JoanMcWench

Is there not a similar story about how we are separated into so many religions? I can't recall but the idea was similar. Humans have a way of speaking without even knowing a language. There seems to be a need for our species to be social. Without it we get weird. Look at the news as of late!

I wouldn't say I 'tense' so much as I am nervous about getting the nuances of the language correct when speaking to those that are fluent. This may just be a personal confidence issue and not really an issue with speaking a language. I've never really had conversations on the matter with people new to English. Perhaps, now I will be more cognizant about it.

I'm wondering whether anyone has hit a wall on this one? I can imagine in learning seven or so languages you are going to forget a few things. So, is there a point where you become less fluent (I guess I'll put it that way) in the languages you knew?

I would assume English is at the top but does Chinese top English? I never really looked into it and as I'm typing this I feel like I am going to have to check with Google now. Oh, learning you never cease.

I should hope not. You lose a part of who you were to who you are. I think it's a good idea to have both of those things for as long as you can.

My friend and I went to a nice Vietnamese sandwich shop to get some of their acclaimed Banh Mi sandwiches. The two women in the shop had a very limited knowledge of English but this did not really affect MY visit because it's not that hard to order a sandwich & my friend happens to speak Vietnamese fluently. She also happens to look Vietnamese.

Two young American men came in after our order as we waited my friend was making small talk with one of the workers. The two young American males started to catch an attitude with everyone when they felt their order was not understood well enough. They assumed my friend, who actually helped them by translating their order (unbeknownst to them), worked here and did not understand English as well.

After two minutes of hearing them say things I did not appreciate, my friend could see that I was getting to a point I would not tolerate it any longer. I am not one to handle things of this nature cool or calmly. She introduced herself to them in English and decided to politely give them a lecture on not being a bunch of rude something or others. They left without sandwiches and we felt the need to apologize profusely to the workers for them. We bought their sandwiches and decided to eat theirs first. They were delicious.

The comparison argument was the most useful one for me. If something is 'most' it may stand alone but in reference to 'the most' there has to be something less than the one you are about to refer to.

I tend to say them out loud the way they were intended:

You ARE going to school today.

You're.

They are getting their butts kicked.

They're.

Tends to help a lot. Concerning 'their' and 'there' I just think in terms of something going there that is theirs.

I was considering this question earlier today. I was having a discussion with a group and it seemed like there were many different answers. Someone decided to try (and quit) learning Polish because they wanted to understand their Grandmother when she spoke to her 'old country' pals. Someone else suggested that it was purely for financial reasons that they learned to speak Spanish and would have never considered it otherwise.

I was wondering what is the most cited reason in this forum for learning another language?

Perhaps it could be something that happened to this person specifically? While they were growing up or even today people may have insulted them by making fun of their accent so they may gravitate toward the feeling that someone trying to speak the language is not being genuine but a jerk.

That is cool beans. I would love it if you could share the number of members prior to social media promotion and then (say a month or two later) the inevitable increase. The numbers never lie. I am always curious how much Facebook/Twitter helps any business create a community let alone this forum building one up.

I once attempted to use 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' in a sentence. Then I realized it was a nonsense word created by children to express approval. THEN I began to question why 'dope' is acceptable but not supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (which is a million times more fun to say). Then I just got depressed...

I'd scorn Oxford Dictionaries for this, but I know they've included silly buzz words and catch phrases for years. Helps keep people interested in their work I guess. But I don't consider it anything but slang.

That was exactly what I was thinking. Having popular nonsensical words win a not so popular but equally nonsensical award might just give that award and those responsible for the award a piece of the popularity.

Annoying little word which as urban dictionary said, is used to by tools and d-bags. This and YOLO are two words which annoy me to the extent where I feel like slapping anyone who uses it. :grin:

IS it that 'YOLO' is a word? I thought that terribly overused garbage was absolutely an acronym for 'You Only Live Once'. I can see how 'swag' may be considered either or both but 'YOLO'?

I always subscribed to the theory that bad words are defined by the person saying the word AND the person hearing it. Sometimes these definitions are not the same. Sometimes the person saying the word intended something the person hearing it was not privy to.

I feel like this really complicates things like, say, a family of Christians who do not swear but use 'a$$' (as in donkey) while reading the Bible aloud. The definition and intent of the word not being bad in this instance because it means donkey. For the person not privy to the animal definition they may just take something different from:

And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass...

I think you can easily find a middle ground between the two. You do not want to come off as a jerk when you are trying to correct someone because it makes it seem like you are trying to lord knowledge over them. In the instance you were referring to where someone was insulting you while making a mistake, I can see that as difficult to tackle. BUT if it is a case where someone makes a mistake I think it's fine to correct them. It's helpful to every party involved. The one making the mistake may make a mental note and the grammar Nazi can crawl back into his cave happy with another conquest 

Wow, I am amazed so many use proper English when sending a text. I have found no one in my vast circle will do so. Regardless of my attempts (in vain) to try and lure them to the dark (light?) side. The only thing I do happen to use more with time is 'lol'. I found myself using 'hahaha' to supplement it but it seemed sarcastic to the person on the other end.

Note: The reason 'American author' is there as opposed to 'author'? I am currently doing a month of American authors.

I read A LOT. I read a book and if I have found that book enjoyable I find myself looking at that author with hope. So, I read another book by that author. This is where I start to compare the two books. This is where one of those books will be better than the last. Of course, this is common with every comparison. However, I cannot stand reading the next book and finding it a terrible read. It happens often. So, my question:

What American author would you suggest with a catalog of work that will not disappoint?

Well, without the correction I don't think this thread could have stayed in this section. lol Hmm...yea that does not seem like something a grammar Nazi would do at all. *suspicious eyes here*

THIS is a grammar Nazi!

I feel like that really depends on the music. As someone mentioned earlier, it would be difficult to learn English with Eminem primarily because he is quick with words so many can be missed. A would think jazz would be an easier genre to help with learning English. Slow and simplistic lyrically while being complex melodically and instrumentally.

Currently, I am only using Rosetta Stone. It is fantastic. One to ten? I would rate it a nine. It loses a point on some things that bother me personally. Is it worth the amount you spend on it? That really depends. New, it is excessively expensive. Buying it on eBay is a great way around that.

@ Abundzu:

Hmm, I have no idea why it would be awkward. Everybody can makes a mistakes <---

Thanks for the reminder.

I'll try again:

The word is not relevant. If you say the word 'space' over and over and over again it seems to lose its meaning in the repetition. The word 'hair'. The word 'Jersey' (example people).

I found this also applies in the writing. The same can be said when as a child you can be forced to write something again and again as punishment. What you are writing starts to lose the impact it was meant to have. So as opposed to lingering in your mind because of the repetition it becomes meaningless. Maybe using the word devalue misconstrued my meaning?

Here's a quote that may help me:

I began to indulge in the wildest fancies as I lay there in the dark, such as that there was no such town, and even that there was no such state as New Jersey. I fell to repeating the word 'Jersey' over and over again, until it became idio-tic and meaningless. If you have ever lain awake at night and repeated one word over and over, thousands and millions and hundreds of thousands of millions of times, you know the disturbing mental state you can get into.

~ James Thurber (My Life and Hard Times)

I thought there was really no other way the story could have went. How would we feel as viewers if Walt went to jail? What a horrible ending that would be. We all know he could not have possibly gotten away. Also, not quite an ending. There was no other way.

I was wondering if someone SHOULD be able to see who gave them the karma points? I would not mind seeing the why and the where but I think the who should not be something necessary.