# Who speaks a second language?



## It's Snake Pliskin (24 September 2005)

I'm interested in knowing who speaks other languages and why.

I speak enough Japanese and can read and write basic stuff. It is one of the hardest languages to read and write but is enjoyable to use. I study it for fun and hope to use it to some professional extent in the future.

I have studied some French and Spanish but find them to be of no use in Australia. I would like to speak 3 languages and am unsure whether to learn another asian language or a european one. 

Any comments would be most helpful.

Thanks in advance.


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## dutchie (24 September 2005)

Guess which second language I speak.


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## tech/a (24 September 2005)

My wife speaks in a tounge foreign to me!
She even thinks differently to humans.
They actually have written books on the topic."Men are from----


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## Joe Blow (24 September 2005)

I can only speak English fluently, but I know how to order a beer, get a room and say please and thank you in about half a dozen languages.

Travel is my passion, particularly backpacking. I like travelling cheap and for as long as possible. I have travelled to twenty-seven countries so far and plan on seeing a lot more before I make my final exit from this Earth.  

In fact, I leave in about eight weeks to backback through Eastern Europe to Turkey. Been planning this one for a while.


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## wayneL (24 September 2005)

Joe Blow said:
			
		

> I can only speak English fluently, but I know how to order a beer, get a room and say please and thank you in about half a dozen languages.
> 
> Travel is my passion, particularly backpacking. I like travelling cheap and for as long as possible. I have travelled to twenty-seven countries so far and plan on seeing a lot more before I make my final exit from this Earth.
> 
> In fact, I leave in about eight weeks to backback through Eastern Europe to Turkey. Been planning this one for a while.




How big is your backpack Joe?

Is there room for about 70kgs


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## Joe Blow (24 September 2005)

wayneL said:
			
		

> How big is your backpack Joe?




Pretty small!    I only need a couple of pairs of jeans, some shirts, and a weeks worth of socks and underwear to get me from laundromat to laundromat.

Thanks to the fact there's no Euro in eastern Europe I figure I'll be able to get by on about $50 a day. $15 for a bed in a youth hostel, $15 for food, $10 for beer and $10 for other expenses (museums, art galleries etc). I've been to Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary before and enjoyed myself so I'm keen to catch up with Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey to finish the job. I might see what I can do about taking a quick peek in the Ukraine too.


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## GreatPig (24 September 2005)

I only speak English fluently as well, but learnt French for a number of years at school and more recently have been learning Mandarin Chinese. Also learnt a tiny bit of Japanese some years ago before I went there on holiday.

My wife speaks a few Asian languages: Vietnamese and Chao Zhou fluently, Mandarin pretty well, and Cantonese passably.

GP


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## Epsilon (24 September 2005)

No kudos for for correctly guessing what my mother tongue is.....
My nom de plume gives it away.....
Now, in addition to english I speak another language (almost) fluently, plus some Latin and few words in several Asian languages......Aaaa...and few words in Zulu(!!), having lived in South Africa for about a year.....
Joe...I would say, many of us "suffer" from the same "travelling bug".....I was recently in Vietnam and Malaysia.....First time in Vietnam ....About twentieth time to Malaysia. I loved Vietnam! Great country, very nice people......

****** Congratulations to all Sydney Swans fans......We lost...(JUST) the Grand Final......


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## DTM (24 September 2005)

Snake Pliskin said:
			
		

> I'm interested in knowing who speaks other languages and why.
> 
> I speak enough Japanese and can read and write basic stuff. It is one of the hardest languages to read and write but is enjoyable to use. I study it for fun and hope to use it to some professional extent in the future.
> 
> ...




Same as you Tina with Japanese.  My conversational language is a lot better, especially after a few beers.  Speak French, Italian and Tongan too.


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## Bronte (24 September 2005)

English,Australian,American,Canadian,South African,New Zealand!!!!
I learnt French and some Spanish at school.....
Hardly used the knowledge so far.
Need to travel more.
Nice one Joe.


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## chansw (24 September 2005)

I speak English and Cantonese. English is the main language I speak and write since I come to Perth in 1990.

