Lin

What do you think of the many accents of English? Do you have a particular accent you like? Have you ever tried to change your accent?

I do especially like the British accent. It sounds more refined and dignified to me. Once to start speaking in the British accent, people start looking at you. I have when the accent is too deep though. I also find that the Australian accent is somewhat similar to the British, so I like that one as well. There is something sweet about the Jamaican accent as well (Tess Ann Chin spoke it well on the Voice).

I'm sure everyone here has written a poem or a story at least once in their lives. Not necessarily an artistic masterpiece, but an emotional poem, or a little funny ditty to pass time in class, or maybe a story, etc. I want to know if people write in their native tongue or in foreign languages, and if the latter, in which?

I find that people in Slovenia often write in English. Some find it more artistic, some just find it easier to write in. I myself write (both poetry and prose) in my mother tongue, Slovene.

I have written in Spanish, which is not my mother tongue. My mother tongue is creole. I love English more than Spanish however, especially the British accent. It's most likely because I can express myself more in English though. 

It is important to learn both written and spoken at the same time. I think Duolingo is really helpful in teaching the basics. After that, you should have enough knowledge to be able to read a simple children's book. Try to read those to improve your knowledge! Remember, if you don't use it, you lose it! Having a friend that is fluent in the language you want to learn can help immensely, if they are ready to practice dialogues with you.

I like that phrase: If you don't use it, you lose it. I can relate. I haven't studied Spanish in more than 5 years, and I have challenges recollecting. I have subscribed to babel and I am thinking about using other software to learn and revise. Reading maketh a man they say. Reading is one of the best ways to retain any information, including language learning info.

I'm a huge reader, and my language learning revolves around that. What I did, at least with English, was learn how grammar worked and the pronunciation rules first. After that I start reading with a dictionary next to me, it's hard at first since I understand almost nothing, but as I learned more words it got easier and easier. Listening to music and watching tv without subtitles also helps to get the finer nuances of the language.

Yes indeed, when you can associate words with images, that is the best thing. Watching TV does that for you. Especially when you are watching something interesting, you're brain is able to associate what it hears with the action that's taking place on the TV. This is one of the best way to learn a language. Children who watch Spanish or French or English TV, which differs from what they watch in their native language, often quickly adapt their new language.

What is your most effective process for going about the task of learning a new language? What are some study keys you would say really helped you to pick up a new language in the fastest pace possible? What are some books or audio help that you found valuable?

Well, language learning should be made fun. It's best learnt when done in an interactive manner. The first step is to actually get the words into your vocabulary and then use them when talking to your Spanish or French friends over messenger or on the phone, etc. I get the material into my head by reading firstly, this is especially easy if you have a photographic memory. Additionally also, you should tape yourself (even on your phone) and listen to yourself speak over and over. Your brain is more familiar with your voice and will remember the material easier. 

Sure you can! Just look at this video:

http://youtu.be/ybcvlxivscw

She's pretty bad at a few, but most of these accents are fine.

Hey. Nice video. She's super pretty and super intelligent too it seems. Wow, a linguist as young as herself. Nice!!!

Is it possible to pick up an accent without going to a different country where they speak the language? Or actually being around anyone that is native to whatever you are trying to learn? I would love to have a spanish accent when I speak it but I just cant seem to get it down.

Yes, anyone can learn an accent. I guess it has to do with your intellectual readiness and ease of learning. I personally find it easy to pick up accents. Accent is very important, because you don't want to seem out of place. Practice and practice and practice. 

I've found that my spoken french has deteriorated quite a bit over the last few years. I don't speak as much french as I once did, and I find myself struggling to find the right words at times. Has anybody else experienced this? What's the best way (aside from practice) to prevent this?

Yea...that's a common experience among us language students. It's the fact that we stay away from everyday interaction in the foreign language. My advice is that you pick up back on your reading. Read interesting things that keep your mind going. You can also watch a lot of TV, especially comedies that keep you hooked. Just revise continuously, that's all.

There aren't really any accents in The Netherlands that aren't really obvious. Mine isn't really obvious so I suppose I don't have one.

But if I hear you, to me it may sound like you have an accent. It's just the strangeness of the sounds of your words, your pronunciations, that will give me (a foreigner) the impression that you have an accent.

I always wonder if people who are foreign think that I have an accent when I speak English. I'm Canadian and there is an obvious English accent when I think of people in other countries speaking it such as in Australia and in Britain. However, I do not think I have an accent when I speak at all. I wonder if Australians or British people for example think us Canadians/Americans carry an accent as well. Or better yet, if they themselves (Australians and the Brits) think they have an accent when speaking.

I understand clearly what you're saying Jaxter. I get it. To our own natives and our own minds, we sound normal. But to others, we sound strange. I even think I have my own personal accent among my own people. I speak different from them. I guess it's a mind thing.

I had bad grammar in text messages. wen sm1 types letas lyk this I get very irritated. I mean, it's a qwerty keypad and you won't lose any seconds of your life by typing the words correctly.

You do lose seconds in not using short-hand writing when texting. Remember, there are folks who have a dozen folks texting and replying to all at once. 

When I first started learning a foreign language at school , there was a lot of emphasis put on getting the right grammar, and it would take up so long that after a couple of lessons you could say one sentence, and you could say it properly in all tenses and so on, but at the end of the day you only knew one sentence. I think that conversational skills are much more important than getting the grammar right the first time. I think that you should learn to talk the language , and then all the pieces will fall in place. I think that this is something of a controversial opinion so I was wondering, what do you guys think about this?

