Amiga.org
Coffee House => Coffee House Boards => CH / General => Topic started by: Cosmos Amiga on September 15, 2011, 07:22:24 PM
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My french is so perfect...
English is far away easier than french : why my english is so crappy ??
I do a mental blocking on this langage : why ? How to remove it from my head ?
HELP !!!!
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I'm from Finnland so I undrestand your point, but I gotta remind you that finnish language isn't even Indoeuropean language, so Finnish isn't even distantly related to English, like French is. So there are people who have even bigger difficulties to learn English.
But English language IS and WILL BE "Lingua franca" of world, so it is something that everyone should learn.
There are one good online tool to anyone, google translator :) it doesn't produce good language, but it is helpfull tool to find out how to words are writen and nouns/verbs etc.
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My french is so perfect...
English is far away easier than french : why my english is so crappy ??
I do a mental blocking on this langage : why ? How to remove it from my head ?
HELP !!!!
I believe the only way to get better at speaking a foreign language is practice. Watch British and American movies in their original language, with subtitles. Buy some English-language comic books. You could get translations of French language comics such as Tintin, this way you can refer to the works in their original language. After a while, try watching English movies with English subtitles. Then move on by switching from comics to books and disabling the subtitles completely.
It's been 13 years since i studied English in school but I try to use the language in some form a little bit every day. Although that might be easier in Sweden compared to France, since we are so bombarded by English all the time - in advertising, on TV, in movies, etc.
Bon chance!
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English is far away easier than french : why my english is so crappy ??
It's because English isn't necessarily an easy language to learn. The same goes for Dutch (my first language).
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Take comfort, even a lot of native anglophones aren't actually good with English. As people have said, it's tricky to learn, and practice and a whole lot of exposure to good English is key.
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Sorry, but I have to dissent. English is rather easy to learn - but it's really hard to master. ;)
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Same situation, some time my head go mad to try to understand the daily Amiga Forum, but its the only way to Get good Tecnical info and help about Amiga Computers I´M From Spain, and here don´t still much Amiga Heart Fever :confused: (not sure if Thats what I want to say but my english jeejje any way).
mmm its a good idea to watch films with subtitles , I Think about this
Regards and Amiga Forever.
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My french is so perfect...
English is far away easier than french : why my english is so crappy ??
I do a mental blocking on this langage : why ? How to remove it from my head ?
HELP !!!!
OK, here's what you do... I'll give options for the main varieties of english out there (Aussie, American, and Ye olde Original)
First: Stop drinking wine if you do when having a cocktail etc. Drink beer instead. For Aussie and American English (Not including the Pacific Northwest), pick a crappy store brand lager and drink no less than n+6 of them. For British English or American PNW english, drink a fine stout or ale or lambic brewed at the pub you are frequenting. The glass should measure at least one imperial pint.
Second: watch lots of crappy american daytime television. or the BBC. whichever. For aussie? Maybe just watch Crocodile Dundee a bunch. Or Mad MAx.
Third: You seem like a pretty happy dude. For proper english speaking, you should be mad or at the least, irritated. Stubbing your toe helps, or staring long at a picture of smilin' George Bush.
fourth: Realize its basically a germanic language and we have a kajillion special cases for words because we talk too damn much and agree on nothing.
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bajillion, bazillion, gazillion, jillion, squillion, kabillion, googillion, umptillion, zillion....
Got a higher grade on £nglish?
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I'm from Finnland so I undrestand your point, but I gotta remind you that finnish language isn't even Indoeuropean language, so Finnish isn't even distantly related to English, like French is. So there are people who have even bigger difficulties to learn English.
Finnish is an interesting language. Very heavy use of relational synthesis. Almost the complete opposite of English in that respect.
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My french is so perfect...
English is far away easier than french : why my english is so crappy ??
I do a mental blocking on this langage : why ? How to remove it from my head ?
HELP !!!!
As a native English speaker I find Mandarin easier than French. I think a lot of it comes down to how you learn in the first place. I studied French at school and like most of us learning a language I had to read lists of words and repeat them over and over again. This is not how anyone should learn a language. The Pimsleur method, based on natural learning, (the way a child learns it's native tongue) is far better. No text required either, you don't even need to be able to read.
The trouble is once your taught the school method you are doomed unless you get exposure to native speakers continuously.
Come and live in the UK for a year, that should do it. You can also learn how to roll cheese downhill, drink warm beer and vomit on holiday whilst maintaining an inflated sense of superiority over colonials like the Aussies and Americans. Welcome to England, (a German colony).
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My french is so perfect...
English is far away easier than french : why my english is so crappy ??
I do a mental blocking on this langage : why ? How to remove it from my head ?
HELP !!!!
