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Linguaholic

devilishomar

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Posts posted by devilishomar

  1. It is scientifically proven to help you speak better, so yes I would say it does indeed work. You might not feel it when practicing yourself, but it definitely works. As you build up on the exercises you get more used to the way you're operating your tongue so you don't feel any difference because the progress isn't lightning fast.

    It takes some time and practice to perfect, but it does definitely help!

  2. I think it's because of the fact that you have to deal with the syntax and semantics of a language when you go to the reading part of it. You start to focus on the structure of that specific language which generally makes it harder to read because you try to correct your mistakes in your mind.

    During speech, however, you're practicing by speaking openly to yourself and others who in turn immediately correct you so you have more reassurance and don't really care much of the semantics of the language.

  3. That's not really the case with me. For me, if I come across a unique accent I immediately think it's cool. So it's sort of like judging someone based on their accent, but it's slightly different than that.

    I don't judge people to be of a bad class based on their accent, I produce nothing but a good (or nothing at all) impression based on their accent :P.

  4. I do think that they have a language. However, my theory is that every different breed of animal has a different language (e.g. a dog and a lion can't understand each other). However, breeds of the same super-class (like dogs and German Shepards) can understand each other fine.

    It's more like our current system. People inside the UK can understand each other, even if they're from different cities (with some exceptions) but they probably can't understand someone from France who speaks in his/her own language (french in this case).

  5. I'm an above average listener. I have a good memory which always helps in my listening skills because i'm able to retain voices in my head for a long period of time. For example, I would remember what my friend said months back to this today.

    Of course, I don't remember all the things that I listen to, just something that goes out of the blue on an average day. I participate in debates a lot which trains your listening skills quite a bit, so I've had the privilege to improve them.

  6. I'm very much into Zen and Zen sayings in particular, even when I was little. When I was young, I read up a saying in Zen which said "The soft overcomes the hard, and the weak the strong". Now I was a kid at the time and my intuition wasn't all that great. I was more of a 'logical' child.

    So I always pondered over 'how can the weak be stronger than the strong?'. It sounds weird right? But as I grew older and my Zen abilities enhanced this all cleared up. Looking back at it now, I can't believe how I manage to not understand the quote.

  7. I tend to follow a pattern whenever I want to get as accurate a translation as possible of a sentence. They're listed as below:

    1. Translate the sentence in Google translate (eek!?) to get a general feel of the translated sentence.

    2. Look up every individual word's translation from a good dictionary

    3. Replace the words which you feel were sloppy in the Google translation with the dictionary words

    4. Refine the sentence to give it proper formation

    5. Repeat

    This has proved quite helpful for me in a number of situations.

  8. It didn't seem like a big deal to me at first, but when I later found out the amount of people who confuse these words, I was shocked. Thankfully, this hasn't been a problem I face because I think I've solidified the concept and logic that each one of these words have.

    However, that being said, I do confuse 'principal' and 'principle' sometimes as well (guilty truth :P). Though I am starting to get a firmer grasp on these two words in my daily vocabulary, you can't ignore that they were a problem in the first place :-).

  9. I've found the words 'elegant' and 'euphemism' to be really neat all-rounder words (in terms of speech and writing). I guess we all have our own favorites, and I would say each one of us has a unique pick on the topic.

    I also find the word 'jazz' a nice word to hear and think about. It's probably because of what the word represents. It gives a mellow-like feel to the word because you start to imagine jazz tunes being played inside your head.

  10. In my experience, I've found that I've learned English mostly through music. True there are a lot of soundtracks that do not even make any sense, or their phrasing is pretty shaky, but most of the songs I listen to motivate me to learn the language in which i'm listening to the song in.

    This is especially true for songs with lots of beats (like hip hop and rap) because you learn to make sense of words and (in the case of rapping) learn about rhyming words.

  11. It's definitely a common scenario I've noticed, and not just with other people. I figured this out when I was just starting to learn my second language. This case was especially true when I was talking to a grown-up/adult.

    I guess it's probably because you're afraid that other people will make fun of the way you speak or the way you mix up certain words in front of them.

  12. I doubt it. I've come to a stage where i'm quite familiar with my native language and I've established a lot of local friends here who I talk to almost on a daily basis.

    So even if I were to move to another country with a completely different language permanently, I doubt I'll ever forget the A B C's of my language. I might not use it as often as I normally do, but it would certainly remain for a long time, if not forever.

  13. For me, it would have to be writing. I have found that I can understand the syntax of a language fairly quickly which signifies that I find reading quite easy. Speaking is a little harder than reading, but you manage to get by once you're around a certain environment.

    Writing, however, is a puzzle to me when it comes to a new language. I guess it's because I focus on my grammar a lot so it tends to be harder to write as you try to perfect every sentence.

  14. I'm a mediocre level reader. Sometimes, though, if I want and i'm really motivated to read, I can go through the average page in less than 40 seconds. On the average read though, I could finish the average page in about 2 minutes.

    It's not a great speed, but it's not all that bad either. I sure would like to practice my reading speed though.

  15. I think it's a pretty useful tool to have, but only if you're an amateur at a given language. Sadly, google translate is not all that accurate. It tends to give off meaningless sentences so I guess it's sentence formation needs a lot more work.

    It shouldn't be a tool you should use a lot. Dictionaries always win over translators. However, it's a good tool to use if you want to get an overview of a word or a sentence.

  16. I'd love to learn to speak, read and write in Latin. It seems like such a low-level language that it would be amazing of a skill to have by you at all times.

    Spanish is also a language I'd like to learn, mostly because of the accent that comes along with it. If I were to choose between Spanish and Latin, the latter would have to be the winner!

  17. Hah, you have no idea how many times I mix up the twos especially in the essays I write (so embarrassing!). Thanks a lot for clearing it up mate!

    Even though I knew "it's" was a short form and "its" was a word itself, I don't know why I used to confuse the two together.

  18. A lot of books are now being ported to the Kindle. I think it's great because the Kindle makes life so much easier. Carry a thousand books in your pockets, that's a bargain right there.

    I think it's a great learning tool because you not only get access to the classical books for free (such as classic English Literature), the ones that are not free are very cheap!

    I also find it really elegant to read on (even the Kindle Fire).

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