Dutchie, can I ask you how difficult to learn Dutch? thanks.


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## krisbarry (24 September 2005)

French, had to study it at school.

Cannot remember much of it now...

although my French teacher just seemed intent on recording movies from SBS, bringing them into class and making us watch these erotic french films, where all the characters ended up naked and in bed together....or was that the sex education clasess, ohh I am all confused now. LOL


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## Chief Wigam (24 September 2005)

Tina, Mandarin is a good one to learn. It'll get you around Asia. Chinese live just about everywhere on earth.

I live in Singapore now and am considering taking lessons.

I can speak Serbian/Croatian.


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## dutchie (24 September 2005)

G'day Chansw

I learnt Dutch from my parents as a child so I don't know how hard it is to learn from scratch.  Probably about the same as learning French or German.

Don't need to know Dutch in the Netherlands as most people can speak English (not many other countries use it either).

Good luck if you have a go at it.


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## GreatPig (24 September 2005)

krisbarry said:
			
		

> my French teacher just seemed intent on recording movies from SBS, bringing them into class and making us watch these erotic french films



But isn't "ooh, aah, mmm" the same in every language? 

GP


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## krisbarry (24 September 2005)

GreatPig said:
			
		

> But isn't "ooh, aah, mmm" the same in every language?




LOL

To true, except the accent would make the "ooh, aah, mmm" more or less pronouced depending on which accent was being used.

As a matter of fact there are many universal languages such as....farting, burbing and laughing to name a few.


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## Happy (25 September 2005)

Applies to sounds with cut throat too


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## ob1kenobi (25 September 2005)

I can understand American and Queensland!!!!  

Can understand Pidgin English (from my time in PNG), Biblical Greek and some Latin (enough to get me in and out of trouble). 
PS. Bill Cosby has a very funny sketch on languages!


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## Epsilon (25 September 2005)

"Biblical Greek and some Latin (enough to get me in and out of trouble)."..

Biblical Greek? ....Whoa!!!!! That's really amazing.......! 
Where, if I may ask, did you manage to learn (of even master(?) Biblical (almost ancient, classical....) Greek OB?

Can you please cite something that you know in Greek?

Gia prospathise na grapseis kati, se parakalw)
Cheers!!!!!!!!!


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## ob1kenobi (25 September 2005)

I never said I had mastered it, quite the contrary, enough to get me in and out of trouble!

Example:

John in his Gospel writes " In the beginning was the word and the word was with God." (Jn1:1) The biblical Greek that John uses for word is Logos! Much has been written as to what John meant by using logos since it tends to mean a word softly spoken so that it could barely be heard on the other side of a large lake. The early Christian community used a fish symbol. The word for fish = ICHTHUS which is an acronym for: *I*esous=Jesus *CH*ristos=Christ *TH*eou=of God *U*iou=the Son *S*oter=the Savior. Thus Jesus Christ of God, the Son, The Saviour.
Thus for the early Christians this became a symbol they could use without fear of being persecuted for it.

The second part of your question. I studied Theology / Religion at Post Graduate level in Melbourne. The person who taught me New Testament Studies, Christology, Judaism was one of the collaborators for the Jerusalem Bible, the version used in most main stream Christian Churhes for their services, including the Catholic Church. It was pretty much impossible to work with this guy without having to learn the language in order to understand him at times. Trust me, I wouldn't do it for the sake of it!!!! Most theology courses will require you to either learn one of the two Biblical languages (Biblical Hebrew or Biblical Greek) or to at least be familiar with it so that you can understand it when you need to! Thankfully I don't have a big use for it these days!


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## Epsilon (25 September 2005)

Hm???......Hm.......Interesting stuff.......

OB......With my "limited" knowledge of Religions and the various Religious Derivatives....I would easily and unhesitatingly characterise you as a staunch follower of the...."Born Again Movement"........
I have studied -out of interest- at an undergraduate level (inter alia) Comparative Religions and with my very good command of the Greek Language I can ASSURE you that LOGOS DOES NOT MEAN...."using logos since it tends to mean a word softly spoken so that it could barely be heard on the other side of a large lake.",
a word "Softly Spoken"......
It simply means WORD, or even Speech!!!!
For example......You may say ...He uttered a great speech=Exefrase yperoxo LOGO (in Greek)....In this case you will be hard pressed to interpret the word "LOGOS"...As a word "barely heard"......

