btatro

I've never given it much though, I guess! I also use ketchup, but don't really think twice when I see it as 'catsup'.

For some reason, I tend to have an issue with "original" as I always want to add an extra "o" to make it origional.

The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary publisher just announced they are adding 150 words to the next edition.  There are some interesting ones!

Here are just a few:

* selfie

* tweep

* hashtag

*crowdfunding

*gamification

There are lots more.  A summary is here: 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/new-words/2014-update.htm

Check it out and let us know your thoughts.  Have you been using some of these words?

Oh geez, English is my first language, and I have no idea what "tweep", "crowdfunding", or "gamification" are. I am 28, haha, how can I be quite so out of the loop!?

I think it is important to KNOW the curse words but not necessarily to USE them. Of course, it is personal preference. I have plenty of friends with "colorful" language, though I myself tend not to curse as I believe it makes me appear and sound both ignortant and uneducated.

In general, I suppose I text in 'proper' English. I do not prefer to use shortcuts or abbreviations haha, but also do not mind if other people do!

I'm a beginner when it comes to Spanish, so I required some outside help with all of these, but jokes are a great way to learn another language!

I am a native English speaker and would have to say no, it is not the easiest language ever. The following explains why I hold this view:

The weather feels cool vs that item is cool

Have you seen my crib vs the baby sleeps in a crib

whether, weather

and etc, etc, etc

This is a huge, huge pet peeve of mine, and a mistake I see so incredibly often! You lose your keys, your pants are loose.

Besides trying to include them in my daily conversations, I do have one useful tool. I use a dictionary app that introduces a word in which I try to include several times throughout my day. I am often amazed at how many 'words' exist that are so rarely heard

Someone posed the question to me once saying "Do you care more about your own grammar or what people think of you when you speak?". This question actually struck me as a really good one.

I have recently started working at a company based in quite a wealthy part of London and a lot of the employees are very well spoken with excellent grammar and pronunciation. I am not from the same kind of area and my language is much more relaxed.

I have been thinking about this a lot recently, how much do I really care what other think about the way I speak? The more I think about it, the more I seem to care. I am going out of my way to try and speak much more like my colleagues and I don't know whether I should or not?

How important is what others think about the way you speak? Do they automatically judge you? Think lesser of you? What do you do when someone speaks in a certain way?

I certainly care about my own grammar vs what others think. I take pride in utilizing proper grammer and English so I know that I should have no others judging me on that. Ironically, I "judge" others on their grammar all the time

English and then Chinese, followed by Spanish. There is a huge, huge business opportunity and advantage for a english/chinese speaker in the right environment.

I think the best way to learn a new language is to immerse yourself into it. Unfortunately, this is rarely an option for most due to other life obligations including work, money, families, etc. If it something that is feasible for you, however, all the more power to you! You will see a huge benefit learning in this way!

We were required to study a bit in highschool, I believe it was, but I have not made the time since to partake in his work as I have busied myself with other languages and material that is more suited to my preferences.

This and when people say EXpecially. NO, that would be especially

I do agree with you to a point, but I also, as an individual, would not expect people in another country THAT I CHOSE TO GO TO, to accomodate me by speaking my own language. I would take the responsibliy to learn the language of the area I am visiting. I hold the same standards for others, for the most part.

The go-to answer here would be French, but I actually think that Italian sounds highly romantic and sexy  :wacky:

I am a nurse and have been coming into contact and caring for an ever high amount of spanish speaking individuals. I am focusing on Spanish related to health care, but am also learning the language as a whole from a beginner's perspective to improve my relatability and quality of care.

I use the 'coffee break' series from radio lingua network via podcast and have been quite impressed with them. I am currently working through coffee break french. I have also found some useful apps that, though they don't 'teach' me too much, they quiz what I already know and help with memorization and the written form.

Writing on a whim seems to be the most difficult for me as I will often understand and know verbal words, but may not fully know how to spell or add the correct accents in written form. It seems as though it should go hand in hand, but I find that I am much more fluent speaking verbally.

I absolutely believe it is possible. I like to think of myself as a life-long learner. Though it may take more dedication and effort, it can certainly happen.

What makes it enjoyable to me is being able to use it in 'real life'. My last significant other was also partially fluent in French, and it was fun to converse back and forth in the foreign-to us- language. I have also used Spanish in my current job which definitely makes it worth while.

Interesting. My simple reply is no, I have not Perhaps, if I felt fluent enough in the languages I already know or am learning I would find time to learn something that is (sorry) quite usesless  :speechless:

When I was listening to Coffee Break French via the Radio Lingua Network, they would, at times, use music to help learn certain things. There was, for example, a holiday song as well as a song about the different parts of a city. As you stated, I believe it helped with the pronunication of some vocab and word strings, but of course can not assist much with conversational speaking.

That is an amazing number, but I am sure it includes different dialects as well, which is arguable whether that differentiates it as another 'language'.

I believe we required to begin learning a second language in middle school (junior high). I seriously loathed the Spanish instructor so I chose French at the time, and ended up sticking with it for several years!