What's special about your language ?

[linguaholic]

What's special about your language? Every language has some special aspects. Let me start with my mother tongue: German. One funny thing about German is that there are a lot of compound words. In this kind of aspect, German is very flexible. It let's you put together an almost endless amount of nouns in one word. So you could have a word like "Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz".

Tell us something special about your language. It can be about the Script, Grammar, Pronunciation. Whatever. You choose and introduce 

[kurdapia]

My language is Filipino. We have five vowels and each of them only has one form or sound nothing complicated like the dipthongs of the English language. We do have our conjugations too but not as complicated as the Spanish language and ours is quite easy to learn and you can almost always predict what will be the resulting new term will be given the root word. 

[Trellum]

My mother tongue is Spanish    I don't think my language is that special though,  the only thing that I can think of as being remotely special is the inverted question and exclamation marks: ¿¡   I guess our letter ''Ñ'' is also kinda cute and unique. A kid the other day asked me why I draw a mustache on the ''N'' letter, lol.  Plus Spanish is spoken in many countries, it's one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. I guess that counts  

[debihan]

I LOVE that fact about German! It's a language I learned at school but have forgotten much of. I would like to try and pick it up again though.

My native language is English but I want to talk about Korean instead. I recently returned from working there and I find the language very cool. Chinese characters were widely used until King Sejong decided in the 1400s to introduce a new alphabet. He did this with the aim of getting all Koreans to learn to read and write.

The Korean language has 28 letters and each one has a set sound (with few exceptions). I learned the alphabet in a very short space of time and can read Korean quite well. It's understanding what the words mean that is tricky!

[linguaholic]

I LOVE that fact about German! It's a language I learned at school but have forgotten much of. I would like to try and pick it up again though.

My native language is English but I want to talk about Korean instead. I recently returned from working there and I find the language very cool. Chinese characters were widely used until King Sejong decided in the 1400s to introduce a new alphabet. He did this with the aim of getting all Koreans to learn to read and write.

The Korean language has 28 letters and each one has a set sound (with few exceptions). I learned the alphabet in a very short space of time and can read Korean quite well. It's understanding what the words mean that is tricky!

Korean is truly fascinating. Moreover, Hangul (Hangeul) is often considered to be the most logical script every made! Thanks for sharing some facts about that fascinating language!

[lingualbabe]

Wow, that word is very long! Truly fascinating! I hope to learn German one day.:) Anyway, I'm also a Filipino and our language is Tagalog. It is quite easy to learn, it has the same alphabet as the English one. The only variation is that it has these letters in it: ñ and ng. I think some words in our language are also derived from the Spanish since we were colonised by them for such a long period. 

[MichelleVL]

I group up in a biracial home, so I grew up speaking both English and Spanish. While English was easier to get any point across, Spanish was used in our household to express with emotion. Any time my mom wanted to scold us, curse at us, or say I love you, she would do so in Spanish. Trust me if any of you have Hispanic mothers and have ever been threatened with a "chancleta" (sandal) in rapidly spoken Spanish, you know what I'm talking about. It's hilarious.

[Spyllus]

My native tongue is English -_-*

I mean, I guess it would be my first choice, but it is a very boring one. However I do like the endless combination of words that you can put together in English, and I like how it is a common-ish language.

[Spyllus]

What's special about your language? Every language has some special aspects. Let me start with my mother tongue: German. One funny thing about German is that there are a lot of compound words. In this kind of aspect, German is very flexible. It let's you put together an almost endless amount of nouns in one word. So you could have a word like "Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz".

Tell us something special about your language. It can be about the Script, Grammar, Pronunciation. Whatever. You choose and introduce 

Wow, I think the longest word in English is antidisestablishmentarianism. Actually, just looked it up. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

[lushlala]

I can't seem to think of anything off the top of my head! Maybe my language is not that special LOL Anyway, my language is Setswana, a version of which is also spoken by some people in South Africa. It has a lot of guttural sounds  and weird combinations such as mph-, which a lot of foreigners struggle with pronouncing.

[Trellum]

Wow, that word is very long! Truly fascinating! I hope to learn German one day.:) Anyway, I'm also a Filipino and our language is Tagalog. It is quite easy to learn, it has the same alphabet as the English one. The only variation is that it has these letters in it: ñ and ng. I think some words in our language are also derived from the Spanish since we were colonised by them for such a long period. 

I had no idea you guys had the ''ñ'' as well, but I guess it makes sense, since you guys were governed by the Spaniards for a while, so it makes sense you guys implemented some Spanish words and even letters like the 'ñ''.  I think it's fascinating   I have heard you people like to eat things like ''adobo'' and ''menudo'' as well    By the way, I've met a lot filipinos in the past, mostly women. 

