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Ooh too many to mention! I like word in Italian with the 'zz' sound, as in ragazzi- boys ragazze- girls Piazza- public square Pizza- pizza canzonetta- small musical piece I also like the diminutive derivatives like for piccolo- little/ piccolino- little one

i think that the only person that can make that decision is you. It's all good and well saying that one language is more important or more useful then another but if you are in a classroom wishing that you had picked another language, it's going to make learning it all that much harder.

Yes, I know most of them. One of my favorites is RTFM, which stands for Read the Fucking Manual :=)

There's this Finnish term for a part of nuclear reactor: atomiydinenergiareaktorigeneraattorilauhduttajaturbiiniratasvaihde (67 letters). There are many longer ones, but they're usually very synthetic (like "kumarreksituteskenteleentuvaisehkollaismaisekkuudellisenneskenteluttelemattomammuuksissansakaankopahan" which is such a monster that even as a native speaker I'm not gonna try and make sense of it, it was clearly thought up just to make the longest word possible). The Guinness Book of Records used to have (or still has, I don't know) lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas (61 characters) as the longest Finnish word that was actually in use (it means a student mechanic of jet engines, to put it very shortly). We also have fun words like sahatavarasatama (lumber harbor) and the famous dialogue: "Kokko, kokoo kokko." (slightly ungrammatical, because it should be kokoa, not kokoo, as that is spoken language and not written) "Koko kokkoko?" "Koko kokko." ("Kokko (name), put together the bonfire." "(You mean) the whole bonfire?" "The whole bonfire." Yeah, we love to do that too here in Finland, as is evident above

I have learnt Russian for a few days. Then I've got introduced to a very long word meaning "hello" and got dismotivated.

So, I recently started learning Chinese for work. Since, I have to do it in a short time, I want to document my journey and perhaps obtain a learning framework for learning languages. Hopefully, my journey will help everyone else as well. I generally am able to learn things within 24 hours (if you count the actual hours). And so I have a bunch of techniques I use to learn things. I am not sure if they'll work for Mandarin, but I will try them nonetheless. Also, I would like to mention that speed learning is a real thing. If you want to learn the framework, look up the video or book "How to Get Good At Anything in 20 Hours". Learning objective: I should be able to converse in Mandarin fluently so as to conduct business meetings and communicate with people from the mainland. Scouting learning resources So, I went through a bunch of resources to see which one fits the bill. My goal was to find something that A) I am comfortable yet fast. Is easily accessible for continuous learning. C) Is free. So, with Mr. Google by my side, I started searching. I went to the bbc learning center online. I went through various other websites that claimed to teach Chinese. But, when I tried them out, I found them to be either too academic or too detailed (remember, I just want to converse and people will understand if I can't read literature). Finally, I googled "learn mandarin for business" and found this article and many like it about Zuckerberg. He's been learning Mandarin for 5 years now and he practices it everyday! Then, I went through a bunch of forums and reddits about it. Finally, I found a list of good android apps for learning Chinese. And I downloaded all the apps on the list and gave them a try. Out of all of those, I found Hello Chinese to be really helpful. So, that is the app that I am using right now. Low-Hanging Learning Objective: Learn Mandarin within 24 hours and then converse with someone in a real setting. Yesterday, I met someone who's agreed to show me how to learn Mandarin within 24 hours, which as you know is what I like to do when it comes to learning something. So, I may be letting go of the aforementioned app or using it simultaneously. I have already ordered a fresh batch of index/flash cards numbering about 300. Hopefully, they'll help me learn faster. I also read this article in the Guardian about this journalist learning Mandarin in 2 days and testing himself in an actual setting. So, I know it can be done. Here's the plan for the next few days: Stage 1. Find resources that claim to teach Chinese in 24 hours or less. Already found this site and this app. Stage 2. Try them out one by one. Create flashcards for memorizing things. Practice speaking and reading the language for about 10 hours. Stage 3. Practice listening to the language for 10 hours. Stage 4. Test listening skills by watching Chinese content online. Stage 5. Test conversation skills by going to a Chinese restaurant and striking a real life conversation. Stage 6. Come back. Take note of gaps. Improve. Rinse and Repeat until fluent. So, wish me luck guys. I will let you know how things go.

Update: I have bought a bunch of index cards. I have signed up for the 24 hour session online. I would have done this earlier, but life happened. Basically, right now I am immersing myself in Chinese - I have an app that works, lessons that are good, and I have learning tools that I am using to learn the language. The time starts now- just fyi, this only includes learning time which means the whole thing could be completed in 24 hours or a week or 24 days even. However, since I need to learn quickly, and that was the whole point, I will be doing it asap.

Learning anything but the absolute basics about Mandarin in 24 hours sounds absolutely impossible to me. After 24 hours you will barely be able to speak a few words, if any (with the right tones). However, I am curious about your progress. Please let me know how it works out for you. PS: I have been studying Chinese myself for many years.

Immersion might b the answer to learning a language quickly because you learn by listening and speaking. Pretty much the way kids learn their mother tongue. However you may need to live abroad for about a year so before you leave for Spain try to find out if you can find a temp job because you might need it if you'll be staying there that long. If you can't my advice would be to find language exchange partners and chat with them via Skype.

As I've said before, it has nothing to do with language learning.