Now...Going a bit further...To the word IXTHYS (Fish).....Which is being Literally worshipped by certain Christian Derivatives as something tantamount to the real thing (Jesus)....
As far as I am concerned, what you, and many more think, of the poor old fish is purely hypothetical and without strong, veritable either scientific or even Christian foundation....NOWHERE in ancient scribes is the word IXTHYS  found to represent Jesus. Even later when "Christianity" became the Religion of the Powerful and the Mighty in the Byzantine (at the expense of other religions....) NOWHERE  can we see the word IXTHYS (Fish) ascribed (or inscribed)  to any writings or anything else even remotely  representing  Jesus....

As for your studies, one can only laud you))
If I can be of any help re: Modern or Biblical or Classical Greek, please feel free to email me or message me here))
Regards...Michael......=He who is like God (In Hebrew, of-course, for, Michael IS a Hebrew name).....Cheers))


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## canny (25 September 2005)

I speak conversational French and German,(and smatterings of Italian and Spanish) after school learning and have recently been going to night school to learn Greek, as we love travelling in the Greek islands so much, and love to be able to communicate (albeit a little) in the locals' own language. I see it as a sign of respect for the country you are travelling in.
I am finding it quite difficult to learn, but I think that's more to do with me not being a teenager any more!!! It's a great challenge.
Travel is my passion too.
In 1976 (Joe) I backpacked from the UK overland to Australia - travelliing through Europe, then the old classic route of Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India - then back to island hopping.
The following year, the Russians invaded Afghanistan and the world got a bit crazier. I certainly wouldn't do that trip again today. 
I'm sure you will find Turkey interesting though Joe.
We now try to go to Europe for 2 months every Aussie winter - and have learnt to travel VERY lightly - peoples eyes bulge at our small cases, as they pack more for a week or 2 than we do for a couple of months!!

Anyway, I believe languages are brilliant to learn - but you would choose one that was going to be of use to you, either for holiday destinations, or for advancement and job satisfaction. No use learning one that you will never use, or you won't remember it. Needs to be used regularly or you will get rusty too quickly.

Happy travelling all!


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## Epsilon (25 September 2005)

Canny......I will be more than happy if I can assist you with any Greek words, phrases, sentences, grammar,  syntact...Whatever!!!!
Please, don't hesitate to ask....Just send me a message. 
Cheers...Michael))


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## ob1kenobi (25 September 2005)

As I said from my original post, I was not a master of it!

As for logos, whilst not disputing your understanding it of it, the way I explained is the way it was explained to me. Elsewhere in scripture, word is used but not in the same manner as in John! I prefer, to go with what someone who was a true scholar of scripture has said.

Secondly, I find your assumption of my religious leanings to be somewhat judgemental! For what it is worth, I am not, have not ever been a born again Christian. I am a Roman Catholic and quite comfortable within that tradition. As you do not know me, nor know my history, please refrain from such comments. If your studies of comparative religion led you to that belief, then you were misled!

Finally, the fish symbol is not unique to Born Again Christians. The early Christians did use it as the Catholic Encyclopedia reports:

*Symbolism of the Fish*

Among the symbols employed by the primitive Christians, that of the fish ranks probably first in importance. While the use of the fish in pagan art as a purely decorative sign is ancient and constant, the earliest literary reference to the symbolic fish is made by Clement of Alexandria, born about 150, who recommends his readers (Paedagogus, III, xi) to have their seals engraved with a dove or a fish. Clement did not consider it necessary to give any reason for this recommendation, from which it may be safely be inferred that the meaning of both symbols was unnecessary. Indeed, from monumental sources we know that the symbolic fish was familiar to Christians long before the famous Alexandrian was born; in such Roman monuments as the Capella Greca and the Sacrament Chapels of the catacomb of St. Callistus, the fish was depicted as a symbol in the first decades of the second century. 


