Preya_M

Most people can see that my tongue is from an English speaking country. Many people can guess what my accent is (completely canadian), I'm guessing that its those few key words that we use all the time, the norm of "eh" most likely gives it away. Even though I personally don't see my accent, others seem to pick it up easily.

My top languages that I would really like to learn include:

1. Japanese

2. Spanish

3. Italian

4. Tamil

5. Hindi

I really like how these languages sound and I know a few words from each. Some of languages are used at a wide range and I think that it is important to know them for when you travel.

I tend to imagine what I read as well as what I hear. For example, without watching the television and if I hear say, an angry sumo wrestler I usually just imagine that haha. I love reading books because our imagination can take us on so many journeys and you never know where you can end up.

This entire topic reminds me of how I would make fun of my brother, we come up with the strangest insults for each other as well, such as:

• Broccoli Head
  
• Little Bird
  
• Avocado Face
  

The list can go on, but a lot of our insults are around food for some reason. It actually gets pretty fun after a while when we go back and forth and see what we come up with. We usually end up laughing in the end haha.

When I first got my phone, it was an old flip phone and very difficult to text with (you'd have to press the same button 3 times to get to the last number) texting was tedious and so I stuck with short cuts. Now that I have a smartphone, texting is a lot easier and I can write with correct grammar and punctuation. I never use short forms unless its like "LOL" and "OMG" etc.

Wow, I'd completely forgotten about that word, "cheque."

I've never actually used the word myself, nor have I heard anyone use it, either.

What's the difference between the two words?

I believe that "check" is the American version, whereas "Cheque" is the British version. In Canada, we used to use the British version, I even remember having spelling tests with that differentiating between the 2. If you spelled the American version, it was automatically wrong and now I see that times have changed.

On the plus side of this, everyone would be able to understand each other and there would be no language barriers, I'm assuming body language and verbal language will be all the same. But, I don't think that I would prefer this. For one the world would be pretty boring I think, we wouldn't be able to learn new languages and the culture would be similar.

When I was growing up I remember writing up things for school and using the word "cheque" then all of a sudden the word vanished and now it is "check." I'm referring to the piece of paper that banks allow you to order and you can fill out an amount, sign it and make payments - a "check." I was just wondering what has happened to the word "cheque," is it lost? I know I'm not going crazy but we used to use this word spelling all the time.

I wouldn't be comfortable to teach it at all. I mean, I'll admit that my English isn't that bad, but I can't teach it because since I grew up with the language, I've never questioned how and why certain sentences are phrased. If someone asks me the reason why we use a certain word over another, then I wouldn't be able to answer it at all >.<'

Speaking is definitely the hardest for me to do. When you're reading and writing you can always look over what you did and change it if necessary, but when it comes to speaking, what ever you say cannot be taken back, you can correct yourself yes, but it's still pretty embarrassing. Pronouncing words can pose as a difficult task sometimes as well.

Just a few weeks ago I had an entrance exam for school and a great portion of it had to do with the English language. There were questions that involved acronyms and synonyms and most of the words were words that I've never heard of. How is it that I should prepare for these kinds of exams? Should I read the dictionary? Why is it that we should strive for a higher language base knowledge?

I had a dream in Japanese once, I was quite fluent in the dream, then I woke up and frowned at myself because it wasn't real. It's fascinating to see myself speak another language in a different world; waking up and not remembering a single word is pretty sad.  :bored:

Ever watch TV and then catch something that no one else seems to catch? You're sitting there and watching a show (or the news) and a character makes a huge language error! For example, I was watching the news and the reporter said "there was so many water along the street", the correction is "there was so much water along the street." When I catch the mistake I usually mentally make note never to make that mistake. Have you ever caught it?

I experience this a lot when I'm intimidated or like you, around exam time. Sometimes I get annoyed at my own self for this because I think of what to say and then it comes out like garbage, it's so embarrassing. Like they say, some things sound better in your head than when you actually say it. When ever I have to write an essay for an exam, I usually make small jot notes and then start off like that, it usually helps a lot.

I agree with what the others are saying in the thread, I'm pretty sure that animals have their own languages, otherwise they wouldn't be able to communicate with each other. Don't you find it funny how you can really understand what a dog is saying, but when you put another dog beside that dog, they seem to communicate in their own way? Same goes with birds, how do they always travel in flocks? Surely their is some sort of language being used there.

I usually study alone but I find that things come quicker to me when I'm studying with someone else, especially when I'm explaining something to someone else. You can learn a lot faster when teaching another.

I believe that the top 3 languages are English, Mandarin and Spanish. Definitely English because that's pretty much the universal language. Mandarin is second because from my experience I hear that language being used all the time. I'd say Spanish is next because a lot of the people that I know can speak Spanish.

I have a family member who refuses to learn anything more about the English language. His spelling is really quite horrible, his pronunciation needs some adjustments and his sentence forming skills are really bad. Regardless of these issues, he refuses to seek help and learn how to correct himself. He's still quite young and he doesn't understand how this can bother him in the future. Why do you think that is?

I know so many who text and they use "shortcuts", these can bother me a lot when they're over used. I tend to text using full sentences and good punctuation and grammar, but that's just me. How do you text? I like using proper english because I don't want to get too used to shortcuts and forget how to spell certain words all together. What do you think?

I speak English and so I don't need subtitles to watch English movies, but other languages, yes. I use subtitles for Hindi films and Japanese animated shows. Some people may say that it is very distracting, but I don't think so; I think it's a great way to pick up on small bits of the language. Though, I know that the subtitles are sometime wrong.

My favourite English movie is The Little Mermaid. It's a cartoon english movie, but nevertheless, I loved it. I love how they drew Ariel with her red hair and the green tail; the colours stand out so much. I also like the person who voiced her; the singing is amazing.

Sometimes slang can get on my nerves and sometimes it doesn't. I guess it depends if I can actually understand what the person is saying. I know some people use heavy slang and it leaves my mind-boggled with what they said. I refrain from using slang though, I like using "proper" English because I'm growing up and the world we grow in requires proper use of a language.

I've never tried learning a fictional language but I'm sure that if you watch something for a great amount of time, then it will automatically grow on you. Just like watching/reading anything in another language, you eventually pick up on some things. Though, I don't think that I would try learning some in the future.

A majority of my friends speak Tamil and Hindi, they tend to speak in their language around everyone and I'm always at a loss. When I ask for a translation, they struggle and tell me that they don't know how to say it in English. In saying this, are some things harder to translate than others? I know that cultures have their different sayings and it sounds better in one language than another (sense wise). What do you think?

Is there anything about an accent you dislike when you hear people speaking? I personally think Canada and its people are pretty cool, and I don't mind their accent as a whole, but I strongly dislike hearing them say the word "about". I also heard somewhere that people in France generally dislike hearing the Quebec accent speaking the French language. I wonder why we are naturally drawn to dislike particular accents or parts of them, but on the flipside, I generally find it amusing when I hear other languages being spoken with an American accent. Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to accents?

I'm from Canada. Just a small insight when it comes to Canadians:

Canada is a multicultural country and we don't necessarily have a general accent, the accents are determined based on the province/territory you come from as well as the family you were raised in. I don't think I have any pet peeves when it comes to accents.