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Linguaholic

SoManyLanguages

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  • Currently studying
    Lithuanian, German, and French
  • Native tongue
    English

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  1. I'm kind of half and half on this. On one hand, watching subs leaves the usually better voice actors in, but it also means I am constantly moving my eyes to the bottom of the screen, and reading also strains my eyes a bit. On the other hand, with the dub, I have to deal with less than stellar voice acting (usually), but I can understand and I don't have to keep reading stuff. I think though, I lean more towards subs. Although I still have to look down at the bottom of the screen, I get to keep hearing the beautiful Japanese language. Also, it's fun to learn how to sing the opening theme songs!
  2. Although I don't usually use YouTube for learning exactly, I do like to watch gaming videos in my target language! Currently, I am watching a French gamer, and a German gamer, and I think it is helping because I am recognizing words. I also like to look up German dubbed versions of my favorite songs from Steven Universe. There is one YouTube channel I use for learning Lithuanian, because the resources for that language are few and far between. It's called Videomokykla, I think. I am also planning to start using more German and French channels to assist me in my learning.
  3. I do not teach students, but I do use textbooks to teach myself. First, I use apps like Memrise and Duolingo, and then I use the textbooks to help teach me basic grammar rules. There are a lot of risks to buying some books, though, especially ones that are just made to make a profit. I've found a lot of useful books though, and because the apps I use don't teach grammar very much, these books really help me a lot. Though, I also use things like music and TV to learn other languages too. The best way to learn is probably to combine a textbook with songs, and apps.
  4. I haven't really tried to learn it myself, but everyone I ask about Spanish says it's not very hard. When I told my buddies I was going to learn French instead of Spanish, they thought I was crazy because apparently French is much harder than Spanish. Most of my Spanish speaking friends say it's not too hard. The only thing I think that could trip you up really is some of the pronunciations, and the word order.
  5. I've been studying German, and Duolingo has helped me quite a bit. Although it really lacks in the grammar department, I find it very helpful for learning new vocabulary, and just getting a general feel for the language. I make up for it not having grammar by talking to German speakers, using Memrise, and studying from a basic German grammar book. All in all, I've made way more progress that I would have thought I could.
  6. I think it depends on whether or not you're an auditory learner or a visual learner. Personally, I'm a visual learner, so it's easier for me to remember what something looks like when it's written, but calling into my mind what it should sound like and getting it out of my mouth without stuttering is another story. It might also just be how certain peoples' minds function. Although English is my first language, I'm still pretty bad at speaking it, and most of my sentences are made up of small words, and peppered with a fine dose of "uhs" and "ums." Also, it seems easier to tell a word apart from another when you see it spelled out, instead of hearing it, but that just might be me.
  7. I do believe that when you translate something, it does lose it's essence in some ways. A lot of it has to do with culture, I think. A certain kind of humour might not translate very well into a new language, and even if it does, it might just not be funny to someone else. Usually, when I watch anime on occasion, it actually makes me uncomfortable sometimes because I just don't understand the humour when it is subbed. Also, there are a lot of words in different languages that mean something, that have no equivalent in another language. Each language kind of carries the essence of its culture, and when it's put into another language, you are kind of losing some of that.
  8. I love these! I especially like Dumm wie Brot. Though, is bread really dumb? Who knows. I'm not sure if it's an idiom or not, but one of my favorite German sayings is "Das ist mir Wurst," which literally translates to "That is sausage to me." I just find it so amusing that I can say something is a piece of sausage to me, and I don't really know why!
  9. I've begun watching this one YouTuber who speaks German, and I don't really understand anything at all. Because of this post, though, I will continue to listen! Though, I have found that I can understand words a lot easier, especially when I listen to music. I'll definitely continue to try and listen. I also hear that submersing yourself in a language like that really helps, though I don't really know why.
  10. My handwriting doesn't really seem to change. The only time I've seen myself have trouble is when I am writing certain letters in the Lithuanian alphabet, and it's mostly because I am not used to writing those letters. Also, I find it very hard to write that one German letter that resembles a B. No matter what I do, it just looks like a standard B. Though, when I am writing in German, I tend to go much slower, and think out my words more. In English, my handwriting more resembles chicken scrawl because my brain moves way too fast for its own good.
  11. I figured that it would vary, since different cultures are so different from one another. Just seemed like the logical conclusion. If my ridiculous love for German continues, I might learn the German version of sign language if they have one. I'm sure there are some similarities, but either way, I think sign language is very difficult to learn! It's like, my muscle memory works really well with words, but I don't know if I could do it with hand movements.
  12. Most of the time, when I think French, I just think of a really fancy person with a weird mustache. As I got older, I realized pretty quick that that's not true at all. In the end, I'm sure the French are just normal people, really. Sometimes, these stereotypes like to act like people from other countries are a completely different species. I have heard the "French girls don't shave" one, mostly because I do not shave and I'm constantly told that I should the US and go live there... Honestly, it doesn't really matter.
  13. I always found swear words to be strange, considering that they are just words. I still don't even have a theory to how these words came about anyways, it's just one of those things when it comes to culture I guess. Still, I'm not one to use them, unless I'm around friends my age or something makes me very very angry. I guess they are just words that are reserved for strong expression, but I'm not sure.
  14. Since I've really only been exposed to American English, it's the one I prefer most of the time. I do like some British spellings over American, though, and I tend to use those over the American Spelling. Personally, I really like the American accent, and even though a lot of people prefer the British one, I just really like how plain the American accent is. Well, it's plain to me, but that might just be because I'm used to it. I also love the way some words end up being pronounced.
  15. I know that if I ever have children, I'll definitely teach them Lithuanian once I learn it. I am quite proud of where I descend from, and I feel a connection to it despite the fact that my great-grandfather was the last person in my family line to be born in Lithuania. I would definitely encourage my children to learn it, considering it's one of the few Baltic languages left around. Though, I've been finding it very difficult to learn.
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