I answered a post about knowledge of languages and as far as I am concerned, I replied truthfully.  I never said I was a master of it, and am withouit doubt that there are others far better than I at it. I do object to the implied put down in your response.

This forum is about the Stock Market, not theological discourse. I would like it to stay that way.


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## canny (25 September 2005)

Epsilon said:
			
		

> Canny......I will be more than happy if I can assist you with any Greek words, phrases, sentences, grammar,  syntact...Whatever!!!!
> Please, don't hesitate to ask....Just send me a message.
> Cheers...Michael))



Euxapistw Epsilon. Even that's difficult, (and as close as I can get!) as I'm learning to read and write in Greek lettering and I can't convert it to an English keyboard!


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## Epsilon (25 September 2005)

ob1kenobi said:
			
		

> As I said from my original post, I was not a master of it!
> 
> As for logos, whilst not disputing your understanding it of it, the way I explained is the way it was explained to me. Elsewhere in scripture, word is used but not in the same manner as in John! I prefer, to go with what someone who was a true scholar of scripture has said.
> 
> ...




OB......Please...Accept my sincere apologies.....IN NO WAY  DID I ENDEAVOUR TO PUT YOU DOWN......
I was merely offering an explanation of the word LOGOS......It was YOU who usherred in the subject of Religion in our topic...NOT Me......

Now.....As I stated earlier NOWHERE is there a tangible  (even alligoric...) explanation bet. the poor Fish and Jesus....
As you CORRECTLY cited, the use of Fish in religion has nothing (original) to do with Jesus...It predates "Ihsous" (Jesus) by several milleniums and can be found in most ancient Eastern Religions....
Thus IT IS NOT a Christian Symbol BUT a paganistic Symbol of much earlier Religions than Christianity......
Anyway......Religion(s) is not something that I pleasantly indulge upon.....
There are other, much more excitingly apolaustic things in life (than Religion) one can spend his time writing or indulging in.......
Finally, I did not, even remotely, suggest you should replace the teachings of your esteemed learned scholars with those humble ones like mine......
Have a great Sunday night.....And an even greater week!!!!
Cheers))


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## ob1kenobi (25 September 2005)

I appreciate your apology and sentiments. I agree the fish was originally a pagan symbol, appropriated by members of the early Christian community to avoid persecution. I merely bought Religion into the discussion as my limited knowledge of Biblical Greek comes from study of Theology, thus a logical place to draw an example from. I hope I have not offended you with my response, if so, I do apologise. As I said before, lets stick to the stock market. Thanks for sharing.


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## Epsilon (25 September 2005)

canny said:
			
		

> Euxapistw Epsilon. Even that's difficult, (and as close as I can get!) as I'm learning to read and write in Greek lettering and I can't convert it to an English keyboard!




Parakalw file mou...Parakalw.
The actual Greek script is rather difficult as you correctly noted Canny.....
However, you don't have to master the perfect Greek orthographical intricacies in order to be able to speak reasonably good Greek...
In fact, even in Greece proper today, you will not find more than 40-50% of the population that are perfectly acquainted with the subtle nuances of the Greek language....Greek by any definition is indeed a very hard language to learn and master it perfectly.....
Anyway.......Anything I can do to help, I will be very pleased to do so)))
Kalh sou nyxta file mou)= Good night my friend (literall translation).....OR Have a good night my friend.....=Free translation.


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## Profitseeker (3 October 2005)

I speak French fluently.


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## sam76 (3 October 2005)

I can speak Japanese and Indonesian.

I'm also fluent in 'stralian


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## keebab (3 October 2005)

I speak two languages, english and bad english....


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## MultiFinanceIT (3 October 2005)

I am from Norway, so my mother language is Norwegian and my second language English.  I can understand some German.  

Danish, Swedish and Norwegian languages are related, so it is no problem for me to talk Norwegian with people from Denmark and Sweden. 

Here http://multifinanceit.com/norway/norway.htm is a link that explains my background in more detail.


