MilleBille

Is learning Mandarin Chinese a very time consuming task? I'm talking day-to-day because I don't think I could spare more than an hour or two when it comes to learning a new language, especially on busy days. How much time do you use on avarage, and do you think it's too ambitious to attempt learning when you only have an hour or two a day to spare?

I've heard the US described both by inhabitants and visitors as more of a "palette" than a melting pot. If you want to, you can mix and experience different languages and cultures without that large of a backlash, but the most people wouldn't frown on staying "the way you were raised" if you were raised in a household dominated by a single language and/or culture. That being said I definitely think that there is some racism towards inhabitants who don't actually speak English. I have heard some downright hateful things on the internet about Spanish-speaking Mexican immigrants. On the flipside of that I have also heard some nonsense about something some people call "cultural appropriation" the idea that if you celebrate a part of a culture different than your own, you are appropriating it, and that people should stick to their "real" culture. There are racist people everywhere, and some people will always fear change, so I think that the US, like any country, will always have its fair share of bigoted people. The trick is to look at the rest of the people, and see the growth the country has been through through them.

I studied English in the primary section of the Danish school system, and I've been told that my English is damn near perfect (pardon the expression) but for some reason when I went to London for the first time, nobody understood a word of what I was saying. It actually made me really uncomfortable in speaking for the rest of my trip. As for France, I took French for a short while, and the French speak a in hundred miles per hour. I'´have several friends who had perfect grades in French who has no clue what's going on when it comes to actually speaking to French people. They're notorious for it.

In my experience, if you translate from English to Danish it is surprisingly accurate. It is at the very least understandable and can work if you need to relay a message in a pinch. To English on the other hand is nothing short of a horrible mess. I wouldn't use it, I think ever. That being said I think it has come a long way, and it is definitely a helpful tool (I know this oppinion is frowned upon usually) when it comes to lenguage learning. Obviously it doesn't have all the grammatical rules down, but if you use it as a sort of dictionary it is simply the best, in my oppinion.

Were has a lot of rules. It is used second person (you) singular "Maria, you were totally right about Joan" It is also used in both first (we), second (you) and third (they) plural It is also used in what is called simple imperfect subjunctive in all persons of be. Ie. I wish that it were Sunday. or I wish that I were with you. The second one is a bit more complicated, but if you want to make it simpler, just use the first rule, that's fine aswell. I usually remember it in list form I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, you were, they were.

I really want to learn simultaneous interpretation. I want to become an interpreter at some point, and I think this could be a useful skill. Anyone in here who know some tips and tricks, or is it all in practising? Thank you!

In Danish this would be: God morgen Hvordan går det? Hvad hedder du? Jeg hedder ____ (Ray) as for pronounciation try the read aloud button on google translate, it pronounces this perfectly.

My name is Mille which is absolutely impossible to pronounce in English, so my online friends call me Miles. I'm an 18 year old girl, and I'm from Copenhagen, Denmark where I'm currently studying in a Gymnasium - Which is sort of the Danish equivalent of the last 3 years of High school, although not really. I'm studying languages, which means that I'm currently taking advanced Danish and English as well as an introduction to Italian class. Besides that I study Korean in my free time. It is my dream to one day become a translator in the Danish Military, and perhaps someday learn over 50 languages. So Hello, Ciao, Hej, 안녕 to you all! Please feel free to correct me if my grammar sucks, and I hope to get to know you all a little better soon!

I've made a sort of Language "bucket list" with all the languages I want to learn before I die. So far it looks like this: Korean - At least semi-fluently in both spoken word and writing Italian - Fluently Spanish - Semi-fluently German - Not fluently, but enough to get by Chinese - Fluently (I have a feeling this might be a useful skill soon) At least three of these I want to learn within the next 10 years. Do you have a language "bucket list" and do you want to share it? Or is there maybe someone here who has already completed their list?

Actually, I've tried to learn Swedish because it is really pretty, and I've found it really hard. I fall back on the Danish grammar too much, because it's so similar. I've since found that learning it is not really needed: You just need to speak Danish in an incredibly sing-song voice, and all the Swedish people suddenly understand you. It's actually kind of funny, since the Swedes I know always tell me that speaking Danish is like speaking Swedish with a baked potato in your mouth. Jävla Svensker!

The Cat's got your tongue one is: Er du blevet mundlam? in Danish, which means has your mouth gotten numb? And The chicken one is the same in Danish as it is in Norwegian: Sælg ikke skindet før bjørnen er skudt - Don't sell the fur/skin until the bear has been shot. I've compiled a little list of some Danish Idioms that might be useful, or that I at least find sort of funny Være på glatis - being on slippery ice: It means being in trouble, or not having a grip on a situation. Blive varm om hjertet - getting warm around your heart: It means being touched (emotionally) or happy Slå to fluer med et smæk - getting two flies with one swat: The Dansih equivallent of the English idiom Killing two birds with one stone At være ude med riven - being out with the rake: It means being argumentative, or being out to get everyone At stirre sig blind - staring yourself blind: It means concentrating on something, or looking at something so much that you can no longer see any flaws At sætte det lange ben foran - To put your long leg in front: To hurry Snakke/tale sort - talking/speaking black: It means making no sense (It doesn't have any racist connotation in Danish) Have rotter på loftet - Having rats in the attic: It means being crazy Goddag mand økseskaft - Hello Man axe shaft (my favourite): It means making no sense, or doing something that makes no sense. Idioms are one of my favourite things about languages in general! I would love to hear from others about this.