Saholy

I hope my response isn't too late. That was Malagasy which comes from the island of Madagascar. It is a relative of the language found on the Island of Borneo which may be Malay but I'm not sure. That is where the Malagasy people originally came from and then many other immigrants traveled in from India, Arabia, and Africa. The second language is french. But I'm not yet fluent in French, you have just reminded me I need to do a lesson before I go to sleep (new year goal). But I think he is really going to like his card, I can't wait to hear the response!

In Ghana, like many African countries, there are so many tribal languages that many will speak the former colonist language (in this case, English) to one another because that is the language they have in common. The English in Ghana is Britannic so mixed with a strong accent can sound very different to the North American English many are used to. Oddly enough, the nearby countries like Benin and Togo, were colonized by the French so that is their common language. The distance between traveling in between these countries is like traveling across several states but when you enter them you realize you are in a totally different country because of the language. Where we currently live, English is not an official language but it is being taught in schools. Since Madagascar, hosts many tourists, the children are being taught to find professions that might use the tourists language of choice. French is the number one. But English is a strong second. Even the tourists from other countries will often try to speak English with locals as opposed to their own European or Asian languages. But here, a tourist does better to speak French.

"Tsy afaka sary an-tsaina aho ny fianako raha tsy misy anao." (I am a language learner so that I my best effort.) This is a really cute idea. Are you going to put it in a card? I hope it goes well with meeting one anthers parents. Do you have a common language? If you are trying to learn his language or he is trying to learn yours then I bet that will go along way in sealing your relationship. And if you are learning the parents languages I'm sure they will appreciate your efforts knowing that their son hasn't decided to date someone who doesn't care about his culture. All the best!

I think we all need both. Its very hard to do anything more than be a talking parrot with only immersion. You can repeat what someone else says and remember that in that exact instance that is the way you say that thing. But to have a conversation you need to know your past, future, and present tenses. I have a terrible time learning grammar but I must admit, as soon as I learn how to say something correctly, it rolls off the tongue so much better than if I just fudge my way through it. And the person whose ears I am making bleed with my half-learned phrases also appreciates the grammar efforts too. It might not feel good to learn the rules, but in the end the results are better. And in the end, if we are fluent, we will be able to immerse ourselves even better. Because after all, we never graduate once we've decided to learn a new language. Its ongoing.

Yes, I can see how writing would be easier because pronunciation often sounds different than it looks on paper. But for me, I learned to speak one of my target languages before I was able to write it. That being said, now when I go to a conference in my new language, I am able to take notes almost completely in that language. This has helped me with my speaking because I am able to hear what the word sounds like and try to write it out. Now that I am getting used to how the words are written I am starting to accurately write out the words without much need of correction. At first my notes looked terrible though. I think note taking really can help us learn language though. Afterwards I would approach a native speaker sitting near me and ask what certain words meant. If you don't have context it is hard to ask if you haven't written the word just right. But if you have the sentences before and after then even if you have written it wrong, a native speaker can often figure out what the word was you heard and then tell you what it means.

Yes, I think teachers can really influence how we learn language and even how we speak it later in life. With that being said, I think it is important to have many teachers of a language. We might have a formal teacher who we pay or who teaches in a formal setting. This is not my favorite atmosphere for learning, but I think it is an important one. If I had only learned this way, I would have walked away scarred and probably hated my new language. But because of this important step mixed with my other teachers like friends who would help me to see the humor in the culture, music, and nuances, I was able to learn to enjoy the language despite mistakes. I think a formal setting can be fun too, but one cannot escape learning grammar. And usually that is the thing most of us shy away from. The first 3 months of any language learning should be very strict and then once a strong foundation is set, I think we can begin to 'decorate' our language with the other necessary tools to be able to enjoy it and start making friends in that language. But we can't very well make friends if we are speaking like a rude person because we never learned how to properly speak. I think I'm trying to talk myself into taking my language grammar seriously as I type this post...

This is the best idea I've seen in a long time! How did you build this? I would love to create something like this for just my language and my friends who are trying to learn it. I am a 6 yr language student of Malagasy. But it is not my native tongue. Do you still want me to put the translation? Or would you rather have native speakers only contribute? GREAT idea for a post!

In the country I live in, French is the 2nd language. So anyone wanting to go into business needs to learn this fluently. Also, in the town where I live and in most major towns here, the Arabic community is 2nd or 3rd generation in the country. While they are speak Arabic with the associates who also speak that language, they are all fluent in French as well. My one friend told me that she had not learned the countries 1st language until she was fully grown and needed to be able to speak with the local workers. So in my experience here, it would seem all business students or owners must speak French. But for those who also speak Arabic, they have more resources available to them because of the addition of their language. I don't know properly answers the question. But on a worldwide scale, I would say the Arabic community is much larger than the French community. But I have never done a ratio of the colonized languages of some of the Arabic speaking countries.

Since the school year is ending many people are looking for ways to thank their teachers. This could include our language teachers if we are taking a formal class. Here is something that might interest you but feel free to post any other ideas on how to say thanks. On Tuesday May 5th Cici's Pizza restaurant available at 450 locations across the United States will offer every teacher a free adult pizza buffet from 4 pm until closing. Most teachers know that their students are on a fixed income, so they would probably get a kick out of their student wanting to take them out for pizza and not be offended that one of the two meals would be free. (don't make them pay for yours!) You could also give them a gift at the end of the meal. It might be a fun idea for a pizza party since this restaurant has really low prices on their pizza buffet. It would be fun to have to speak the language you are trying to learn and if anyone accidentally speaks another language they need to put a coin in a jar, at the end of the party the teacher could get all the change or it could be used as tip for the waitstaff.

