sidney

I really don't mind if people abbreviate English words, it doesn't really sound odd or "cutesy" to me. But I think that if a 70 year old person would start saying that he or she is "more comfy in pajamas" then I would find that to be very funny, since it doesn't suit their age.

That's why Google translate isn't that effective, it tends to translate words literally, like that "Come Alive" example. So if the true to word method doesn't sound right, then you translate it using the true to meaning method. Then the sentence would be really translated correctly.

Well, I know Google can sometimes give erroneous results, so I guess that you can double check the word using a dictionary.

In the movies that I have watched that are with translations, I did get the message of the film, but since I'm not a native of that language that the film is using, I wouldn't really know if the translation was correct. But when it comes to movie captions, then you can't go wrong with English language and English captions, they're always correct.

Ah, no, not intentionally, but I did try to translate a Stevie B. song that was sung in Spanish when I was a kid so that I would understand it because the melody is quite romantic. That was during the 90's, so since there was no internet yet that time, I used a Spanish to English dictionary, lol. Of course some lines of the song did not make sense at all since it was translated literally.

Well, you can chat on local chatrooms in MIRC and you can post a message in the chatrooms to the locals if they can help you learn or translate a few words into their native language. Personally, I haven't done that yet though.

When I'm texting or chatting with my friends, I use text lingo, but sometimes, there are certain words that I fully spell, especially when it looks too weird to be abbreviated. I don't think it's necessary to properly spell words when we are just chatting or texting.

I think that any language that has characters for letters would be hard to learn, like Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Russian, because learning how to speak it is one thing, but learning how to write it is another thing! It's like you're trying to learn the alphabet all over again!

I tend to remove the vowels when I text, so they're quite shortened, but they're understandable. Unless I'm using predictive text input or I'm texting formally, I just tend to abbreviate my words. I don't see anything wrong with that, after all, I'm just texting, I'm not writing a formal document.

I haven't tried doing this yet, but I think that if you would chat in area specific chatrooms in MIRC or ask for help in Yahoo Answers or in language forums like this, then the chances of finding a virtual language partner is very likely.

I would also agree that you don't have to be fluent in 2 languages to be considered as "bilingual", unless you're applying for a job that requires being fluent in another language. As long as you can speak and understand the basic and complicated sentences, even if you're not fluent, then you're already considered bilingual in my book.

I think that for starters, taking language classes would be better, because there will be a teacher that can guide you, and you can freely ask them questions. Then when you want to put to practice what you have already learned, then immersion in the country that speaks that language would be best.

I haven't had that moment yet, since I'm just only reading the translations of the most commonly used words online, but even if my accent would be funny to them, I won't mind it at all since I'm not a sensitive person.

In the call center world, you get paid higher if you know another language besides English. Plus, if you know another language, you can tell if people around you start insulting or cursing you in another language, because I noticed that if they don't want the foreigner to hear what they're saying, then they start to speak in their native language in front of the foreigner.

I noticed that I'm quite a slow reader as compared to others, but I'm also slow in writing and eating, so I guess I'm a slow mover in general. But even if I'm like that, I'm quite comfortable with my reading pace. It would be weird if I try to improve how I read, since I'm already in my 20's.

I would have to say that the English words that have caught my attention are the words "asinine" and "gobbledygook". They sound weird, don't they? Of course, the word "supercalifragilisticexpiyalidocious" tops the list.

I agree with what has been said that it's much better to ask someone who's naturally fluent in the language. But if you don't know anyone, then aside from this forum, you can also go to Yahoo Answers, there are lots of people asking questions regarding language translations in the "Languages" section.

I think that Google Translate is decent enough to roughly translate the chosen language, but sometimes it translates the words so literally, and we all know that words aren't always what they literally mean, especially when used as a sentence, so that's when the error in translating starts. But overall, it does a moderately good job of translating.

Well since you're dead-set on learning Italian and Japanese, then why don't you concentrate first on learning and being fluent on those 2 languages first before you consider learning a 3rd language?

I would have to agree regarding the Tower Of Babel incident in the bible. At one point, man spoke the same language, but since God got angry, he made people speak different languages.

Well if I'm already fluent in a certain language, then correct grammar is indeed very important, like in the English language. But if I'm still learning a foreign language, then it would be more important for me to learn the basic words to get my point across, grammar is really not important at the moment. I'll just concentrate on it if I'm already fluent in the language.

Well the British accent is nice to listen to, but if the person is heavily accented in speaking it, then it is quite hard to understand! I do think that they speak more elegantly than the Americans, but I would also prefer American English because it is more easy to understand.

I haven't been out of the country yet, and my English is quite fluent, so so far I have never felt shy regarding speaking in general, whatever language it may be. Even with the regional languages spoken here, I don't seem to mind or care that I don't understand them, since Tagalog is the major and most widely used language over here.

Well I see it mostly on Facebook comments and on various forums, so you might want to check out your Facebook wall. :grin:

I would probably choose Spanish, because we were colonized by Spain for 300 years, so it would be interesting to learn their language, because some Spanish words are also being used in the vernacular in Tagalog.