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Hi! If anyone has a few minutes, would you look at these sentences and tell me if my scanty French has produced grammatically acceptable, non-bizarre sentences? Do you have any alternate suggestions, especially colloquial turns of phrase, not too youthfully slangy?
Thank you very much. ( sentences under the cutCollapse ) | |
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Hi everyone! So this might be a bit of a fun one. There's also a bit of storytelling so I've put everything under a cut. It's basically about my experience trying to pick up and internalise a new accent. ( Here's the story, and some questions.Collapse ) | |
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Quite a few times lately I've come across a certain use of "random" that sounds rather unusual to me. ( Read more...Collapse ) | |
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APPENDIX NHeart Stone The Author Documents: Even when a project like The Touching Lands’ Dance is done, new information comes in on no given schedule to explain what’s been happening in the stories that I write. Below is an expansion on some old research that has since matched up with new data searches and confirm some basic aspects that I’d always held true about life on the Sartine Homeworld: ( This is what happens when you ask yourself a little question, then press: InternetCollapse ) | |
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Has anyone in this community ever had an (in-person, not penpal) language exchange partner?
If so, what was your experience like and do you have any tips?
I'm currently living in Korea, and this is my third year here. Since I've been here so long, I've started to study the local language more seriously. I began just a few months ago and my level is very low. My goal is basically to be conversational.
I take a weekly free class but am starting to meet partners to help me practice.
The big problem I have is that Koreans, on average, have been studying my language for years on end obsessively, while I'm only a beginner in their language. It makes it much easier them to push English. (Related note, this past weekend I went to a "language exchange" meeting, only to find everyone, including other expats, only speaking English.) So, I feel like I have to be careful to make sure they're not the only ones benefiting from the "exchange." Anyone ever been in this situation? | |
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Hello everybody! I don't understand this passage very well (It's difficult to read! D:) 
The passage in bracket says "空を天じょうから吊るしている糸"? (like "From the deep sky a hanging thread"?) I'm not sure of this! Can you help me?? Thank you so much! | |
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Hi everybody.
There is a little problem in understanding the following passage typed bold.
Why and what was the proviso in the writer's mind, if the writer agreed with the famous surgeon?
[q]A well-known brilliant surgeon in Dublin who excelled in most out-of-the-way, venturesome operations, spoke very slightingly to me years ago of the uselessness of medicines. "They are all rubbish and should be thown overboard, with the exception of perhaps one or two pain-killing drugs. You don't believe in medicines, do you?" he turned to me, then the young tyro just fresh from the schools. I suppose he saw the faintly doubting expression on my face. "Oh, no," I quickly replied, with a proviso in my mind--it would not do to offend the great man. Certainly I did not believe in the efficacy of the medicines, as I had seen them applied in the wards of the famous hospital, where I was trained.[/q]
Thank you in advance. | |
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Super-random question, so I apologize in advance, although there is actually a reason for it. Is there a French equivalent to the "gangster/mafia" dialect that exists in English? In which ordinary words have a variety of completely off-the-wall definitions when taken in that context (ex. to clip = to kill, juice = interest on a loan, to pinch = to arrest)? If so, can someone direct me to some sort of glossary/list? If not, thank you anyway! | |
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Thanks so much for your support and help with the ESL help / phrases! It's very helpful to use. At times there are usually one or two students who clearly have a little more difficulty than others with their English, so knowing the Japanese phrases or writing it on the board in katakana really helps them! =) Then of course I get them all to repeat my English haha.
1.~ I would like to say 'DON"T stand on the table/desk' 'Sit down' but in this context should I use the actual vocabulary word for table, or desk - I guess they are interchangeable in this sense...
Also sit down, is it 'suwatte kudasai' to be polite, and would this include talking about myself, like 'May I sit here' would that be 'Suwatte kudasai' or 'Suwatte onegai shimasu'? OR I think I must use the form of 'te' verb, plus 'mo ii desu ka' - so for ME, do I say 'Watashi wa, koko ni suwatte mo ii desu ka?'
BUT to tell a student 'Don't stand' 'Sit down' would it be the same?
2.~ I want to tell students to make sentences using vocabulary words. I have shown them the word 'sentence' in the dictionary but the process of 'to make a sentence' does not seem to register. What would you recommend to convey this better? Is there a special verb to use, when talking about grammar, and like..' to make ' a sentence, same thing ' to make ' a story?
3.~ How would you ask a student ' Can YOU teach ME? ' sometimes I think it helps their confidence, especially the weaker ones in English, if they show me with their actions for example...how to play a game or do some craft.
