Baburra

I was expecting something totally different, but this one does make for a good theory. I think it does affect us to some degree, as our language contributes a lot to how we perceive reality and also almost dictates what we would consider normal. Still, I think ultimately it will boil down to the individual if he or she lets it affect him or her, but just in a general sense, it does seem plausible.

I agree. I had a similar experience, and we were taught the Chinese alphabet initially too before moving on to the words both written and spoken. I think it's the best way to start, since if you already know the alphabet then you can just learn on your own from there from books that put the alphabet next to the corresponding word so you'll know how it's read.

Yes, I have heard of this and I recall using it a good number of times before Google translate became popular. I remember having trouble remembering the name of the site though, as I did not know the history behind babel back then and I had trouble relating why it would be named that way and even have the word fish in its title when the subject is translation and language. :grin:

I've always wondered why the word "colonel" is spelled that way when the pronunciation is far different from how it's spelled (Cour-nel). Of course, being used to it, I don't really mind as much, but I can't help but think that it would have been a million times simpler had it been just spelled out the way it is pronounced or vice versa meaning just pronounce it CO-LO-NEL instead. Any other examples of these? Why do you think colonel was decided on to be spelled like this?

I speak a lot more casually than how I write, so I tend to use simpler words. I think it's because I have a little more fun when writing knowing that I can explain much more in detail, and also considering that I have to since in writing there aren't any intonations that I can utilize to help explain my idea so it pays to be thorough.

I agree. It's not really a good measure of someone's knowledge or intelligence, so I doubt it can serve much purpose beyond just an initial impression. Accents are very hard to correct, so even a person who is well versed in a certain language can have trouble when it comes to this. I still catch myself doing this sometimes, I have to admit, but I correct it immediately.

Yes, I do think it works, but I think it only works best when used for public speaking or other types of performances like stage acting wherein you'd have to project and enunciate a lot more. For daily conversations, I think you'd have to constantly be aware for it to work, which isn't always practical.

Cup of tea is one of the idioms I use a lot too! As for my own contribution, the "apple doesn't fall far from the tree" is one that stuck with me for some reason. I think it has a lot to do with my love of parental psychology and family relation studies.

The weirdest part for me is that my friends only ever hear my speak one of the language on either side, and they are often left out of the conversation when I start speaking in my other language. Also, I imagine it isn't too comfortable for them having gotten used to seeing and hearing me a certain way, only to see and hear a completely different side of me in a split second.

I think Cantonese lends itself the best for swearing. It has a very snappy quality to it that I think already kind of sounds like swearing even with just regular communication to begin with, that I imagine their swear words contribute and utilize a lot more of the effect.

I don't think you can retain as much of the language with only reading, and even then, you'd still have to practice the pronunciation out loud enough times for it to be integrated onto your habits unless you are only planning on using the new language in writing form, which I find unlikely. It's much easier to remember a new language and its words when you use it for daily communication.

I think the easiest ones to learn would probably be ones that are spelled the same way as they are pronounced. The hardest things to learn and keep up with are languages that have similar words that have different meanings and having to learn about and memorize silent letters and pronunciations. On that note, I'd have to agree that Spanish seemingly adheres to this rule and is therefore probably one of the easier ones to learn.

"Sick as a dog" and "In a pig's eye" always kind of confused me. First, I don't know why dogs were picked to represent sickness when it comes to figures of speech, and the latter (pig's eye) is just... why? :confused: Also, "sweating like a pig" is confusing too because it isn't even accurate. To the best of my knowledge, pigs don't sweat, or at least not much if at all.

I wouldn't know if it's the most difficult, since I don't have experience in writing many other languages like Arabic, but Chinese and Japanese seem to be pretty complex. One omission of a stroke could mean the word changing its meaning completely, whereas when writing in English or probably any other language that utilizes this alphabet, missing a letter is a little more okay.

The best way, to me, is usage. If you are able to use the word even just once in that day or soon after, you'd have a better chance of retaining it. I don't know how much success you'd have with all words doing this, but a good enough number of new words should stick with this method. I used to look up random words too, and some of them have stuck with me with the use of this method, although admittedly I haven't really used many of them past the initial usage since they are so obscure - e.g. "asinine" meaning stupid or foolish.

I'm not sure on what the official usage is, but I usually use advice as a noun, and advise as a verb, but even then to me it has a different connotation to the verb version of advice. To me it's more of a suggestion than advice when you say advise. As for price and prize, I use price for the cost of things, and prize as a bonus or winnings such as prizes won at carnivals and arcades.

I think I learned a foreign language by age 7, because I'm pretty sure I was already reading English comic books by then without much problems. It helped that it's pretty much standard in our culture to learn it, so I was learning it in school as far back as I can remember.

I think it would be beneficial. The world could communicate a lot more efficiently that way, and it could lead to a wider range of teamwork, by which I mean people from all countries would be able to work together a lot easier and a lot more things could be invented. As for the drawbacks, I'm sure there are some, but I honestly can't come up with much other than further homogenization of everything.

I've probably had this happen to me long ago, but I don't mind it, especially now that I'm a little older and find myself caring less and less. :grin: I don't mind it because it happens even with people who speak the same language as I do. People love talking about other people, and that's just the nature of things, at least with a foreign language you won't have to understand it when you hear it.

I'm planning on finally learning French and Japanese as much as I could. I've been sidetracked a bit by work and other responsibilities this year, but I hope to set aside more time for myself and my cultural enrichment next year.

Pretty amusing, thanks! :wacky: I agree with the part about silent letters. I've often wondered what the purpose of that is. I do understand that it's being pointed out for comedic effect in this article, but it also does make at least a little bit of sense to me.

Yes, I think they all have their uniqueness to them, which is what makes them distinguishable from one another. To the average person, however, they might sound similar. For example, someone less familiar might not be able to differentiate between the many Asian languages, but to an Asian or someone who has familiarized themselves to the cultures, they will each have a distinctiveness to them.

I used to be much more of a "grammar nazi" (pardon the term), but with the advent of the internet and seeing so many mistakes being made, I've learned to just let it be and I've actually even found some amusement from it all. For example, I was browsing online a few years back and came across the phrase "Get some branes you moran!" which I found hilarious because it's ironic. I'm not too sure if it was intentional, but if it was I'd commend the inventor of it for such creativity. Other ones I always found amusing was the common spelling mistake of "grammer" in place of the correctly spelled version "grammar" and "better then" instead of "better than". Of course, some mistakes still do irk me a little like "could/would of" for "could/would have", but I'm just glad that some of the other ones are at least amusing. Anyone got any other examples you are amused by?

Yes, I consider it a hobby, but of course I'd love to just earn from travelling the world and speaking different languages. For now, it remains a form of self-enrichment for me. I think it helps that I think about it this way, because it affords me less pressure and therefore makes me calmer which in turn makes it easier for me to learn.

My grandpa always calls me idiot too in his native language. I'm pretty sure he says it out of love, thankfully, as he always does laugh as he calls me that name, but it's made the term permanently ingrained in my mind. I can't wait to use it on my kids or grandkids someday.