czarina84

Weird is one that is "ei" instead of "ie".  No "c" in there. 

I think it is very neat that you created a "language".  I don't mean anything derogatory by putting quotes, just that it isn't an official language yet.  I applaud your creativity.  I hope it works out and catches on.

20 hours ago, agentzero said:

Really? That's so interesting. I knew there was a difference between Southern and Northern(?) accent in America, but I never knew there was such divide. I do know about Southern accent, and Bostonian, but I don't I know of any other accents you guys have. Unlike in Britain, where every village has their own.

Oh, gosh, there are plenty.  To everyone reading this, feel free to chime in if there are some that I forgot.  I'm sure there are.  I want to also say that not all regional accent sound the same.   There are Southern drawls, Bostonian, Valley Girl accents, Midwest accents, Mid-Atlantic accents and, yes, here in Northeast PA, we even have our own accent.  The world is a funny little place, isn't it?

I wasn't even aware of the word sino.  I had never heard that before.

It sounds like YOU are his best method of learning English.  Higher education doesn't seem to be helping.  I know it's a little trickier to learn as an adult than as a child.  Try relating as much as possible.  Try things like "In America they say (English word or phrase here) instead of (native word or phrase here)." Maybe that will help.

21 hours ago, atanas.velikov said:

Haha that made me laugh. I'm lost now anyway let alone when doing it. I'm not really sure what you are asking and I've just read it again and asked us to use sign language to get there - how can we when we are blindfolded? Now I'm even more confused than before. 

But it just said "gestures".  I don't know if that means sign language or just waving "hi" or giving peace signs.

I think I understand what you are saying.  The problem may be that she thinks it would be a strain on your friendship.  Some people hate being corrected.  I'm not saying that you are.  Maybe you should ask her directly.  She may tell you.

On ‎11‎/‎30‎/‎2015‎ ‎11‎:‎01‎:‎35‎, agentzero said:

This is how I'm able to speak English with American accent so this is quite good advice, however you can't always learn to speak purely by listening to others. You have troubles "r"s in French because you don't have a sound like that in English and despite hearing it many times (I assume) you still can't get it just right. Am I wrong? 

Actually, I have trouble for a different reason.  I know how to make the r,  but the accent I speak with isn't my "natural" accent.  I was born in the South, so I have a Southern accent.  When I started school, we moved up North.  I had to hide my accent because I was mocked by my kindergarten classmates.  So, whenever I try for a French "r", for some reason, my Southern accent comes out and messes up the "r".

I think the only thing that will help is studying sentences and writing your own.  I also have difficulty with verb conjugations in Spanish.  I just try writing sentences and checking them against translations.  It has mostly helped.

I would just watch American shows and movies, paying special attention to words with "r" in them.  Listening to music can also help.  There are times in some songs where they emphasizes words, so that may help.  I have trouble with "r"s in French. 

I think it is ridiculous that they remove cursive from schools, because they say they don't need to learn it.  Then they teach that new common core math that makes no sense to me.  I mean, I understand how to do it, but I have no idea why they need to convolute it.  I don't see how they can say that cursive is not relevant when there are many historical documents that are written in cursive. 

16 hours ago, atanas.velikov said:

Now I'm totally confused. How can you aim to get to point B if you don't even know where point B is located at?

That is a good question.  I misread this.  I thought that the trip in the automobile was taking you from point A to point B, and you had to take the trip on your own at some point later on. 

In America, Christmas tradition varies from household to household, and depending on religion (or lack thereof).  Growing up, we didn't have money for presents.  We would usually cook some kind of meal (whatever we could afford) and decorate the two foot tall plastic tree with popcorn strings and ornaments that we had been acquiring for years.  Now that I'm an adult, we celebrate with a ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits (the American kind that are a bread-like product, not cookies) and whatever we want as a dessert.   The first think I do when I wake up is wish Jesus a Happy Birthday.  I'm a Christian.  I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.  I know there are a lot of religions out there and I want to make it clear that just because I believe in God, I do not, in any way, think anything negative about any other religion (or lack thereof).  It's just how I celebrate.  Anyway, some households open presents Christmas morning.  We wait until after Christmas supper.  We use the time in between supper and dessert to open the presents. 

New Year's Eve is pretty much the same around the country.  We party and kiss each other when the ball drops. 

Some  holiday words are:

Christmas

Mistletoe

Holly

Yule

Yuletide

Carols

Eggnog

Candy Canes

Around this time of year there are also two other holidays that I know of: Channukah and Kwanzaa.  I don't really know that much about either, just little tidbits that I picked up here and there, but everyone talks so much about Christmas and New Year that these two tend to be forgotten.

I have been watching a show called Switched at Birth.  Many of the characters (and actors) are deaf.  American Sign Language is featured very prominently on the show.  One of the characters named Regina could no longer sign because of an injury that she acquired.  I looked it up and it was a case of art imitating life.  The actress who plays her began to have tendon problems from learning ASL as an adult.  Is this inevitable or are they ways to condition your tendons?  What exactly is the issue?  Is it flexibility or something else?

I looked into the etymology of salmon.  It's spelled that way because it's derived from the Old French word "salmun" and the Latin word "salmonem".  This happens a lot in English.  We bastardize a word and keep a bit from its original spelling.

Have you tried websites like Amazon or ebay to see if they have textbooks?  Maybe there is a suggestion in the Japanese Language Learning section?

When you say "the signs you make with your hands" are you referring to sign language or just gestures?  I know that one of the conditions is to be blindfolded.  However, are you allowed to speak?  I would count the seconds it takes to get to the destination.  Also, vehicles tend to cause different sensations depending on how they move.  I feel the movements of the vehicle, count the inclines, declines and turns (right turns feel different than left turns) and try to go from there. 

It varies here in America, but these are the names that I have seen most frequently:

Females:

Sarah, Kimberly, Jennifer, Jessica, Samantha, Katie, Cassie, Kelly, Amanda, Holly, Heather, Lauren, Laura, Allison, Amy, Anne, Angela, Mary.

Males:

John, James, Joseph, Robert, Ryan, Brian, William, Alex, Andrew, Tony, Timothy, Charles, Corey, Peter, Paul,  Fred, Al. 

I think it is very cool that you want to take her out of the stereotype.  Be careful, however, some things that may seem stereotypical may actually be something cultural that has been exaggerated.  I would talk to actual Colombian people or other Latin Americans who may be able to help you with some things that are important to their culture.

I like reading comprehension questions.  Honestly, I like any comprehension questions.  Whether you get them right or wrong, they are helpful.  I liked seeing that I got everything correct, but I also liked seeing where I misunderstood things, so that I would know what to go over more thoroughly to learn it better.

I've heard of this before, except the increase creativity and math skills.  Those are new to me.  But I remember reading about increased vocabulary and recall and the other things that were mentioned.  It's because of how many of those skills are linked to language learning.  Just like every time you do physical exercises that are linked to specific muscles you strengthen those muscles, which I'm assuming is what you are getting at by the title.

I don't find accents "attractive".  There are accents that I think are cool, but l don't find them alluring.   I like all accents, but I like Scottish, Irish, and African accents the best. 

I have always love "come hell or high water" as well.  It's one of those idioms that is more of a rallying cry than anything else.  It makes you feel empowered just saying it!

I'm actually pretty good with grammar.  I have studied many English grammar texts.  Who/whom does get me sometimes, but I understand the majority of the rules.  This sentence is correct.  "Who has suffered" is really just tacked onto the main sentence, which is "It is our duty to care for him".  That is why it seems kind of funny.  I can't really say if it should be who or whom, however.  That is a little confusing to me as well, although I think it's supposed to be who. 

I think it has to do with what situation you are in.  Some people want it literal and others want the meaning to be transferred.  It really depends on what you are translating.  Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.