Daimashin

Not much can be said other than to practice, practice, and practice. Watch and listen more to how native speakers talk and repeat the words until it comes close. I know this sounds silly but Sesame Street is a great show to learn.

I think it depends on the person learning it. I have a couple of friends that are absolutely horrible at the language even though they have studied English all their life. However, they are amazing at Chinese while I struggled with it back at school. Some people are just better at learning one language than others.

I was under the impression all along that sign language is universal but seems not like it. Glad I asked otherwise I wouldn't have known about this. Seems like really inconvenient.

I'm wondering if sign language is universal. Is it like spoken language where different ethnics use different versions of the sign language? Or everywhere around the world uses only one form of sign language?

Maybe Maths for me but never the languages that I've learned. It's been a few years since I've written anything in Malay but on the other day, I was required to do a translation from English to Malay and I had no problem at all. I think learning a language is like riding a bicycle, once you know it you won't forget it. Even if I get rusty, all I need is to read up on it again.

I recommend in the morning because just like everything else. Morning is the time of day when you feel the freshest and most awake. In the evening is when all your energies are used up during the day and lose focus.

I don't think it has to do with DNA or anything. Personally, I think that it just needs a lot of practice. My sister had the same problem last time. She couldn't roll Rs too but she was persistent with practicing and she worked it out. Maybe hers was a special case but doubtful.

Actually out of my entire life, this only happened once. My sister wanted to test my Mandarin skills and asked me to translate while watching a Taiwanese drama. Of course, I had no problem and managed but I do understand the feeling. It's annoying as though I'm really incompetent.

The first thing that is taught is not a sentence but we are taught words. We start with A which is "awak" which means "you". From there we learn to build sentences from that word.

If you're taking a language course right now, I want ask how much are you paying for the fees? Is it on monthly basis or a lump sum payment? Anyone that has taken a language course before are welcomed to reply too.

Not currently but I used to have a couple of friends that spoke the Malay language even before I started learning it. Very handy because they helped me in a lot of aspects like grammar, sentence building, and pronunciations. I'm starting to do the same thing myself for a friend that is learning Chinese now.

In my country, English is not the first language and is considered a high class language. People here generally think that people that uses English as their native are showing off or arrogant. It's kind of frustrating that people still have this kind of thought.

The first step to tutoring is always communication. From the verbal exchange, you can tell the level of her English. I'd suggest inquiring about her progress like what she has been working on for her test and her understanding of the test. Also take a look at her study material, e.g books, previous exam papers.

Both have their pros and cons. One on one is good because it allows the tutor to focus on you only so any questions can be answered without interruptions. Bad thing is you'll be alone and after the class is over, you'll have no one to discuss with. Group study is more or less the opposite of one on one. Of course, there are more to them I'm only giving one example.

What I did to improve my listening was to watch movies with subtitles on. While reading the subtitles I'll listen as it goes. I find that this way, other than learning to listen I can also improve on my pronunciation. When I'm comfortable, I stopped reading subtitles and straight up just listen to test how much I could catch.

因噎廢食 (Yīnyēfèishí) - Avoid doing the right thing.

Literal meaning - Due to choking, stops eating.

Once upon a time there lived a mandarin. One day the mandarin organized a feast. While he was eating he choked on a drumstick. No matter what his friends did, they could not get it out until one of them suggested to cut open his throat to get it out. The mandarin was so scared he tripped and the drumstick fell out. After the dreaded experience, he had decided that eating was hazardous to humans so he banned everyone under his ruie from eating. A few days later, his guards reported to him that many people have collapsed due to famine. Even the mandarin himself fell to hunger. In the end, he had no choice but to cancel out the ban and allowed everyone to eat.

因噎廢食 (Yīnyēfèishí) means because something bad happened, the person refuses to do the right thing.

Example:

"就因為給車撞過, 你以後就「因噎廢食」, 不再出外面?"

青雲直上 (Qīngyúnzhíshàng) - Became high and powerful fast.

Literal meaning - Straight towards the clouds.

