Denis Hard

Could be all that talk about LingQ being great and all is just a marketing gimmick. If getting language students to pay for their service is their goal [and I'm now convinced it is -those phony testimonials spell S-C-A-M]] they have to lay it on quite thick. Considering the fact that there are better [free] language learning sites on the net, I guess I'll give LingQ a wide berth.

It would even be much better if it was the mods and the admin only who posted the links [to the resources] on the sub-forum. That would prevent users from abusing the system. Of course, we members would post such info on any relevant forum but the mod. or the forum admin [you] would move that post to the sub-forum if it really is helpful. Just a thought. . .

It's a language learning site uses the same model that vocabulary.com uses to help people learn words faster by exposing you to the words you're learning more and more to the point where the words and their meanings get fixed in your mind. http://www.lingq.com/ Sounds like a great site, just wondering if anyone here has used it.

Supposing someone stumbles into a good language learning resource, some good tutorials, videos about a language, an interesting language site, etc., s/he may start a thread about it but in time it will get buried under all the new posts. So I was thinking maybe, a sub-forum where such stuff [which can be useful from time to time] wouldn't be so bad an idea? That way access to learning materials would be relatively easy.

A few more: Black and blue -bruised. Gray area - something that's not clearly defined. Wave a red flag in front of a bull - make someone angrier. Blue in the face - to be angry/excited [just a reference to an extremity in showing some emotion]. Get the green-light - get an approval. Green around the gills - jealous. [really like this one]

Attitude. That's all there is to it. I am comfortable writing in English because I like writing. Others who don't like writing may find it difficult. So the difficulty arises simply because of our negative mindsets in regard to something.

We should also take into consideration false friends in the context of the different dialects of English we speak. For example some British English words could be taken to be offensive by Americans. Fag in British English could refer to a cigar while in the U.S and other places it's an an offensive term used to refer to gay people. The word, used out of context before an American audience would be misconstrued as being offensive. p.s There are other obvious examples no less colorful, but I'll stop here.

In 1,000 years [if the world would still be here], considering the fact that the internet already connects almost everyone in the world, languages as we know them may not exist because for the sake of easy communication people will learn the more popular languages and those languages in turn will coalesce into one eventually. There will be one language spoken throughout the world except in conservative countries like Arabia which will remain pretty much the same so the Koran can still be read in the original language it was written.

Can an online language club qualify to be termed as an actual 'language club' if it does actually exist? Currently I am not a member of any such club but if I could find one I wouldn't hesitate to join one. If any other clubs exist, I think they'd be many perks that come with joining a language club apart from helping you with your personal development.

As I live in a small backwoods town where it's almost impossible to meet anyone who isn't a native-born hill-billy, I practice speaking the languages I'm learning from videos I pick up in odd places. Of course it may present a real problem when conversing with a real person but at least, it does help a little.

The people you interact with determine the language you speak, if you know more than one language that is. If you're working abroad as an expat, then most likely you won't speak your native language if your co-workers speak a different language. So, well. . .the language you speak is not a decision you make yourself I suppose. . .

Some languages use the same alphabet/script. The languages I know use the same alphabet so it definitely presents absolutely no problem [as far as remembering the alphabet is concerned] although the pronunciation of the vowels and consonants IS [or may, in most cases be] different.

Different study techniques work for different language students. The two I know of are: 1. Intense studying: You put in several hours a day for a short period of time to learn and master a language as fast as you can absorb it. 2. Studying for long: You study [a language] for a few minutes every day over a long period of time. Maybe, with breaks. Which of the two works best for you or do you use a combination of the two methods?

I must agree that getting a language coach can be very helpful in getting you grasp all the facets of the language: speaking, writing, etc., but supposing you're only learning language for the fun of it? Would that justify the cost [unless it's free that is]?