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## It's Snake Pliskin (4 October 2005)

kbleivik said:
			
		

> I am from Norway, so my mother language is Norwegian and my second language English.  I can understand some German.
> 
> Danish, Swedish and Norwegian languages are related, so it is no problem for me to talk Norwegian with people from Denmark and Sweden.
> 
> Here http://multifinanceit.com/norway/norway.htm is a link that explains my background in more detail.




Hi Kbleivik,

You are from Norway. It must be getting cold now. 

How common is German in northern Europe or Europe for that matter?

If someone was going to learn a european language what do you think would be of benefit?

Thanks in advance.

Snake Pliskin


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## Artamon (5 October 2005)

G'day all,

Greek here...and am also fluent in baby talk, toddler talk, and about to embark on teen-talk...and that scares the crap outta me!   

Andrew.


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## It's Snake Pliskin (15 October 2005)

What about Italian? Is it difficult to learn. I would love to go to Italy for travel.


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## tmallie (16 October 2005)

I can speak the national language of Vanuatu...Bislama.  It is a type of pidgin english like from PNG and it can be understood in all of the melanisian pacific countries.  I have had to learn as I am living in Vanuatu now.

T


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## RichKid (16 October 2005)

For those who speak or are learning Japanese or Mandarin are there any sites or resources that you find useful (eg website or standard texts)? I'd like to learn either of those languages as I'm interested in the region and culture, not to mention the people. I also like language generally so it'll be a good little hobby.

Also, what do you recommend from what has worked for you- tapes or classes?

It looks like we have a fairly diverse bunch of people here, makes the debates all the more productive.


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## It's Snake Pliskin (16 October 2005)

RichKid said:
			
		

> For those who speak or are learning Japanese or Mandarin are there any sites or resources that you find useful (eg website or standard texts)? I'd like to learn either of those languages as I'm interested in the region and culture, not to mention the people. I also like language generally so it'll be a good little hobby.
> 
> Also, what do you recommend from what has worked for you- tapes or classes?
> 
> It looks like we have a fairly diverse bunch of people here, makes the debates all the more productive.




My opinion is Chinese would be easier to learn because of similarities in grammar to English. - I tried some years ago and found it to be enjoyable but gave up. Learning to read is difficult but at least your brain won't confuse itself with the grammar. Japanese on the other hand is a lot more difficult because of the extreme difference in grammar. It also has probably the hardest writing system in the world. The cultural aspect of learning Japanese is extremely important, as so much is not said in conversation and it becomes ambiguous for the English mind to interpret. Breaking the ambiguity in the language is a constant challenge for me and at times I wish I had never learned the language. 

Buy a cd and book kit from any big book store such as "Teach Yourself Beginners Chinese".

For Japanese I would go the "Japanese for Busy People" series. I have studied privately and in classes and found the classes in Japan to be the best. Classes in Australia are expensive and it takes longer.

Enjoy.


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## RichKid (16 October 2005)

Snake Pliskin said:
			
		

> My opinion is Chinese would be easier to learn because of similarities in grammar to English. - I tried some years ago and found it to be enjoyable but gave up. Learning to read is difficult but at least your brain won't confuse itself with the grammar. Japanese on the other hand is a lot more difficult because of the extreme difference in grammar. It also has probably the hardest writing system in the world. The cultural aspect of learning Japanese is extremely important, as so much is not said in conversation and it becomes ambiguous for the English mind to interpret. Breaking the ambiguity in the language is a constant challenge for me and at times I wish I had never learned the language.
> 
> Buy a cd and book kit from any big book store such as "Teach Yourself Beginners Chinese".
> 
> ...




Thanks very much Snake, I did go for a very short Japanese course a few years ago and found it quite fun but like you I can see how the characters can be very difficult- but I imagine it'll be the same for Mandarin. I'm  prepared to tussle with the Japanese culture as I can see the rationale for a lot of their customs but wouldn't it be as tough with Mandarin, especially with China being a bigger, more complex country?

Interesing what you say about it being easier to learn in Japan, perhaps it's the setting and ability to practise daily. Maybe it'll be worth my while taking an extended working holiday there to learn the basics.


