primalclaws1974

I just spent five years in school (graduated in 2013). I don't think I would go back. That is not to say that I don't have an interest learning another language. I know a lot of people learn languages without going to school. People can buy software, like Rosetta Stone. Some people are so good at it, they can learn a language merely by listening over a long period of time. I don't know if I would be able to do that.

Obviously there are deaf people all over the world. My question is, is the sign language that was developed with English-speaking countries used everywhere? Or is there separate sign languages that work with people that understand, let's say, Chinese?

English and Spanish languages are very closely related. Many of their words are spelled similar and although less, many words also sound very similar when spoken. But why is "J" spoken so differently? Is it because a "J" is a relatively knew addition to the alphabet, added to English after the two languages deviated? I read somewhere it is so knew Shakespeare didn't use it.

This seems a long the lines of people that used to play an instrument in school, yet cannot any longer. But it is not as strange as it seems. I used to be able to read music when I was a teenager, but now I have forgotten how. I also took one class of Spanish and one of French, and although I was not fluent in one semester of each, I did pass the classes. Today, I can barely speak three words in French.

I agree with you about many not wanting to learn. Even though it is an outdated way of thinking, I still hear people say, "This is America, learn English". I don't necessarily think it is the person who doesn't speak English soul responsibility. If two different people work, play and live in the same area, they should both want to understand the other. This doesn't even have to be people from foreign countries. Many people in the United States are born here and still don't speak English. They may need to learn it someday, but it doesn't mean that other's shouldn't also be at least willing to learn their language.

I would say two would be sufficient, unless you had a particular reason to learn more. This would probably be based on a job where there were multiple people, and they needed translators. I don't think this would be very common, except in very large cities, like New York. I also think it takes a special kind of person to speak more than two languages fluently.

I can see someone in America learning Spanish, because a lot of people here speak Spanish. It just makes sense, for better communication. But would you learn Chinese or languages that have fewer native speakers? If you would (or have), please let me know why. Thanks.

Yes, that is a good example of code-switching. Some people, even people that have spoken the second language for decades will use slang in their native tongue. Others will swear in their first language. I don't know if they feel it is less inappropriate if fewer people can understand them, or it is part of the pleasure of cursing, by speaking the easier language, and letting out frustration.

You are right that there are a lot of French names of towns and other places in Iowa. You wouldn't think it would be a place for the French, as I don't think I have met a single French person in my life. "Des Moines" is probably the number-one mispronounced name in Iowa, even by Iowans. Many people say the "S" at the end of both words, but they are, in fact, silent.

Code-switching is when a person who can speak at least two languages switches words in both languages. People speaking more than two languages don't usual code-switch, though bilinguals do. Bilinguals learn two languages and the brain associates each object with the first word they learn, or the latest word they learnt. The word in the other languages is either pushed to the back or kept as a secondary reference. so there is always a confusion for bilinguals and they tend to use the word that immediately comes to their mind. For instance, an English person, living in China will learn a lot of new words in Chinese. After a period of time, he tends to remember the Chinese words faster than the English words and so starts mixing both languages in his speech. A Bilingual brain doesnt know that it has to change languages. It generally stores all related words together and treats them as a single language. Whereas a multilingual brain knows that it has to juggle with languages and so always stores different languages separately. So multilinguals generally dont mix languages. Do you Code-Switch?

Have ever been to a new town or place and when you say the name out loud, the locals act like your an idiot? I have done it numerous times in my travels. But I don't need to go out of my home state of Iowa to give you examples. Nearby is a town called "What Cheer". It has been listed many times as a funny name, probably because people think it is saying "where is there fun in this place?". It is actually pronounced "Watt Cheer". Another town (in the same county) is called "Sigourney". The town was named after the founder's daughter, but townsfolk pronounced it wrong so many times, the name stuck sounding like Sigourney Weaver. The last is my home town. It is "Grinnell". Most people not from here say it as if it rhymed with "kernel". It is actual spoken as "Gra-Nel". Do you have odd pronunciations of towns in your area?

British English is quite a bit different in terms of the way Americans speak it. It is so different in fact, oftentimes on websites there are options for the American or Brit version. The spellings are different as well. Examples (with American English first) Color/Colour. Rumor/Rumour. Specter/Spectre. Saber/Sabre. Three out of the four examples came up wrong in spell check. That gives you an idea of the differences.

My cousin studied French in school for years. She learned the language in detail. Or so she thought. When she graduated, she finally got the chance to go to France. She felt she was fully prepared. She had learned the history, the customs, and spoke the language fluently. But when she arrived, to her dismay, she struggled to even understand the French, let alone speak to them as a native speaker. I don't know if she was in an area where the dialect was different, or if Americans are not teaching French the way the French actually speak it. Have you ever run into a similar situation?

I am curious to know how much information is lost in changing a thought or statement from one language to another? As we all know, many words are nonexistent in one language, while another may have 20 different meanings for the same word. It would not be difficult to lose the intent of the statement. Is this an issue anyone comes across? I know in the past when I would play RPG that spanned the world, the translator did not express my words and ideas well. This makes me think of a funny thing that happened in China. Coca-Cola had placed a billboard in a large city there. The phrase on it roughly translated in Chinese to: "Suck the wax tadpole". Needless to say, it didn't remain long.

This is interesting. I know this sort of thing happens on TV/movies, but in real life? I am not so sure. First off, how do you fall in love with someone if you cannot get to know them to start with? Communication is the key to getting to know a person, and that's how you fall in love. I don't believe in love at first sight. That's infatuation, not love. If I was really interested, based on looks alone, I might pursue a crash-course, to at least get noticed by them. Then I would see how difficult it would really be.