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[Kitty279]

Reading is often easier, you can look words up mid-sentence if necessary. And when you add the pronouncation vs spelling problem ... I can read and write English well, but speak it - ugh. My boss is the other way around with French - much better at speaking than writing.

[Ithiarel]

That's strange. I don't mix up the languages I speak. Occasionally, I want to use a specific idiom in one language and ten get stuck because I don't know its counterpart in the other.
Strangely, this most often happens when I want to say something in German and can only think of the English words. ^^;;;

I tend to stick to one language, because I have trouble switching back and forth. This leads to me speaking English with my German speaking friends while on a train in Germany. *lol*

Aug 23, 2012 12:48:21 GMT -5 Chameleon said:

I've just spent years on working hard to learn English. Now I'm supposed to start on German. x) Well, that was that, or Spanish or French.

Yeah, with me it was English and later French i nschool. And then I did a course on Dutch at the university.
That one was rather easy for me - because I already speak Plattdeutsch from home and Dutch isn't so different. All I needed to do for that class was learn the different words, two additional grammar rules and a handful of differing pronunciations. But most of the grammar is the same and lots of words just need to be pronounced differently. ;D

[mountaingirl777]

I'm, for now, trying to learn Spanish. I really want to learn a few languages. I know a little German, a tiny bit of French (numbers, hello, ect), I know a little Hawaiian (same as French, though I don't know the numbers), I would love to learn Irish Gaelic and Zulu ( I know one word in Zulu and that is hello. I can sing along j. Irish, but I don't know what I'm saying and that goes for Hawaiian as well.)

My dad, way before I was born ( about 20 years....long long story there) was based in Germany for a few years. My sis, who was 2 at the time, and my mom lives there for two years. When they moved back to the states and my mom got a job, my grandma took care of my sis. My sis, when she came back from Germany, could only speak German. My graa didn't know German, but only one word, Brot. My sis, now in her forties, has forgotten her German, so has my mom. My dad taught me German. I was homeschool my whole childhood and during high school I took one year of German and he taught me. He also tried to teach me Spanish one year as well.i really wanted to take German and so I had to take Spanish as the other language, that was the compromise. I really want to start learning German agak . I can speak it, read it and write it, but trying to converse is hard for me. That goes with all the the other languages; can read, write and speak but when it comes to conversation, I'm out.

I love languages and cultures. I really wish I could switch to Social and Behavioral Science for my major but it looks like I'm stuck with Arts and Humanities.

[G. Novella]

Mostly I mix things up when I'm translating or the pronunciation is similar. Especially in the indian languages because the words are so similar that it's minor differences that can screw up a conversation.

[Chameleon]

Ooh. Interesting, mountaingirl.

I love languages as well, but I've got great difficulty to speak foreign languages... and learn it. But once I learn it...
I'm better to write and read. Especially read.

Ithariel, ahh. That's nice. Really nice. But this isn't gonna be easy >.<

[Ithiarel]

Aug 23, 2012 13:14:08 GMT -5 Chameleon said:

Ithariel, ahh. That's nice. Really nice. But this isn't gonna be easy

Well, like Kitty said, at least the spelling and pronunciation rules are easier in German than in English. ;D

And always remember, there are more difficult languages to learn than German. Finnish for example. *shudder*

[mountaingirl777]

Aug 23, 2012 13:18:14 GMT -5 Ithiarel said:

Aug 23, 2012 13:14:08 GMT -5 Chameleon said:

Ithariel, ahh. That's nice. Really nice. But this isn't gonna be easy

Well, like Kitty said, at least the spelling and pronunciation rules are easier in German than in English. ;D

And always remember, there are more difficult languages to learn than German. Finnish for example. *shudder*

Or Zulu. Try clicking your tongue while talking.

[Kitty279]

Aug 23, 2012 13:07:03 GMT -5 Ithiarel said:

That's strange. I don't mix up the languages I speak. Occasionally, I want to use a specific idiom in one language and ten get stuck because I don't know its counterpart in the other.
Strangely, this most often happens when I want to say something in German and can only think of the English words. ^^;;;

*snicker* Sounds way too familiar. I keep catching myself in mid-sentence, realising that what I am trying to say was actually English or an English phrase translated - and I get stuck because that doesn't work for German.

I tend to stick to one language, because I have trouble switching back and forth. This leads to me speaking English with my German speaking friends while on a train in Germany. *lol*

Well, at least they learn English that way, too

Yeah, with me it was English and later French i nschool. And then I did a course on Dutch at the university.
That one was rather easy for me - because I already speak Plattdeutsch from home and Dutch isn't so different. All I needed to do for that class was learn the different words, two additional grammar rules and a handful of differing pronunciations. But most of the grammar is the same and lots of words just need to be pronounced differently. ;D

I can read Dutch a little when I go slowly; there are a lot of similarities. Still different enough to High German that I don't get everything, but usually I get the gist of it.

[Chameleon]

Ooh. I feel suddenly happy that I'm not gonna learn Finnish.

