Hardison

discombobulate - To throw into a state of confusion: is a word that i love to use in casual conversation. It is something that i picked up a long time ago and found it to be really nice and practical for me.

Discombobulate is only of my favorite works. I love the way it sounds.

The longest word that I casually use in conversation is nonetheless. I would find a way to use it everyday. My nephews tease people about not talking like a normal person. The funny part is that I hear them using it.

One I find myself using maybe a little too regularly is "je ne sais quoi", which means "I don't know what" in French. In English you use it to describe that someone has a particular or distinctive quality that you can't quite put into words.

Wow, I didn't know it meant "I don't know what" in French. I wonder why the divergence in meaning occurred in the United States.

I have no idea why, but I really like au contraire. I just like the way it sounds.

I say the word ciao almost every day. I have been saying it for years. I also love the way it sounds. Plus it sounds so much classier than goodbye. I know it means hello too, but I don't use it that way.

This is what urban dictionary has to say about the word and I agree.

:laugh:

My sister says it about 10 times a day. It drives me crazy. She uses it as slang for swagger. I will be so glad when it falls out of fashion. 

Bad grammar irks me especially the your/you're thing. I don't expect people to be perfect. I'm not, but it's surprising how many people have bad English grammar especially Americans. Bad grammar from non-Americans doesn't bother me.

Anyway, I don't correct grammar online even though it does make me crazy. I do think it's bad because it's so prevalent that it may be seen as the norm. 

It's a fairly new word to me. It seems more like slang to me. I don't even like the word sounds. So, now I wouldn't choose it as the 2013 Word of the Year. I don't know what I would choose in it's place though.

It is a sign of how much social media influences modern culture and language. 

It drives me crazy when I hear people say I incorrectly.  :amazed:

There was a education program that run on Saturdays between the cartoons. They taught grammar, math and US civics in a fun manner. It was called School House Rock. One of my favorites was called Conjunction Function.

http://youtu.be/RPoBE-E8VOc

I was rich

It was done

Life was easy

he was mine.

The correct conjugation for I and he/she/it  is ´was´.

The correct conjugation for  you, we and they is ´were´ ( none of your examples)

I was

You were

he/she/it  was

We were

You were

They were

This is what I was taught!  Was is used when the subject is singular. Were is used when the subject is plural. Also, you is taken to be plural even when you are talking to one person.

I have forgotten about subjunctive verbs. I need to do a brush up.

This is how I learned German as a young child. My parents moved to Germany when I was a kid. I learned the language just by being immersed in it. Unfortunately, I only remember a few words of German because when my family moved backed to the US, I was no longer exposed to the language.

Chinese especially Mandarin is not appealing to me. It sounds very harsh and angry. I can see how it would be beneficial to learn considering China's rising influence.

I also don't like the sound of French. It sounds very guttural. It's supposed to be a romantic language, but it sounds rough to my ears.

I really don't have a problem with accents. There are some regional American accents that make me smile especially the Boston accent.

I really like the way the Canadians pronounce some words like about. I love it when a Canadian actor who is playing an American character slips. I find it amusing. 

This is a great thread. I didn't know that there were this many German words in the English language. I really didn't know that angst was German.

I'll add a few to the list:

Volkswagen

Spritzer

Frankfurter

Many of the things mentioned in this thread really get under my skin. Lately, I have noticed that some people say li-berry for library. I have been making a nuance of myself by correcting people. I know that I'm being annoying, but I can't stand to hear library mispronounced. Whenever I hear an actor mispronounce it on TV, I wince.

I prefer the "color" and "favorite" spelling because it's what I was taught in school. I actually thought the extra "u" was old English until I ventured online. I only saw the words with the extra vowels while reading old British authors in school. It took me awhile to get used to the extra vowel. Now, I recognize it as British English without a second thought.

Speaking is the hardest part for me especially pronunciation. Reading is the easiest for me. I am very strong at book learning. Even though I no longer speak Spanish well, I can still read Spanish. I can also understand others who are speaking Spanish.

Wow, I have never heard of this site. I use my personal grammar books. I checked it out. It's definitely a great resource. Bookmarked.

I have never heard anyone use Internet "slang" in real life. Thank goodness. I don't think I would be able to keep myself from laughing out loud. I have seen characters on TV shows use it and it just seems so silly.

Within a day of seeing this thread and responding, I saw an episode of "The Big Bang Theory" where Sheldon said something to some guys at another booth.  One of them asked "Did he just ask..in Klingon"?...I had to burst out laughing, since I said I had not heard Klingon and would have to look up some old episodes.

There are a number of episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" where they speak Klingon. In one episode, the guys were playing a Klingon game. I just love that show!

Even though I'm a big Star Trek fan, I never tried to learn Klingon. I know a few words, but that's because I heard them used several times on TV show. I had an ex-boyfriend who spoke Klingon fluently. He and his friend drove me nuts when they spoke Klingon in my presence.

Qapla

Another good way is to find a podcast that teaches Spanish. There are several good ones. Coffee Break Spanish comes to mind since I have it on my phone, but there are many others. Often these podcasts specifically teach several new words and if you can find a podcast at the right level for you, it will be a great way to learn a couple new words a day.

Excellent tip. I didn't know that there are podcasts that teach Spanish. Thanks so much for the tip!  I really appreciate it. I hope that they can help me with my pronunciation too. :grin:

That does seem overly simple, but it may work. I hate the way that I sound when speaking Spanish. I sound like an American speaking Spanish poorly which is what I am.  I especially have trouble with "rr" (the rolling tongue). I just can't get it. Oh well, I will keep practicing.

I am re-learning Spanish. I taped myself speaking Spanish. I knew my diction and pronunciation was off, but good grief. Does anyone have any tips to improve my pronunciation?

In America, and now the UK, multilingualism has low value (exception: California employees should also speak Spanish these days). In the same way artistic expression in education has lost value, language learning is disappearing as well - and to our shame. It's no wonder so much prejudice and ignorance exists in our world - we don't learn to appreciate other cultures and their languages anymore!

I completely agree with you. Being bilingual (or multilingual) is valued in the United States. As a California resident, Spanish is a near necessity. Mandarin is a close second. I learned Spanish in high school and college. I want to improve my Spanish speaking skills this year.

I believe Portuguese is the sexiest. I don't care if it is a man or a woman speaking it, I think it's freaking hawt!  I mean, I don't think a guy would be sexy if he spoke to me in Portuguese, but I would think he is amazingly cool. I just love this language, it's kind of...well, it carries like a little singing tune to it, and the pronunciation is beast. I can't handle myself... :shy:

I also think Portuguese is sexy. It's just a tad bit sexier than Italian. It doesn't matter if it's being spoken by a man or a woman. I recently visited my best friend. I love listening to her speak Portuguese on the phone.

I think slang has it's place. It gives language a bit of whimsy. It can be difficult to keep up with the current slang. My nephews and niece tell me almost every week. Google is very helpful in those cases.

I want to add my thanks for this resource. It's a great share. My Spanish will improve with all the great resources shared on this forum. I will download shortly.