I agree with you that conversational skills are more important. After all, when talking to natives, you need to be able to keep up. Grammar is what you need to pass exams or to not look bad when talking with foreign natives.

The reason we may hate some words is because in our unconscious we may have gone through a bad experiences and would therefore associate those words [whether they were used then or conjure up memories of what happened]. IMO, that's why most people have an aversion towards certain words.

In my case I hate the words victor and ex. Anytime someone uses those words, I feel rage starting to burn hot inside me.

Lol. That was a funny one. I assume Victor and ex are one and the same person. I can relate to what you mean. Bad experiences produce present annoyances.

I once watched a show wherein a character was described as one who hated the word "moist", which I found very amusing mostly because it did not peeve me that much, but I know that if it did then I would be terribly annoyed when it was mentioned too. That said, it's partly what gave me the idea that this trait is more universal than I originally thought when I was assuming that it was just me who experienced these types of annoyances.

I myself have some of these pet peeves such as the use of certain shortcuts like "It'll" instead of saying "it will" but for some reason I am not annoyed when it's used for human pronouns such as "He'll" or "She'll". That, and many many more but I'll save you guys from my list.  :frozen:

I don't mean to offend anyone who does use these words and phrases, I'm just being honest and believe me I'd love to just do away with this annoyance if I could but I can't help it.

Anyway, do you guys have any pet peeves like this? Do you have any idea why these things annoy us?

I have no pet peeves really. I just sometimes dislike the accent with which some persons pronounce certain words. But that doesn't make me hate the person; just the expression. We have different preferences, especially due to our encounters in childhood. These therefore affect our likes and dislikes.

I've been looking around the net for some language books and discovered that difference in the price of the same books on different web-sites was too great. Half.com had the most wallet-friendly prices so I intend to buy my stuff there in future.

Where do you guys buy your language books? Maybe there's a site I overlooked that could be even much cheaper . . .

Have you tried Amazon. I use Amazon for buying any and everything that I want online. I especially use Amazon because of the fact that I live outside the US.

Have you ever tried to read a religious text (ex. the bible, quran, talmud, or the tripitaka) in a foreign language? I tried reading the bible in french. That was the hardest thing ever - a total challenge. I was really proud of myself when I got to the 5th page.  ;D

You're doing well. What could really help is if you have one side of your text being in your native language and the other side of the text being in the foreign language. That is what I have. I read the bible in Spanish sometimes.

I tend to visualize the words in my mind when I'm learning a language. I feel that doing so allows me to remember words better by associating them with visual images.

I also find that my mind is clearer after a quick run outside, which certainly helps in learning a language. I guess you can say it's a habit of mine.

A quick run is good. What I am sure about is the fact that the brain operates by blood flow to and from it. If we exercise, we are actually increasing the flow of blood to the brain. Therefore, adequate oxygen will go to the brain, which will then aid in remembering things.

I don't have any method. I just remember when I want to remember.

Now...that's just boring. I was hoping you would share with us any helpful strategy. If it's even a strategy that you know someone else employs. Don't be so dull my friend. Inform us.

One of the methods I use that helped me a lot was to start my lessons in the mornings. I don't know if it's the same for the majority, but I suspect it is since our minds are a lot fresher in the mornings and having that definitely helps in soaking up as much information as possible. I assume it's the same reason why it feels so good to read the news in the mornings too.

What you say is true. In the mornings our brains are fresher and rejuvenated. I do however, prefer to study in the nights. I find that when I do this, I go to bed and actually dream about or go over whatsoever I studied before going to bed. So...all I need to do really is just to revise in the mornings. It works for everyone I'm sure.

People have different methods that help them to remember words and meanings when learning a language. When I was studying Chinese, I used to chew gums when memorising. The rhythm of chewing actually helped me to remember the words better. Is there a habit that you do when studying that can help you learn better?

That sounds weird. But if you say so...I should give it a try before calling it weird though. I usually just cram information. I know I have a photographic pictorial mind, so once I see it I will remember it. That's just me.

If we never had languages, how would people be able to communicate. Do you guys ever think about the need for language in life?

We would all be a bunch of frustrated and ultimately suicidal people. Can you imagine not being able to express what you want to say to someone? Can you imagine someone struggling to understand you? It would be a world of confusion.

I learn better with others around me, Going to school with children in my age group was so much fun. And so whenever we get our home work we would do it together. Because if there was something that you don't understand then someone in the group would help you to understand it. So working together with other work for me.

Even though I was an introvert in learning, I must agree with you that learning as a group has great benefits. We learn from each other and we get to interact with each other. Interacting and doing is what is necessary for learning  things like a new language.

I was in a class of maybe 20 or so people when I decided to become proficient in Spanish. Then, I moved to working alone and with my tutors. What did you do that worked for you?

Thanks for starting this thread. I want to tell you that I mostly learn on my own.  . I had good tutors and very competitive classmates, but that couldn't match up with my passion. So, I learnt from videos, software programs and CD. I want to start refreshing my mind again, soon.

Thank you linguaholic for that link. I'll certainly look into it. Want to brush up on my Spanish .

Me too...I really love Spanish. I excelled in the subject in my formative years (getting a lot of 100%s and all As). I was one of the best students in my class. Sadly, I haven't been practicing the language since high school. So, I am going to join this exchange.

Hi! Congratulations! I so would want to learn how to speak and write Chinese. I'll definitely check your forum out! Great job! Keep the passion burning!  :party:

Definitely, congratulations. This is a good thing you have going. I've always wanted to learn Chinese and this is a great opportunity. China seems to be a fast growing super power country of the world and I'm heading there some time in the near future. Thank you for the help you will give. Am gonna join now.