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Foreign Languages

Started by WhatstheUse?, May 27, 2018, 10:40:31 PM

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WhatstheUse?

What do y'all know? Anyone here bi-lingual? We know Mopper has it down. I suppose you Canucks know some French, ay? Anyone else?

I ask because it's become a 'completely out of nowhere' obsession of mine to learn a new language. Something really random.... Mandarin or Swahili or something out of the blue for a white-ass guy like myself.

My inspiration came from stumbling across this YouTube channel with a guy who can speak upwards of 50 languages and he just walks around and talks to people.... all people....As simple of a concept that is, it blew my mind.

If you have learned another language.... how? When? Tips? Etc!
Bring in the dude!

ph92

Only other languages I know are ones I can control computers with.

But it seems to me that Chinese would be the language to learn. There's quite a lot of utility with that seeing how their country is so large and the US does so much trade with them. Not to mention their culture and tea and food  absolutely my favorite.

But as far as languages go, even though programming is not a speaking language. All it took for me was to immerse myself in the language in the best way I could. So for programming obviously that means writing programs in that language. For you it could just be Rosetta Stone type situations where you listen to the language being spoken. Or if Denver has a China Town go talk to them haha
Make America Melt Again!

Quote from: runawayjimbo on July 25, 2017, 11:10:15 PM
FUCK YEAH TREY. FUCK YEAH

WhatstheUse?

So far, I've grasped that, of the Asian languages, Chinese is the most similar to English grammatically.... the order of pronoun/verb/noun is at least the same.... which is easy...

The tones however...
Bring in the dude!

mbw

Duolingo is a good free app.

All you really need to know is how to say 12 months in estonian.

PIE-GUY

Korean is probably the easiest language to learn. Chinese is tough. Hundreds of characters. Korean has 21 and they are all phonetic. They can only be pronounced one way. Think about how many ways we pronounce "ough." You can learn to read Korean in under an hour... you won't know what any of it means, but you can sound every word out.

Once you learn the alphabet the grammar is super simple. Verb is always last. Congigation is the same for every verb. Add a syllable for past tense. Same syllable no matter the verb. Super simple.

Then it's just a matter of memorizing vocabulary. Learning words.

After a year there i was conversational. I've lost most of the vocabulary in the ensuing 20 years. But I can still sound it out.
I've been coming to where I am from the get go
Find that I can groove with the beat when I let go
So put your worries on hold
Get up and groove with the rhythm in your soul

WhatstheUse?

Hmmmm... where did you spend time again?

I definitely hear what you're saying. I started diggging into mandarin today and the
tonal subtleties are practically incomprehensible to me. The grammar, however, made sense.... but if you say Korean is easier perhaps I'll go that route.... I'm not completely foreign to that grammar form, I just figured a more similar form to English would be easiest.

What's more important to focus on.... learning a language or learning a language with proper accent?
Bring in the dude!

PIE-GUY

Quote from: WhatstheUse? on May 28, 2018, 12:26:31 AM
Hmmmm... where did you spend time again?

I definitely hear what you're saying. I started diggging into mandarin today and the
tonal subtleties are practically incomprehensible to me. The grammar, however, made sense.... but if you say Korean is easier perhaps I'll go that route.... I'm not completely foreign to that grammar form, I just figured a more similar form to English would be easiest.

What's more important to focus on.... learning a language or learning a language with proper accent?

Yeah... Mandarin has 7 inflections... the ups and downs that make it sound so sing songy. Vietnamese has 4. Korean has none. Your voice goes up toward the end of a sentence to let the listener know you're asking a question. Sound familiar?

Japanese is very similar, but a bit more complex. 29 characters, I think?  Plus most Japanese can read Chinese characters as well as Japanese characters. The Chinese alphabet is very rare in Korea.

The proper accent just comes from being around people speaking the language.
I've been coming to where I am from the get go
Find that I can groove with the beat when I let go
So put your worries on hold
Get up and groove with the rhythm in your soul

PIE-GUY

And I lived in Suwon... just south of Seoul
I've been coming to where I am from the get go
Find that I can groove with the beat when I let go
So put your worries on hold
Get up and groove with the rhythm in your soul

WhatstheUse?

Very cool.

... and makes it even harder for me to decide which language to learn! You sure you're not just biased?!  :sbw:
Bring in the dude!

Superfreakie

Quote from: WhatstheUse? on May 28, 2018, 12:51:42 AM
Very cool.

... and makes it even harder for me to decide which language to learn! You sure you're not just biased?!  :sbw:

Learn Spanish.....you live in a bilingual country. Only a matter of time before it becomes an official language.
Que te vaya bien, que te vaya bien, Te quiero más que las palabras pueden decir.

jam>

Quote from: WhatstheUse? on May 27, 2018, 10:40:31 PM
What do y'all know? Anyone here bi-lingual? We know Mopper has it down. I suppose you Canucks know some French, ay? Anyone else?

I ask because it's become a 'completely out of nowhere' obsession of mine to learn a new language. Something really random.... Mandarin or Swahili or something out of the blue for a white-ass guy like myself.

My inspiration came from stumbling across this YouTube channel with a guy who can speak upwards of 50 languages and he just walks around and talks to people.... all people....As simple of a concept that is, it blew my mind.

If you have learned another language.... how? When? Tips? Etc!

Tips? First dream in new language, then trip in the new language. Then cover Meatstick with new language.

PIE-GUY

Quote from: jam> on May 28, 2018, 11:21:48 AM
Quote from: WhatstheUse? on May 27, 2018, 10:40:31 PM
What do y'all know? Anyone here bi-lingual? We know Mopper has it down. I suppose you Canucks know some French, ay? Anyone else?

I ask because it's become a 'completely out of nowhere' obsession of mine to learn a new language. Something really random.... Mandarin or Swahili or something out of the blue for a white-ass guy like myself.

My inspiration came from stumbling across this YouTube channel with a guy who can speak upwards of 50 languages and he just walks around and talks to people.... all people....As simple of a concept that is, it blew my mind.

If you have learned another language.... how? When? Tips? Etc!

Tips? First dream in new language, then trip in the new language. Then cover Meatstick with new language.

Actually, drinking with people who speak a foreign language is possibly the best teacher in the world.
I've been coming to where I am from the get go
Find that I can groove with the beat when I let go
So put your worries on hold
Get up and groove with the rhythm in your soul

susep

#12
Quote from: WhatstheUse? on May 27, 2018, 10:40:31 PM


If you have learned another language.... how? When? Tips? Etc!

I learned some German from dating an Austrian in College.  My wife is tri-lingual from the Philippines(ie. Tagalog, Ilolongo(her dialect) and English).  Music is the Universal language.   

mopper_smurf

My s.o. is 50% German, so I rely on her when we visit the big bad neighbour in the East.

Only 23 million people or speak Dutch, so it''s no wonder that they teach English, French and German in high school. Some schools are thinking of offering Chinese as well.

I can order a beer in Bahasa Indonesia, Danish, Dutch (duh), English, French, Frysian, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. The rest of the world can understand sign language.  Or just pointing and look thirsty. 

Here Comes The Flood - a weblog about music
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As a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, I learned that I should give up being a guitar player. - Lemmy

sls.stormyrider

Now that's the proper way to do languages
"toss away stuff you don't need in the end
but keep what's important, and know who's your friend"
"It's a 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses."