anna3101

The idea is interesting, but as I have learnt time and again, most people (myself included) have hard time managing even those emotion-words that already exist. I don't think we need even more! Try to decipher what you are feeling this moment, and already it's not that easy. I had cognitive behavioral therapy a couple of years ago, and describing emotions was one of the weekly tasks. I even had a cheat sheet from my psychologist, with all the words describing emotions And I've always thought of myself as quite talkative and having no problems whatsoever with words but it really is difficult to describe whatever is inside yourself on an average and ordinary day. To cut a long story short, I think we already have quite a lot of those words

One of the reasons behind learning a language for me has always been this - a possibility to read some amazing books in the original. Most translations don't manage to give you a real "feeling" of the original text. Some are better and some are worse but there's nothing like reading the source.

True but hopefully nobody here plans to write a course book about how to use proper English I think that if someone feels advanced enough to actually write a book that will teach others, he/she really should make sure there are NO mistakes inside. I know several cases when a native proofreader with appropriate level of education and overall literacy could have made a world of difference. Even better - several proofreaders! After all, this is not just a book. It's meant to teach. Some people will learn words and expressions by heart! This is huge responsibility, and publishers really should be more respectful towards their readers by eliminating typos and - especially - serious grammar and vocabulary mistakes.

Chris_A, you are absolutely right - and it looks like spelling errors cost actual money! Found an interesting article the other day: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/the-price-of-typos/?_r=0 I must say I haven't thought about mistakes in terms of financial losses but there is definitely some truth in that. I wouldn't trust an online shop that doesn't have enough money to hire a professional proofreader

Hello, And welcome to the forum. I'll have a look at the survey as soon as I have a bit more free time Ania

You're welcome. I'll be glad to help if you have any other questions related to Russian

Hello, This is something that has been really worrying me lately. I don't know if it happens only here in Poland but I keep finding mistakes inside language coursebooks. Sometimes it's typos, and I think that's quite a scary thing because I won't always be able to recognize them, especially if it's a totally new language. But sometimes it's much worse: outdated vocabulary, incorrect grammar structures - the kind of mistakes that should never ever be found in a published coursebook! I've already seen several books for learning Russian that, despite pretty covers and supposedly well-known publishers, had errors that most native speakers could have easily corrected. And this is really terrifying for me. Does this happen in other countries as well? Are there any international publishers that can be relied upon? For now, I don't think I'll buy any learning materials published here. Ania

Love Goodreads. I've deleted my accounts in most of social media sites but this one is something I can't give up I find new books for my "to read" list there. And it's extremely useful to keep a track of what I've already read and liked (or tried to read and gave up on).

Love this thread. I'll add some of my favourites. - “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Ralph Waldo Emerson - “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson - “Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.” Albert Einstein - “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Martin Luther King - “If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change. ” Buddha - “I said "Somebody should do something about that." Then I realized I am somebody.” Lily Tomlin - “You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” Charles Buxton - “Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.” Walt Disney - “Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four Cs. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” Walt Disney - “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead - “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” Carl Jung - “We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand... and melting like a snowflake. Let us use it before it is too late.” Marie Beynon Ray - “Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.” Winston Churchill - “If it's not fun, you're not doing it right.” Bob Basso - “Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry.” Jack Kerouac - “Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Alan Milne - “Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” Brad Paisley - “Was Du erlebst, kann keine Macht der Welt Dir rauben. (What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you.) Not only our experiences, but all we have done, whatever great thoughts we may have had and all we have suffered, all this is not lost, though it is past; we have brought it into being. Having been is a kind of being, and perhaps the surest kind.” Viktor Frankl

Кот is the male cat. Кошка is the female. Also, when you talk about cats in general and you don't care about their gender, or if you don't know if it's a boy or a girl, then you say кошка. Hope that helps!

Actually, that's what's been always puzzling me when it comes to the US and its legal system. How did it happen that people can take other people and companies to court for any little insignificant thing? I've heard about many cases similar to the one you've mentioned, and it has always shocked me to the core. If somebody is plain stupid, why should someone else reimburse them for their stupidity? Seriously, that's simply not fair - and laws and courts are supposed to be fair. If tomorrow some guys stabs his friend with a knife, then should the producer put "Do not use for stabbing" label? And if some girl doesn't have enough brain cells in her head and dries her hair with a hairdryer while still in the bathtub, does it mean the company manufacturing hairdryers is responsible for her untimely death? Honestly, it feels sad that people want to hold somebody else responsible when the only one responsible is them.

Thanks a lot FlagOnce! That really helps me a lot.

Skyfox, I remember when I was still a Facebook user some years ago, there were some nice word games you could play there. I definitely remember Spanish and French were among the languages I could find. Also, there are many phones apps where you can play with other players. Or with yourself I'm very happy that we have another player for our future writing games! I have so many ideas It'll be fun!

Yes, I know that one! It's quite fun to play and useful for learning. Thanks for reminding me about it!

It's important for me as well. I've been reading a book about searching on the Internet lately, and one of the things the author said was straight to the point: “If there are spelling and grammatical errors, assume that the same level of attention to detail probably went into the gathering and reporting of the "facts" given on the site.” I couldn't agree more. Of course, typos happen to everybody but when I see a website with lots of spelling mistakes, I won't stay there for long.

I'm with those people who say it's important to try and speak in proper accent. It's difficult and most of us will never sound like natives but doing our best is what we should do all the time. I've met some people who think it's not important and they don't even try, that's what bothers me most. However, there's also another case: people who are too sensitive and they are afraid that if they try to speak with correct accent, it'll sound laughable in the eyes of the native speakers. So they don't even try - not ouf of disrespect, but because they think not trying is less embarassing.

I like some of those too! Could you share you favourite songs? Maybe just give me a couple of titles, I always enjoy listening to nice songs that are special for other people. Often, that's the best way to find something for my "all time favourites" playlist.

Hello Skyfox! Welcome to the forum! Both French and German are amazing languages, I'm sure you'll refresh your French in no time (and maybe help those of us who are struggling with German along the way ) Ania

Hello keithr13, Welcome to the forum! We're glad to see you here Ania

Same for me, comparing grammar structures and words helps me a lot, and it's also incredibly interesting. When the languages are very similar, like Italian and Spanish, it is a bit of a problem - I tend to mix up words, a lot. But still I'd go for doing multiple languages at the same time. Because if I had to wait until I master any language, I'd never ever start on a second one. Learning is a life-long affair. I may get better with time but I cannot say I really "know" any language, not even my native one, it's just not possible. There's always more and more to learn, and it never ends

Russian and Polish have tons of false friends, but also between Russian and English there are some words that can be misleading. Sympathetic: empathic in English, nice and/or good-looking in Russian Actual: real in English, up-to-date in Russian List: a number of items in English, a sheet of paper in Russian Chef: book in English, boss in Russian Baton: a short tick in English, a type of bread in Russian Magazine: a type of printed publication in English, a shop in Russian But of course there are plenty more. It's one of the most exciting things for me when I study - finding the words that look similar but have different meanings.

Hello, A question to learners of French here: have you already travelled to France? If so, what cities / sights you did you like the most? Let's share our experiences! Ania

What's your opinion of orthography? Is it important? Does it bother you when people making spelling mistakes? Do you think it should be kept as it is or made as close to pronunciation as possible? There are countries that consider simplifying spelling. Some others already went through spelling reforms. Personally, I have mixed feelings about this. It's true that languages like Russian or French may have the word written in one way and pronounced in a completely different way but I consider this a part of the language history. Also, I don't think that people who are too lazy to bother with correct spelling or unfortunate enough to have dyslexy or other learning difficulties will benefit in any way from a more simple spelling system. But I'm curious to know what other people on Linguaholic think about this.

Chris_A, I'll count you in Maybe we should organise some kind of language game evening on Skype. Could be fun! Nothing beats the author reading his/her own story out loud

For me, the most challenging thing in all languages (sometimes that also includes my native language!) is putting the right accent inside the word. There are some languages where the rules are fairly simple: always the second syllable from the end or the last one, and bingo. But even in those languages there always will be exceptions... The second place in the "most challenging" competition I would give to speaking skills. Writing and reading come more or less easily, listening is more difficult, but speaking fluently - that takes more time and effort. Much more. At least, that's the case for me.