Bad news for me
Ines Though a native English speaker I've always understood that it was a very difficult language to learn, being a mixture of so many others*. Surely the only reasons it's become the world's lingua franca are that (rather embarrassingly) we once owned most of the countries in it, and then we passed the language on to the Americans who have rolled their culture over everyone else's.
*Quote from Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld books: 'English doesn't borrow from other languages. English follows other languages down dark alleys, knocks them over and goes through their pockets for loose grammar.'
*We even have one Maldivian word: Atoll.
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Tonyand03 We even have one Maldivian word: Atoll.
Well, I think it is not completely accurate, French, Spanish, Turkish or Russian had huge empires, but English is much more better than others to become Lingua Franca.
Spanish has words of a lot of different languages too.
Tonyand03 rather embarrassingly
We can not judge old times with current eyes.
Ines 'Well, I think it is not completely accurate'. Fair enough, I just didn't want the facts to get in the way of a good story.
'We can not judge old times with current eyes.' It's surprising how many English people still think we're the natural rulers of the world. That's definitely embarrassing.
Tonyand03
Please do not take offense, it was not my intention.
I was trying to say that further colonialism reasons, the English language is a great tool.
Tonyand03 It's surprising how many English people still think we're the natural rulers of the world.
I think that people exist everywhere... and yes, it is embarrassing.
This is Foxies partner.
The worst thing about English is that when you are raised here, there is little incentive to learn another language. Sad to say that neither Foxies nor I are able to converse in any other language. Almost everyone on this forum puts us to shame.
Ines Take offence? Good Lord no. I was just embarrassed about being caught making a slightly dodgy point for effect.
Is 'atoll' (a ring shaped island made of coral) also a Spanish word?
Foxies School tried to hammer French into me for about 10 years. I've worked for 2 French companies (Renault Trucks and a small computer games company). And I still can't speak French!
You might know the advice given to English travellers in a previous age: 'If you speak slowly and loudly enough they will understand.'
Ines if you speak slowly you will not have problems.
It helps of course, but I think the original intention of the quote was to lampoon English people abroad. We expected everyone else to speak our language and shouted slowly at them when they didn't understand.
However, I think 'British Imperial Attitudes to Foreign Language Speakers' is getting a bit off topic for a chastity belt forum so I'll leave it there.
Tonyand03 School tried to hammer French into me for about 10 years. I've worked for 2 French companies (Renault Trucks and a small computer games company). And I still can't speak French!
somehow i know this from myself, especially when it comes to speaking. at school we learned almost only english writing but almost no english speaking. however, my english skills only got a little better when i met my girlfriend
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Angelina english was always my worst subject at school.
Has it improved since using it often,on the net?
In my case,when I started to read and write in english on the net,it has improved.Much more useful than learning it more classically.
Ines English is a great tool.
I agree.Very useful on the net.
Ines Spanish has words of a lot of different languages too.
French too,many english ones.And even more nowadays.
Ines English is mandatory subject in Spain
In France,almost.It is very rare to be allowed to learn another first additional language than English,as far as I know.More choice for the second additional language(even if,unlike some states of the USA,I don't think we can choose "Klingon"!
).
Tonyand03 a bit off topic for a chastity belt forum
Not a big problem.
We've talked about a lot of not-related subjects like Star Trek,The Witcher,Fallout(4 and 76),etc...
And there is even some threads about politics,pandemic,etc...
Vanessa Has it improved since using it often,on the net?
In my case,when I started to read and write in english on the net,it has improved.Much more useful than learning it more classically.
a little bit yes and i agree with you, since i write here it is easier for me and also my school grade has improved a bit
I am absolutely stupid when it comes to any language except English
Ines "Atoll" is "atol贸n" in Spanish
And it is Atollo in Italian. At贸llo.
English is easy even for those who do not want to learn it in the standard way due to so many songs. For me it was really difficult to learn it until I was 15. Then I discovered Queen and videogames. If I wanted to go further in the progression of those games, I had to learn what all the character wanted me to do and I used vocabulary to surf through that stream of requests.
In tests I always did bad until songs helped me in remembering the right way to express.
"Mhh... There is a double blank space but it is like that song so it requires a past tense here, a present there..." and bam. Before knowing it, I was here expressing myself.
Plus, about other languages, actually there was a time when all those majestic empires were the spoken language. Before English, French was the culture language throughout Europe. So much that in Russia only low classes actually spoke in russian. The czar and all nobles and academics spoke in French. War and Peace is Russian only cause it was a Russian who wrote it, but it was a book written in french originally.
You haven't learnt a second language?
LoonyMel Then I discovered Queen and videogames.
Right,songs and video games can help to learn it.
LoonyMel So much that in Russia only low classes actually spoke in russian. The czar and all nobles and academics spoke in French. War and Peace is Russian only cause it was a Russian who wrote it, but it was a book written in french originally.
I didn't know it about Russia and french,it is interesting!
Vanessa I didn't know it about Russia and french,it is interesting
It was around XVIII century that French became their main language, usually because of the flourishing literature, art and science. But during napoleon wars it started to be a patriotic issue and they went back to Russian. With some heritages like cavaler from chevalier or sharm from charme.
Similar things happened through history. For centuries Roman did not spoke Latin. Or, better, population spoke Latin, nobles in their houses maybe too, but between them they used almost only Greek.
This is because the first language which was normed was French tanks to someone who everyone knows: D'Artagnan enemy Cardinal Richelieu. He created French academy and started the process which finalized French as a language when Italian was already in its middle stage, like Spanish and English.