In the small town I live in, it's populated by people who speak three different languages. I don't know how it worked but most people [in the town] speak all three languages [maybe they pick them up in the playground in school] so it's quite natural to speak a mix of any of the three languages [don't ask which ones] but it doesn't feel like any of them is a foreign language. . .

I suppose you're looking for the best place to SELL your e-book. After all publishing it is as easy as converting the raw text into pdf format. After that you'll need to sell your book. There are sites which you can sign up on, upload your book [they may have software that will convert it to many file formats] and they charge a small commission for each sale you make. Here's the list. Not comprehensive but worth checking out. http://payhip.com http://lulu.com http://smashwords.com Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.

If you are visiting a country as a tourist just once and probably have no intention of going back again, then you only need to learn the basics. Only the stuff that can enable you to ask someone for directions [if you're lost], a few pleasantries and I guess that would be all for a start. If you'll be staying longer, you can always start with that then expand you knowledge of the language on location.

Most kids simply pick up their mother tongue [sometimes] without being taught. You just speak to the kid, ignore him/her altogether while you converse but heck the little tyke is absorbing that language and if you used some cuss words you'll be surprised to hear them said in front of guests [embarrassing you]. So, regardless of whether the language is difficult or not, before the kids even realize it's hard, they'd have learned it [at age 4, a kid is fluent in their mother tongue]. Would it be therefore be classified as harder than a second language they learn considering they didn't expend much energy trying to learn the language? I don't think so. Second languages will always be more difficult to learn.

Probably one of the most famous poets of his time, Ted Hughes, is the poet whose work I always read. It's quite strange that no one has mentioned this poet who most people believe was the best during his era and that wasn't too long ago. The guy died in 1998. I found most of his poems posted online here: http://allpoetry.com/poems/by/Ted%20Hughes

You wouldn't guess to what extent literature can influence us in. . .well. . .many aspects of our lives but most importantly, relationships [not necessarily erotic relationships]. My recommendations therefore would be books that would help you look at the world from a different perspective. Though these books may not be classified as literature, they're pretty good: 1. The Road - Ian McCormack. 2. Where The Red Fern Grows (can't remember the author's name). 3. Punish The Sinner - John Saul. 4. The Far Country - a cute love story. 5. A Widow's Story.

One has to be sociable to effectively learn to speak a language correctly. This is very easy for extroverted individuals because they're drawn to the crowd. They just can't be by themselves and for that reason, even if they're to settle in some foreign land, the need to communicate with others would compel them to learn the local language. Introverts on the other hand. . . So, guys, is it true that introverts can't learn languages unless they're forced to do that while in school?

It might be highly unlikely to most people who believe in Darwin's theories but we have to draw a line somewhere. It's just one story among many? So if that story is false then everything else has to be fabricated with intent to deceive, right? Well? It may not prove the veracity of the story about babel but it does show that the writings contained therein are mostly That means. . .

I'm supposing, quite naturally, you'll think in the language you use most [often]. If for example you're a native English speaker working in a remote out-station in the heart of Asia, unconsciously, in your bid to master the language you'll force yourself to think in that language. In addition to that, if your friends don't speak your language and you think about them then quite definitely, you'll use the language they speak. . .it's kind of elastic. And. . .For some people, different languages work with different emotions.

Let's not jump into conclusions. Let's make the assumption that different civilizations developed languages at different times, in different place [something which, logically, would account for there being so many languages, right?] If we take that as our baseline then it means the language structures and usage have to be different. Yeah? So let's examine closely similarities between languages. I, for example speak three languages fluently and if I've noticed that some euphemistic words are similar. The most common word is snake or eel [in it's many different forms] used in a reference to brutus/wee-wee [no offense intended]. Did that happen by chance or were the minds of these people telepathically linked? That among other things tells us that in the distant past, a universal language existed. p.s

There isn't much difference. There are times words can be transposed in a sentence to emphasize something's attribute [if that attribute] is more important than the thing or person under scrutiny at that moment. IMO the wording, be it backward or forward, is of no significance as long as you communicate.