Asaase

My favorite English word is onomatopoeia. Call me odd, but I like that this word has so many syllables and I like its definition. An onomatopoeia is a word that phonetically imitates the sound it is describing. For example, boom, honk, meow, beep, and pow.

There is a quite simple way to avoid making any error and that's the way I was taught in primary school. You use have with I, we and they, while has is used with he, she and it. If you put that into practice soon you'll have no problem with the usage of these words.

I thought that this was a great tip and a great way to remember when to differentiate between the two. I think that this may be a lot easier to remember than trying to remember which singular or plural subject to use with each. I will use this tip to help others in my community who are learning English. A lot of the older generations do not know English at all and many are trying to learn.

Certainly. I think it is important to teach my children all of the languages that I know. For one, I think it is important for them to know so that they are able to communicate with other family members. This is especially important when they speak to relatives or we visit relatives in Ethiopia because the only common language between us is Amharic. It's also important because they come in contact with different people every day and even people in our own country do not all speak the same language. It is also important because even more so in today's times than before, there is more contact with people from neighboring countries who only speak French. So, I believe it is important for my children to be multilingual.

I certainly feel like I can connect to music that is sung in a language that I do not understand. I listen to music that is sung in Zulu, Bemba, and Yoruba and it feels like I know every word that is spoken. I think that music is universal and it goes beyond the boundaries of language barriers.

I would say around the age of 3. This is during the perfect window of opportunity in language development. This is around the time that children in my country begin to learn a second language. Even though English is the official language of my country, children do not learn English first. First, you learn the local language of your home and if mom and dad are from 2 different tribes, you learn both languages at the same time. The two are taught from birth. Then, you learn English and then a foreign language.

Yes. This has happened to me on a number of occasions. I am not sure why it happens, but sometimes, I do not even realize that I am doing it. Others that I am around who speak the other language either do not realize it either or ultimately, it does not bother them. No one ever says anything and our conversations flow like normal. I really wonder why it is that this happens because I certainly do not want to try and imitate someone else.

I never attended a French immersion school. I don't think that they were around when I was a child in school, but I do see that these types of schools are now available in Ghana. I think it is an interesting concept and one that should be taken advantage of if you can afford it.

I chose French because I am surrounded by Francophone countries and my country does a lot of trade with these countries. I also have a lot of neighbors who are from Togo and Cote D'Ivoire. They do not speak English or Twi. They only speak Hausa and French. Therefore, we are unable to communicate efficiently with each other. Being able to communicate with those around me is my motivation for learning French.

For me, French is the most valuable language for me to learn. The reason being is I am surrounded by Francophone countries and there is a lot of trade and immigration between these countries and my own. This would make it easier for me to communicate with people who do not speak English or any of my other native languages.

I think it really depends on the third language and if the languages are related. Growing up, I heard mostly Amharic and Twi because these are my family languages. I learned English when I started school. For me, English was very hard to learn because the sentence structure is nothing like Amharic or Twi.

The language i like the most is spanish. I like it because i think it sounds really beautiful. To be honest i really don't like English that much. The language i like the least is probably my own mother tongue. Unfortunately growing up, we were conditioned to think speaking our mother tongue was embarassing.

From what I see, it looks like your mother tongue is Swahili. You should not be embarrassed by it. I think that Swahili is such a beautiful language. English is probably a least favorite of mine too. The only thing is, it's so widely used and known. My favorite language is my own mother tongue of Amharic.

I would love to learn Zulu or Xhosa. I like a lot of South African music and it's all in Zulu or Xhosa. I would like to have a better understanding of what I am listening to so that it can all make sense to me.

I think it really depends on what languages you have been exposed to before, but I believe that my native language of Amharic is one of the most difficult languages to learn. I think it's difficult for many people to grasp. I read an interesting article that mentioned Amharic in the top 10 most difficult languages to learn. Here is a link to it:

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2014/07/top-10-most-difficult-languages-to-learn-for-english-speakers-2994086.html

Besides English, I would have to say that the most popular language in Canada is French. I have had a few friends who have either worked or went to university in Canada and they have mentioned French a lot of times in conversation and they decided to learn the language as well.

I think that it is always a good idea to at least learn a few new phrases when you are traveling to another country. This should be fine for a short trip. If you are going to be staying another country for a few months or more, I believe that it is ideal to learn the main local language so that it is easier to communicate with others.

I can say that I have learned some new words from watching movies. I like a movie called Kirikou and the Sorceress, but here, you can only get the DVD that is in Swahili and not the English or French one. From this movie, along with a cartoon called Tinga Tinga, I have been able to pick up and understand quite a number of Swahili words. The grammar in movies may not be exactly perfect for learning precise sentence structures, but they can be very helpful with learning a new language, while also being entertained.

All the languages I've studied I can't speak fluently. I'm not much of a speaker to start off with and I'm even more quiet when I have to interact in a foreign language. So, consequently I'm better in reading and listening -- that same goes for English :grin:

Now, I have studied 2 languages (for several months) that I absolutely cannot speak. They are Hindi and Ancient Greek.

Ironically, I spent more years studying French in school but speak and understand Spanish better. That's the power of telenovelas and latin music. 

I must admit, I have a love for telenovelas as well! They are my guilty pleasure and I have learned some new Spanish words from them as well. It's amazing that almost every local channel in Ghana shows telenovelas. I was first introduced to Spanish when I took it in University. Spanish is not a commonly used language here, although there is a small population Cubans and Puerto Ricans here. But, since I did not really have anyone to use it with, I lost a lost of the skills that I did learn in the language. I also had started taking Japanese in University, but the professor left and I was unable to continue my studies because no one else taught the language.

Thank you for the warm welcome. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can from this forum. It is quite common in Ghana to know three or more languages. I even have a friend who speaks 11 languages! I thought that this was quite amazing. I hope to learn that many or more someday.

I don't think cursive writing was ever taught in Ghana. There is no cursive writing for our local languages and I do not think that I have ever seen anyone write English in cursive. Can anyone share with me the purpose of cursive writing?

Yes. Music has helped me to learn a new language. I like watching a cartoon called Tinga Tinga. It is in Swahili and they sing songs in the cartoon. I have picked up quite a few Swahili words from this alone and I think it has been really helpful. It has helped me with the pronunciation of the words as well as the type of inflection needed for the words. I have also learned some French in this same manner. We have a station here that is only in French and they play African music that is sung in French. I like the songs so much that I have picked up on the words.

Some Ethiopians I hear are descendants of a Jewish King named Solomon. Whether it's true or false no one knows but the oddest thing about their writing system is that like Hebrew it's written from left to write. So along with it, here are other languages also written from left to right:

Ethiopic.

Bengali.

Telugu.

p.s Does Chinese qualify?

I assuming when you say Ethiopic you are speaking of Ge'ez. Modern day Ge'ez is written from left to right. Whereas ancient Ge'ez was written from right to left. It is very true that the royal line of Ethiopia directly descends from and can be traced directly to King Solomon. This lineage is traced from the union of Queen Makeda (the then Queen of Ethiopia) and King Solomon. They had a son who was named Menelik I.

Greetings from the beautiful country of Ghana! I am Asaase and I am excited to be here. There are over 70 languages spoken in my country. My native tongues are Amharic, English, and Twi. I am Ethiopian from my mother's side. Therefore, I speak Amharic. I speak English because it is the official language of Ghana. I also speak Twi because it is one of the most widely spoken native languages in Ghana. I am learning French because Ghana is surrounded by francophone countries and I have to interact with many people who speak French, such as people from Togo and Cote D'Ivoire.