rossonomous

How about that guy at Nelson Mandela's service!

He was suppose to do everything in sign language but it has been proved that he was just making random hand movements and none of it made sense. The guy reckons he was in a schizophrenic state and angels were talking to him. 

I could not recommend any books but something I would suggest is to watch programs with subtitles and read them! It does help..

I would choose Italian because it is a bit more out there and different. Have a look in the French and Italian sub-sections for a better insight.

What language do you find to have the people with the sexiest accent.

I mean in terms of people that speak it as their native language. I think Swedish is pretty damn sexy, it has a lot of tone and rhythm to it. 

Sounds like you are pretty well traveled! Welcome to the forums!

This is a strange tip, but watch one of your favorite programs with the subtitles on. This will help you read at the speed a conversation is spoken in

I am normally very relaxed and go in with a level head. The only time I get a little worried is actually when I have a language exam. I feel much more under pressure in these situations.

Even though we get embarrassed, i don't think we really need to. People from that country that speak the language as their first language will understand that we are trying so it is hard for us. They probably don't find it that bad when we sound awful.

As other people have said, I believe "an hour" is the correct term. Saying "a hour" just doesn't sound or feel right.

Some will, some won't, so what? Next.

A quote from my Dad there

@deyvion - if you could upload it for us to access that would be a handy resource!

I will dig those links up a little later when I get a chance.

I have no real 'need' to learn the language, it just seemed like something quite fascinating and full of melody so I thought I would give it a try

Also it's funny you say about not understanding at the dinner table. While I was on holiday in Sweden, I met this girls family for a big meal and I too had to sit there a lot of the time just twiddling my thumbs and try to catch on to just a couple of words.

I quite like the look of this after browsing through. It's a great tool to reference back at over what I have already learned (or thought I learned)

A main reason for me is the interest and insight it provides into other people and their nationalities. I just see learning a new language as a really cool and interesting thing to do. On top of this, I love travelling so being able to communicate in an alternative language while travelling is really nice.

I don't think any number of languages learn is "too much". There are plenty of different reason to learn a language, for some its a hobby and for some its a skill. No one should ever think that they have learn too many languages.

Man, I would love to speak 4+ languages! Imagine being able to travel to all these places and be able to communicate with different people across the world.

I think it would be Huckleberry Finn for me. I do not read an awful lot and this one sits in my memory since I was back at school learning it in English Lit.

The pronunciation is something that I am struggling with when it comes to learning Swedish. In regards to your question, I think you have to look at the context of the sentence and base it from that. The rest of the words in the sentence should give it away.

I think Danish is the most relevant to Swedish out of the Scandinavian countries? My Swedish housemate says she can have a reasonable conversation with a Danish person while speaking Swedish.

Well I have recently started learning Swedish and just got back from a holiday there (it's a brilliant place). The reason I started is because one of my housemates is Swedish, so I got here to teach me some basic quotes. I then did a few beginner courses on the internet for free and kept watching Friends in Swedish with English subtitles (helps a lot). Slowly you pick up more and more and can do some advanced learning. 

I actually find it difficult pronounce words starting with 'F' because it always seems like I am pronouncing with 'th' at the start. E.g 'thour'

I have always said 'an hour'. It just sounds more correct.

I feel quite the same as you and the more I aware I am of it, the more it tends to bother me. I can be exceptionally eloquent and thoughtful in writing, but it's harder for me with spoken word and I consider it a significant disadvantage overall. It's something I'm consciously working on because I DO think it matters. And even if you exclude what others think of me, I care about how I project in general.

When I'm writing and typing, I feel that I too can express what I want to say to an extremely eloquent and grammatically correct level. When I read over my CV and cover letters I always think they sound much better compared to if I spoke them.

This is an extremely interesting question, so far I hadn't stopped to think about it... I think I still think in spanish mostly.  I also dream in that language often, sometimes I do it in english.  I use english the whole day actually, so I'm surprised I'm not thinking in english that much.  Sometimes when I try to speak in spanish I say a couple of words in english, then I remember I'm talking to my ma  :grin:

This is what I find the strangest I think. When you think you think (lol) in one particular language most of the time, yet you speak, read and write in a different one. The brain can do some weird and wonderful things!

That being said knowing more than my native language has definitely enriched my life.

I agree with this statement. It opens up plenty of pathways and opportunities; especially if you travel to the countries that predominantly speak these languages.

I wish I had this opportunity. I think it would be awesome to learn the language faster and also learn the culture. I find when I travel that people are generally wonderful. To learn another culture and better understand people through speaking with them would be amazing.

Yeah definitely! Plus it would be a nice, really long holiday in essence  :grin: