Are you learning a new language?

[kyuuei]

Bwahaha, epic.

Thank you thank you, my love.. I try to keep it classy.

 

[Cimarron]

Also, some of the ancient languages that are now considered dialects are now being given language status for the sake of preservation. Evidently Neapolitan was given language status in 2008.

That (Napoletano-Calabrese was officially recognized by some organization), plus even if we're not calling it a distinct language, then I want to learn more about the "Neapolitan dialect of the Italian language."

 

[miss fortune]

I speak spanish... I got a degree in it (classes were heavily conversation based) and then I've made a practice of USING spanish on a regular basis so that it doesn't get rusty... my grammar is probably kind of rusty because I've been mostly using colloquial spanish instead of proper, but it gets the job done

speaking with someone in the language is about the best practice you can get from my experience of learning AND teaching ESL in the past!

 

[garbage]

I remember two words or so of Mandarin from when I was in Taiwan. I remember absolutely nothing from Spanish from when I took classes for four years and dated a Puerto Rican chick.

I'm studying linguistics, though, but it's just not the same.

 

[EJCC]

I'm learning Arabic, and not all my reasons are good -- although some are.

1. I started taking it because, hey, what the hell, the option was there, and the summer language institute was free, so I took advantage of it.
2. It's extremely useful, and marketable.
3. Sticking with it made more practical sense after I transferred to my current university, from a different one, at the beginning of sophomore year.
4. Learning how to learn a language means being able to learn others quicker, which is also marketable.
5. It's really pretty. <3

 

[Orangey]

Wullah?

 

[EJCC]

Wullah?

Na3m, hadha sa7i7

Inti aidan?

 

[Aquarelle]

Ahora necessito practicar español, por que mi esposo y yo vamos a México este invierno.

 

[Orangey]

Na3m, hadha sa7i7

Inti aidan?

God, just speak American already!

 

[Aquarelle]

Na3m, hadha sa7i7

Inti aidan?

I'm assuming the 3 and 7s are substitutes for similar-looking characters in Arabic? I've never seen that before-- cool!

 

[kyuuei]

Hey everyone -- What is your line for when you feel/felt fluent in a language?

For me, it's when you can apply for a job in the language.. If you can go through that whole process without needing your primary language then you're pretty good to go. I never really considered myself 'good' at English until my vocabulary was expanded enough that I could write a decent resume without consulting a dictionary and thesaurus every minute.

 

[EJCC]

God, just speak American already!

Same to you, buddy.

I'm assuming the 3 and 7s are substitutes for similar-looking characters in Arabic? I've never seen that before-- cool!

Thanks! Yeah, that was Arabic chatspeak -- because I'm too lazy to write in the actual characters, online. The 3 is sort of an "A" sound with your throat constricted, and the 7 is a hard "H".

I have a friend who's Arapaho, and apparently the Arapaho language is just the same, re: numbers. She has numbers in her middle name!

 

[Orangey]

Same to you, buddy.

Thanks! Yeah, that was Arabic chatspeak -- because I'm too lazy to write in the actual characters, online. The 3 is sort of an "A" sound with your throat constricted, and the 7 is a hard "H".

I have a friend who's Arapaho, and apparently the Arapaho language is just the same, re: numbers. She has numbers in her middle name!

LOL seriously, though, I only know wullah, yullah (yullah imshe!), alahu akbar, and a spattering of filthy phrases that I learned in school.

 

[sprinkles]

Slowly picking up German and Japanese.
I picked these because I hear them well for some reason. They make sense to me I guess because I can easily discern their phonemes and morphemes.

I'm starting mostly with grammar which is a big hurdle, especially for Japanese since it's quite a bit different from English so it helps to 'think' in Japanese rather than trying to think in English and translate it.

 

[King sns]

Hey everyone -- What is your line for when you feel/felt fluent in a language?

For me, it's when you can apply for a job in the language.. If you can go through that whole process without needing your primary language then you're pretty good to go. I never really considered myself 'good' at English until my vocabulary was expanded enough that I could write a decent resume without consulting a dictionary and thesaurus every minute.

My Colombian friend said that her teacher said she'd know she was fluent in English when she was dreaming in English through the night... She thought that was a pretty good marker for her.

 

[King sns]

I'm learning Spanish kind of... I have Rosetta stone and It's pretty easy. In Peru this summer I got by fairly well besides some humerus mistakes like saying "you sit now!" instead of "seat yourself." I'm definitely not fluent but the Latin based situation makes things pretty smooth.

 

[EJCC]

My Colombian friend said that her teacher said she'd know she was fluent in English when she was dreaming in English through the night... She thought that was a pretty good marker for her.

Yeah, I've heard this too. Also when you start thinking in the language.

I knew I was really immersed in Arabic, during my study abroad program, when my English-speaking ability started getting worse.

 

[kyuuei]

My Colombian friend said that her teacher said she'd know she was fluent in English when she was dreaming in English through the night... She thought that was a pretty good marker for her.

This would be pretty interesting.. I've 'dreamt' in other languages before, but they were made up languages not real ones.

 

[Coriolis]

I've studied a number of languages over the years, and found simple repetition the best way to learn as a beginner. I used flash cards extensively to develop quick recall of vocabulary, common phrases, and even points of grammar. One milestone in proficiency was when I could do normal writing without having to look things up in a dictionary (e.g. letter to overseas penpal). My speaking proficiency didn't really take off, though, until I had the chance (e.g. need) to speak the language daily.

I had an interesting experience when I was in Russia for the summer. An elderly gentleman was perusing the souvenirs in a display case in the hotel lobby. The labels were all in Russian. He asked me if I could translate them into German for him. My proficiency in German had been even better than in Russian, but after several weeks of speaking only Russian, I could barely remember how to answer his simple questions like how old I was, or what I was doing so far from home! His interest in my background distracted him from the souvenirs, though, so I was off the hook.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Picked up Japanese a couple of months ago. It's something I always wanted to do, and I really love the language. The trouble is to find good books though that go beyond beginner level while still affordable.

Also - if you want to count that as a foreign language (it is sort of), I'm learning Old English at the moment. It's got its very own quirky charm, and being German really helps a lot here.