[lingualbabe]

I had no idea you guys had the ''ñ'' as well, but I guess it makes sense, since you guys were governed by the Spaniards for a while, so it makes sense you guys implemented some Spanish words and even letters like the 'ñ''.  I think it's fascinating   I have heard you people like to eat things like ''adobo'' and ''menudo'' as well    By the way, I've met a lot filipinos in the past, mostly women. 

Oh I didn't even realise that "ñ" was from the Spanish lol! But yes, it seems to be because we were colonised for about 300 years so we got a lot from their culture into ours. Even the alphabet and some words from their language got into our own. Adobo is also a Spanish food? I didn't know that! You learn something new everyday. Menudo, well I know this one's Spanish because of the singer group.:) Really? Sad to say I haven't met any pure Spanish women, though I've met half-Filipinas and half-Spanish ones.

[Saoirse]

I study Irish and one of my favorite things about learning is discovering words that have funny or endearling literal definitions. I'm sure each language has their own set of these, but some of my favorite Irish ones are:

jellyfish - smugairle róin ("seal snot")
ladybug - bóín dé/ bóín shamhraidh ("god's little cow"/ "little cow of summer")

I also really loved learning the spelling/pronunciation system of Irish, it almost felt like cracking a secret code! At first glance the words look impossible to pronounce, but the systems is very regular within itself and soon it makes perfect sense that "aghaidh" is pronounced "eye"

Edit: my native tongue is English, but I preferred to share this about my learning language!

Edited October 10, 2015 by Saoirse

[Trellum]

Oh I didn't even realise that "ñ" was from the Spanish lol! But yes, it seems to be because we were colonised for about 300 years so we got a lot from their culture into ours. Even the alphabet and some words from their language got into our own. Adobo is also a Spanish food? I didn't know that! You learn something new everyday. Menudo, well I know this one's Spanish because of the singer group.:) Really? Sad to say I haven't met any pure Spanish women, though I've met half-Filipinas and half-Spanish ones.

Yes,  there are so many things we have inherited from the Spaniards over here as well.    Adobo is also eaten here, I had it when I was little, it comes from the spanish verb ''adobar'' that simply means ''to marinate''.  My dad used to prepare ''pollo adobado'', that was my favorite   I love eating adobo, but it's been a while since i don't eat it.  We also like menudo, but I think in Spain they call it ''callos de cadiz'', they prepare it using the meat from the stomach of the cow and chickpeas as the main ingredients, our menudo is similar, but instead of using chickpeas we use corn   It looks like this:

 

[Wanda Kaishin]

I can't seem to think of anything off the top of my head! Maybe my language is not that special LOL Anyway, my language is Setswana, a version of which is also spoken by some people in South Africa. It has a lot of guttural sounds  and weird combinations such as mph-, which a lot of foreigners struggle with pronouncing.

My native language is English, but I lived in Tanzania for 3 years so I want to mention something about Swahili. They sometimes abruptly make this gasping noise, you know - like a gasp of surprise; a quick intake of air. To native english speakers, this is a little startling, and we might think the speaker just realized something awful happened, for example. Well to Swahili speakers it's no big deal; it just means something like "continue what you're saying" or "I see what you mean"; it's like chiming in or urging on. But the first 100 or so times I heard it I was startled. And this was even after it was explained to me  

Do they have that in Setswana?

[hungary93]

Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages ever! There are so many things to consider before you start to speak that If you looking for an adventure try learning hungarian. And don't give up!

[lushlala]

My native language is English, but I lived in Tanzania for 3 years so I want to mention something about Swahili. They sometimes abruptly make this gasping noise, you know - like a gasp of surprise; a quick intake of air. To native english speakers, this is a little startling, and we might think the speaker just realized something awful happened, for example. Well to Swahili speakers it's no big deal; it just means something like "continue what you're saying" or "I see what you mean"; it's like chiming in or urging on. But the first 100 or so times I heard it I was startled. And this was even after it was explained to me  

Do they have that in Setswana?

Hehe you made me laugh with that! I love the sound of Swahili, it sounds like such a beautiful language. I don't even have to understand what they're saying, because it sounds ever so melodic to my ears! But no, I don't know anything like what you're describing in Setswana. 

[Chris_A]

 

Yes,  there are so many things we have inherited from the Spaniards over here as well.    Adobo is also eaten here, I had it when I was little, it comes from the spanish verb ''adobar'' that simply means ''to marinate''.  My dad used to prepare ''pollo adobado'', that was my favorite   I love eating adobo, but it's been a while since i don't eat it.  We also like menudo, but I think in Spain they call it ''callos de cadiz'', they prepare it using the meat from the stomach of the cow and chickpeas as the main ingredients, our menudo is similar, but instead of using chickpeas we use corn   It looks like this:

 

That`s so cool. We this type of meal in Romania as well. But over here, we make a soup out of the cow stomach, with vegetables and sour cream. It is one of my favorite soups.

