SpiralArchitect

Is by far the language which mainly has roots in Castilian the most superior?

How do you decide which language is better than the other. In any case, I see no criteria where it can objectively be considered the best.

Has schadenfreude become a loan word now? I was under the impression that it's a german word that is just used as such because there is not direct english translation for it without being descriptive.

I shall use it this way.

While I am cycling, I come across that corner.

Whilst cycling, I come across that corner.

I've never seen whilst used in the way you did. It should be "Whilst cycling, I came across that corner.", in my opinion.

I've read Jhumpa Lahiri and Saunders' works but that's about it. Although most authors on lists like this are woefully overrated, I'll still probably go and try one of these.

Not just in Europe but pretty much all former commonwealth countries, it is 'colour' and not 'color'. Most of these countries follow the British pattern of English and the spellings and pronunciations of certain words reflects that.

Waise bhi us time Sharukh ka thopda laddu jaisa fula hua tha. On the other hand, Salmaan bhai has always stayed in shape and has the X factor

Salman jab cinema naya naya aya tha tab shape main to zara bhi nahi tha. Uski 80s ki movies main toh pata nahi kitna jyda patla tha.

I started reading comic books before I started reading books as the language used was much simpler. I remember them being mostly grammatically correct but the dialogue was occasionally too campy. Of course I never read any ultra violent typical 90s comic books.

After I grew a bit older, I started picking up the more serious works like those by Gaiman, Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. The prose in most of their works (particularly Moore's) is quite beautiful.

The two turned around and Alberta's blood turned cold. In front of her was an eldritch abomination so loathsome and hideous that her tiger couldn't bear to look at it and ran away, leaving Alberta to fend for herself.

Why would you not? It's not like one language can be proved to be fundamentally better than the other. Plus, English is probably the most useful language to learn in the world. So, no reason not to like it after you've learned another.

They don't even realize there's a difference. I think it's common within my age group, for some reason. It's really grating.

In that case, I must say that it is a lot less common place here in India where English is not the native language. Perhaps people here are just more careful with the usage.

Admittedly, it does seem like the problem affects the current generation more, with the severity increasing the younger kids get. Sad state of affairs I must say.

Wow... This is impressive! How come you have so many languages? Do you have a national language spoken by everyone or not really?

Mainly because it is a very large country which has always been fairly populated. Different regions ended up having different languages and while a lot of them have similarities they are all still fairly unique. There is no national language but 18 languages have been identified as 'official' at state level by the constitution. English and Hindi are considered official at the national level.

Hindi is the most spoken language but even it is the native tongue of close to 40-50% people only.

True, but then how would one know how to say the word properly if they keep listening to exagerrated pronunciations?

Well mainly by saying the same thing with restraint. But you're right, it can help you but watching anime is not an alternative to conventional learning methods. It can be seen as more of a supplement.

Welcome British guy. I can see from your name, sig and your avatar that you're definitely British. 

with all due respect, I thought that word was just a series of random keyboard strokes. Haha.

I don't even know how to pronounce those words. Tough.

There are a bunch of other African languages with no vowel sounds or with approximations of vowel sounds. You'll have to listen to a recording to figure out the pronunciations.  :grin:

I don't think there are a lot of people out there who actually get confused between these two, it is perhaps more of a typing issue. I mean how difficult can it be for someone to differentiate between these two.

Well my native language is Hindi and frankly, I wouldn't take anything else. I mean if you're in India no language is indispensable the way Hindi is. Plus, I have a fair command over the English language so I have no trouble talking to people who may not be aware of my native language.

Nincompoop sounds funny for some reason. Probably because it's just an annoying way of calling someone an idiot. 

There is of course the universally condemned confusion between your and you're that a lot of people have. Annoys me to no end.

I've never really heard ignorant being used for rude people. Surprising really.

Yes, but their basic understanding of English language has drastically improved. English is a necessity nowadays.

True but having lived in both big cities and small towns over the past 10 years, I can see a definite divide which I doubt would be bridged very quickly. Sure the language has become more widespread in the last few years but it still isn't anywhere close to being universal as a spoken language.

Not a big fan of Sharukh either, but what is surprising to me is ki aap ek taraf kehte hain ki aap fan hain lekin duri taraf aapko unki 5 movies hi pasand hain

5 bas ek approximation tha. Mujhe Swades ke alawa Shahrukh ki koi film pasand nahi. Jo filmon ko sab 'classics' kahte hain (jaise DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai etc) vo mujhe kuch khaas pasand nahi. 

The first thing I actually read cover to cover, if I remember correctly, was a early set of X-Men comics.

Out of curiosity, which story line was it?

Well, it's definitely a quick read, so we'll count it. Besides, it's Orwell. Check out Clutch's lyrics for their song "Animal Farm". Pretty great stuff.

Technically, Animal Farm is a novella and not a short story.

Still, no doubting how good it is as a work.

My personal favorite is Macbeth. Incredibly strong characterization and the treatment of supernatural elements is incredible. To think this play is so old.

Macbeth is one of the most intriguing tragic characters in literature. This work has been so many homages that it is easy to ignore the many tropes that is put in place for future writers to use.

I also like The Tempest, although that is more out of love for the many works in both music and literature that parts of it inspired.  :grin:

I was under the impression that offering languages like German and French in high school as optionals was common practice. I mean even here in India, I had the option of choosing between German, French and Sanskrit as 3rd language. Some schools even offer other languages like Spanish as well. I am definitely in favor of such a thing. If you start early, there is a good chance you'll end up with a good command over the language.

हाँ, "माय नाम इस खान" बहुत ख़राब फिल्म है. मालूम नहीं की  करण जौहर क्या सोच रहा था.  :bored:

नहीं सोच रहा था शायद.