Dora M

Well, you could also say that once you know French, you have a better understanding of Spanish. I learnt French many years ago and forgot most of it. But when I started learning Spanish, I suddenly remembered many of the basic structures of the French language, and I could see their similarity in Spanish. As for Italian, I would say that there are big differences in the way sentences are structures, but there are similar sounding words and vocabulary.

To tell you the truth, apart from Esperanto, I haven't really heard much about the other languages that you mention. I am a practically inclined person, so I don't really feel attracted to things that don't serve me in my daily life, and that includes languages. I am sure these artificially constructed languages have their place in the scheme of things, but to me they are useless.

I studied French in High School for two years, but since I only rarely had the opportunity to practice it, I have forgotten most of it. At first I tried to make an effort to stay in touch with the language by reading French articles and books, but over time, I started losing interest. I can still understand the basic content of any French text, but that's about it.

What a great idea! Even if imagination isn't your strong point, you can still prepare a class in advance and create enough material that will last for an hour or more. Before you know it, the class will be over, and the students are still engaged in the story, wondering what will happen next. I think it's a wonderful way to teach people how to express themselves in a creative way.

I have also read about it online, but I wonder what kind of qualifications are required, and how the payment system works. There is so much more to teaching someone a language than just having a conversation for them. I wonder if there is a demand for certified teachers online. I haven't looked into it yet, but I would be interested to find out.

So far, I haven't really come across any good online translators. I use the google translator to get a general idea of what is being discussed, but I don't count on it. It's always a lot of guess work with google. And the bing translator often makes no sense at all to me, so I have stopped using it. My best way of finding the right translation is a simple online dictionary.

I think it's a really good idea to have a basic knowledge of the language that is spoken in the country that you are going to visit. Even a simple phrase book can be extremely useful when it comes to elementary communication, or situations in which you need to rely on the language skills that you have. It often makes life easier when you at least know a few words, as words can be strung together and suddenly things make more sense.

I agree, Spanish is a most useful language as it is spoken in many countries. It was a big surprise for me to find out that many people in Spain and Latin America don't speak English at all. As an English teacher I am very much in demand here in Colombia, as many people want to learn English with a native speaker. Being able to speak fluent English and Spanish has become very important in my life.

I think it's an excellent idea to have the option of learning foreign languages at all schools. When I went to school, it was optional for certain classes to study English. Many students decided against it and later regretted it. These days, since I have become a language teacher myself, I have private clients who trust me with their very young kids, simply because they want to have them exposed to an English speaking person as much as possible. So that they will already have some basic knowledge when they enter school.

I think when it comes to learning languages, as with learning anything new, it all depends on where your interests lie. For example, if you are a native Spanish speaker it might be easy for you to learn Portuguese, but if you have little interest in it, it might take you a long time to acquire it. On the other hand, if you are fascinated by everything English, than you'll probably be able to grasp that language in no time at all.

That is an interesting question, taking into consideration all the tribal languages, and languages used by minorities. Not to mention the hybrid languages that have evolved over time. There is so much to choose from. Another question would be: are there still any languages that we have never heard of? Somewhere, in some remote parts of Papua New Guinea or the Amazon?

I am getting a lot of the Spanish humour, but occasionally something totally escapes me, and my Latin friends can't believe that I am not getting it. On the other hand, they can stare at me with totally blank expressions when I am telling them a German joke. It goes right past them. They don't get it.

I don't know, I am just so beyond embarrassing moments, I don't get worked up anymore about any wrong thing I say. Usually, I will warn the person or people I am talking to that I am not sure about a certain expression or word, and that I need a little help. I have made so many mistakes, said hilarious things and made everyone roll around laughing. So, no, I very rarely get embarrassed. And if I accidentally say something really out of place, I will naturally apologise and hope that the other party understands that it was never my intention to hurt anyone.

I love the Italian accent. It is melodic and often quite amusing to me, especially when my Italian friend tries to tell me about something serious, and it all sounds like music in my ears. I adore everything about the Italian language and mentality. I also like certain Scandinavian accents, such as Danish and Finnish. People from those countries have a lovely "lulling" kind of pronunciation when they talk in English. At least, that's how it sounds to me.

Thank you very much, snowfairy, I will have a look at odesk. I don't know about Elance. I think it is only open to residents of the USA. I will check it out. I will be looking for some quality work. There are places that require high quality translations, but they don't like paying for it. That's why I am currently doing a course to get a degree, so that I can charge appropriate fees for my efforts.

Thank you very much for your the information. I will investigate my options further. At the moment I am in the middle of completing a course that will enable me to get closer to my goal of becoming a freelance translator, online and otherwise.

I wouldn't really know what is acceptable here in my country. I never had anything to do with court translations. It makes sense to me that you would require both, true to word and true to meaning, to get a detailed picture. It would be very detrimental for all parties involved if a court translation was lacking in accuracy.

It's not always possible to translate the exact words of a movie, as they wouldn't make sense in another language. Also, if you translated it word by word, the actual essence or punch line might be lost. For example, I find it quite difficult to explain German humour to my English friends. All I get is blank faces. They simply don't get it. So, imagine trying to translate a black comedy to them.

Start refreshing your memory by reading magazines or the news. It's important that what you read really interests you. I keep up with my French by simply reading the yahoo news every morning before I check my account for e-mails. I would also recommend that you watch movies in Spanish with no subtitles. Get back into the swing of things in an easy and comfortable way, and soon you'll be amazed that you haven't forgotten as much as you first thought.

Why don't you give us an example of your alleged poor grammar. I'd be interested to know why they are telling you that since you have four decades of experience in writing. Let's have a look, if you care to share.

Thank you very much for your good advice, and also for the encouragement. I am now half way through my course, and am looking forward to get some students. I decided to focus on giving private lessons to people of all ages, rather than teaching in a classroom environment. I feel a lot more comfortable on a one-to-one basis or with a small group of no more than 5 people at a time.

I would say that five months is plenty of time to give you a basic understanding of the Greek language, if you are really interested in it. If you can dedicate only a few hours per week to your studies, you will be surprised how much you have already learnt after a month. And if you are not quite ready by the time your friend's birthday arrives, ask a Greek person for help. In the end, it is the intention behind your action that really counts.

Similar things have happened to me in the past. I was once chatting to three friends in three different languages on the computer, and things got a little intertwined, which made us all laugh. I guess the trick when learning three languages at once, is to not overdo it in one day. Dedicate one day to one language, rest the next, and continue with your language study on the following day. Give yourself time to digest what you just learnt.

Yes, I can relate to your feelings. I four different languages, and each one makes me feel different. The language that I speak every day, is English. But it isn't my mother tongue. I grew up bilingual, but over the years I have also lost the deeper connection with those two languages. So that now I find myself distant to a certain degree from all the languages I know. I only ever feel close to myself when I am totally silent.

I keep seeing this so often, even amongst native speakers. I think it is something that a lot of people acquire in school. It seems to me one of those "ingrained" mistakes that are hard to change, no matter how often you tell the person that s/he is spelling it wrong.