Limezero

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I do that all the time. I think it has something to do with thinking on your own while reading something. Your mind loses the thread and doesn't know what to focus on. It happens to me a lot when I'm reading novels, especially at boring parts.

My least favourites have probably got to be Indian/Punjabi accents. There's just something about the language that makes it completely incompatible with English. Same with Arabian and other "middle-Eastern" languages. I also don't like Asian accents much, but I wouldn't go as far as ridiculing them ("engrish" and whatnot).

I think the main issue with using "but" everywhere is that the context is typically wrong. Starting a sentence with the word "but" without there being anything to follow up makes you sound like you're trying to prove something wrong, without there actually being such a thing present in the conversation to begin with. Sentences such as "Everyone but Jack arrived today.", or "I like these shoes, but they're a bit too tight." are grammatically correct uses. I personally despise its usage as a way to follow up what another person said, though. It feels intrusive and annoying, it almost makes it sound like the person themselves was trying to use that word in the first place, as if to suggest "Surely, this is what you would say".

A good way I find to know whether or not you're actually proficient at speaking a language you're trying to learn is whether or not you're actually capable of thinking in it. If you can actually form coherent thoughts, even while having difficulties speaking or writing in that language, you're on your way to becoming a fluent. Otherwise, you're just translating sentences from your native language, and thinking about how this phrase would sound in Spanish or French.

I think it's not much of an issue of brain capacity as much is it a limit of time. You could probably memorize the language and grammar of 10-15 languages if you speak them on a regular basis and put your mind to it, but the time it takes to actually do so is beyond what most people find reasonable. There's not much use for knowing so many languages either, unless you travel across the globe on a regular basis and insist on using the native languages wherever you go. If you take English into account, most people speak about 2 or 3 languages without a hitch, and it doesn't affect their memory capacity whatsoever. The problem is the time and dedication it takes to learn more than that, and use them on a frequent enough basis that you don't forget what you've already learned.

My biggest "secret weapon" is probably watching movies in the language I'm trying to learn, and getting subtitles for them. It's mostly useful once you have a general idea of the language and its grammar, but it increases the process pretty swiftly after that. Reading articles or posts on the internet in that language is also helpful, especially in learning slang and modern language usage.

For me, it's the word "silly". I've heard it in so many condescending posts and an "ironic" context that it became a word I tend to avoid altogether, even if people are sincere about its usage. There are a few other words and phrases like it - and on the other hand there are ones that make me automatically pay attention to the speaker, and think highly of them. Language is a strange thing.

Pretty much. Language is constantly evolving, and words that were considered offensive "street language" are now becoming the norm across households worldwide. It's not only English either, most people are adopting slang words and using them in informal contexts without even thinking about it.

Thankfully my spellchecker picks up most things, so I correct what I can. It gets messy though if I'm on my phone and I have to write a message or a text to someone and I'm in a hurry. Autocorrect never gets me right, and messages often end up losing their meaning altogether.

I'll never understand people who use "lol" in spoken conversation, be it in real life or over the phone/internet. It's the vocalization of an abbreviated term which refers to a vocal sound you could just make in the first place. It's like saying "ha ha" without actually laughing, it feels insincere and false.