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I like Bontle too, @anna3101 I also like my two nieces' names Ketso (will) and Toro, bit like Tara with o's LOL (dream). I like that they've very original and not common. In fact, i don't know anyone else who has those names. My first name is Mpho; I like it, but there's way too many of us, both men and women! -and also in neighbouring South Africa. I get whiplash from thinking someone's calling out to me, when i'm out and about hehe @Chris_A I know, right!? There's a big difference. But then you also get many English names like Angela (my middle name), David, Peter, Gary, Rose, Pamela, Diana, William etc People in Botswana like the typical British names, maybe because of our historical link with Great Britain IDK They are only now becoming more adventurous and going for more interesting names LOL

Thanks to you too, @anna3101. Your words reinforce my thought process, so I will definitely take that into consideration before I start early next year. Many years ago I lived in Italy for a few months as an au pair and picked it up much faster than I did French. It was self taught via a text book, watching some TV and practicing with friends and my host family. By the time i left Italy, I could wobble my may through a conversation, but never got to the fluent stage. I haven't spoken it since, but still remember bits here and there. So you can kind of get where I'm at with my Italian hehe. I bet yours is at a far higher level than mine, even though you claim it's 'mostly passive' .....that's probably just you being modest On that basis, I would totally welcome the idea of a practice thread on here, especially if some of our Italian friends are onboard. That would be brilliant, for sure

anna3101, kudos to you and I hope you realise all your goals for 2016! Looking at yours makes me feel like I ought to be doing more LOL But on a serious note, I admire your tenacity and drive....way to go! I'm also hoping life doesn't get in the way of my plans. I always seems to have too much going on and too little time to do it all in. But I was hoping to get back to doing either Italian or French, but certainly not both. I'm having a hard time deciding because although I'm more advanced in French, I like Italian more. I intend to self teach via online resources, and this will be my first dabble with this way of learning. So I'm nt sure what sort challenges I'll face, if any. With French, I also have the option of going to classes locally if I struggle. I'm in a bit of a pickle, but i'm sure I'll work it out in the end. After all, compared to people like you and a few others in this community, I only have 2 languages to consider LOL

Yes, Robert Pattinson, Eddie Redmayne, Emma Watson and Gemma Arterton, Emma Thompson and Emilia Clarke are just a few other examples. That's what you call posh. There are many, many more currently storming the movie and TV industry.

I think this study is absolutely spot on, @Yessica11. Hollywood is currently lapping up posh English actors, too, I mean the movie industry is awash with them. Anyone who lives in the 21st century and watches movies can see that. I believe that's why many people have the misconception that everyone in Britain speaks like that, and hence the idea that all British people are posh hehe. I can also believe the U. Rindal findings based on the Norwegian study, because I have a lot of Norwegian friends, who all seem to have this American twang. Very interesting study. Thanks for sharing, Yessica11

@djordje87, I love your analogy! It made me giggle a little, in a good way. It's almost poetic, too. -and of course you're spot on with all the points you made. In short, you can relax and just be yourself, not as self conscious about potential mistakes and those horrible looks you sometimes get from someone, as if to say cmon, you can do it....sometimes done in a patronising manner.

For the longest time, it was drummed into me by society that French is the most romantic and most elegant language, and I believed it at the time. Well, that was until I heard and learnt some Italian. My, talk about smooth! I have to say for me, Italian has since overtaken French. I also have a thing for POSH (not the regional dialects) British English/ American English. I think both can be very sophisticated. I know American English very rarely gets a mention, but I love it when it's refined and cultured. I'm sure you can tell I have a thing for accents LOL

It appears a lot of people had similar experiences while learning English! English is Botswana's official language and it's taught from early on, right from nursery school. Even though Setswana is my native and first language, I grew up in an English speaking household. However, I too experienced being taught English by incompetent teachers whose pronunciation was way off and their grasp of the English language left a lot to be desired. I found myself always locked in an argument with them, correcting and teaching them, instead of the other way around. That happened a lot in state schools. I think it's got better now though, which is a huge relief

Hehe I find the Cockney accent CUTE, as opposed to attractive LOL It sounds to me like a fun accent I know what you mean about the Scottish accent. I worked in a lot of contact centres in England, and quite often my British colleagues would ask me to take a call over because they just couldn't understand what the customer wanted! -and in as much as I like some of the Scottish accents, sometimes I'd be mortified when a customer asked if I was Scottish....eh, my accent is very far removed from the Scottish accent!

Aww @Linguaholic....you sound very disappointed LOL! I can hand on heart say I've never heard of it before this thread, so this is a first. i'm guessing the reason why people haven't responded to this thread is because they have absolute no clue about this. It would be very interesting to see how they document the Swadesh List for Sign Languages, seeing as by its very nature, SL is not something you articulate and/or write down in words.

My step dad is Danish, and for a while I took an interest in learning the language. I got him to give me a new lessons and we never even got out of the basics because I couldn't get my tongue wrapped around the words. It's too far removed from any language I've ever had any dealings with, and in the end I just gave up LOL I find all Scandinavian languages hard. I also think it doesn't help that I don't find how they sound very appealing....sorry.

