Hardison

I agree that it's easier to avoid grammatical errors with short sentences. I was taught to write that way in high school. We were taught to write as if the reader was a fifth grader. It's sad but true. It does take practice if you're not accustomed to writing that way. 

I have resisted buying a Kindle because of my love for traditional bookstore. In the past 2 years, 4 bookstores have closed near me. It's horrible. Even my favorite niche bookstore closed last year. It's been a pillar in the community since I was a kid. It was so sad to see it close.

I do understand that digital books are the wave of the future. I finally broke down and downloaded the Kindle app for my PC and my Android phone.

What a great site. I agree that it's very addicting. My vocabulary is a lot stronger than I thought.  It really helps to understand the meaning of prefixes and suffixes.

I also found a freerice app for my Android phone.

I read Canterbury Tales in English literature class in high school. I do remember it being a difficult read, but I found it enjoyable. I think we read another one of his works, but I can't remember what it was.

I do think that Canadians sound like Americans from the Western part of the United States except for a few words.  I watch a lot of TV shows that are filmed in Canada especially Vancouver. Many of the actors and actresses are Canadians playing Americans.

Most of the time they cover up the Canadian accent well. Every once in awhile, a word will sneak through. The giveaway words are "out", "about" and "organization". I find it amusing because it's not caught by the TV crews.

The "eh" thing comes from a very old comedy TV show called Second City. I loved that show when I was a kid.

"To see something in someone or something" means to see a special quality or qualities in a person, thing or situation.

"To see fit" means to decide to do something.

"To see the daylight" means to understand something or someone.

"To see someone to the door" means to walk someone to the door.

I love these types of threads. Let's see...

"Pink slip" means to be fired.

"In the pink" means to have good health

"Tickled pink" means to be happy about something or someone. This was my grandmother's favorite expression.

"Looking at the world through rose colored glasses" mean to be optimistic. Maybe even overly optimistic.

Both methods have merits. I have to give the edge to immersion. That's how I learned how to speak German when I was a kid. I spoke German fluently just by living in the country among the civilians. My parents didn't stay on the Army post. When lived in the city with regular German citizens.

I am hoping that if I return to Germany for a year or so, the language will return to me.

I don't believe that introversion or extroversion is a deciding factor in the ability to learn languages. Desire and hard work are the main factors. I am an introvert and I have been able to learn Spanish. I also spoke German fluently as a child. Unfortunately, I don't remember much German. It was a case of "use it or lose it".

This is a very common grammatically error. I didn't know that it was so pervasive. I don't understand why many Americans who have gone through the school system have difficulty distinguishing between the two. I have finally learned to ignore it.

Interesting question.  Yes, it seems that poets are allowed to break grammatical rules. It took me a long time to become accustomed to this. It really used to bother me that a lot of poetry didn't grammatical or punctuation rules.

I am from Southern California. I don't believe that I have an accent. But sometimes people claim that they hear an African accent. I have no idea why I get this. It's so weird.

I learned French as a kid. We only used it occasionally in class and though at that time, I could construct complete sentences in French, once I stopped taking the lessons, I began forgetting the language. Right now, all I can manage is "bonjour" and nothing more. . .

I spoke German fluently as a kid. I can ever recall being able to read German too. My father was stationed in Frankfurt, but we didn't live on the Post. We lived in town with a German family. I don't remember any German except for a few words.

I do believe that it's somewhere inside my brain. I would love to be able to access it.

I think I am a good listener.

When I joined Toastmasters International, I was hoping to improve my speaking skills. It did help with that, but Toastmasters also helped me to improve listening skills. Each person who gives a speech is evaluated by each member of the group. It trains you to listen so you can provide effective feedback.

I don't think I prejudge people with accents. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding some people with accents especially if they speak fast. I do hate to keep asking them what they said.

I do think some accents are very sexy. I don't know if that counts as a judgment or not.

I don't speak Portuguese, but my best friend is Brazilian. I enjoying listening to speak Portuguese with her friends. I think it's a lovely language. Portuguese isn't on my list of languages to learn.

I didn't realize that it is the fifth most spoken language on the planet. I can imagine many American companies and global companies are salivated at the potential to make money in Brazil.

Even though I'm American, I really don't like the idea of making English an universal language.

The idea of an universal translator (from Star Trek) is much more appealing to me. It would allow for universal understanding while allowing countries to hold onto their cultural heritage.

My mom used to say, "Never leave the house looking like a ragamuffin." I had no idea what a ragamuffin was, but it didn't sound good.

She also used to say, "I don't have a pot to piss in." I couldn't understand why anyone who pee in a pot where they cook food.

Love this thread.

I can usually tell if someone is talking about me by non verbal cues and body language. I don't really worry about it. There's nothing that I can really do about it anyway. I tried not to let other people's opinions of me bother me or affect how I feel about myself.

This has been an eye-opening thread. I didn't know that English was taught in other countries. I really like the idea of teaching a foreign language in schools.

I wish that idea was embraced by the public school education system in the United States. My first taste of a foreign language wasn't until I was in high school.

"Kill two birds with one stone." My nephew incorrectly used it a couple of days ago.

"A bird in hand is worth two in the bush."

"Like a fish out of water."

I love the topic of this thread.

My parents are from the Southern part of the United States. They really didn't use many Southern colloquialisms. I do have a few friends from the South with lots of very colorful phrases. I can't list most of them here though :amazed:

"Thank you" which can be used as a general cuss word.

"That dog don't hunt." I'm not really sure what this means.

"Pay me now, pay me later."

"If you can't say amen, say ouch." This one is my favorite and I use it whenever I can.

This is a great idea! I would have never thought about joining a Meetup to learn Spanish. I just did a quick check for Spanish meetups. There are three in my area. There is even one less than five minutes from my apartment. 

I would probably use it for work as well. I'm a brand ambassador and the staffing companies are always looking for Spanish speaking ambassadors. It would be great to actually be able to apply to these jobs.

What is a brand ambassador?

I really want to learn Spanish because Spanish is pretty dominate in Southern California. Also, I am going to graduate school to become a counselor and speaking Spanish would give me a great advantage.

I also like the idea of being able to speak multiple languages. It's fairly common in Europe, but not so much in the United States. 

I never thought about moving to a foreign country to learn Spanish. While I was in college, I considered studying a year abroad (Spain) to improve my Spanish skills. Unfortunately, I didn't and I lost what little Spanish I could speak.