(no subject)

[tj_rowe]

This made me have a little think.

How many of you, on my f-list, have or are learning a second language (or third, fourth, etc)?

I mean, I'm learning German (as you'll rememeber some of my moans at the language department of my school for phasing in GCSE Spanish instead of allowing people (read: me) to continue their German studies). But I don't think that I've ever heard mention from any of you about anything on that side of things.

Comments

[flowerful.livejournal.com]

I'm all over learning Spanish. I live in Southern California, not so far from the Mexican border, so it's required to learn Spanish over here. Not that it's a bad thing. Apparently I'm a Spanish genius. I won the "Outstanding Student Award in Spanish" at my school. X_x;

[arabwel.livejournal.com]

Well, English is my second language. I have v,. limitred Swedish, too, and have tried studying both Japanese and Spanis. I intend to take up Spanissh again if I have thwe chance, too.

[mortifyd.livejournal.com]

Russian and French. I studied both for 4 years and now I study to keep them in my brain. I also badly mangle Dutch, Flemish, Israeli Hebrew and Mandarin Chinese with text book assistance, having studied each for 2 years. I'm learning Spanish by osmosis because I live in Arizona and half the state population can't be bothered to learn English - and if I am Spanish blingual I can get a raise.

[pet-lunatic.livejournal.com]

I've recently started learning Russian. Very recently. As in I can more or less say 'Mother' 'Father' 'Water' and 'Cotton', and I'm likely to get the last two confused.

[tamerterra.livejournal.com]

It must be tricky, especially with the whole new alphabet.

[pet-lunatic.livejournal.com]

I'm finding that aspect of it a bit boggling...trying to remember which sound corresponds to which letter, and that just because it looks like a certain letter in English doesn't mean it sounds like it!

[tamerterra.livejournal.com]

Ha! I have a Russian-English dictionary around here somewhere - couldn't make head nor tail of it when I had a peek.

[icca.livejournal.com]

A language question XD

I had gotten pretty good in Spanish, from high school although I did not keep up with it. Instead I went for Japanese and am pretty darn good at it (Alas, far moreso speaking than reading), and also have studied Classical Japanese, which is about as similar to modern Japanese as Old English is to modern English. Well, perhaps a little more similar, since I could still transfer some of my knowledge of Japanese to Classical. XD And I've studied a bit of Swahili and am going to take Korean soon. XD They're all so much fun. I've got a laundry list of languages I'm going to study, too >.> But as it is, I doubt I'll get to study them to the point to speak (or sign) with any level of fluency.

Alas!

But good luck with the German! I want to study that one, too >.>

[tamerterra.livejournal.com]

Heh, depending on which Uni I get into, I'll either take full/i> advantage of LFA programs and try to get my French back on par, or use the LFA to nab a course with a year of study in Germany, or if I end up at the one with no LFA then I'll go for Latin, from scratch. XD

German is a great language to learn if you already know English - so many similar words, the grammar is fairly simple... Germanics are supposed to be the simplest kind to learn.

[icca.livejournal.com]

Well, English has come a long way from German though. We have very different syntax, for one. XD Damn us and our trying to be a romance language even though we're a Germanic.

I was under the impression that for a native English speaker, Romance and Germanics are roughly equal in difficulty to learn. Which is why I keep putting those off. Which doesn't really make any sense at all, but it's the reasoning I have for studying the more foreign ones first. XD;

Also, after having actually read the article, I 100% disagree with the fact that Japanese honorifics are the exception to the "Please don't do this" rule. Mostly because people do not have a strong understanding of what they mean and thus use the wrong ones, and also because I'm an old, jaded woman.

