g2narat

It depends on the situation. I think slang spices things up in informal settings. It is inappropriate in formal settings though. I also think formal and informal settings are found both in written and spoken form so slang in written form can be acceptable in some instances. For example, when blogging or writing to a friend, those can be considered informal settings so I think slang should be acceptable for those occasions.

Hi! I was wondering if anyone here could help be become more fluent in Visayan? I'm also a Filipino, but coming from Luzon, I use the Tagalog dialect. I have friends who teach me but I only really know the basics. I catch myself mixing my Visayan, Tagalog and English!  :cry:

Oh it was already there all along! :shy: Maybe  I never noticed it because there were no threads there!  Thanks for the link. I will definitely add a new thread. Thanks again!

I know that there is already a forum for other languages. However, the subforums there are limited to few languages. I know it isn't practical to put ALL languages as a subforum there. And I also read that if the language you want to talk about isn't there you can post it in the General Language Learning section. But I've noted that the general language learning section is more for, well general language learning. Don't get me wrong, I love that section, but maybe you could just put another subforum in the other languages and label it as "ALL OTHER LANGUAGES/LANGUAGES NOT SPECIFIED ELSEWHERE"? If that makes sense  :confused:

I believe so. It used to be that only US and British colonized countries were the only places where one could be understood when speaking English. I've noted that this isn't the case anymore. It might be the internet, globalization, tourism or it could be all of these factors. I think it's a good thing. After all the purpose of language is to be understood and if we all understand each other then that's great right?

You have to be very very careful when it comes to body language. There are a lot of body languages that may be offensive for some countries. I think a lot of the comments here have covered that already. However it is important to remember this when you are travelling because a lot of our body languages are done automatically. This is especially true for Asian countries where people can be a bit sensitive at times. I know this because I am from the Philippines and we get offended at times when foreigners point their fingers when they really just want to point to something (it makes sense right?), for us pointing with your lips is more appropriate. (So if a Filipino is pursing his/her lips, it doesn't automatically mean that he/she wants a kiss hahaha)

In Asia, I would recommend learning Malay or Indonesian (they're different dialects of the same language, like American English and Australian English). They  are written in the Roman alphabet and have no tone, verb tenses, noun cases, irregular nouns and verbs and you make words plural by doubling them.

house = rumah

houses = rumah-rumah

When I saw the question in this thread I was initially going to answer Filipino. It is my native language but it is a very basic language and very easy to learn. Then I saw this answer and I had to agree. I have tons of Indonesian friends and they've only taught me a few things in passing but Indonesian seems to be similar to Filipino but easier to learn for Foreigners. Both languages are also very easy to learn spelling-wise. All words are spelt the way they are pronounced. 

I agree with all the posts here. I know, I shouldn't post anymore since it seems this has been resolved. I just figured I'd add to the consensus just to strengthen the point. So yes, "A thousand documents" or "Thousands of documents" would be correct.

In this day and age, spelling is less of a necessity. With the internet and spell checks, kids learn they don't need to spell anything right, the computer will fix it for them. So I feel there should be a heavier emphasis on language learning as well as spelling. All I see on kid's papers are "u" and "4" in replacement for actual words. It's kind of sad in my opinion.

I agree. Spell check and auto correct has made things much easier. And while these tools are convenient, they tend to make us lazy. I myself used to be more conscious of my spelling. Now I just watch out for the red squiggly lines. It's a terrible truth but a truth nonetheless.

My mom used to remind me all the time that my first word was Papa. My grandma and her have this belief that if a child's first word is Papa that he/she will grow up to be the type of person who is afraid of being hungry as the father is traditionally the one that brings the food home. If a child's first word is Mama then he/she will grow up wanting affection all the time as the matriarch is supposed to provide the warmth. Silly beliefs I know. My son's first word is butt... Wonder what that's supposed to mean? 

Hello Mari! I have a bunch of online Portuguese friends! Perhaps you could teach me a few basic phrases? I would love to know uncommon phrases, not just your usual "hello, how are you" but maybe a few random ones that could make them laugh? How would one say "I don't think that is a cockroach" or "I couldn't find my socks this morning and that's why I'm wearing socks on my feet"? I know I could just turn to Google Translate for these but I think random phrases are much funnier when they're said correctly.

