sidney

Well in a way yeah, because I can speak directly in my mother language as compared to speaking in English, which is my foreign language, because even if I'm fluent in it, I sort of process what I'm about to say in my brain first before I say it to make sure there are no grammatical errors as compared to Tagalog where I speak "mindlessly".

I usually try to learn the curse words of a foreign language so that it will be easier to remember, lol also the foreign translation of the private parts too, so that I'll be sure to remember it because it will make me laugh especially when I try to incorporate it in my everyday use an a banter line.

I don't mind writing really long sentences since I'm quite talkative, but when I need to shorten it due to some character limit, I read the sentence again and delete the unnecessary words that I find it it. But it's quite hard to do if all the words are important, so I guess your best bet would be to learn first proper grammar.

I agree with what has been said, I think "the most" is a more superlative way of referring to things. It implies a more intense feeling towards what is being referred to.

I haven't been disrespected by another person yet in their native language, but the exact opposite happened, like some people have tried to express they have feelings for me in their native language while I'm talking to them, and of course, I had no idea yet at that time what they were talking about.

I love this quote from Kurt Cobain that said, "I'd rather be hated for who I am than be loved for who I am not".

Urban dictionary's description of the word is quite accurate, if you listen to most of the songs that have the word "swag" in it, then you will notice a pattern that it refers to how a person presents himself. Like in the case of one of Timbaland's songs titled "Scream", I heard him say, "You like my swag"?

I will have to ask my dad later what was my 1st word or words that I uttered, but I doubt that he'll even remember. I'm pretty sure it's some incomprehensible gibberish anyway.

My high school teacher also pointed this out in class before, she noticed that most Americans aren't really concerned regarding proper sentence construction, spelling, grammar, etc. and usually, it's the non-native English speakers who are more often grammatically correct when it comes to speaking the language. Maybe because the natives are complacent, because it's their native language, while the foreigner is afraid to make a mistake, that's why they pay close attention to proper spelling and grammar.

As we all know, knowledge is power, so I don't think we should put a limit on how many languages one can learn, even if they're not able to use it. Who knows, the knowledge of that certain language might come in handy in the future.

I would only speak in a foreign language if the person that initiated a conversation with me spoke in that certain language, but to simply speak a foreign language casually when it's not called for would be a bit unnecessary for me, even if I'm fluent in that language already.

I don't think that I would want to learn a useless foreign language, because it's pointless to even waste effort in learning it, unless the situation was that it was required at school or work.

I think a "speaking buddy" would be beneficial if you're becoming too rusty in a certain language. If you don't have one in person, then I suggest chatting in country specific rooms in MIRC or in Yahoo chatrooms.

I write using my 2nd language which is English when I post in forums or do anything online. Sometimes I text in English too when I'm casually chatting up with my friends when I feel like it.

I think that some people try to compensate for their novice-like skills and attempt to imitate that certain language's accent to come off as more genuine, but they end up looking like they're trying too hard in the 1st place. Maybe that's the kind of people your neighbor has encountered, and they're not really making fun of the Spanish accent. Maybe he just misinterpreted them. If they really are making fun of the accent, then shame on them, and he should just ignore those people.

Well aside from genuine interest, I think that most people learn a new language for practical reasons, like they intend to move to or visit a new country, or they want to take up a job in a call center that deals with foreign customers, because the salary is higher. It really depends on the person and his intent and use for the language.

I'm from the Philippines, and since we don't celebrate Thanksgiving over here, I would have to say that the phrase "Happy Thanksgiving" doesn't have a literal local translation. I now noticed that as a rule, if a holiday isn't celebrated in one's country or if it did not originate in that country, then there is no local translation for it, like Thanksgiving or Ramadan.

Because some words are just meant to insult or curse the person the same way that there are words that praise or make the person feel good, so l think that that's their purpose, to convey the negative message across to the other person. It's like the negative equivalent of "good job" or "thank you."

The longest word I have used in a casual conversation would be "transformation" and "procrastination", although I'm sure there are more, I just can't remember them at the moment.

I noticed that Spanish and Portuguese are kinda alike, although I'm not fluent in those 2 languages yet.

I haven't been able to travel outside my country yet so I can't say that I can "pass" for another culture, but I think from looks alone I can be mistaken as Spanish, since Filipinos and Hispanic people look alike, for example, Michelle Rodriguez or Mario Lopez.

Well a Wikipedia link has been posted already, so based on that link I think it would have to be the ones that originated below the 10th century BC.

I think that I'm a visual and auditory learner, I don't recall learning a new language by trying to read it or write it out or through other methods. I learn quickly through the constant repetition of seeing and hearing the words/phrases.

I actually have an English to Spanish dictionary at home, and that book is quite handy in quickly finding out the basic meaning of the Spanish words that I encounter on tv, movies or while surfing the web. I think anyone who is starting to learn a foreign language would benefit from owning a language translation dictionary. Of course, it would be much better if the person who is learning a new language can find a fluent person for a tutor.

They should save the confusing technical terms for later and just teach the person the basic translation of the words that can make them get their point across to people, that's what matters. The technical stuff can follow once the person is fluent in speaking that certain language already.