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## johnno261 (16 October 2005)

Speak Thai as a second language. 
"Lah Gorn , yet maa"


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## GreatPig (16 October 2005)

RichKid said:
			
		

> Also, what do you recommend from what has worked for you- tapes or classes?



I've been learning Mandarin on and off, but haven't had a lot of time to get all that far. I have tapes (which I've sampled into MP3 files now) and a book for the spoken language, and other books and dictionaries for the written language. Last time I was in Beijing I also bought a VCD language series, but have found that rather slow - although more modern than the other material (which I got in the early '80s). I've never done classes.

Initially the most difficult thing is the tonal system, where each syllable can have four different tonal inflections that have different meanings. The grammar itself is relatively simple. The writing is difficult of course, but not quite as bad as it may seem initially. Characters are structured from smaller radicals, which makes remembering them a little easier (although still not easy). And I think it's rather difficult to remember characters unless you also learn to write them.

Be aware that there are quite different accents of Mandarin, depending on where the speaker is from. For example, natives of Shanghai sound quite different to natives of Beijing. I think it's best to learn the stronger Beijing accent, which is more sibilant and gutteral - but probably encountered less often around here.

Also, there are traditional and simplified characters (for a relatively small subset of the characters), the latter being used in the PRC but the former just about everywhere else. The simplified ones are easier to learn of course, but don't expect to be able to recognise one from the other.

Once you've got into the language a bit, a good way to get exposure in this part of the world is to watch Chinese movies on DVD, where you can select Mandarin spoken language and also Mandarin subtitles (don't use English subtitles, as it's extremely difficult to follow the spoken language while you're trying to read English at the same time, especially when the English is often nothing like the Mandarin being spoken). They make some pretty good movies too - and some very long ones. My wife, who's Asian and can speak and read Mandarin pretty well, recently watched a series (actually made in Korea but set in China) that consisted of about 60 one hour episodes. I watched bits of it, but my Mandarin's not that good yet to follow it very well. Still, just listening to the language without understanding everything that's being said is still beneficial.

Overall, if you like languages, it's a lot of fun. I just wish I had more time...

GP


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## RichKid (16 October 2005)

GreatPig said:
			
		

> Overall, if you like languages, it's a lot of fun. I just wish I had more time...
> GP




Thanks for the help GP, very useful, my problem is time too, just trying to have a good go at it at the start so I can bed down the fundamentals is difficult with so many things to do. I like the movie idea, I found after the Japanese class that I could at least pick up tiny bits here and there. I thought Mandarin and Japanese would be just as hard grammatically, glad it isn't, but then again it would probably vary by individual. It's a good thing we live in a multicultural society- getting hold of learning resources and opportunities to practise shouldn't be that hard.

A tip: I've been told that if you approach learning a language as a hobby then the relaxation that goes with it makes it easier, sometimes when you strain too much at something you don't quite get it all in. On the other hand doing a course at TAFE or Uni might be more productive since you learn as a group and you're taught be experienced teachers.


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## sam76 (13 November 2005)

Evening all,

I lived in Japan for four years and found that *THE * best book for learning  nihongo is without a doubt "Japanese made easy" by Tazuko Ajiro Monane, published through Tuttle language library.

The beauty of this book is that it spells it all out for you, gives you the correct sentence structure and most importantly is *RELEVANT * and *USABLE * in everyday situations.

I began with Japanese for busy people but found it boring and cumbersome to lug around with me.


Cheers!


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## Happy (13 November 2005)

Learning new language can set back inset of dementia, so it is worth while to wrestle the brain muscles.


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## websman (11 January 2006)

Being the Redneck that I am, I speak with a southern accent.  I picked it up from all my years of living so close to Alabama.  What do y'all think.  Is that a foreign language or just another form of the English language.


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## RichKid (11 January 2006)

websman said:
			
		

> Being the Redneck that I am, I speak with a southern accent.  I picked it up from all my years of living so close to Alabama.  What do y'all think.  Is that a foreign language or just another form of the English language.




I've heard that in the Southern drawl 'the words kinda just leeeeean ooooon toooooo eeeeeeach-otherrrrrr...'       em, that didn't come out right...


