Baburra

I'd personally categorize a person as bilingual if he or she is able to hold entire conversations in either languages. Although, not necessarily having to have indepth knowledge with the less used diction like ones used in political or technical discussions.

I always liked that the native English speakers used French phrases like "faux pas" and "bourgeois", but I often wonder why they naturally somehow got integrated into the language without being translated. Anyone have an idea of why this is? Also, share some more examples if you have them.

I'd prefer lyrics. Poetry somehow sounds a little more appealing to me when I know it's written to conform to some background music and thus having a little more flow in my head when I read it.

I find it pretty interesting too that some people like me are annoyed at some types of abbreviations, because I don't really mean to be this petty, but I kind of can't help but cringe when I hear some of them. I think erronousRogue touched on a good point that they just sound obnoxiously "cutesy".

I'm not surprised, it's pretty catchy and it does hold some significance to portraying current culture. Not my favorite word ever invented, but it was an alright choice nonetheless, IMO.

I think Australia does that with a lot of their words. To the best of my knowledge, they call football "footy", and barbecue "barby". I think it's kind of endearing, but I understand your point, since I imagine it can get old really fast if you hear it too much and it's not what you grew up with.

Wholeheartedly agree, and ironically, that made me lol. Haven't even thought of those, but honestly they don't peeve me out as much as the ones I've stated, although I understand that it can be annoying to see it used in articles. It would probably stick out for me too if I saw it.

I'm not familiar with all of the translations, but yes, it is very difficult at times. Words like "telly" are a little more understandable, but when they use completely unrelated terms like "fags" for cigarettes, among many other words, it can get confusing.

I am a grammar nazi, but I just keep the thoughts in my head, I don't correct people anymore especially these days. I only apply it on written text, which I think is where it is most helpful, because most of the time it is where formality and proper diction is still appreciated and expected.

I've never thought of exacting revenge before, but it does sound familiar. I don't think people still say it, they are a lot less formal nowadays. Anyway, I don't really have that much problems with multiple meanings, even if I don't know the word, usually you could pick up on what is meant by the surrounding context alone. "Fold", for example, can be used as a term for surrendering or retreating, and it's hard to misinterpret it as the literal folding action when being spoken of in terms of a card game or a contest.

I find the term "comfy" very whimsical, but I don't really like all of them. Most of the other ones like "hanky" and "veggies" don't really sound as good to me, and it really grinds my gears when I hear it, for some reason. I've heard people disliking "comfy" too though, so I assume it's just one of those things. Anyone else got any more examples? Do you have any disliked ones as well?

I think the human mind is virtually limitless, so I think we can learn practically as many languages as we want. People have done amazing things, and even though I think learning 10, 20 or 30 languages is very amazing, I would still go as far as to say that there are probably even more amazing things it is capable of, so we really should try not to limit ourselves.

I wouldn't say it defines your class, but it probably helps in the perception of it. The human mind seeks patterns where it can in the same way we see pictures of Jesus on burnt toast. I wouldn't put too much weight on it.

Now that you mention it, I probably wouldn't consider it one of my favorites either. I don't really hear it that much, though, so I may still like it on some people.

I'd consider it alright for official use. It's certainly a lot more favorable than using "prank". "Ruse" also seems to be a good alternative, but I'd say "hoax" is much more current.

"Theatre" and "truth" have always been my weakness. I don't think I have too much of a problem with it when I don't think about it, but once I do, I get too conscious about it in a way that it feels awkward to say. I probably never would have ever thought about it too if it weren't for my friend who brought it up when I was younger. :speechless:

LOL good call. I see this brought up all the time, but I always forget about it until I witness it in front of me, I'll probably be noticing this a lot more now that you've reminded me. Saying this word nowadays has become so trendy that it's almost lost all meaning, in my opinion. :angel:

Glad you brought this up. Before I came into this thread, I could swear I was just going crazy, as my auto correct is making me spell canceled instead of cancelled, but I could have sworn I learned it as "cancelled" as a child. I thought I was imagining it, but I just never thought to look it up. At least now I have some clarity.

I think when in formal settings like in the workplace, it's more efficient to just focus on what you can't say, because I think you can say almost anything, so it might be easier to keep track of the other side which is fewer. In my opinion, as long as you don't talk about politics and religion, you'd be fine. As for being funny, I think work related jokes, anecdotes, and stories are always hilarious for the group of people who can actually understand them. This is how most inside jokes start out. Good luck.

I'm probably at about 10% to 20% complete on my lessons in Japanese, so by your standards, my answer is none. I do know Chinese though, and I learned that earlier in life, so it might not count. It's certainly a little harder to learn as an adult with less time for hobbies.

I think I have a pretty good grasp of what most major languages sound like enough to distinguish between them. The only ones I'd probably have a little trouble with are probably middle eastern languages, because I'm rarely exposed to their written and spoken dialogue.

I've only had this happen to me probably once or twice. Given, I rarely ever remember the dialogue in my dreams, let alone the language used. It is still pretty freaky when it happens, though, it's a pretty surreal way to wake up.

I hate it when writers use the word "alas", it's always felt like a cheap and overly dramatic cop-out to me. Whenever I see it used in a blog article online, I close the tab immediately, because I just can't read anything from a writer that would resort to using that word. I think there are tons of ways to go around using it, and I firmly believe that writers who are good enough eventually find it. In this modern age we should just get rid of that word altogether, but I know that's just my opinion. Any of you hate some English words as much as I hate my hated word?

Yes, I think the comma in this case is very important. It's not the most significant differentiator, I have to admit, and you can still get the idea of everything without it, but I think when it comes to writing, it pays to be as clear as you can be. In your example, onions and crackers may be misconstrued as being in a group, whereas if you placed a comma before "and", there is absolutely no chance for the two things to be grouped. In this example, Bryan and Steve can be mistaken for a couple, in my opinion. Much better.

I never have been a fan of tongue twisters, we have several of our own versions in my native language, but the one I remember the most is the Americans' "woodchuck" one.