SpiralArchitect

Well depends on how you want to be able to use the language in the short term. If you are visiting the country, then getting the phrases first can be useful for communication. If you are learning the language in a more detailed manner then words is what you should start with.

Television and internet for one. Nothing helps you earn a language more than listening to over and over. There are a lot of softwares for language learning out there but to be truly able to 'get' a language you need a teacher teaching it to you.

Hello seville. Fellow Japanese learner here. Hope you can learn a lot from the forums. Do check out the Japanese subforums.

Welcome to linguaholic.

In this post, I would like to give a tip to you guys who are learning basic English how to use "a" and "an". Those word always go with countable nouns and its mean one.

  A/ An + Noun

How to use:

"An" is used when nouns are started by " u, e, o, a, i"

" A" is used for the rest of nouns.

For example:

    an apple

    a child

    a key

    a choice

    an umbrella...

That's a poor and incomplete tip. An is not used before nouns starting with vowels but ones that have 'vowel sounds'. For example, it is a unicorn not an unicorn.

Welcome gegeno. As someone who is learning Japanese, I feel even happier welcoming you here. I am pretty sure there are other people trying to learn Swedish here, even though I can't seem to recall who.

The German word Schadenfreude is yet another one. It means getting enjoyment out of other people's troubles.

Among the languages I've tried learning, Japanese seemed the most difficult to me because it has little in common with languages I have some command in. The fact that even the script is completely different sure makes it a difficult nut to crack. Likewise, I think a lot of people studying it may find Russian quite difficult.

Not really. People who would laugh at someone's accent seem more amusing than hurtful to me, considering that everyone has an accent.

Considering how common English is in terms of usage in the world and the large number of people who seem to have learnt it quickly enough, I'd say English is the easiest language in the world. Of course, difficulty level of a language varies from person to person but considering how many people seem to have mastered English, you can say it's easier.

As long as you can understand and converse in two languages to some degree than you're bilingual. You don't have to be completely fluent in the two but you should definitely have more than just rudimentary knowledge of the languages.

Well, I live in a country where British English is the language for teaching and American English is more common on TV and other media. This basically means that I've never had any trouble with either of the two. I can understand why an American will have trouble with British humor. More than the language its a cultural thing.

I don't correct it because I despise when people correct me.

Correcting someone's mistakes isn't being a grammar nazi. I made my thoughts on what traditionally counts as a grammar nazi quite clear in older my post but correcting someone who made an obvious mistake is just helping them out.

You don't learn if you don't listen. Simple.

It sounds extremely stupid and seems like the kind of word championed by kids on social networks. So, yeah it makes sense that it is the word of the year. Its not like that thing amounts to anything.

This is interesting because nowadays technological advancement has enabled us to live in a virtual borderless world. We can watch movies from anywhere in the world thanks to TV and the Internet and although this process has been going on for a long time now (since cinemas and then TV came into existence in the 20th Century), globalisation will only increase exponentially! I do not know how traditional aspects of different cultures will survive the onslaught of globalisation.

I'm in Istanbul now and I am surprised how European everything looks! Only a hundred years ago everyone was in turbans and veils!

Would European be the correct term because a 100 years ago everyone in Europe dressed very differently from how they dress today. The current so called Western dressing style is actually more of a global thing now.

Ah but love is not bound by a language. Every language is the language of love. Except maybe German. 

Well if someone doesn't correct you, you don't learn but dammit the idiots who have the urge to point out every typo is snide comments are incredibly annoying. Yes I get its a 'there' and not a 'their', I don't need you to copy paste a dictionary definition to make yourself feel smart about a typing mistake. 

I don't think alas is even used as a serious word in writing as frequently as it used to be. Mostly when you read it somewhere its usage seems to be for comedic purposes.

Well no. They did not. Studies on languages from ancient civilization show a lot differences in the languages used. Ancient Egyptians wrote in a language vastly different from what was used in the Indus Valley civilization. Sure there are structural similarities in a few but then again there are quite a few which have no similarities whatsoever. A lot of older languages spread through people travelling and they evolved differently in different regions.

Also, Tower of Babel is a myth.

Welcome Christina. I hope you can find someone to help you with the languages in question. This community has so far proven capable of handling anything.

Well I am probably unimaginative but I don't do a lot of these. The self created adjectives I do come up with on rare occasions are swiftly forgotten. All for the best I suppose. :grin:

Yep. India is English friendly to the point of being annoying. You need to have a decent command over the language to get a good job and a major population of the country doesn't have that. It definitely works in my favor though but the setting aside of regional languages in its favor is somewhat wrong.

It is crazy to hear all these stories and it is really something to realize how much tv can affect you. I am now wondering if it can affect character and if people have learnt how to be who they are by watching tv. the influence is truly phenomenal.

It can affect behavior in subtle ways for sure, particularly in kids but someone learning how to be through TV? That's a little far fetched. Frankly, someone like that would be pitiable.

Frankly, I find these incredibly annoying. I guess a few are ok because they can save time but the neverending series of these short cuts has simply made reading texts from a lot of people impossible.

Welcome Alex. You're not the only one who likes the rather differently styled smilies of this forum.  :party:

Kafi time se kisi ne post nahi kiya iss subforum main.

Lagta hai logon ka hindi sikhne ka itna mann nahi..