Yeah, I know it. Those rules are the same in Faroese, my first language. But I've always despised the language. Only like to talk, but writing... English.

[Kitty279]

Finnish sounds like gibberish to me, but I may be prejudiced, lol.

Mountaingirl, if it helps, you can always try PMing me in German now and then, just to keep in practice. And if you have a problem, or Chameleon, you know that there are some Germans here who you can ask - I am sure Ithiarel would help out, too. Personally, I will always try to help as much as I can.

[Chameleon]

Perhaps, I will. No one in my family is capable of German. Or they've forgotten it.

[Ithiarel]

Certainly. I love helping others learn German.

I'm also pretty good at explaining grammar and spelling rules, if I may say so. (I did a course in DaF once - that's "Teaching German as a foreign language")

[eskimoRock]

I can speak Japanese, kind of. I got a D in the exams, so not that well, but I understand the basics.

[Kitty279]

Then you are better than me, Ithiarel. For me, grammar and spelling come intuitive. No rules

[19811945]

English is one of the tougher languages out there - it's a mixture of French, Olde English, Saxon, Viking, Latin, Indian, and various other languages out there. So people who like to learn or have learned the language, good on you.

Kitty, you can definately keep us inline if we get into trouble.

[Kitty279]

Maybe that explains some strange pronouncations

Now that remains to be seen, lol. I'd prefer that you all behave and save us the bother

[eskimoRock]

So no setting the entire website on fire? If that was possible?

[melissar2]

Congrats Kitty.

[ShotgunWilly]

Heh, I took German classes in school too. Unfortunately it's been about 4 years since I touched my German and the class wasn't that great despite the fact that my teacher was born and raised in Germany. I can still get the gist of those phrases at least. Just don't ask me to start using it in my own posts.

EDIT: or to conjugate. I used to be really good at it but I can't remember half the cases anymore... >_>

[physicssquid]

I can't remember either.
And Shotgun, you were so lucky to have a teacher born in Germany, my German teachers weren't. One was born in Wales, and the other was born in Italy, but grew up in Wales.

[Kaiserin]

first off I took german, but do not remember much of anything. it was over 12 years ago.

high school teacher german and spent time in a concentration camp, only sent one year in that class.

College teacher (1 quarter) from east germany moved to US after wall fell.

[kumainpink]

Wow, am I behind the times! This is awesome! Congrats, Kitty!

[jaffaninja]

Congratulations Kitty! You'll do amazing

[mountaingirl777]

Aug 23, 2012 13:07:03 GMT -5 Ithiarel said:

That's strange. I don't mix up the languages I speak. Occasionally, I want to use a specific idiom in one language and ten get stuck because I don't know its counterpart in the other.
Strangely, this most often happens when I want to say something in German and can only think of the English words. ^^;;;

I tend to stick to one language, because I have trouble switching back and forth. This leads to me speaking English with my German speaking friends while on a train in Germany. *lol*

Aug 23, 2012 12:48:21 GMT -5 Chameleon said:

I've just spent years on working hard to learn English. Now I'm supposed to start on German. x) Well, that was that, or Spanish or French.

Yeah, with me it was English and later French i nschool. And then I did a course on Dutch at the university.
That one was rather easy for me - because I already speak Plattdeutsch from home and Dutch isn't so different. All I needed to do for that class was learn the different words, two additional grammar rules and a handful of differing pronunciations. But most of the grammar is the same and lots of words just need to be pronounced differently. ;D

I mix up languages. So does my dad. When he was teaching me German he accidentally said a word in Spanish. Instead of saying "Ein Moment" he said "Ein Momento". I also have problems when learning Spanish because I think in German. Also there are times that I, instead of talking, will sign without thinking. for about a year that was all I could do to communicate and I sometimes revert back to that time for some weird reason. sometimes I get tired of talking and will start signing. My poor husband doesn't know one word in sign and has to snap me out of it.

[Kitty279]

No, Eskimo, no arson allowed

Thanks, Melissar, Kuma, Jaffaninja!

What I see here reinforces my impression that you have to keep using a language at least halfway regularly to not forget too much of it.

These similar phrases are a pain in the butt, aren't they? The worst is when they have different meanings in the different languages. Another problem for me are the sayings - like 'have to pick a bone with you' - which can be completely different and sometimes don't translate literally at all.

[eskimoRock]

Well damn! You're no fun any more!

I accidentally told my Japanese teacher that I set my house alight in my speaking exam, when I was trying to explain my lunch.

[Miss Wings]

Seriously?!

[eskimoRock]

Yes. Hence the d in Japanese, I guess. I'm REALLY not very good at it

[Kitty279]

Don't worry, I don't plan to be a spoilsport. Just not allowing you to play with fire

LOL, funny mistake. But I am impressed that you learn that language in the first place! Do you have to learn the letters as well, or is that Japanese you learn transcribed into latin script?

[eskimoRock]

But fire is prettyyyy!

Yep, we had to learn the letters as well. 3 alphabets. Not fun. But because I went to a language school, we had to take one, and I would much rather do 5 years of that than 5 years of French.