LauraM

Yes, that's a simile for the reason you stated, it is using "as." A simile uses "like" or "as" to draw a comparison. In contrast, an idiom is a expression or a phrase that does not mean what its literal words would suggest but it is understood by speakers of the language. I agree "raining old ladies and sticks" is quite hilarious. It's definitely an idiom! Here's another weather-related idiom: "When it rains it pours." This means a lot of things are going wrong at the same time.

Yes, you've got it. Thanks also for the link. "Who" refers to the subject of the sentence which is the active one. "Whom" refers to the object of the sentence and is the passive. So we would say, "Who called us yesterday?" And we would say, "Whom should we call tomorrow?"

I agree. I've long been in favor of more language study at earlier ages in the U.S. Finding about the experiences of friends and acquaintances who grew up in other countries who learned English and other languages early in school made we wish we had similar programs in the U.S. I remember as a very young child being fascinated by foreign languages; I think probably Spanish was the one I heard most often and to a lesser extent French when our family would go to Quebec, Canada. As I child I learned some pig Latin with friends and although we were never that good at it, we did manage sometimes to be able to communicate without being understood by adults. We got a kick out of that. So yes, I know as a young child I would have loved an early opportunity to learn languages. I'm sure other children would enjoy it as well.

Daedalus, thanks so much for sharing this. It's a fun game. So much fun I think it could be a bit addicting! I got a score of 300 on my first attempt. I missed Dutch, Arabic and Swedish while I managed to get other languages that I have not heard spoken, or at least not very often, such as Vietnamese. It was fascinating to hear the various languages and speakers in succession.

Yes, I agree. These words that are used that way, as "conversational crutches," as they are called, are very annoying and grating to the ear. The same is true for "you know" which is so often inserted into conversations. And even worse when people use both "you know" and "like!" As in..."I was walking to the story the other day, you know, and I ran into an old friend. We were in school together, like, you know, five years ago, and so, you know, like, we had a lot of catching up to do." Yes, I can relate to this. Another misuse of the language! My other pet peeve is the constant use of superlatives to the point that their original meaning is lost. "Awesome" being an example. It means "extremely impressive" or inspiring admiration or even fear, depending on the context. But the problem is that people use it so frequently it has lost its intensity in both contexts.

I learned Spanish in classroom settings. I began in high school and continued in college, where I studied a lot of literature in addition to some advanced language study courses. I also did a lot of studying on my own. With this independent study, I increased my vocabulary and learned idioms and expressions. I also immersed myself with Spanish language radio, television and movies and I did as much reading as I could. I was motivated and wanted to learn the language so I took every possible waking hour to be immersed. I studied German in college. I didn't progress as far, partly because of the demands of my other coursework. So my learning was mainly in the classroom although I did live in the German language dorm for a semester and had a chance to practice with other students.

This can be a challenge for native speakers as well. Often there are subtle differences between synonyms. SarahRTW mentioned "happy" and "glad" as examples. There are other synonyms for "happy" -- such as "delighted" and "joyful" and "blissful" -- and they all reflect various states of emotion and are not interchangeable. I find that consulting a thesaurus is very helpful. Also sometimes if I want to know if a word as an underlying meaning that I'm not aware of, I will Google and see if I can find some examples of how the word is being used, and the context in which it's being used.

I still like physical dictionaries very much. I also like physical books in general, still. Despite how handy the Internet and mobile phone apps are for looking up words quickly, I still find there's something very satisfying about paging through a dictionary when I have the time and opportunity. I've always enjoyed dictionaries -- both for foreign language study -- as well as in my native language, English. I especially like unabridged dictionaries even though they can be very large, heavy and cumbersome. I can't imagine that I will give them up completely.

Yes, the scenes in which he is interacting with people in their own language are a real joy to watch. I found the whole video from start to finish to be so enjoyable and inspiring. In fact, I didn't want it to end! Someone should do a feature-length documentary on him. I also found his discussion on how he learns languages to be quite illuminating, and likewise what he had to say about learning the history and culture of people through the language. It's quite profound. I looked up that quote by Nelson Mandela that he mentioned: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." His talent and his sensibility are absolutely wonderful.

We have had some fascinating discussions here on favorite English language authors and books. I'm curious to hear from non-native English speakers this time. Please share with us your favorite books and/or authors that have helped you in your study of English.

Thanks so much for sharing this video. That's amazing how they were able to gather up evidence from so many sources to discern what the original pronunciations were like. They are so right; we miss some of the subtle puns and other word play when the actors use the contemporary pronunciation. I did find those lines that they recited side by side -- comparing the original accent with the contemporary -- really showcased how much more engaging the dialogue really is in its original pronunciation. We are used to a more upper class sounding accent when we hear Shakespeare performed. But this was so much more down to earth and naturalistic, much the way that we hear contemporary dialogue spoken in contemporary plays.

Yes, English has plenty of examples like this, of words that aren't pronounced the way they might seem to be. "Ouija" is pronounced "Wee-Gee." Therefore, it's a consonant sound. The same is true for European. You would say "a European tradition" because European begins with a consonant sound: "Yer."

