wholesaleblogger

Prompted from another post about the history of the English language. I got to thinking about what words used in English come from other languages perhaps because we were invaded, for example by the Romans, Vikings and later the Normans.

Here is a link to old French words that are now used (modified) for English. quite interesting

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/words-and-language/word-origins/words-from-french,9,HCB.html

Years ago I had to study the history of English. I still remember some bits about it, but most of it just vanished ;(

I remember that the norman conquest has had a major impact on the English language. Moreover, I remember that the French language has been predominant in England for quite some time. I would be grateful if somebody could share some knowledge about the history of English!

The English language as you say is heavily influenced by French.... Actually, that's wrong, we were invaded by the Norman's and not the French and so our language is influenced by the Norman language.

We share many words that are similar, for example the English word 'Jail' comes from the word 'Gaol' ... 'Guard' from the word 'Garde'

There are many more 

My wife is Spanish and although fluent she still makes mistakes with certain words and this is down to the way Spanish pronounce letters such as J, B, V

For example we don't sleep in a bed ... It is a Beth and we dont eat bread it is now Breath..

The worrying think is that I now adopt these weird words when we are chatting :-)

I'm learning new language for personal purposes. I just use the language I learned if I'm traveling but not to be a teacher. I think I don't have the quality of being a teacher.

Don't count yourself out yet Kit. I know people who thought they would be hopeless and are  going on fine. And many countries now are looking to improve the English of the nationals, China is a big one right now and there seems to be plenty of work there.

I have the same kind of dreams! Good to know that I'm not alone.

I also feel like I am fluent in my dreams. I wonder if anything I say while dreaming is actually correct, let alone fluent.

Ha ha I get this point. In my dreams I am also fluent but like you have no idea if I am speaking well or just speaking rubbish. Or... maybe I am speaking fluent and my mind is just doing the job that my 'awake' mouth can't :-)

One of the best ways to learn a new language is of course to live in the native country where it is spoken.

Is this something that you have done before? I personally have never done it, but would love to one day as it would be a great experience.

Im sure many would agree that the best way to improve your new language skills is to be in the thick of it. Being surrounded by people who speak the language must push you to learn especially when the country you are in don't speak your own language.

Mandarin Chinese. I would say that it would be valuable in terms of business indeed the Chinese are now learning to speak Mandarin as it is the way forward for them also.

Also, I wonder if you would get better service in the local restaurant when you can chat away?

Like, one moment you only speak this one certain language, the next moment someone asked you in different language and you’re able to reply in the same manner that person has spoken. Or you have in your hand this poem or article written in other language and when you tried to read it you’re, like, “Hey, I can read it!”

Dreaming for me in another language is how I felt I was really getting to grips with Spanish. Apparently lots of people think that this is the turning point in your studies. I may have dreamed in Spanish, I can't say it was all good though :-)

And so it seems that many people are now learning a new language because it may open doors to new opportunities and the chance to work around the world.

One way of doing this is to teach you own language (for me English) to foreign nationals by joining companies that want you to be accredited by the likes of TEFOL.

Has anyone been down this route and if so, what are your experiences?

It seems that you know you are taking in the new language when you start dreaming in that language. This heppened to me a while back and when I woke up it was strange, but in a good way to know I had been speaking, and fluently, Spanish.... I can't speak fluently when awake !!

This is something really subjective. English is a very easy language to learn, but Chinese is easy too, they almost have no grammar. The biggest difficulty in Chinese would be learning the sounds and the characters, especially because no one sees movies spoken in Chinese. 

I agree and when I was taking Mandarin lessons I was baffled at first about the tones, and each of the four tones can make a word meaning something different. for example, you may be saying the word for mother but by using the wrong tone you call her a horse :-)

I know google translate is used many times in classroom settings and the professor (fluent speaking), knows that they used the translation site. It is not always correct, I am wondering why.

I personally love that facebook now has a translate feature under posts because many of my friends live in foreign lands and speak non english languages sometimes. It is nice to be able to keep up with them.

Do you think google translate is a good online option for translation?

Google translate wont be the be all and end all but while learning or indeed trying to understand something written in another language it does indeed help.. well mostly. I have found myself scratching my head in confusion though :-)

So, I was talking to some friends the other day and all of whom are learning a new language. The question arose of what language may be the easiest to learn and after a chat and some research the answer, perhaps strangely (it was to me) was Afrikaans.

Do you guys have any thoughts on this?

I caught this piece while reading.

It seems after a scientific study that this is partly because the brain processes different languages in different ways and people learning Chinese use both sides of the brain rather than the one needed for English.