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## RichKid (11 January 2006)

websman said:
			
		

> Being the Redneck that I am, I speak with a southern accent.  I picked it up from all my years of living so close to Alabama.  What do y'all think.  Is that a foreign language or just another form of the English language.




I've heard that in the Southern drawl _'the words kinda just leeeeean-ooooon-toooooo-eeeeeeach-otherrrrrr...' _      em, that didn't come out right...


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## RichKid (11 January 2006)

sam76 said:
			
		

> Evening all,
> 
> I lived in Japan for four years and found that *THE * best book for learning  nihongo is without a doubt "Japanese made easy" by Tazuko Ajiro Monane, published through Tuttle language library.
> 
> ...



Sorry for the late reply Sam, I'll have a look at it for sure.


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## sallie (11 January 2006)

German and Turkish.

Lived in Swizterland for 12 months.


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## websman (12 January 2006)

RichKid said:
			
		

> I've heard that in the Southern drawl _'the words kinda just leeeeean-ooooon-toooooo-eeeeeeach-otherrrrrr...' _      em, that didn't come out right...




Hey dude, you should get a plane ticket and come hang out with Lye and me.  Lye makes the best 105 proof Apple Brandy I've ever tasted.  It looks like water, but it'll knock the ---- out of you in no time.

Us southerners are actually proud of our accents and wouldn't change it for anything.  Of course, I think the Aussie accent is awsome too.  You guys rock!  You fellas have every right to be proud of your language, customs and country.


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## Warren Buffet II (29 January 2006)

Spanish


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## Stan 101 (29 January 2006)

johnno261 said:
			
		

> Speak Thai as a second language.
> "Lah Gorn , yet maa"





Sabai dee rue?

Johnno, I'm looking to learn to a lot more thai as I'm looking to do more importing from there. I'm also looking for more advanced Kymer.


Any hints on where to start in australia?

Cheers,


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## dracula (30 January 2006)

1st language romanian


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## It's Snake Pliskin (30 January 2006)

Warren Buffet II said:
			
		

> Spanish




Buenas tardes senor Buffet.


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## Zird (10 September 2009)

I am married to a Brazilian, travel there every so often and love the place. But after many attempts to learn Portugeuse I am going to invest in an electronic translator for the next trip .:bonk:       NO FALA PORTUGEUSE


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## Sean K (10 September 2009)

English, Indonesian, Tetum, Spanish. 

All poorly. 

Born in Melbs, studied Indon and East Timorese in the Army, worked as a translater in East Timor, and been in Peru for 2 or so years.


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## trainspotter (10 September 2009)

"Sedikit Bahasa Indonesia" enough to get by and not get ripped off. ALL the Italian swear words (learned from being a brickies labourer for 2 Italians)


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## shag (10 September 2009)

kennas said:


> English, Indonesian, Tetum, Spanish.
> 
> All poorly.
> 
> Born in Melbs, studied Indon and East Timorese in the Army, worked as a translater in East Timor, and been in Peru for 2 or so years.




u missed math
or is it yr primary language....


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## Mr J (10 September 2009)

I did 5 languages in school, but whatever I remember is mostly locked away in the back of my brain. No better time than now to brush off the cobwebs though!



> Interesing what you say about it being easier to learn in Japan, perhaps it's the setting and ability to practise daily.




That's it. If you want to learn a language quickly, move somewhere that speaks it.


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## Sean K (10 September 2009)

Mr J said:


> I did 5 languages in school, but whatever I remember is mostly locked away in the back of my brain. No better time than now to brush off the cobwebs though!
> 
> That's it. If you want to learn a language quickly, move somewhere that speaks it.



The key is to be able to think in a different language. Not translate the idea, but to think in the idea.


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## Zird (10 September 2009)

I studied horticulture at TAFE and some Botany/science at Uni. Latin is the language for naming and describing plants and in years/centuries gone past was the language of science and was compulsory  learning for science/medicine students. 

I was thrilled that from the botanical words I could/can pick up considerable numbers of word meanings in the latin based Portugeuse.. 

I presume that Latin language is a heritage from Roman Empire days.