During the Warring States, in the Kingdom of Yi was a famous man named "範睢"(Fàn suī). One day he was framed by a corrupted official and being accused of plotting with the Kingdom of Qi. He escaped to the Kingdom of Qin. The King of Qin admired his talents and appointed him the Prime Minister. Years later, Kingdom of Yi sent Fàn suī's old friend to negotiate a peace. Fàn suī decided to pay his old friend a visit and pretended that he was now a peasant working for the Prime Minister. His old friend still saw him as a friend and offered food and clothes to him. Fàn suī told his friend that he can get the Prime Minister to meet with him and so he followed Fàn suī into the Prime Minister's residence. After waiting for a while, Fàn suī emerged and revealed that he was the Prime Minister all along. His friend praised him and said, "After all these years, I never knew that you have 'Skyrocketed into the clouds'."

青雲直上 (Qīngyúnzhíshàng) means someone has become high and influential.

Example:

"多年不見沒想到你「青雲直上」當了丞相. 真的恭喜你!"

For me, I'm not that good so I'll go with one first before starting on another. Too many things at once may confuse me as I will mix them up. If you have no problems learning a few languages at a time then I don't see why not.

[i currently hold a bachelor's degree in Translation (ZHAW Winterthur, Switzerland), covering the languages: German, French and English. German is my mother tongue.

Languages have always been my passion and I am very eager to take part in your next translation project. Rest assured that I am willing to provide fully accurate translations at any given time.

Currently, I am studying Chinese and Computational Linguistics at the University of Zurich. Working with languages is my forte and I am absolutely loving it.]

Not much to change honestly. Changed one or two words. Not necessarily have to split the last sentence unless you have more to add.

I believe it mostly depends on the story you're writing. Whether it's something that has happened or something that is happening. It all falls on the author writing the story whether they want to tell the story in past tense or present. Of course, most will opt for past tense because it's easier to tell a story.

一葉障目 (Yīyèzhàngmù) - Blinded by small matters.

Literal meaning - One leaf covers vision.

Once upon a time, there was a poor man whom always dreamed of becoming rich. One day, the man read a novel about how someone used a magic leaf to become invisible. The man believed it and pluck a leaf himself. He tried to test its power by stealing from someone. Obviously, it didn't work and he got caught. While at the magistrate, the man claimed that there was no way he could've been seen because he was invisible. The Mandarin thought that the man was fooling him, in the end the man was sentenced to ten strokes for stealing.

一葉障目 (Yīyèzhàngmù) means only focusing on trivial matters and completely neglect the important things.

Example:

"你只是注意到眼前的好處, 忽略了其他的事. 妳這樣「一葉障目」過人生是不行的."

I haven't have to do it yet. I'll definitely do it if it ever happens to me. I'll do anything to be able to talk to the one I love more so it never crossed my mind that I'll not want to.

唇亡齒寒 (Chúnwángchǐhán) - Linked.

Literal meaning - Lips gone, teeth cold.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Jin is plotting to attack other kingdoms. Guo was chosen so Jin plotted to borrow the path from Yu. Yu King was a greedy person and easily bought so he agreed. Yu's adviser objected to the idea because he knew that if Guo fell so will Yu because Yu stood in between Jin and Guo. Yu King refused to listen and went ahead. Jin succeeded in conquering Guo and while at it attacked Yu on their way back. In the end, Jin took over both Yu and Guo.

唇亡齒寒 (Chúnwángchǐhán) means to be linked to each other. Anything happens to one of them, the other is affected as well.

Example:

"如果蒙古滅了金國他們就會攻打我們大宋. 正所謂「唇亡齒寒」我們不能答應借道. 皇上請三思."

Actually I'm not interested in uncommon languages because I'm not exposed to them often. It's cool to know a language that not many people know but many will also think that it's a waste of time. I think I'd rather pick a language that is more used if I have time to learn one.

I guess any barrier can be overcame when given enough time to be together. Of course, we won't understand each other initially so what happens is to start with the language that both have a degree of basic understanding and start from there. As time passes, both will start to learn each other's language and begin to understand what each other is saying. It depends on whether the couple have the passion and determination to overcome the barrier.