As for what is special about my language. Well, Romanian is the closest related Latin language to actual Latin. It is even more related to it, then Italian, although Italian comes pretty close. And as other posters said, my native language Hungarian, is one of the hardest to learn for a foreigner, simply because it has no language family, except Finnish, which is also very hard to learn. I could not have learned Hungarian, if I have not have been brought up with it.

[Trellum]

That`s so cool. We this type of meal in Romania as well. But over here, we make a soup out of the cow stomach, with vegetables and sour cream. It is one of my favorite soups.

As for what is special about my language. Well, Romanian is the closest related Latin language to actual Latin. It is even more related to it, then Italian, although Italian comes pretty close. And as other posters said, my native language Hungarian, is one of the hardest to learn for a foreigner, simply because it has no language family, except Finnish, which is also very hard to learn. I could not have learned Hungarian, if I have not have been brought up with it.

Cool, I had no idea you were Romanian   I have heard they also make a soup with the stomach of the cow in Italy, someone told me, but I'm not so sure   Because that person says so many things that are often highly inaccurate, lol.  But seriously, that soup sounds delicious!  What kind of vegetables are used?   I might give it a try one day  

[lushlala]

That`s so cool. We this type of meal in Romania as well. But over here, we make a soup out of the cow stomach, with vegetables and sour cream. It is one of my favorite soups.

As for what is special about my language. Well, Romanian is the closest related Latin language to actual Latin. It is even more related to it, then Italian, although Italian comes pretty close. And as other posters said, my native language Hungarian, is one of the hardest to learn for a foreigner, simply because it has no language family, except Finnish, which is also very hard to learn. I could not have learned Hungarian, if I have not have been brought up with it.

Wow, I'm reading with great interest about Romanian and Italian being closely related to Latin. I love the Italian  language and think it's one of the most beautiful languages out there!

If Hungarian is closely linked to Finnish, then I'm getting a clear picture of exactly how difficult it must be. I had a Finnish boyfriend who tried to teach me Finnish once, and I was at a total loss. Quote simply put, it was a lost cause hehe. Having said that though, in my opinion, all Scandinavian languages are very complicated and I doubt I'd ever be able to learn them. It's all in the pronunciation, and that's where my first hurdle would be  

[lingualbabe]

 

Yes,  there are so many things we have inherited from the Spaniards over here as well.    Adobo is also eaten here, I had it when I was little, it comes from the spanish verb ''adobar'' that simply means ''to marinate''.  My dad used to prepare ''pollo adobado'', that was my favorite   I love eating adobo, but it's been a while since i don't eat it.  We also like menudo, but I think in Spain they call it ''callos de cadiz'', they prepare it using the meat from the stomach of the cow and chickpeas as the main ingredients, our menudo is similar, but instead of using chickpeas we use corn   It looks like this:

 

Adobo is like a staple food here. For one, it's easy to cook and the ingredients are few. Oh wow! Thanks for that trivia about adobo! Your menudo looks different from ours. We use pork meat, potatoes, carrots, green peas and green pepper in ours. But it also has tomato sauce in it. Super yummy! I might try using corn as well just like you do, just to change things up. Is Paella from Spain too? That is also one yummy dish!

[Honest_Abe]

English is my native tongue. It's quite wonderfully adaptable and works well in many different settings. I've spoken English in almost every country I've entered, and was completely amazed.

Although English is from German, it has more shared vocabulary with French. Which makes it a wonderfully universal tongue.

[lushlala]

I guess that's part of what makes English special, it's like a unifying medium of communication. So many people from all walks of life speak it to varying degrees. -and even if they don't really have a use for it, people always seem to want to learn it.

[Trellum]

Adobo is like a staple food here. For one, it's easy to cook and the ingredients are few. Oh wow! Thanks for that trivia about adobo! Your menudo looks different from ours. We use pork meat, potatoes, carrots, green peas and green pepper in ours. But it also has tomato sauce in it. Super yummy! I might try using corn as well just like you do, just to change things up. Is Paella from Spain too? That is also one yummy dish!

Yes   Paella is a Spaniard dish.  Mexican menudo is very similar to the Spaniard ''callos de cadiz'', but we have improved the recipe, because we like to garnish it with chopped onions, dry oregano, lemon juice and a nice piece of bread. The sauce is made with chili, bit garlic, bit onion, etc. But it's not so spicy.  Do you eat your menudo only on special occasions too?  Your menudo sounds delicious   By the way, the corn we use looks like this:

It's all dried out, you are supposed to cook it in a pot separately, but since I am not so patient I always buy the one that is already done  (canned or in a bag). You could also try adding chickpeas  They are delicious too! 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2015 by Trellum

[lushlala]

 

 

I've been trying to ignore this picture, but today I came from work famished! -and just looking at it is making my mouth water and my stomach growl LOL I would probably skip the cow's stomach, which I take it is tripe? That's the bit I don't like very much because of the smell, so I'd improvise and use meat instead