elenamarie

Wow! I never thought of that, I did think about the languages I want to learn but not the languages I want to learn before I die. Took few minutes before I’m able to list the top languages I want to learn before I die. My language bucket list would be: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and perhaps basic Chinese. My mom is half Chinese but I never learned the language.

I don’t think there’s a limit in learning new languages. The key is passion, enthusiasm, perseverance and dedication. They are all intertwined, I believe as long as the person is eager to learn, he can learn anything he put his heart into. The human brain is so complex that it don’t stop developing until at the age of late 40s.

Music is a universal language. You don’t need lyrics to connect to it, you don’t have to understand it either. Just simply listen to it, feel the rhythm. Even babies love music yet they don’t understand the meaning, we are no different. I feel sad when I listen to melancholic music even if it’s in a language I don’t speak.

My favorite non-English word would be “Zindagi or Jindagi” meaning lively in Hindi-Urdu. It can also mean I’m alive. For me, there’s a deep meaning behind the word life in general. Not everyone get the chance to live life and it’s also different when you’re alive but not living and simply just breathing or alive but dead inside.

No matter how I try, I can’t seem to pronounce French language properly. I listen to French songs and follow the lyrics but my tongue doesn’t get a grip of the right pronunciation. I find it hard to pronounce the letter “C” and “R”. My boyfriend just laughed at me when he’s teaching me how to pronounce.

I suggest you try the basics first. There are various apps you can choose from where they teach the basics like Duolingo. I tried this app before, it’s super user-friendly and it’s fun to learn because they have lots of animations that makes the learning simple but understandable. There are also other language apps you can try.

Reading is easiest for me. We have no Spanish class. We do have it many decades ago but it was abolished. I learn the language by reading, watching movies and listening to Spanish songs. I can comprehend basic Spanish but not in a deeper sense at least not yet. Perhaps I will learn more by mixing a little bit of every possible way I can learn.

Absquatulate is a fun word meaning running away abruptly, usually taking something along with them.  A good example is when robbers ran away with the money they stole, why say all those lines when you can shorten it to one word and instead say “The robbers absquatulated with the money”. I think it is not a common word though.

I would definitely teach my kids other language especially if the ones they can use in the long run and if their friends can’t understand it, I think it’s cool when a person speaks multiple language and more impressive when a kid does that. That way, when they encounter someone who speaks the language and bad mouths them, they will understand and will be able to defend themselves.

I would start teaching them at such a very young age like 2-3 years old. I think they will understand the basics. The younger, the better. Young ones are easier and faster to learn where they have good grasp of new words. It still depends how willing the child to learn anyway, can’t force them if they don’t want to. Perhaps it is better to use other techniques.

Not really. I grew up speaking English as a second language. We’ve been taught English in primary education. I think I was 5 or 6 years old that time. I remember at first it gets confusing because it is not my native language but then I got used to it and not for long, English was my favorite subject.

I like studying alone usually in my room or in the library, rare occasions in the library though. I like having my own space, that way I can focus more. Studying in the garden is nice too but with the unpredictable weather here, it’s not a good idea. The best place for me to study is in my room where I can play relaxing instrumental music while I learn.

Another Filipino word I hear quite often is “pasma” or “pasmado”. It is defined as tremors, tingling or numbness due to exposure to cold water after strenuous activity, it is said that pasma is not even a medical phenomenon or atleast, that’s what experts say. It is an ancient practice passed on to younger generations not to wet usually the hands after doing vigorous activity so as not to have pasma and also not to wet the feet after wearing shoes.

Tampo is a Filipino word described as not being angry, but you’re not happy either. Usually felt when someone close to you like a lover forgot your birthday or any special occasion. You are disappointed in them but you are not angry or can’t get angry and instead you just do the silent treatment until you feel better . I can best described it as a mixture of feeling disappointed, not angry but sad and taken for granted.

I know some Filipino words with no English equivalent. Filipino language is indeed very complex, there are even some words that I don’t understand if the meaning is too deep. I will share one of my favorite tagalog words with no English equivalent, the word “Kilig” is the feeling you get when you really like or love someone who did something romantic. A feeling of happiness, blushing, butterflies in the stomach, walking on cloud 9 all mixed together is considered “kilig moments”, we usually say the phrase “kilig to the bones”.

I love tongue twisters as a kid, I even bought a tongue twister book. It is totally fun and I see it as a way to improve my pronunciation.

My favorite English tongue twister is:

A tutor who tooted the flute

Tried to tutor two tooters to toot.

Said the two to the tutor:

"Is it harder to toot or

To tutor two tooters to toot?"

And my favorite tongue twister in tagalog: Butiki, bituka, butika.

I have them interchanged at times as well because after all they are both being used  to show possession. With English not being my native language, I thought they are the same until I researched about the proper usage of these two auxiliary verbs. I found out that “have” is for present tense with pronouns and plural nouns while has is use for third singular person.

English is not my native language so there are certain times when I mispronounce words, usually with the letters b-v and f-p. There are times when I switched the letters specially if I’m talking really fast. Fortunately, I haven’t mispronounce speaking English in public though there are times I do with friends. I am thankful I haven’t do a public speaking with misprononunciation otherwise it would be really embarrassing.

I get confused between Spanish and Italian. I am more familiar with the Spanish language and I find that it is easier to learn. I would talk to some Italian and speak something Spanish, they would tell me that what I’m speaking is Spanish and not Italian. I would often ask them what is the Italian phrase of the Spanish version because they sound alike and I really thought that was Italian, not Spanish.

I am very glad there is Latin teaching for beginners. Latin is one of the most ancient language in hisotry. I have a high respect for it. I am sure there are many people out there who are more than willing to learn this ancient italic language specially those who are history fanatic, I myself included.

I guess it depends how we get used to the language. I am a Filipina and even here sometimes we have difficulty understanding each other due to different intonations and stress of how we say it. American english in my opinion is fast and slang, sometimes choppy so there are times I find it hard to understand but there are also American speakers who are easy to understand perhaps it depends on how the person speak the words. I find British english easier to understand or it may also be due to the fact that I watch British movies a lot, at first I really need to listen intently or even repeat the scene all over again for me to understand what they're saying, some words I can catch and some I don't but I just got used to it. My bestfriend said she find British accent hard to understand and prefer American english.

Thank you so much. Now I know how to properly use fewer and less  I really thought they are interchangeable so I use whichever seems appropriate regardless if it can be counted or not. That is really helpful. I will keep it in mind and make sure to share it with my friends as well.

I think it depends on how fast you can absorb the teachings, it also depends on your environment. It would be faster to learn a language if you speak with native speakers daily and way easier than learning a foreign language on your own. More or less I would say, it takes half a year or less.

I have no problems with reading comprehension. We take comprehension tests at school from grade school to college. I actually prefer reading than analyzing symbols and most specially math. Math seems like a foreign language to me while others who are good in math are having difficulties with comprehension. Maybe it depends on one’s brain development.

When you don't understand what the person say even if s/he repeat it, remember to always be polite no matter situation. People will likely hear you when you are being kind and gentle, being rude just irritates them. I would normally say "Come again?" or "Can you kindly repeat it because I didn't catch what you said". I am sure they will be glad to repeat it and say it slowly.