As an aside -* Kennas* how have you managed to do a staggering 11.000 posts in 3.5 years which is roughly an average of say *3,142 posts  per year* and an average of *8.6  posts per day.*.


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## cuttlefish (10 September 2009)

Apparently according to a book I came across recently there's "Five languages of Love"  ... no wonder its so freakin' difficult to understand women


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## Zird (10 September 2009)

Cuttlefish, maybe  it is not just  the   language/s  that is important but the chemistry - wiithout it it is just physics..


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## Mr J (10 September 2009)

kennas said:


> The key is to be able to think in a different language. Not translate the idea, but to think in the idea.




I assume you mean taking the language as your own, rather than thinking and translating? I never gave much thought to language, I've just always taken the words and applied them to my vocabulary. Example, when I think beautiful, I also think belle, bella etc. Actually, I don't think I think English there at all!



> As an aside - Kennas how have you managed to do a staggering 11.000 posts in 3.5 years which is roughly an average of say 3,142 posts per year and an average of 8.6 posts per day..




I don't know about Kennas, but I work at home and it's not time intensive. 3000 posts a year seems like a lot, but it's really not. It's no different than sending an sms from work once every hour.


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## Tink (11 September 2009)

*Buongiorno a tutti : )*

English - Italian

Understand most latin languages, and German, as spent some time in Germany/Switzerland, as have some relatives living there..

Also did French/German at school


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## Sean K (11 September 2009)

By thinking in another language I mean that when you look at a table, you shouln't see 'table' and then translate. You should just see a meja, or a mesa, or whatever it is in the other language. 

Yes, 11,000 does seem a lot, but I don't have anything else to do. 

Travelling gets in the way sometimes. Going on a tour through the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu on the weekend and next week I have to travel from Santiago to Puerto Varas in Chile. Spewin.


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## Who Dares Wins (11 September 2009)

Dobrae Utra!

Ya gavaryu pa Ruski.I speak Russian. 

Not enough to be fluent but can hold a conversation. Have been working on this for about 8 years but still have untold trouble with grammer such as gender, case and adjectives.


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## swm79 (11 September 2009)

Privet

kak pozhivaesh?

K sozhaleniyu, ya poka ne govoryu po russki

thats about the extent of my russian - was good friends with a russian guy all through primary school.... his parents didnt really speak much english

also, was with some ruski aj's my mate knew in the uk for a while - crazy guys


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## Mofra (11 September 2009)

kennas said:


> Travelling gets in the way sometimes. Going on a tour through the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu on the weekend and next week I have to travel from Santiago to Puerto Varas in Chile. Spewin.



Hola, I'll be there in October.

I am frantically trying to learn some Spanish phrases however I think I would have been better off learning from scratch so I can understand the language rules a little better.

Learnt some Italian at High School.


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## Sean K (11 September 2009)

Mofra said:


> Hola, I'll be there in October.
> 
> I am frantically trying to learn some Spanish phrases however I think I would have been better off learning from scratch so I can understand the language rules a little better.
> 
> Learnt some Italian at High School.



Getting the accent is important, but I recommend you keep learning everything you can before you come over. Not many people speak English here.


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## Mr J (11 September 2009)

kennas said:


> By thinking in another language I mean that when you look at a table, you shouln't see 'table' and then translate. You should just see a meja, or a mesa, or whatever it is in the other language.




Yes, what I said . I wouldn't take it as advice, but a part of a process. We can't just decide to "think in another language", it's something that comes naturally or through practice.


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## Whiskers (12 September 2009)

I'm learning body language. It trancends all 'verbal' languages. 










.


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## theasxgorilla (13 September 2009)

Mr J said:


> Yes, what I said . I wouldn't take it as advice, but a part of a process. We can't just decide to "think in another language", it's something that comes naturally or through practice.




True.  And when you dream in another language, then you know you've arrived.


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## IFocus (13 September 2009)

kennas said:


> Getting the accent is important, but I recommend you keep learning everything you can before you come over. Not many people speak English here.




My mistake before spending a year traveling South America, accent and not leaning enough before going.

Spanish is an amazing language, you have no idea how women work the language when they talk to you........cannot be done in English, oh man......


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