Chris_A

I think if an interracial couple has kids, teaching them both native languages is a huge boon. It was the same case with me as well. And I benefit from it throughout my life.

I did not know this was actually possible. But thanks for your suggestion, I will try it out for sure.

Keyboards are a huge issue for me as I try to work as a translator. Using an English keyboard when translating German documents is definitely a pain. I just wish you could switch from one language setting to the other in real time.

You should focus on what you are hearing, and maybe even write every word down. It will definitely help you associate what you hear with what you understand.

I would go with French over Arabic for sure. Simply, because French seems like the more accessible language of the two. Arabic is really complicated and would require more effort for sure. I am sure it is worth it, but still. French is the easier.

Depends on the country, I guess. And also maybe on the the date of the year, I think flight companies are really putting their prices out there based on when tourists would book a flight or not.

I would also never agree to see manual writing dead anytime soon. I am just saying that it will probably happen sooner then we think. Sad or no, that is the future.

I really like this forum and the people here. It has definitely given me inspiration and motivation to keep to my language learning goals and maybe even given me new ideas as well. It has helped me for sure, since I joined.

As German has already been mentioned in this topic, I`ll just add Romanian and Hungarian to the list. Romanian: Te iubesc or Te iubesc mult (If you add that you love somebody much) Hungarian: Szeretlek or Nagyon szeretlek (same for Hungarian)

I have lived in Germany and Austria for a long time. That is why I was able to learn German well, because I went to school there and also had the German language all around me, through people and media. But I had the bonus that I was basically brought up with German since I was really young.

I can totally imagine that. Old and rich people can probably afford a trip to Africa. But as far as plane tickets go, they are getting more and more expensive each year here in Europe. I mean, one has to buy a ticket 3 months in advance, so that you can afford a trip to as close as Italy, around here. Really crazy stuff.

The same is true for me. I think the last time I wrote a proper letter was 20 years ago at least. And it is no wonder that they don`t teach kids much writing nowadays. Instead of notebooks you got notepads and stiluses. And almost every kid nowadays has access to a laptop or PC. On the other hand, the good thing in the future will be, that only a select few will know how to manually write, and that will be a exclusive skill for those people.

I would say: Latin, then English, French, Spanish and Cantonese. If you can master these 5 languages, then I think you would have no problem communicating in any part of the world, if you would be traveling.

I also had teachers like that in High School. They usually presented themselves as people you don`t mess with, or who could mess you up for good if you messed with them. I usually tried to prove them wrong and tried to excel in their particular class. Getting an A from such a teacher and showing them that you don`t back down, feels really good.

That is for sure, lol. But in all earnest, it is really fascinating for me to learn these kind of things from a culture I am totally unfamiliar with. And I think I am not alone here, because I think only about 10 % of European people ever get to visit a country like Botswana, much less learn about their traditions, names and culture.

Kiputi it is, and lots of luck with distributing your new language.

Yeah, right? I mean, it is 20 % now, but just think what will happen in 10 years or so. People will just forget what it means to write something down with a pen and on paper. We have so many other ways to make notes, nowadays, that is it really crazy.

Wow! 58 languages is quite a task to learn, I cannot really imagine anyone mastering 58 languages and be really fluent and grammatically correct in them. But who knows? If I ever encounter anyone stating to speak 10 languages fluently, much less 58, I`m sure to require some proof to believe them.

A teacher can definitely influence the way you learn a certain language. For example: you could learn English the British way or the American way, depending on your teacher. And also, how easily you learn a new language depends very much on the encouragement of your teacher. If he or she does not really put much interesting in teaching you, it makes it that much harder to learn the language in my opinion.

I think shortening words can be practical when you really have mastered a language, but it is not really nice to read, that`s for sure. Either that, or you can go out of your way and learn the "new" language from scratch.

I think the comfort zone, when learning a new language, definitely exists. Once you feel proficient enough, there is little that could push you out of that stage and really make you perfect said language. And it is also very hard to get out of that comfort zone, that is for sure.

Those are really exotic names that I have never hear of before. Thanks for sharing this. While I did not really have any connection with the Setswana language before, it really goes to show the huge differences between it and European languages.

Well, I also avoided trying to teach my friends and my girlfriend German, although they really insisted that I do so. My reason was, that knowing and speaking and reading a language is one thing, teaching it to others is completely different. I might know by-heart how to express myself in German, but I don`t really know if I am at the level of really teaching it to someone. That is a huge responsibility.

I don`t think you could make better choices if you think a foreign language. That has nothing to do with foreign languages at all. Although I tend to think in English as well as Romanian or Hungarian, I do that only for convenience sake.