rahimbahrain

One area of confusion is most idioms in a particular language are meant for a certain geographical area, ethnic community or has a liguistic connotation.

That's why it is difficult to literally interpret an idiom of one language in another language.

Sometimes, a meaningful idiom in one language makes no meaning in another.

Three idioms that come to my mind are :

1)  Bite off more than you can chew  (take more than what one can handle)

2)  Never judge a book by its cover    (never judge anyone by their appearance)

3)  Piece of  cake  (easy job)

I love this idiom :

"you can't judge a book by its cover"

"Alberta...honey....wake up, wake up..."

As she woke up, sun's fresh morning rays were already kissing her cheeks through her window. Her mom stood beside her bed.

As Alberta opened her eyes, she screamed " My God....what a dream this has been..!"

For me, great writing is something that makes you read for 2 hours and think for 10 hours. I mean, what is a story without a moral ?

I feel, every novel or a story should have something to take home.  A gripping story, powerful characters. lucid narrative and great message to take home, that's what I call a great novel.

But as they say, what is easy reading is damn hard writing..!

Generally, I have no problems in spellings.

Few years ago, I had tough time writing " bureaucracy"  which often landed me in embarrassing situations

But somehow I have now mastered the art of spelling and I am pretty much okay with it right now.

For those who have nightmares when it comes to spellings, I suggest to develop the habbit of  reading and keep a good dictionary handy.

Well, I use a short form while texting.

Mainly because of two reasons :

1-  It is time consuming, irksome and costs money to text in full form with all the

    verbs, pronouns and punctuation marks.

2-  The basic idea of texting is to COMMUNICATE.  I feel if that purpose is served with

      minimum effort, time and money, it is great.

I know some people who even use short forms in emaills.  But in emails I use proper language with giving respect to all grammatical nuances.

Yes, in our country, English is taught at all levels.  In fact, in the colleges and universities, all subjects are taught in English only.

Engish is widely used as a medium of imparting education at all levels.

As Thomas very rightly remarked above, it was indeed Burns who said both are basically the same. Anyway, I liike and enjoy both.

However, the slight difference is that the meter of a poem is basically dictated by the number of syllables in a line (I assume we're talking about rhyming poems), so the rhyming patterns are pretty well fixed.

In music, though, a syllable does not necessarily count for only one beat. There can be intervening beats between words or syllables, so that lines of completely unequal length can still rhyme just fine.  Also, since poems don't have a rhythm section and melody to prop them up, the words had better be damned strong.

I love this quote by Winston Churchill :

" Success is nothing but moving from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm "

Makes great sense

I love short sentences.  I avoid complex and compound sentences.

Short sentences are simple. They have energy, they're easy, clear and

fast. You can express uncommon things in short sentences using common

words.

I have no idea why some people try so hard to construct very long sentence

and mess up expressing a very simple idea.

Never use two words if one is enough.

Indeed, poetry is the ultimate form of art.

It is beautiful to express your feelings poetically and it is an art to make others feel your emotions.

I love the art of poetry. I want to be a poet, if I cannot, I want to be a poetry

I read a lot. I think conscious reading improves your vocabulary.

I also keep a dictionary and thesaurus handy and refer to them whenever I come across new words.

Also, I keep an alert ear while talking and look to pick up new terms, idioms and phrases while others talk.

Its really an exciting journey, when you're constantly on the look-out to improve your vocabulary. You find every book, every read, every chat and every meeting an opportunity to enhance your linguistic skills.

Couldn't agree with you more.

I am for using small, simple words. What is communication without clarity?

Lack of clarity defeats the very purpose of communication.

Indeed, simplicity  is the ultimate sophistication.

Where meaning is unclear, there's no meaning.

I keep my life simple .... and so is my communication.

I think, greatest ideas  should be expressed in simplest of words.

Indeed, to be simple is to be great.

In fact, I don't use two words where one is enough. I keep my language simple, sweet and straight forward.

As they say, one should use common words to say uncommon things.

Yes, fiction has never really inspired me.

My favourite books have always been non-fiction.  I love biographies, self-help and motivational books. I enjoy them a lot and derive great amount of  motivation from them.

I love reading the likes of  Stephen Covey, Deepak Chopra, Dale Carnegiet, etc.

Recently, I happen to read the book "You can win" by Shiv Khera.  I thought it was  highly motivating and I strongly recommend this book for anyone who wants to better his life.

Though I have read a number of  fictional books,  I must admit, fiction has never inspired me, as such. 

Yes, fiction has entertained me, enthralled me and made me feel better but it has not motivated me. At best, I felt nice feeling of  time well-spent after reading a fiction.

All motivations have come from non-fiction which continues to be my favourite.

Though all Dickens' novels are classics, I loved "David Copperfield" more than others.

I think its a great novel and is also autobiographical in nature.

It was a huge success and is still continues to revered in the world of literature.

I thought English is already an international language.  Though there are languages which are spoken among more people than English, you can safely conclude that English is the only language that connects all the continents of the world.

It is spoken in Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Austalia and New Zealand covering almost all continents.

Therefore, English enjoys the stature that no other language can boast of.  Yes, there's no other competitor to world's  language.

I am very happy to know that your favourite is "sound of music".

Because mine too.

I believe its an all time best masterpiece.  As you rightly said,  the melliflous music, great lyrics, wonderful story and of course magnfiicent performances by all the actors makes this a treat to watch even after so many decades.

Its still so fresh...so life-like and so real....superb movie and thanks for asking this question

Yes, I do care. 

Man is a social animal. So I guess, we can't help being indifferent as to how others percieve you.

Sometimes I feel, all we do in life is for others. For instance,  we dress well, because we want to look attractive to others. We talk in a polished accent and phonetics because we want to sound better to others.

So, yes, I do care about others' opinion and I think it is important to know what others feel about you. It does really matter. 

I think you will be happy in life to the extent others are happy with you.

Which form  of language you appreciate more - 1) Short, sweet and straight or

                                                                    2) Detailed with graphic description ?

Do you think "body language" of people speak more effectively than their spoken language ?

How well can you read a person's body language ?

Well, it doesn't matter, if I am talking or writing, I always try to use correct language complete with proper accent, appropriate vocabulary and good grammar.

Of course, this doesn't mean, I am always perfect.  I may try and fail, but I never fail to try.

I must say, Toastmasters have given me a good training in Effective Listening. 

I always listen before I speak. In fact, you have everything to gain, if you are an effective listener. Because a good listener is always in demand.

I think most people don't listen with an intent to understand, they just wait for their turn to speak...!

That's why I said, "effective listening".

Hearing and listening are two different things.