The Diary of Anne Frank gets me every time. Not only is it a true story but she wrote in such a way that you think she was an author! For such a well educated little girl to be able to have gone through so much is really an inspiration to me. One day I would love to travel and see where the home was where the family hid during the war.

I gave up on Spanish because we moved locations and I didn't think I would use it. This was a huge mistake! I run into people all the time and wish I would have spent just a little more time getting the basics down so that when I do talk to Spanish speakers I could say more than, 'me name is...live there...you from?' I"m sure that's what I sound like; a relative of Jar Jar binks from Star Wars. Not my finest hour.

I think writing is very important when learning a new language. Writing helps you in many ways. Not only do you begin to make the connection with how to pronounce words (because they often do not sound how they are written) but you can begin to recognize these words when spoken at a faster rate. Also, when writing you are using your sight and sense of touch to learn. When we are little, we may learn to speak first, but when we begin speaking fluently reading and writing are usually taught together. For this reason I think it should be learned together when we are trying to absorb a new language.

I realize that this is a matter of opinion. Someone who speaks fluent Chinese for example will choose a different language from a person who speaks English fluently. But I think it would be fun to know what everyone thinks and why. So what do you think is the world's hardest language to learn?

Could you please explain to me if there is a difference between Serbo-Croatian and Bosnian? Pardon my ignorance but I am having trouble finding the answer. My husbands family was Croatian back when they were still Yugoslavian and we are very interested in the culture and language but have done little study on the subject as of yet.

You could use some of the transcriptions found in other books. I liked the ones that were in an earlier version of Madrigals Magical Keys to Learning Spanish. They not only transcripted some of the words but they would give you like sounds in English. I hope that helps! That is quite a task you are undertaking!

Have you ever had to switch from the language you are learning to a completely new language? Did you find it frustrating to start all over again when you can't even tell people you speak the other one? Where you able to retain any of the language skills you first learned? What tips can you give? I think once I left a language the learning principles helped me to learn faster in the next one. Is there anything that helped you?

I think you are rarely going to have to use the expression, 'that being said,' unless you are going to do a good deal of public speaking. That being said, it is a great way to make a point you want to make while acknowledging counter arguments that are going to be lingering in peoples minds. It is sort of like you get that counter argument out of the way and then can move on to your topic. "I've been there done that!"

These are all great tips! I can't wait to start applying them myself even though I am not a new learner. My top 3 would be advice that was given me once..and it was exactly 3 things: 1. Learn to Sing in that Language 2. Watch the News in that Language 3. Begin to Read daily in that Language I have tried to do all 3 of these things and I think it really has helped me a lot. Regarding number 3, when the person told me that it made sense because as kids when we are learning to read, we go to the library, check out books, and become immersed in it even if comprehension is bad at first. Since I have been trying to read every day in the language I am trying to learn, I have noticed I can now take notes during a seminar and write in that language! I really credit tip #3 with that advancement.

We found that once we return it is very easy to stop practicing the language. To have a support group of friends who are either language learners or from that community is very important. Local embassies might be able to help you locate functions that will have people of those languages. Also, if you can find work translating for that language it will help the community as well as help your language skill. It is so sad to work that hard on learning a language and then watch it wash away like a sand castle overtaken by the sea.

I do not know if it is accurate to put it this way but here goes: I personally think that the emotion of the language is lost in translation. What I mean is, if you are not a listener who is aware of the thinking behind both languages, much will be lost. But as an example, if I am an English listener, listening to a translation of my learned language, my back knowledge makes up the difference. So I do not think much is lost for me personally. But if I were a person who was having such translation and only had knowledge of one language, then I think it would be very difficult for me to comprehend all the concepts involved. Btu this can hardly be blamed on the translator. A translator can only do so much. There are very few out there who can accurately convey emotion.

peler ici (I am a language student of French and not a native speaker so this should be researched.)

I think this is the best way to learn language. The reason I think that is because the two parties make themselves peers and not 'teacher and student'. If you have a give and take relationship with your language learning you are humble to correction, open to sharing, and satisfied with the overall outcome of the process. Even if it is not the only technique you use, I think it is a necessary process to add to the language learning experience.

I have several close friends who decided to learn (even though they had family members who were proficient) and they found that a study group was very helpful. They got together every week and even shared in exercises together. They said that this helped them progress in the language. Even the ones who have family who are native speakers said it was challenging, so it would probably be advisable to pull out 'all the stops'.

That's an interesting opinion that apparently many people share. I disagree however. Speaking is much easier than writing. Although I do think that writing the language has accelerated my speaking the language and is a very necessary technique. The last thing on my list of what is easy about language is comprehension of a native persons speaking that language.

To feel the emotion of the language is a great goal and very hard to obtain. Most people find that they will have to do some memorization and book-work even though it feels terribly boring and mechanical. But I liken it to a very moving ice dance performance. The dancers make it look so fluid, so effortless, and you feel like you are watching pure spontaneity. But in reality, it took practice every day. Being able to take criticism. Working even when they didn't feel like it. And extreme self control. Their environment and what they ate may have even had to change. But the result was worth the effort. This is how I liken the satisfaction of being able to speak another language fluently. It is hard work but afterwards you will be able to move others with your words.