Oh thank you for the warm welcome everyone! I'm so sorry it took this long for me to reply but I thought I'd get a notification whenever someone replied to a thread I made so I never bothered to recheck. Good thing I decided to look back in the introductions forum and I found that mine had replies already! Anyway, I have been enjoying it here and to be honest got a bit sidetracked on my quest to learn Cebuano! I have been enjoying interacting so much that I kind of forgot to ask for a Cebuano tutor. My real life Cebuano learnings have been going well so far so it looks like I can continue to allow myself to get side tracked here

I love reading books even cheesy ones so I was surprised to find that I do have some limits when it comes to reading. As a disclaimer, I have enjoyed Harry Potter and Hunger Games so I know that I am definitely NOT a book snob. That being said, I just couldn't stand the Twilight series and Fifty Shades of Gray. I have tried to see what the hype was about in both of those series but both were just too boring in my opinion. And this is coming from someone who reads user manuals.

There are way too many to list here! But, at the top of my head I loved Of Mice And Men by Steinbeck, Dream Hunters and Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I know all of these books are short but I think that that's a factor in what makes them unforgettable. These are the kind of stories that made me want to read over and over and since they are so short, it was easy to do that.

First of all, don't pressure yourself too much, we all get into a "reading rut" once in a while. Second, I think someone here already suggested reading on a particular interest, I would have to agree with that. Start with real life interests, who says you have to start with classics anyway? It can even just be magazines or blogs or anything light. Ease into reading. When it isn't forced I've noticed that that's when I'm most motivated to read.

I Love Isaac Asimov's works. Especially the short stories. Those that just make you go "Huh?". I love the fact that even though his works are not that modern, a lot of his thoughts are still relevant.

Languages like Latin, Sumerian, etc., are not spoken anywhere in the world currently. Of course the exception might be Latin because Roman Catholic priests must learn it. But supposing you have no interest in Catholic literature or Latin classics [none of which I know of] is there any point in learning such languages?

Oh latin is actually useful in several occupations. For example, in the medical field, a lot of words are taught in latin. In most animal-related jobs, it is important to know animals' scientific names. Most of which are in latin. So I guess what I'm trying to say here is that even old languages are worth learning.

Oh this thread has helped me learn something new! I've never tried any language that writes from right to left and only knew of arabic as an example of that. I find these languages particularly interesting as I am left handed. I think those whose language write from right to left that are also left handed probably have an easier time writing.

Oh I'm guessing that would be very difficult. Even if the two languages were similar, like for example portuguese and spanish, it would still be hard not to mess up. I haven't tried learning two languages simultaneously although I have tried learning a new one while trying to hone an old one. That kind of multi-learning seems more sensible to me since you already know more about one language compared to the other and will be less prone to confusing the two.

It's fun when you can find practical applications to it. That part where you start being confident enough to speak a language is the best part for me. Before that part I find learning a language tedious. But once I start using it, even in broken sentences and wrong grammar, it starts becoming fun for me. Maybe it's the idea of being able to communicate in more than one way.

I'm from the Philippines, and since we don't celebrate Thanksgiving over here, I would have to say that the phrase "Happy Thanksgiving" doesn't have a literal local translation. I now noticed that as a rule, if a holiday isn't celebrated in one's country or if it did not originate in that country, then there is no local translation for it, like Thanksgiving or Ramadan.

Sidney's right. There is no actual translation of Thanksgiving in Filipino. However, if one were to take the word thanksgiving as giving of thanks then I guess you could make a literal translation. So, a literal translation of happy thanksgiving in Filipino would have to be "Maligayang Pagpapasalamat".

I don't think I could ever learn alone. I need constant help from other people when it comes to languages. I used to just nod and keep a word in mind when I didn't understand something but I've learned to be more assertive when it comes to learning now. When I don't understand something I now try to stop the conversation and ask the meaning and how else I can use the word etc. It may sound distracting but so far people I've talked to say they appreciate the initiative to really want to understand them.

I didn't have formal language schooling because immersion was the way I learned languages. When you're in a place that speaks another language, I've found that it's a bit useless to know just words. I started right away with phrases because that's what was more practical. If you start with words then you still have to learn how to use them in phrases so for me it would just take too much time.

It was really out of necessity for me. I learned French when we were in France and I had to learn English because most of our subjects were taught in English. Currently I'm learning a different dialect because I moved to a different region so every language was really out of necessity. I would've loved to learn a language just for fun but I never found the time. 

TV is definitely a great way to learn a new language. You can watch the regular sitcoms for informal language usage and watch the news for proper usage. Even if you're only starting to learn a new language, you can start with kids' shows and cartoons. Although you would still have to supplement this with actual conversation if you really want to master a language.