There is no better way to learn a language than Rosetta Stone.
http://www.rosettastone.co.uk/learn-english
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There is no better way to learn a language than Rosetta Stone.
You've not tried the Pimsleur method I see.
http://www.pimsleurmethod.com/
Far quicker start than Rosetta stone. However, Pimsleur followed by Rosetta stone, now that works even better.
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You've not tried the Pimsleur method I see.
http://www.pimsleurmethod.com/
Far quicker start than Rosetta stone. However, Pimsleur followed by Rosetta stone, now that works even better.
I found Pimsleur to be rubbish for both Arabic and Farsi.
Rosetta Stone + Conversing in chosen language 24/7 is the best method.
edit: Being married to a fluent speaker of both makes it a damn site easier though.
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I found Pimsleur to be rubbish for both Arabic and Farsi.
Rosetta Stone + Conversing in chosen language 24/7 is the best method.
edit: Being married to a fluent speaker of both makes it a damn site easier though.
Works well for Mandarin and quite frankly that's the only language I'm interested in learning, horses for courses I guess.
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The only way to get better at a language is practice it. Practice it and use it whenever you can.
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And sing God Save the Queen
6. Lord grant that Marshal Wade
May by thy mighty aid
Victory bring
May he sedition hush
And like a torrent rush
Rebellious Scots to crush
God save the King (or Queen but not really been sung since we had a king for obvious reasons)
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I'm not sure why you are having problems.
We have very simple rules. Such as:
i before e
except after c
OR in sounding an A as in neighbor and weigh...
...
OR their..
:-)
And that's just a spelling rule. Imagine the "exceptions" we have for grammar.. ;-)
It's a wonder anyone speaks English.. ;-)
desiv
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bajillion, bazillion, gazillion, jillion, squillion, kabillion, googillion, umptillion, zillion....
Got a higher grade on £nglish?
ooh, a squillion! that's a great word for an indeterminately large sum!
Mind if I borrow?
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@persia
Just because Franko is banned doesn't mean there are no Scots left. I'll be as rebelious as I like thank you very much. :P I find it intriguing that of that dirge you pick the only verse that has been deleted.
As for the topic. I was always lead to believe that English was easy to learn. So far as I can tell about 1/3 of it is French anyway.
I haven't studied any French for over 20 years, but oddly I am better now than I was then. I put this down to spending some time in a French speaking country and having an appreciation of French film.
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Thanks all for the reply :
>Watch British and American movies in their original language
Yes, good idea, but most of the time actors talk very (VERY) fast...
>Rosetta Stone & Pimsleur method
Maybe interesting, I'll see...
>Come and live in the UK for a year, that should do it
Yes, of course, the best way !
But I'm talking about a mental blocking first.
Explanations : Sometimes (very rare), this blocking left my head (I feel it), and so I have a better english understanding, but the blocking come back after a few moment (I feel too)...
So my first goal is to remove this blocking, I'll progress in english after I think...
Any ideas ??
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Learn Latin and you are on your way ;)
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Thanks all for the reply :
>Watch British and American movies in their original language
Yes, good idea, but most of the time actors talk very (VERY) fast...
Answer is subtitles. http://www.opensubtitles.org/en DON'T use Frensh subtitles use English subtitles. This is how it doesn't matter that actors talk fast. AND forget British movies first, American english is like simplified English ;) easier to understand ;)
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Answer is subtitles. http://www.opensubtitles.org/en DON'T use Frensh subtitles use English subtitles. This is how it doesn't matter that actors talk fast. AND forget British movies first, American english is like simplified English ;) easier to understand ;)
There might be a reason why "American English" is simplified... :D
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Thanks all for the reply :
>Watch British and American movies in their original language
Yes, good idea, but most of the time actors talk very (VERY) fast...
But I'm talking about a mental blocking first.
Explanations : Sometimes (very rare), this blocking left my head (I feel it), and so I have a better english understanding, but the blocking come back after a few moment (I feel too)...
So my first goal is to remove this blocking, I'll progress in english after I think...
Any ideas ??
To a non-native speaker, native speakers always do seem to speak very fast. To me, this is especially obvious with Spanish. But that's where the subtitles come in. First, use French subtitles just to get a feel for it, then switch to English subtitles. Start with big-budget Hollywood movies. People tend to speak quite clearly in these movies. Also, I recommend the TV series Mad Men. It's very dialouge- and character-driven, but not as fast-paced as for example The West Wing.
I'm a big lover of British English but the many accents can be hard to get your head around at first. Start with something that's intended for an international audience, such as Harry Potter (yes, really).
Now, I'm in no way a psychiatrist but as for the mental blocking: To me it sounds like you're just having a slight psychosomatic manifestation of your frustration in not being as fluent as you want to be. To get rid of this blocking feeling, I still believe practice is the key.