There was a time when a part of Spain was under Islamic rule. And as many Muslims have to learn Arabic so they can read the Koran, we can make assumption that many of them spoke Arabic. I also assume that the Spaniards and Arabs had some trade relations. This is why some Arabic words ended up being used by Spaniards. According to a Wikipedia article, there are about 4000 Spanish words that are of Arabic origin. You'll find a list of some of the words here: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Arabic_influence_on_Spanish

I am aware that a lot of people use Google translate simply because it is the most convenient translator found online and definitely the most known one: everyone knows about Google translate. Today, it is even available as an App. So, is Google translate good for Latin? Can it pass some basic checks? I say, yes. We all know that typing in the sentences will never get you the correct translation. It will always be a rudimentary translation in the Neanderthal-like speech. However, when it comes to translating words by themselves, Google translate is quick and efficient and fairly accurate. I have tested it out and I say that the results are good so far. When I typed in "see" I received a whole range of synonyms from video to specto and what I liked was the fact that each of these had at least five or six translations. This means that you at least know what the word roughly means, i.e. "see in what way" or "when to use which "see" verb" They usually come in the first person, which is also good, considering that the dictionary entries are always in the first person, so you can always go somewhere else for more information. Same was with the nouns. I tested it with "sea" and just like in the previous example, I received a lot of synonyms. Google Translate Latin However, you have to be aware of one great disadvantage: Google translate doesn't tell you the grammatical specifications!! For example, when it comes to the verb, Google translate only gives you the first person form. You don't know to which verb class the given verb belongs, which limits your usage maximally - you have to go somewhere else to find out that fact. Same is with nouns. You only get the nominative form, nothing else. This is why you don't know the basic information about the noun: not its gender and certainly not its class. So, is Google translate good? Yes, it's good. It can be used as a quick-access tool which can give you the rudimentary information about the word you type in. However, it is not perfect. When it comes to grammar, you're on your own. This is why it might be a better option to use some other translator, which does give you this information. I believe that I have already written about them in one of my previous posts, so if you're interested, go back and check it out. Google translator is the most widely used translator online. But it is not the best. This is especially true for languages such as Latin.

If you go to a language class, you will learn the language even if your don't find time to learn at home, you are at least learning the language in the class. Unless you have a strict routine, and you stick the the routine, it is very difficult to lean at home.

Woohoo! This is awesome! I'll have to go on FB and share this. I have a few friends who are learning another language and need some support. Thanks!

Technically they're both correct but most of the world would recognize ketchup over catsup. Originally, both words were derived from the Chinese ke-tsiap, a pickled fish sauce. When it was made in Malaysia the words became cache or ketjap in Indonesia. Catsup and Katchup are both acceptable spleens for Ketchup. In the 1800s, the ketchup was common in Britain and catsup was common in the US. I know when I read old Western cowboy stories they used catsup but otherwise I would use ketchup because that's what I used growing up.

I am sure all languages look beautiful to those who love the language. For me, the Arabic script is fascinating. It is so flexible and fluid. It can be written to form pictures, so beautifully.

Welcome to the forum, Valieria! It's great to have you here. As a teacher of Italian, I'm sure you will be able to give great value to this forum. I look forward to interacting and learning from you.

I can definitely help you with your English and I would like to be in your online Italian course. I'm currently wrapping up a Yiddish course at an online Yiddish academy and once it's over I would be very interested in your Italian course. Learning from a real language speaker is much more effective for me than learning from computerized apps.

I grew up speaking English and because English is the official language of Botswana, it's very widely spoken here. But I absolutely agree with what you're saying. While English may be relatively easy for native speakers and those who speak it fluently, I don't believe it would be very easy to learn from scratch as an adult for the very reasons that you cited, such as the rules not always applying and the pronunciation of words not always making phonetic sense. Even having spoken English all my life, I found I was always picking about new things when I went to live in England, always unlearning some bad habits I learnt from some of my past English teachers. I've even had this conversation with my English husband, and he agrees that English language rules don't always make sense. I mean, even native speakers don't always observe set rules and regulations, and the fact that there are so many different regional dialects doesn't help. I wouldn't like to be learning English now, as an adult LOL

I've always felt that any language is easy to learn if you are motivated enough. Plus I think that it helps you to learn much faster when you are exposed to the native speakers of the language you have chosen to learn. I'm not a teacher, just a student, but I've been learning Afrikaans, and I found that rather than jsut learning from a book, it's much easier to retain the words and phrases and to learn the right accent and pronounciation when you regularly converse with native speakers.

For English speakers, I would say, French, as most of the vocabulary is very similar. I found that the grammar is easier and more consistent as well. Dutch, (actually Frisian but nevermind that) is the language that's closest to English, so people would say that Dutch is the easiest language to learn for an English speaker. Not very true, it's the other way around; English is the easiest language to learn for a native Dutch speaker. Easier than German, contrary to popular belief.

Wow that's quite a treasure trove! I've been fascinated by the language since I heard the Amdo dialect while on a trip to China years ago. I was quite surprised to learn that the Lhasa dialect has tone (although less than in most Chinese dialects) while the Amdo dialect is atonal. Recently I had the opportunity to listen to someone speak Ladakhi and it sounds even more remote from Amdo dialect. I'm definitely going to look through these materials! Cheers!