I've been struggling with foreign languages my whole life, and I'm running out of time...
Sep 8, 2009 at 4:04 PM Post #46 of 52
Quote:

Originally Posted by Benaiir /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I had the cajones to switch to Chinese.


cojjjjjjjjones
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I speak fluent french/english/spanish, I guess classico italiano(latin) at school for so many years helped a lot...as it's the basis of all latin languages anyway.

I can also read italian, but wth? I'm only willing to learn languages that are widely spoken(forget chinese
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), and could actually come in handy someday.

english = anyone will speak it
french = you can talk to anyone in Africa, if need be
spanish = the whole south america and what not

Japanese is fun, way closer to french that you'd think pronunciation-wise...and it's fun to catch words or full sentences in Japanese movies/anime
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but Japanese ppl are very conservative and really not open to gaijins mastering their language.

I guess the hardest part is getting the right tonical accents, like all these french ppl who speak english w/ french accents...it's not the same language at all, you have to adapt the way you throw words out
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Sep 8, 2009 at 4:59 PM Post #47 of 52
Quote:

Originally Posted by EugeneK /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Japanese is apparently one of the hardest languages to pick up as a second language.

I've tried german as well, and it's fairly straightforward, you can even guess the meanings of some words if they're close enough to the English word.
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it isn't easy, that is for sure, but like anything, as long as you work hard, you can do it. i started in my first year of uni and now am comfortably fluent for a majority of conversations. things get iffy when i must get technical about cooking, however.

if you did okay in spanish, stick with it - it is easier and if you are in the states, a great language to have. but to say that you cannot learn more is a mistake - a big mistake. don't shut your brain down or yourself down just because things get difficult.

you are smarter than that.
 
Sep 8, 2009 at 9:44 PM Post #49 of 52
Quote:

Originally Posted by iriverdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif
No one speak binary?


I know binary depending on the microchip/controller. 8051 and ARM 7 specifically. I imagine I can pick up the binary language of other chips as well if necessary =D
 
Sep 9, 2009 at 12:53 AM Post #51 of 52
I feel you on learning foreign languages. I have to take Spanish courses as well, and the first day we walked into class it was 100% Spanish with no introduction, we just dived right in. This is Spanish I as well, not until the last 30 minutes of class did the teacher say, "Ok.. so since this is the first day of class I want to go over rules for this class and speak in English."

I hate being put on the spot as well, and we do frequent activities where we have to pair up with random people, so I have a lot of awkward, embarrassing, moments.
 
Sep 9, 2009 at 6:40 AM Post #52 of 52
The ability to learn a language is a gift, I don't care what anyone says. And as you get older, it gets even harder. I lived in Thailand for 6 years. Went over with five guys. Four of us still sucked after six years. One guy was talking like a native in 6 months. It was his gift. I took German in school. And I concur, it came pretty easily to a die hard English speaker.
 

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