I had the reverse situation in high school. I was the pen pal of a student in Japan who was learning English. She and I corresponded for several months and I found it was an enjoyable experience. Her command of English and her handwriting were both quite good and I was impressed. We exchanged photos and talked mostly about our schooling, family and what it was like in our respective cities. But as for pen pals in foreign language class -- Spanish, in my case -- we never did that, now that I think back. Surprising, in retrospect. When I was in college I did a fair amount of corresponding in Spanish, but these were fellow students whom I had befriended, so it's not the same as pen pals whom one has never met. Still, it was very helpful, doing all that writing, and especially getting feedback from the ones who were native speakers.

I always like to look words up to double check their meanings and spellings. It's a persistent habit of mine when writing, especially with words that I don't use on a daily basis that suddenly seem to fit the context. I had heard of all of these words, but wanted to make sure of spelling as well as definition. I can remember "sweven" from way back in college, I encountered it in a classic novel somewhere and I remember being really struck by the sound of the word as well as the look of it. I just thought it was such a cool word! There are also words and slang expressions from old Hollywood movies that are not used anymore that I like. "On the lam," for instance, is an expression you hear a lot in the film noir classics of the 1940s and 1950s. It means to be on the run, as in being a fugitive.

I think foreign language study should be a requirement, especially for a liberal arts degree. I see such study as an integral part of a well-rounded education. Learning languages also has pragmatic as well as others have pointed out. But beyond that, the discipline of learning a new language can help build character as well as expose students to different cultures and traditions. Yes, I agree this is unfortunate. Many people here in the U.S. do not even master their own native English language either. For that reason, I think colleges should require more study of English, including grammar, composition and study of literature. Beyond the study of languages in college, I think that students should be studying languages in grade school, middle school and high school in the U.S. as they do in many countries around the world.

These are two different verbs and they are often confused both by meaning and by tense. If we look at them side by side, this is what we come up with: "To Lie" = To recline or rest Present tense = lie or lies Past tense = lay Past participle = lain Present participle = lying "To Lay" = to put or place something down. Present tense = lay or lays Past tense = laid Past participle = lain Present participle laying An easy way to distinguish between the verbs is to remember that individuals -- human or animal -- can lie down, in the sense of rest or recline: The girl is lying down on the sofa. The dog lay down on the front porch. Those same individuals can put or place something down: The girl was laying her books on the desk one at a time. The dog laid her puppies on the blanket.

Likewise, your comments are encouraging! That's great that you are learning the language. You've fortunate to be married to someone fluent in Spanish. Along with discipline, motivation and passion, having favorable circumstances will foster language learning at any age. It's so important to have access to an opportunity to learn. The Internet is a tremendous resource towards that end. After all, it has made it possible for us to have such a supportive community here!

Yes, indeed. During my freshman year of college I lived in the Spanish language dorm. I felt more than a bit intimidated as I was among many students who were either native speakers or who had spent a year or a semester abroad during high school. The dorm director who was also an instructor at the college was very empathetic and helped me get over feeling so intimidated. She went out of her way to encourage me to speak more and to draw upon the skills and the proficiency that I had. She was this way with all of us; very upbeat, with an infectious enthusiasm for study of the language.

Yes, great quote, limon. And so true! As a opera buff this has always been one of my favorites: “Opera in English is, in the main, just about as sensible as baseball in Italian.” -- H. L. Mencken Here's a good one that highlights the peculiarities of the English language: "Our language is funny – a 'fat chance' and a 'slim chance' are the same thing." -- J. Gustav White

Yes, I agree. There are regional differences based on country and also there are some socioeconomic and cultural differences as well within countries. Accents and vocabulary will vary. Even as you are starting out, often times people are appreciative that you are making the effort to speak the language. Some may be willing to help you out. I found that to be the case, and I was helped immensely. Something else that may help you improve is to record yourself -- audio and/or video -- speaking the language to gauge your progress and to see which vowels/consonants you need to work on to improve.

There have been lots of movies over the years that have in some way dealt with languages, language learning and/or language barriers as part of their overall theme. What are some of your favorites among these? I'll share one of mine for starters. I enjoyed Kevin Costner's "Dances with Wolves" which is set in the U.S. Civil War era. As his character -- a soldier in the Union army -- became a part of the Sioux tribe that saved his life he went through the process of learning their language. I thought it was realistic and had its entertaining moments.

Thanks so much for sharing the chart. Mandarian was not a surprise. I'm also not surprised that English is third after Spanish as there are so many countries in which is is the native language, including an entire continent. It makes complete sense that English would be second when non-native speakers are counted as it is so widely chosen as a second language. I was surprised to see Portuguese rank so high on the list. I think that one was the biggest surprise for me.

Probably the longest I've gone without speaking has been a few days. I stay in touch with some family members on the phone so my days without speaking never drag out too long. Sometimes when speaking for the first time in a while, it would feel a bit strange to hear my voice, but the strangeness faded within a minute or two. But always, in the absence of the spoken word, I was communicating in other ways; mostly email and, of course writing quite a bit for professional and personal purposes.

I am also a fan of obsolete and archaic words. Some of them are so memorable it's a wonder they have gone out of fashion. Here are a few that I like. Apricity = warm sunshine in the winter. A really beautiful word! Scriptitation = continuously writing. Yes, I can relate! Sweven = a dream or vision. Another gorgeous word that's been lost.

Yes, absolutely. We are so fortunate these days to have many resources available through libraries. There are also free resources online as well. Tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere, for instance. You can also find some great resources on college and university Web sites. Plus there are numerous online dictionaries. You can also do a Google search for the particular resources you are interested in. There are also some suggested resources here in the various language subforums.