Amppax Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I've got a beginners knowledge of Latin, French, and Spanish; and I can often puzzle my way through Biblical Greek. I really need to work on the Latin and French though, I've got to pass exams in both soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nihil Obstat Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Speaking of linguistics specifically, one of my favourite blogs is Language Log. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not The Philosopher Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Speaking of linguistics specifically, one of my favourite blogs is Language Log. It is indeed a good blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franciscanheart Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I've dabbled in Spanish, French, and Latin. I love linguistics, but haven't devoted the proper time to really learn a new language yet. Goals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulHeart Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I've taken three college courses in French, so je parle un peu de francais. I hope to improve my French skills and maybe visit a French-speaking area, like Quebec, over the next few years. I also did some Latin back in high school. Even though I've forgotten most of my Latin, I've found my experience with it to be useful in learning French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archaeology cat Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I need to convince my husband to speak in French more at home, for the kids (he's fluent in French). I need to be more confident in answering in French, too, for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franciscanheart Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I need to convince my husband to speak in French more at home, for the kids (he's fluent in French). I need to be more confident in answering in French, too, for that.Oui. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_nine Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Took a linguistics class once. Pretty much an expert now. All kidding aside I did find it fascinating. I took Arabic in college and I've begun studying it again on my own. It's fun stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truthfinder Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I've taken three college courses in French, so je parle un peu de francais. I hope to improve my French skills and maybe visit a French-speaking area, like Quebec, over the next few years. I also did some Latin back in high school. Even though I've forgotten most of my Latin, I've found my experience with it to be useful in learning French. A word of advice if you plan on going to Quebec: most people, upon hearing that you're not a native speaker will speak in English, even if you've addressed them in French. (You'll get strange looks ranging from pity to contempt.) That being said, you'll have better luck in Quebec city particularly if you go on any program that is an immersion program. The Canadian gov't sponsors a couple of these. Further, if you want to use your French in France or in an academic environment, I'd highly caution you against going to Quebec. There is even a pronunciation difference (as well as some vocabulary) just between Montreal and Quebec city, let alone the other areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulHeart Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 A word of advice if you plan on going to Quebec: most people, upon hearing that you're not a native speaker will speak in English, even if you've addressed them in French. (You'll get strange looks ranging from pity to contempt.) That being said, you'll have better luck in Quebec city particularly if you go on any program that is an immersion program. The Canadian gov't sponsors a couple of these. Further, if you want to use your French in France or in an academic environment, I'd highly caution you against going to Quebec. There is even a pronunciation difference (as well as some vocabulary) just between Montreal and Quebec city, let alone the other areas. Thanks for the advice! I was aware that there were some pronunciation and vocabulary differences, but the other things you mentioned were new to me. Much appreciated. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kia ora Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 it's not mandatory but i can choose to learn another language. my uni has fantastic arabic, persian and chinese departments. i want to do persian, for heaps of reasons, but it's another indo-european language and i know way too many of them already. the only non indo-european language i speak is my mother tongue. but arabic has that terrible diglossia problem, where i'll be learning modern standard arabic (the language used in writing and in formal contexts) with less emphasis on the spoken dialects. but i want to speak to people... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puellapaschalis Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I need to convince my husband to speak in French more at home, for the kids (he's fluent in French). I need to be more confident in answering in French, too, for that. Yup. The benefits of being raised bilingual are so worth the initial discomfort of speaking in a different language, although it's best if you're consistent in that one parent speaks one language and the other the second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puellapaschalis Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 A word of advice if you plan on going to Quebec: most people, upon hearing that you're not a native speaker will speak in English, even if you've addressed them in French. (You'll get strange looks ranging from pity to contempt.) That being said, you'll have better luck in Quebec city particularly if you go on any program that is an immersion program. The Canadian gov't sponsors a couple of these. Further, if you want to use your French in France or in an academic environment, I'd highly caution you against going to Quebec. There is even a pronunciation difference (as well as some vocabulary) just between Montreal and Quebec city, let alone the other areas. I didn't live in Amsterdam when I was learning Dutch, but I've heard from other expats there that something similar made it really difficult for them. By the time I lived closer I'd also learnt to be as stubborn as a Dutchie, which meant that I'd reply in Dutch no matter what language some local was talking to me in ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franciscanheart Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Something I've found really interesting is babysitting for bilingual children. My babies (now 2) will exclusively use the Spanish word for certain things and English for most of everything else. They have certain books they prefer in Spanish. And good nights are never in English. Examples: chupon, huevos, besos, pepino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archaeology cat Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Something I've found really interesting is babysitting for bilingual children. My babies (now 2) will exclusively use the Spanish word for certain things and English for most of everything else. They have certain books they prefer in Spanish. And good nights are never in English. Examples: chupon, huevos, besos, pepino. Leo was like that for a bit. Like, for a while he'd only say milk in French. If he really wants something, he'll say s'il te plait instead of please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now