Baburra

Mandarin seems to be a popular choice, although, I don't think it would really come in handy unless you plan on working with Chinese people in the future. I think you should just pick a language you love and learn that for the sake of learning it instead of doing it for whatever things the world will deem important in a few years. There will always be money to be made if you can do something well enough, and you can reach a good enough level when you love what you are learning and doing. That's my opinion of it, at least.

I know this topic sounds bad, but it's only according to individual opinion and taste, and not really a personal attack on any language/countrymen, so hopefully people won't take it personally if their language gets called out in this thread.

Personally, I don't like the sound of the Cantonese language.

I may have gone a day or two without speaking. I often go out and buy small stuff daily, and I always linger around stores to talk with the cashiers and sales people. I don't like to text, but I would sometimes hangout and just talk to people via forums or chat online on some lazy days, but never for too long.

I try not to let these things annoy me anymore, but it sometimes still pricks me like a needle from time to time when I see errors that I personally dislike. I don't even know why I care, most of the time, but it's how it makes me feel. One of the things that I can't stand is the use of "should/could of" instead of "should/could have". I think it's because it always makes me stop while reading mid-sentence, so that's probably the reason why it annoys me.

I've always believed in the phrase "there's nothing to fear but fear itself". I don't even know where I first heard it, why it stuck to my brain, nor have I researched anything about it, but it matches well with my own philosophy of not allowing my own fears control my decisions.

I've honestly never thought of the word "manhole" as funny until OP pointed it out, and now I totally find it funny. Another one I think has a funny ring to it is the word "moist". I remember a show utilizing this specific word, claiming that the character hated it for some reason, so ever since then, I've always found it funny or at the very least, interesting.

What if English or some other language were the required language for everybody, how do you think the world will be different? Do you think you would prefer it? As much as I like having a personal language that I could speak that only my countrymen would be able to understand, and the fact that it binds us all, I do wonder sometimes if the world would be much better or worse if we all just spoke one language. What are your thoughts on this, would you be in favor of it?

I'd say I have a moderate speed when it comes to reading. I can read a bit faster, but I usually drift off whenever I try to do so and eventually I'll just find myself reading the words without really understanding. If I had to read fast, or skim through a few paragraphs, though, I'd say I do it relatively faster than average.

I always forget how to spell embarrassed, and I have to be reminded by the red underline from spell check each time. Thank heavens for spell check, really, as it's made me realize how many words I've had the wrong idea of.

I wouldn't say I overuse it, but I do use it often. I'm a lot more accustomed to using it now over emoticons, which I used to use a lot. I'd say I use it just as often as my friends do, I do realize it might get irritating if I use it too much.

I have a few personal pet peeves that make me cringe whenever I see them, although nothing really comes to mind now, since I only ever remember that I hate it whenever I see it. However, I've also learned to just ignore it, especially nowadays that I've been exposed to a much broader group of people from all countries online.

I'm not one to dictate how others should speak, but for some reason whenever I hear someone in real life utter internet phrases and terms, I cringe. I honestly can't pinpoint what it is about this that bothers me so much, but it just sounds so unnatural and forced. Anyone here share the same sentiments, and do you have any specific examples of ones you particularly hate hearing uttered in the physical world, or does it not bother you one bit?

I think it's just a case of things being a lot more visible now, and we can't expect everyone to know English as well as we do. Most people who misspell are probably not native English speakers, and if they are, only then will it be a shame, in my opinion. It's not the worst thing in the world, though.

I learned my second language very early in life and I was with a whole class back then, and I think that helped a lot with making it easy for me to learn, since I didn't feel so alone and I could hear how other people were saying what I was trying to learn for myself. Had it been only me, I think I would have had a lot more of a difficult time, since there would be no one else to share my experience with and relate to towards learning.

I have experienced this when talking to a new Japanese acquaintance that I did not realize had lived in my country before for the majority of his life before moving back to Japan. I tried talking to him in English and he seemed to be having a hard time, eventually he spoke in my native language and I was very much surprised. Sufficed to say, we our conversation got a lot easier after that.

I used to abhor it immensely, but after having been immersed in the culture of a certain online community, I have a newfound appreciation for it. I now see it as being humorous and quaint, at the very least, but of course, I'd still prefer to see proper writing as much as possible.

I think it's necessary for people in countries who don't have too much support for their own culture from their own government because they would need English to learn about a more international scene to satisfy the need for culture. For countries like Japan, France, and China, however, who are very culturally rich and self sustaining, it might not be too necessary. It's certainly helpful, though, and it does open a lot more doors towards opportunities outside one's country.

I'm not a big anime fan, but I have watched some anime series in full. I usually prefer watching shows in English, but when it comes to anime, I prefer hearing the original voices and intonations, even if I kind of hate reading subtitles when watching. I also prefer hearing the original language if it really contributes to the whole theme and feel of the movie or show, and on some occasions I even like them being dubbed into my own native language just because it feels more personal that way.

What are your opinions on subtitles and dubbing, do you prefer one over the other, and if you prefer dubbing, do you prefer shows dubbed in English or your native language?

I wouldn't say it helps with faster learning, but it does alleviate some of the seriousness of having to learn an entire language and at least makes it fun. I think conversational language and musical language is somewhat different, so I only ever hope to learn certain words in a foreign song and I don't really focus too much on precise translations.

I find the French and Japanese language to be the most attractive to me personally, for different reasons. French, I think is very obviously sexy because I'd guess even their swears sound good. Japanese, on the other hand, is very structured and since I know the history and purpose of said structure, I'm able to appreciate its beauty.

I wouldn't say it's very important to me, but I do prefer reading and hearing correct grammar from everyone. The internet has made me a lot more tolerant of misuse, though, since it's made me realize that it's just not possible for all people on Earth to know English that well.

I have to admit that I like everything to be proper, but I still find some slang words to be hilarious and entertaining, and most of the time, very creative. If only at the very least, I appreciate slang words and phrases for their creativity, albeit sometimes crass. There are some that don't appeal to me, though, for some reason. I'd love to know why this is, but I guess it just all boils down to taste. I've heard of and met people who absolutely hate it completely though, but they were mostly older folks, and I doubt there are still people in the current generation who are as conventional. Any of you out there who are still 100% proper? Would you like to be? Or do you prefer to use colloquial terms more?

Mine is in my own native language. I'm comfortable enough with English and use it on a daily basis not only online but in personal conversations as well, but I still mostly prefer my own native language since it feels much more personal to me, and of course I can't help but love it since I've been around it so much and have had ample time to learn to appreciate it.

I don't really plan on reaching a certain number, rather I would just prefer to learn all that I set out to learn. If I had to pick, however, I'd say about 5 languages would be sufficient for me. I already know 3 pretty well, so I'm hoping to achieve the remaining in my lifetime.

I think any form, taught at the right time and in the right way, will make it easy to learn for anyone. Still, in the case of self education, I'd say learning the writings are a lot harder to memorize, especially for languages that use characters besides the English alphabet, in my opinion.