its similar to learning Spanish, there is Mexican Spanish or Hispanic which most in the states and such learn then there is Castillian Spanish which is almost high Spanish in many parts of Spain itself. Castillian was especially prominent in Southern Spain though it was more Andalucian Spanish around Cadiz and Rota.
              I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

              Comment


              • #97
                Re: Any other languages?

                High. I'm Swiss, and all written Swiss German is High German. But I don't learn it anymore. I can't really speak it at all. Discovered how much easier Indonesian is and decided to stick with that.
                ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

                RIP

                I have never been across the way
                Seen the desert and the birds
                You cut your hair short
                Like a shush to an insult
                The world had been yelling
                Since the day you were born
                Revolting with anger
                While it smiled like it was cute
                That everything was shit.

                - J. Wylder

                Comment


                • #98
                  Re: Any other languages?

                  Originally posted by Heka View Post
                  High. I'm Swiss, and all written Swiss German is High German. But I don't learn it anymore. I can't really speak it at all. Discovered how much easier Indonesian is and decided to stick with that.
                  Thanks .

                  We had two host students a few years ago and I recall them saying all Swiss Nations had to be fluent in two languages. For them it was Swiss then one was French while the other was Italian if I recall correctly. Very much different than what the US does for sure. I had high school French many years ago and some collegic level Spanish with some Japanese and Spanish I learnt while I lived in those countries. Sad part is today I barely recall any of it with great detail as I've not used any of them in years other than an occasional phrase.
                  I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

                  Comment


                  • #99
                    Re: Any other languages?

                    I don't know what they do at school, having never lived there (citizen Swiss by descent). But there are 4 official languages in the country, and 3 distinct areas of language and culture. Different cantons (states) are either Swiss German, Swiss French, or Swiss Italian. So they all know at least two, and usually English too.

                    Ive always been jealous of the international schools. I met some Swiss Spanish girls, who went to a German school in Spain. So all their classes were in German, except Spanish and Spanish history. They could speak two languages fluently at 5 years old. And they learnt English as well.

                    I want that. I struggle to speak Indonesian ever, and as a teacher of the language, sometimes it can be so difficult to convince parents, teacher and students that language is important. Not to mention try and explain why Indonesian is important. So often I get "why Indonesian? Noone uses Indonesian. Why not [insert European language here]".
                    ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

                    RIP

                    I have never been across the way
                    Seen the desert and the birds
                    You cut your hair short
                    Like a shush to an insult
                    The world had been yelling
                    Since the day you were born
                    Revolting with anger
                    While it smiled like it was cute
                    That everything was shit.

                    - J. Wylder

                    Comment


                    • Re: Any other languages?

                      It's a real shame, but you lose languages very quickly when you stop using them. My ex girlfriend is part Italian and her Italian grandmother lived in the UK from her early twenties. She can still recognise Italian but struggles to catch everything and can't really organise her thoughts into Italian anymore. I have a German friend who's lived in English speaking countries for the last 8 or 9 years and when she goes back to Germany, her family complain that she uses English expressions and sometimes even bits of grammar, in her German.

                      When I returned to Japanese a year and a half ago, it had been almost 4 years since I'd so much as looked at a textbook. I had forgotten so much, that I found myself having to go over much of the basics again. Now I have the same issue with German. To think I was using German during lessons to do group work and work through focused tasks together, then hitting the pub after class and chatting a little more freely in the language, just baffles me now. There's no way I could even make it through basic greetings, never mind into small talk.

                      Heka, have you made any Indonesian friends online? If it's hard to find reasons to speak it, this could help. It's a long shot, but you could even search for them in your area. I found my Japanese friends through gumtree, which I think is a similar thing to craigslist. Some of my friends learning Japanese as a second language found their native speaking friends through lang-8. Blogging on there is also a great way to iron out those mistakes you're not even aware you're making (says the girl who's only made one post so far ^^).
                      夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

                      Comment


                      • Re: Any other languages?