Can I say ' Onegai shimasu, oshiete kudasai ' like please tell me or instruct me? Or ' Kore wa, do yatte shimasu? ' ( This thing, how / in what manner do you do it? '
Thanks you all =) | |
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Hi! I'm going to be teaching an introductory linguistics class this summer, and I'd like to introduce class sessions with short video clips illustrating various concepts. These should not be pedagogical, but rather cases of linguistics in action. For example, in the last season of the West Wing, there's a conversation between Leo McGarry and his very short publicity assistant about how to pronounce Matt Santos's last name: [s ɑntos] or [sæntos], complete with a discussion of the implications of saying it wrong. This can introduce both a class on vowel transcription, and also a class on sociolinguistics. There's also that great scene from Pirates of Penzance where the entire humor rests in the fact that, in British English, "orphan" and "often" (here, starting at about 1:30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiXSR3PQQPE) are homophonous which can introduce a discussion of mergers (also use vs. mention). And, of course, practically any scene from My Fair Lady is good for phonetics (and sociolinguistics). Do you have any scenes from films or TV shows (ideally three minutes or less) that made you think, "Golly, what a great example of [syntactic ambiguity/Gricean conversational implicature/imperfect synonyms/morphological productivity]?" It's good if they're on youtube, but I can also get them through my school's library, so don't hold back! Thanks! | |
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Hello again!
In my previous post (here) I asked your opinions on my accent. Thanks everyone for your answers! But because of some comments I'm a little bit confused. (
My teacher of English spoke RP. He was not a native speaker but he visited UK many, many times, so I trusted that man! (. He claimed RP to be the most 'neutral' accent of all the English accents. And he also said that RP would be the best choice for a foreigner, because it is not assosiated with any specific area\region\etc. So I do try to imitate RP when I speak English. And until now I have thought that RP does not equal a 'posh accent'.
My questions are:
if RP is considered to be 'posh' and somewhat associated with upper-classes, what accent would you call 'neutral' (which has no negative or positive connotations)?
What accent would you expect a foreigner to speak with?
Thank you!
Ah, and most of you were right about where I cme from. I'm Ukrainian, so my native languages are Ukrainian and Russian respectively.
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Hello fellow linguaphiles!
Could anyone please tell me where I could find a good cost-free source for pronunciation and listening practice for European Spanish online?
Or any site that focuses on, or at least gives an equal amount of time, to the European Spanish way of writing and speaking?
Everything I come across seems to be more focused on South American accents/dialects.
Thanks so much! - Mood:curious
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It often seems to me that "will" and "shall" can be used interchangeably, with only a tiny bit difference in tone. However, a friend sent me the following quote and asked about "will" vs. "shall" in it.
What warm, unspoken secrets will we learn? Beyond the point of no return.
I told him:
I think that "shall" implies that it will definitely happen.
"what shall we learn beyond the point of no return?"
"what will we learn beyond the point of no return?"
The best way I can explain this is that in the second one, with "will", he is holding out his hand to someone, implying "if you come with me". In the first one, the listener has taken his hand, and it implies "when you come with me."
What do the rest of you think of using "will" or "shall" in this quote? Would the meaning or flavor change? Also, if I'm totally wrong about the use of "shall" please let me know. Thanks! | |
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( note - xposted to linguaphiles )
Okay, I think if I can do this correctly and have students understand, I'll meet with better experiences as I'm teaching.
I'd so appreciate the correct way to write this - I think these kids know all hiragana, katakana and tons of kanji, but perhaps hiragana is the best for them to read quickly and understand the concept? I'm not sure if at times, kanji is better because it may indicate a clearer definition or meaning for some message that a foreigner is trying to give them.
1. I want to make a sign for students indicating ' BOOKBAGS HERE. ' or ' PERSONAL ITEMS HERE.' like this includes all bookbags, jackets, water bottles / juice bottles, snacks. Something should be added maybe, like 'Bags / etc MUST stay here '
2. NO CELL PHONES IN CLASS - TURN OFF AND USE AFTER CLASS or maybe that last part isn't necessary
3. PICK UP YOUR TRASH
4. DO NOT UNLOCK THE DOOR
5. DO NOT GO OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM WITHOUT ASKING YOUR TEACHER
Do you guys think any of this is too hard to get the msg across to the students, who range from 5 yrs - 15??
I wonder if I should post all of it on a big paper saying ' Classroom Rules ' and go over it every day. It sounds so...I forget the word, something like presumptuous or pretentious, maybe it will make the kids feel like they are being be-littled BUT they need that discipline and classroom rules aren't even up anywhere in this classroom at least the one I taught this week. Maybe and hopefully it will be more in order when I go to my different school next week.
I can't blame my Japanese teacher for any of this, she's also fairly new ( just been here for 4 months ) and it's a new term so she has to learn the new students and their mannerisms, as well. | |
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_bruce_wayne