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Yes, good idea, but most of the time actors talk very (VERY) fast...
But I'm talking about a mental blocking first.
Explanations : Sometimes (very rare), this blocking left my head (I feel it), and so I have a better english understanding, but the blocking come back after a few moment (I feel too)...
So my first goal is to remove this blocking, I'll progress in english after I think...
You might want to start with cartoons instead of movies. The language tends to be a bit simpler because of the kids. Great opportunity for language learners :)
And as a foreign language professor I can tell you about your blockage. It's there because you are trying to translate your thoughts in your head right before you speak. It is usual for beginners. The trick is to soak up as many phrases as you can. Then you'll just be pulling entire sentences out of your brain instead of trying to translate word by word :) Think compiler VS interpreter :D
English is the easiest language in the world. It does not have noun cases (only saxon genitive). And it does not have noun gender changes. Only that bunch of past/perfect tenses can be somewhat tricky to comprehend. And it is all around us. You hear it all the time. I reached a pretty good level myself as a kid, playing with my ZX Spectrum :) Haven't learned much in schools though...
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God Save the Queen was our anthem until 1984, when the dirge (Advance Australia Fair) won out in a national competition. I like the bit about the Scots, although I would have written more about pinching pennies...
Some dropped verses frm Advance Australia Fair include:
Should foreign foe e'er sight our coast,
Or dare a foot to land,
We'll rouse to arms like sires of yore,
To guard our native strand;
Britannia then shall surely know,
Though oceans roll between,
Her sons in fair Australia's land
Still keep their courage green.
In joyful strains then let us sing
Advance Australia fair.
and
When gallant Cook from Albion sailed,
To trace wide oceans o'er,
True British courage bore him on,
Til he landed on our shore.
Then here he raised Old England's flag,
The standard of the brave;
"With all her faults we love her still"
"Britannia rules the wave."
In joyful strains then let us sing
Advance Australia fair.
We really sort of sucked up to the Empire for a while....
@persia
Just because Franko is banned doesn't mean there are no Scots left. I'll be as rebelious as I like thank you very much. :P I find it intriguing that of that dirge you pick the only verse that has been deleted.
As for the topic. I was always lead to believe that English was easy to learn. So far as I can tell about 1/3 of it is French anyway.
I haven't studied any French for over 20 years, but oddly I am better now than I was then. I put this down to spending some time in a French speaking country and having an appreciation of French film.
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You might want to start with cartoons instead of movies. The language tends to be a bit simpler because of the kids. Great opportunity for language learners :)
And as a foreign language professor I can tell you about your blockage. It's there because you are trying to translate your thoughts in your head right before you speak. It is usual for beginners. The trick is to soak up as many phrases as you can. Then you'll just be pulling entire sentences out of your brain instead of trying to translate word by word :) Think compiler VS interpreter :D
English is the easiest language in the world. It does not have noun cases (only saxon genitive). And it does not have noun gender changes. Only that bunch of past/perfect tenses can be somewhat tricky to comprehend. And it is all around us. You hear it all the time. I reached a pretty good level myself as a kid, playing with my ZX Spectrum :) Haven't learned much in schools though...
Farsi is even easier than English, none of that gender nonsense at all.
Arabic on the other hand is the hardest language I've ever come across.
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@Cosmos
You might want to register on this site, I reckon it could be a great resource for learning a language when it launches:
http://duolingo.com/
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I teach you am a expert ;-(
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Hi,
I have no problem speaking the English language, all you have to do is be born in the United States and know how to put up with crooked politicians. Second I am from the south where we speak the good English language, and ya all should know that. Now that I am up here in Pennsyltucky, I see that they all speak funny, but I thought it was really funny when JoPa lost for the kazillionth time to Alabama, for all you people in the world, JoPa is the coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, an American football team (we all don't like that sissy game called soccer which is your all football), that loses to southern football teams just about every time they play them, all except for FSU (Florida State University) which we all know Florida consists mostly of them wimpy New Yorkers, Penn State thats JoPa's team, can beat them every now and then.
I really can't wait until I retire and go back to the South, it is way better thatn the North, these darn yankees are just to much to be with.
smerf
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I sometimes get a little depressed that Englih is the de facto lingua Franca (an ironic term), but by a long way I'm happy about this fact as it is my native language :)
In a related note, I loved learning German, and while I find it hard to hear and speak, I find it quite easy to read... It's funny how you use different parts of your brain for different tasks (speaking, reading, writing and listening) and you are always going to be stronger in one area than another :)
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Finnish is an interesting language. Very heavy use of relational synthesis. Almost the complete opposite of English in that respect.
Finnish grammar is a bitch. I had some real trouble with that in school to be honest, especially with noun cases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_noun_cases).