AND to actually respond to what you said! That's awesome! I found that continuing a language you put on hold in college is often very very frustrating (which is TOTALLY my excuse for letting my Spanish go) so good luck and stick with the French! If, of course, you're at the right university for that study. :D

[tamerterra.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the 'if' of it. If I end up in England, I'm gold, but Scotland and it's Classics or nort. XD

At least at the simple level, German is easier. Though there are French loan-words in English, and a lot of them, they're mostly nouns, and you have to remember the genders (something that takes ages, withever language you're doing)... Translation of simple sentances is simple, with 'I have Housework' turning into 'Ich habe Hausarbeit' ^_^

And that's how I got A* in all of my GCSE cousework. XD

When they're used well, the Japanese honourifics can add to character dynamics. But too often they are used badly - here I would put an example, but I shan't. And Fangirl Japanese can have a purpose - in Ouran High School Host Club there's a girl who endlessly uses Fangirl English - if I ever wrote a fic with her in it, I'd switch the two so that we could understand the majority. XD

[icca.livejournal.com]

Oooh, that's true. I'll bet on the lower levels of language learning German would be far easier than French.

And her! I don't remember her name, but she's hilarious so her fangirl Japanese wouldn't count as a "horror to avoid" XD

As I said though, I'm a jaded old woman. Even though I've been guilty of fangirl Japanese in the past (and for no reason other than my favorite fan authors were doing it. Hah!), I have become quite adamant that the only time you should switch languages in a fic is for one or two words, and only if you want to confuse the reader, or possibly confuse another character involved in the dialogue, but you are providing your reader with a translation.

*glances at Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest series* And some people that do this well still get a bit carried away.

I take it you're hoping more for an England school then? Good luck! When will you find out?

[tamerterra.livejournal.com]

Next March, lol. I haven't even applied (or gone to all of my main Open Days - two of them are the beginning of July) yet.

Renge is awesome, yes she is. Actually, all the fangirls on that show are - first the yaoi fangirls with the Twins, and then her with the-only-guy-whose-name-I-can't-remember and Haruhi... Awesome, she is. And the second stomach comment when she modelled Haruhi, Shou and the the Twins as a Love Square!

In Pre-1930 stuff, there is so much fangirl (fanboy?) French that you woudn't believe - as as everyone (well, everyone European and educated, at least) was supposed to be able to understand French back then, there are no translation footnotes. -_-;;

Switching languages for a few words can work to show character, too - especially show-offy types who show off their 133t language skilz whether or not the other person understands. (Not that I do that... Oh no. Actually, there was one time when the Chinese students where talking really loudly in Cantonese, so me and a friend struck up a conversation in German. Within seconds, they all shut up and were looking really worried that they couldn't understand us!)

Other times, though, no. If I was to have that scene in a story, the German would be in English followed by a 'X said in German' tag. Unless it was from the POV of one of the Chinese students, in which case the Chinese would be in English and the German might be gobbledegook.

[call-me-kei.livejournal.com]

Ah, languages! I love them all. Except Spanish, but that story won't fit in the comment box. Suffice to say all experiences with the Spanish language, learning it and using it, seem to have turned sour. It's not the language's fault, but there you go.

I was born in Landstuhl, Germany, where my dad was stationed for awhile. My parents learned enough some German to get by there, and they still practice it some, so that language is ingrained in my mind. In my house you might hear a short conversation, a handful of phrases maybe, exchanged in German, but I'm not fluent, and I can't bring it up on demand, and I get emberassed when people expect me to tell them what people in movies or songs are saying.

My mom learned French in high school, and likes to pass it on to me whenever she can. I hope to learn it properly one day, but my pronunciation is shameful.

I self-taught myself Hebrew awhile back, because I wanted to be able to read the bible in its original text, but with no one to check me, I sort of fell out on that. Same with Greek and especially Latin.

Most of my peer group has a few words of Japanese drilled into them due to the anime phase. I took off and studied some of the actual language for awhile, and I plan on taking it as a minor in college soon. I have also studied Hindi and Urdu, but there are far less resources for those languages around.

Other than that, I can adequately curse and swear in at least 44 different languages, but don't always catch it when the favor is returned to me, so most of my linguistic training is one sided.

Oh yeah, and I can speak/write/hear Quenya pretty well too.