I think a big part of people getting nervous, is the fear of making mistakes. But like some of the members said here, there really is no shame in making mistakes, and people are usually very accommodating. I believe we also put ourselves under unnecessary pressure all the time, which will add to the nerves. I like the idea of getting a grasp of the basic words by way of building a foundation for your learning process, before adding the more difficult words and phrases. I'll also need to take this onboard myself, because I have exactly the same problem!

I must have a touch of that. Ok, maybe more than just a touch LOL I have even said it on here more than once, I just seem to have a problem with the speaking part! I have no issues learning and picking up my chosen foreign languages. But I seem to clam up and get all nervous about speaking my foreign languages. I seem to also get my grammar nailed and write better than I speak, and in all honesty, I'd rather it were the other way around. I don't know if this problem is mainly restricted to women, but i do know that my husband, who is actually reserved and maybe even a little shy, has no problem whatsoever in having fun with and speaking French. His French is way weaker than mine 9and he'll back me on this!), yet he has bags of confidence! It's just strange LOL

Thanks for your response @Eli I wish you luck and hope it catches on for you! Can you imagine people around the world speaking Kipi?! Kudos to you, because you'd have made history! I can't quite get my head around the whole concept, but I guess if it makes sense to you and all the fans of Kipi, then it shouldn't matter, right? Plus, it may appeal to people who just want something light hearted to have fun with.

Hehe @Mameha.....and there you have it! It may very well be that your friend is unhappy with the fact that when she said you could maybe teach her English, it never really went anywhere. Maybe you could focus on saying to her that you could help each other out, and see how that goes.

Hmm that's very interesting! I would never have thought that sign language would be so taxing on your body, certainly not enough to cause problems with tendons. Maybe the more she uses it, the less of a problem it will remain? I seriously doubt the issue is a long term one. I do agree, this shouldn't be a reason people give up the idea of learning ASL.

I think it can definitely help, if you can concentrate and actually take in what you're watching LOL I've never personally tried it, mainly because I don't like subtitles or even badly dubbed movies. I think though, if I were doing this with the sole purpose of improving my language skills, I'd probably just keep watching the same movies over and over again, until I was sure I could do away with the subtitles. Monotonous yes, but could prove very effective

Wow @Eli Stutz, you created a whole new 'language'! That's to be commended, so well done! May I ask what motivated you to do so? How did you come up with the name Kipi, and where would people actually use the language? Now if only all languages had such a small vocabulary LOL

@Mameha, it's a shame your friend isn't for whatever reason, willing to help you learn. To be honest, I wouldn't have thought that asking for her occasional help was asking for too much. Maybe there's more to it than meets the eye, because it strikes me as odd that she'd even go so far as to refuse to translate a short phrase for you. Depending on how close the two of you are, maybe you could put her on the spot and gently coax her into telling you why she's so reluctant to help you? You may be surprised at the answer. I have luckily never been in your situation, as all my French and Italian friends have always been ever so supportive. They have actually been more supportive than I've been receptive. Silly I know, but sometimes I feel awkward when it's my friends teaching me LOL Anyway, I do wish you luck with your Spanish, with or without your friend's help

A lot of Setswana names have meanings, and are also unisex. So here goes: Girls: Neo (gift) Boitumelo (joy) Gaone (of God's will) Bontle (beauty) Mpho (gift) * Kgomotso (comfort) Basadi (women) Boys: Tshepo (faith)* Kgosi (chief) Pule (rain) Mpho (gift)* Thapelo (prayer) Thato (will)* Tebogo (thanks)* *These names are unisex @DivaDee....I love American type names including Hunter, Chase, Tailor, Tyler and Zac.

I'm currently a little squeezed for money, so I'm sure you can already tell where my answer's headed LOL I have always preferred to pay for taught lessons in a classroom setup. But I honestly feel these days, unless you have the money, there's really no reason for anyone not to at least attempt to learn on their own, taking full advantage of the wealth of free online resources. This is the route I'll be taking in the near future. So for now, I want to spend as little money as possible on learning my chosen foreign languages

Hmm this is a very interesting argument, one I'm not sure I agree with at all. I speak English and think in English more than I do in my own language, but I doubt my thought processes would be any different if they were in my native language. IDK maybe I should start making a concerted effort if indeed this argument holds true.

I want to start learning from home via some of the free online learning aids from early next year. If I can spare the time, I may also incorporate a few French lessons with my local Alliance Francais. I've never learnt on my own at home before, so I'm guessing it'll take some doing. I've usually gone the traditional classroom route. So we'll just to wait and see. I like that last bit on your post about refraining from insulting fellow members if we don't agree with them. I'd actually add to that passive aggression, too

But this is the interesting thing, because to me it doesn't really make sense that someone would believe that, yet say British English is the most attractive LOL British English has many dialects, among them very diverse and sometimes very broad accents. I know that some people hear posh British English and think that's how all Brits speak. If you go off the ones you see in most American movies, most of them have posh accents, so I guess that's what some people refer to as the British English accent as that's the only reference point they have.

That's one crazy way of doing it @hungary93, but I've heard of people doing it with some degree of success. I personally don't see how learning words in isolation would work. It definitely wouldn't work for me at all, but if it works for someone else, why not? It really is true that we all have our own little quirks and preferred methods of learning new languages!