                        I met Indonesian people at uni, and I talk to them occasionally. There's no where around here to talk to Indonesians though (600 km from the city) It's partly why I became a teacher, cos I don't wanna lose it.
                        ThorSon's milkshake brings all the PF girls to the yard - Volcaniclastic

                        RIP

                        I have never been across the way
                        Seen the desert and the birds
                        You cut your hair short
                        Like a shush to an insult
                        The world had been yelling
                        Since the day you were born
                        Revolting with anger
                        While it smiled like it was cute
                        That everything was shit.

                        - J. Wylder

                        Comment


                        • Re: Any other languages?

                          Originally posted by Heka View Post

                          And German sucks. I hated learning German. Why can't I just know it instead?
                          Haha welcome to my life. I know German pretty well now, but i still screw up sometimes. I'm jealous of my boyfriend and German friends, because they never had to learn German (well, not like I did anyway).

                          - - - Updated - - -

                          Originally posted by monsno_leedra View Post
                          Curious is that low German or High German your learning? I discovered that is still alive and well when I tried to translate a couple of things. In some ways I guess its similar to learning Spanish, there is Mexican Spanish or Hispanic which most in the states and such learn then there is Castillian Spanish which is almost high Spanish in many parts of Spain itself. Castillian was especially prominent in Southern Spain though it was more Andalucian Spanish around Cadiz and Rota.
                          It's not -really- the same. Almost all written German is Hochdeutsch. Like Heka said, even in places with crazy dialects like Switzerland. Maybe there are some variations to make characters authentic, or in slightly older texts, but it's not really a thing. Germans hate dialects so much that a lot of them go through efforts ot suppress theirs. In 50 years or so, dialects will probably only exist in Switzerland and Austria.

                          Comment


                          • Re: Any other languages?

                            Woo for languages!
                            I took three years of French and a semester of Japanese, I studied German, Irish and Scottish Gaelic on my own. I occasionally look back to brush up on my stuff. Eventually I want to learn Portuguese and Welsh. No clue what I want to do with it, except make more friends and travel around the world. I love people. :3

                            Comment


                            • Re: Any other languages?

                              Originally posted by Heka View Post
                              I met Indonesian people at uni, and I talk to them occasionally. There's no where around here to talk to Indonesians though (600 km from the city) It's partly why I became a teacher, cos I don't wanna lose it.
                              You're not going to believe this, but I was contacted yesterday by someone interested in our little language group. She seems keen to come to our next gathering and start having fun while brushing up her Chibbipanese.. look what she wrote in her intro..

                              I'm interested in joining the group meeting to improve my japanese language skill.
                              I'm a foreign student (from Indonesia) and I have been living in newcastle for...
                              Seken wa semai yo neee!, as we say in Japanese. ^^ (it's a small world).

                              (.. guess it's time to get my atlas out...)

                              - - - Updated - - -

                              Originally posted by MyValenwind View Post
                              Woo for languages!
                              I took three years of French and a semester of Japanese, I studied German, Irish and Scottish Gaelic on my own. I occasionally look back to brush up on my stuff. Eventually I want to learn Portuguese and Welsh. No clue what I want to do with it, except make more friends and travel around the world. I love people. :3
                              I say this to all the girls.. but if yeah ever need a study-buddy for Japanese, drop me a line!! I realise after one semester, you're probably not particularly interested in it compared to the other languages you know, but just thought I'd offer all the same..
                              夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

                              Comment


                              • Re: Any other languages?

                                Originally posted by Jembru View Post
                                I say this to all the girls.. but if yeah ever need a study-buddy for Japanese, drop me a line!! I realise after one semester, you're probably not particularly interested in it compared to the other languages you know, but just thought I'd offer all the same..
                                I will definitely keep you in mind! Part of the reason I stopped taking classes was because of my financial crisis at home and I had to start working to help out. But I have plans to pick it up again, since I still have materials and books handy on all the languages I'm trying to learn. :3 I do admit, I don't actively use Japanese as much as I use French these days, but Im hoping to get back into it.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X