Read more here

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,9865,987917,00.html

In my case I always wanted to speak another language but now with a Spanish wife that kinda gave me the direction and push I needed to get on with it.

So, how about you guys?

I like the accents of non English people when speaking English.

My wife is Spanish and she often worries that people here in the UK won't understand what she says... I can understand her and could from the beginning. She actually speaks English better than a lot of English people.

Hello all.  My first child was born last month and my we've been discussing how and when to start teaching her languages.  Specifically, our plan is to teach her Spanish and German.  I've read that young children can pick up a language more easily than an adult, so we have a good opportunity to help her get started.

So, to parents or teachers, when did you start introducing younger children to a non-native language?  How did you integrate this instruction in day-to-day life?  Any tools or tips we should know about?  Any pitfalls to avoid?

Any thoughts would be great.  Thanks much.

Children soak up knowledge like a sponge and if I were you I would start the new language from the very start. I have friends who lived in Spain and their English daughter, by the age of 5 was able to chat easily in both English, Spanish and French just by interacting with playmates in school.

Well to start it off I can speak 1.5 languages (I'm learning Spanish). But I know people who can speak several languages and each of these languages is spoken with ease. How talented :-)

So, what about you guys, how many languages can you speak?

When I first started learning a foreign language at school , there was a lot of emphasis put on getting the right grammar, and it would take up so long that after a couple of lessons you could say one sentence, and you could say it properly in all tenses and so on, but at the end of the day you only knew one sentence. I think that conversational skills are much more important than getting the grammar right the first time. I think that you should learn to talk the language , and then all the pieces will fall in place. I think that this is something of a controversial opinion so I was wondering, what do you guys think about this?

I don't see the grammar as being so important, needed granted, but would not having the correct grammar slow you down or stop you learning/communicating? no. The way language is spoken and indeed written by nationals often exists outside of the way things should be.

I have many friends who are deaf/ hard of hearing.  I know some sign language, I'm conversational at best... but I love it and I'm eager to learn more!  I'm curious if sign language is considered to be another language.  I think it would be great if people knew it, but I understand you'd only need to use it with someone who is deaf and knows it.

Im not sure I would say sign language is another language. To me it is just delivering the language in another way. So you can say deliver a message by speech, in text and in sign... But it is still delivered in the English or whatever language the receiver understands.

We all have different learning styles, and that's why some language learning methods fail for some, but for others they're an absolute success.  I actually found a very interesting article talking about the different learning styles out there, here is the link: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/type-of-learner-infographic/

After you read it, please let me know what kind of learner you think you are.  I personally think I'm a mix between visual and read/write.

I am one of those people that learns by doing. I can read a book or some instructions over and over and in the end becoming blind to it. However, if someone shows me what needs to be done, then that's it and away I go. I suppose this relates to the way I learn my new language. Learning by doing is the way for me.

Ha ha, I was doing some work on this subject in university a short while ago and the issues that companies have when moving into a new market. Even the largest of companies with all of their experience make the worst mistakes.

The example that stands out was from Ikea when the developed a new workbench and introduced it to England.. they called the bench 'Fart' ... which is the English word for the noise that often comes from a mans bottom.

They didn't sell many :-)

I always wonder if people who are foreign think that I have an accent when I speak English. I'm Canadian and there is an obvious English accent when I think of people in other countries speaking it such as in Australia and in Britain. However, I do not think I have an accent when I speak at all. I wonder if Australians or British people for example think us Canadians/Americans carry an accent as well. Or better yet, if they themselves (Australians and the Brits) think they have an accent when speaking.

I am from Liverpool in the UK and without doubt, I have an accent :-). My wife is Spanish and I asked her if when I speak my (limited) Spanish if I have an accent then also, the answer... Yes :-)

I suppose anyone has an accent regardless of where you come from, its just the way its is.

I agree, YouTube does have a lot of nice options. But it's a mixed bag, especially if you find out halfway through that the person you're watching never actually finished the series. Definitely a good way to at least get started, though.

Yeah, I agree that it is a pain when you find someone you like and they just fall off the face of the earth (or YouTube). However, I usually have a few going at the same time. the issue I do have though with videos is that they all start to become very similar...

Hello all.  I am curious how many here have lived and worked in a country other than the one of your origin. 

Where did you live?  How did it go? What were some of the struggles you encountered?

Thanks much.

Santiago in Chile for 6 months last year. There wasn't a huge shock in terms of surroundings etc as it is a developing city with everything you would expect.

However, perhaps the biggest differences are first, the men are so bad mannered to women and the customer service in companies and businesses in general is almost non existent.