senji

Yeah it's a really interesting question for a number of reasons. I think a lot of it is to do with how conscious our own thought process is to ourselves. I'd say I think in English, but I think it just emotions and visuals, and then when I think about what I think about I translate it into English.

So in my opinion, using language in this context is just the "translation" of thought rather than the thought itself, which I think is touched upon in 1984

when they change the dictionary in order to change people's perceptions.

I read IQ84 and I loved it soo much!! The ending did throw me a bit, and I was a little unsure about it, but after some contemplation I understood it in my own way. I really enjoyed the character development and the story. One of the best I've read.  But it feels like it needs a sequel!

I've heard a lot of controversy about it, but my favourite English book is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I'm not really interested in politics so I didn't really see it through that filter but rather a more personal one about the meaning of earning success.

As long as their not obnoxious about it then yeah. Anything (within reason) that takes dedication and passion to learn -to me at least- is an attractive trait

This is a bit colloquial, but I found this quite funny

étudier (to study)

I think telepathy can in some sense be considered when looking at things like mirror neurons (http://www.brainfacts.org/brain-basics/neuroanatomy/articles/2008/mirror-neurons/),

Essentially it's understanding the goals behind the actions of others. I don't know if I would consider it a language, but there is a level of communication involved, and it's something that can be made use of.

Dear zcrooks322

You are right. There is already a thread about this guy and this exact video. Please have a look here:

http://linguaholic.com/general-discussion/new-york-teenage-prodigy-speaks-20-languages!

best wishes

lingua

Just thought I'd mention that when I click on the link I go back to the General Discussion home page, rather than a post.

This video is super inspiring. Thanks for the link.

I've found the quality of listening depends on the comfort with situation.  I've found with myself, that if I'm in a new situation - like at a new workplace or a new bar, I become way more attentive and aware of the situation. But if I'm sitting at home or talking with my friends at the regular, my attention dies along with my listening ability.  Same when I'm listening to a song for the billionth time.  I forget it's even playing.

Well, I speak Australian English...we have a very "colourful" vocabulary. I guess that's what you get when the first generation of people in your country were all criminals!

Finnish is also quite expressive with its swear words. I won't post anything here, but for those who are interested can check out the article about it on Wikipedia (probably NSFW). The last entry is a word I heard a few times a day when I was in Finland last month.

haha. It's definitely much easier to get away with it here, in pretty much any situation (literally any) and it be just part of the day.

From a more general point of view.  Become as immersed in it as possible.  I've found that sometimes treating words as if there's no English equivalent but rather just using a visual interpretation is the best way to pick up vocabulary. In the same way that if you think of a bunny in English, you think of a small fluffy animal, when you think lapin you should think the same, rather than of the word bunny.  I went to France for a couple weeks a while ago, and my brain almost automatically did it.

Another thing would be self trust that you understand it and are able to move on.  Kind of like, in the same way you don't have to think before you walk, you are just able to get up and do it.  It's kind of like an impulse. If you associate speaking French with self trust and practice it's easier to gain a tonne more experience. If you continue to "try" and remember it, you'll always continue to "try" and remember it. It's a bit hard to explain. Check out someone like Scott H Young, who has a tonne of content on learning languages and well...everything.

I might have a helpful tip for pronouncing the French "r". The sound is produced by vibrating your uvula, which is exactly what you do when you gargle water. Act like you're gargling water in your mouth without the water, and you've pronounced the French "r"! I agree that it is difficult to handle, but with some practice you can get more control over it.

What I've done in the past that has helped is to practice syllables with "r" in isolation. For example I would practice saying ra, re, ri, ro, ru and ar, er, ir, or, ur with the French "r" of course and French vowels. Doing these little exercises once in a while made it easier when I needed to speak spontaneously.

Anybody else?

Wow this is really helpful advice. I've always had trouble with pronunciation. Thank you so much for this!

I bought 20000 Leagues under the sea by Jules Verne when I went to France.  Haven't picked it up yet though as my French skills aren't at a high enough level. I'm always a bit nervy when I try to. It'll be a good challenge though.

I'm a big fan of Spanish cinema, especially films like Biutiful and Pan's Labyrinth so I've always thought Spanish would be a great language to learn!

But at the same time there's an appeal to learning a language like Mandarin or Cantonese for me which is just so completely different in every way to the languages I do know.  I remember sitting on a flight to Hong Kong, seeing if I could try and make sense of the Cantonese letters.

When we learn another language, all skills must be developed: reading, writing, speaking and listening. We cannot simply skip the other areas for all of them are interconnected with each other. You cannot just speak a language without learning how to write it nor read it first and foremost and vice versa.

That's funny, because I (and I know a lot of other people in a similar situation), where my parents can speak to me in Hindi, and I can understand every single word they are saying.  But if you asked my to write it down or read it, it'd be very difficult for me to do.  Even speaking to them , I can say certain phrases, but anything beyond that difficult.  I guess though that learning as a child without really having a choice is much different then choosing to learn as an adult!

It has to be the one from the late comedian Bill Hicks,

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the Weather.”

I'm pretty sure the first film I saw was Astérix & Obélix contre César, which I watched when they showed it at my school when I was a kid.  On my own initiative, it was  Banlieue 13 which I really enjoyed, and got me very interested in learning French.  After a bit of a hiatus, I recently watched La Haine, which was an incredibly good film. One of the best I've ever seen!