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imagine, i was going to learn finnish as a kid, but that grammar defdeated me at early stage.
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Finnish grammar is a bitch. I had some real trouble with that in school to be honest, especially with noun cases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_noun_cases).
Huh - thought Latin cases were a pain but that does look like a heap of fun! ;)
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Cases or prepositions - who cares...
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Hi,
I have no problem speaking the English language, all you have to do is be born in the United States and know how to put up with crooked politicians. Second I am from the south where we speak the good English language, and ya all should know that. Now that I am up here in Pennsyltucky, I see that they all speak funny, but I thought it was really funny when JoPa lost for the kazillionth time to Alabama, for all you people in the world, JoPa is the coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, an American football team (we all don't like that sissy game called soccer which is your all football), that loses to southern football teams just about every time they play them, all except for FSU (Florida State University) which we all know Florida consists mostly of them wimpy New Yorkers, Penn State thats JoPa's team, can beat them every now and then.
I really can't wait until I retire and go back to the South, it is way better thatn the North, these darn yankees are just to much to be with.
smerf
Do the computer keyboards in the south have an ENTER key? :)
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My french is so perfect...
English is far away easier than french : why my english is so crappy ??
I do a mental blocking on this langage : why ? How to remove it from my head ?
HELP !!!!
Because you dont use english daily, i dont use english daily and my english sucks, im finnish but use spanish (european spanish) daily and i speak it correctly (i think).
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Five years of French at school, and I don't speak a word of it. Well, maybe enough to say hello and ask for a coffee but that's it.
On the other hand, 8 months in Brazil and my Portuguese is fluent - many people I speak with don't even realise I'm not a native speaker until I tell them. You really have to immerse yourself in a language to learn it well. Nobody I met in Brazil had any English so I was forced to learn. What amazed me after learning Portuguese was when I was watching the news one day and there was an Angolan talking about the civil war and I understood every word without reading the subtitles :) It's very rewarding.
Also, what's nice about learning one of the Romance languages is the ease of learning another once you understand one. I quickly picked up some Italian when I was there on holiday and understand Spanish thanks to their similarities with Portuguese.
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Do the computer keyboards in the south have an ENTER key? :)
Hi,
Are you talking about the Return key?
smerf
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Cases or prepositions - who cares...
Prepositions are easier to remember :)
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Prepositions are easier to remember :)
An, auf, hinter, in, neben, ueber, unter, vor, zwischen
AKKUSATIV ODER DATIV - yeah, learnt 45 years ago...
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My french is so perfect...
English is far away easier than french : why my english is so crappy ??
I do a mental blocking on this langage : why ? How to remove it from my head ?
HELP !!!!
Maybe try remembering chunks and blocks of language.
For example - 'BE' or 'IS' by itself is a lonely solitary word devoid of functionality without participating words to support it in a context.
'The Amiga is Cool'
'Is it (the Amiga) cool'?
'Yes it is'.
'Why is it cool'?
Well, because it is .....bla, bla, ***$ing! great! (the use of expletives are replaced here by symbols)
Anyway, the word 'IS' has been placed in a contextual environment.
Try not to use a translator. - this helps for learning new words quick but the grammar, phrases, and idioms are often messed up!
My friend learnt 'English' from the cartoon network, films, etc although now he speaks
and in variational slang - Yo! Wassup dude! and that kinda thing..
or find a good English teacher! :)
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No place north of the Equator can be called "the South." I'm 28 degrees, 47 minutes South latitude, beat that serf...
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English is like the x86 of the human language world. We should all speak Hebrew, it's like MIPS!
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English is like the x86 of the human language world. We should all speak Hebrew, it's like MIPS!
Crazy backwards language :D
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There is no better way to learn a language than Rosetta Stone.
http://www.rosettastone.co.uk/learn-english
I agree 100%
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I agree 100%
I don't, I prefer pimsleur. As covered earlier in this thread however, horses for courses.
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Crazy backwards language :D
It is true, english is very much backwards.
Most languages, including welsh you would say "car blue"
in english you say "blue car"
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Crazy backwards language :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZdFT4LZuH0
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English is like the x86 of the human language world. We should all speak Hebrew, it's like MIPS!
Modern Hebrew it's very much as bastardised as English is when it comes to borrowing from other languages.
Semitic languages are all very difficult to learn, even to native speakers.
The only language I've had to use that I find harder than Arabic and Hebrew is Bosanski.
Now that is a weird language!
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Yeah I'm thinking more of Old Testament Hebrew, vocabulary of only 6,000 words, now that's my kind of language. I get on well with Semitic grammar though, personally, it makes more sense to me. And stative verbs rock!
Actually my favourite language is Sumerian. Ergativity is the best! And its genders are not "masculine" and "feminine" but "personal" and "impersonal".