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Anyone here learning or have learned a new language?
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bodice ripper wrote: »I can follow other people's conversations in Dutch for the most part. Entirely accidentally I might add. The small bit of German I remember from school helped. And Shakespeare, weirdly.
There is no point learning to speak it back, they will just mock your accent and reply in English. Smug gits.
I thought this is hilarious !
but seriously does this actually happen? Surely speaking dutch would be ideal? Thanks ! 0 -
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I thought this is hilarious ! but seriously does this actually happen? Surely speaking dutch would be ideal? Thanks !
Well, it's been my experience. Sometimes they don't mock you, but they will immediately reply in English. They are very proud of their ability to speak English, and confident that it is better than your Dutch. They are right. They seem happy to tell you stuff about Dutch and how you should learn it, but too impatient to be the one you speak it with. I don't blame them.
I find the standard of English is excellent here, but very narrow in terms of vocabulary. I suspect that they speak English as they would Dutch, and that Dutch isn't heavy with descriptive phrases. They also seem to believe they speak English without a noticible Dutch accent. They are wrong.
Having said that, you do occasionally meet the odd person who you genuinely cannot telll aren't English/American until they launch into really fluent Dutch. Sometimes the accent is very pronounced, which is bizarre.0 -
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Pretty awesome there's a few Japanese speakers on heremoc moc a moc wrote: »Sounds like you're trying to say "that's true" - a more natural phrase to use here would be 「確かに」.
I'm afraid that the kanji for that one was beyond me, I had to look it up
moc moc a moc wrote: »Here's a tip: Japanese people will always tell you you're 上手, even if you're not (it's just their culture). It's when they stop commenting on your ability that you know you're really getting good! (they assume you've lived in the country for several years). I had people assuming I was half Japanese while living in Japan (100% Irish).
Surprise your friend next time by responding 「いいえ、まだまだ」.
Well, I imagine it's the same with learning anything, people often say you're good at something as a way of encouragement, eg "that's good, keep it up!"
And shall do!
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My gf is Dutch, I'm still over here and she's over there unfortunately.
But I'm trying to pick up as much as I can and wow it's not easy. A language that is just a minefield of grammar irregularities.
And we think we're great with the variety of accents in such a small country. But the differences in accent and dialects between villages down the road in NL is just.. off putting. :P
Fair play and stick with it! My Dutch isn't perfect but I'm quite proud of it since I don't think I'm naturally inclined towards languages. Rule No. 1: Not even the Dutch are quite sure how the grammar works Rule No. 2: Don't pay too much attention to their blab about dialects. It usually equates to nothing more than an accent and a couple of colloquialisms, eg Toffe in Limburg and Leuk in Brabant.bodice ripper wrote: »Well, it's been my experience. Sometimes they don't mock you, but they will immediately reply in English. They are very proud of their ability to speak English, and confident that it is better than your Dutch. They are right. They seem happy to tell you stuff about Dutch and how you should learn it, but too impatient to be the one you speak it with. I don't blame them.
I find the standard of English is excellent here, but very narrow in terms of vocabulary. I suspect that they speak English as they would Dutch, and that Dutch isn't heavy with descriptive phrases. They also seem to believe they speak English without a noticible Dutch accent. They are wrong.
Having said that, you do occasionally meet the odd person who you genuinely cannot telll aren't English/American until they launch into really fluent Dutch. Sometimes the accent is very pronounced, which is bizarre.
I realised after a few years here that it's not arrogance, it's confidence- something that is short on the ground in Ireland and very difficult to adjust to when a whole country displays it. 90% of people, while they come across as impatient, genuinely believe that they're doing you a favour, or else they want an excuse to practice their English.
If this happens me, I usually say: Ik wil te Nederlands praten or Het is nodig voor mee te probeer in Nederlands, omdat ik hier woon voor de laatste 7 jaar! If I don't quite catch what someone has said I say: Alstublieft, lang zamer praten? See? Not perfect, but understandable and they respect the facts that you are both committed to the language/ integration and that you are asserting yourself.
As regards vocab, I think words and phrases seem to fall out of fashion a lot more here than in other languages, which is very odd. But then again, so are the Dutch 0 -
I agree with you there. Ik sprak Nederlands elke dag 30 jaar geleden en nouw kan ik vele mensen niet begrijpen. Er zijn ook vele Engelse woorden geaddopteerd.denhaagenite wrote: »
As regards vocab, I think words and phrases seem to fall out of fashion a lot more here than in other languages, which is very odd. But then again, so are the Dutch
I was multi lingual from the age of 2 and speak 4 languages like a native. As a result I don't have a very defined English accent and people get a hint of foreignness.
On the Japanese front, I'm hoping to go to Japan in the next couple of years.
I'd like to travel the length of the country and visit the different regions and landscapes.
I love gardening and there's a lot of crochet lace making too.
Some people think I'm totally mad, planning a trip on my own, but that's how I like to travel. I'm more nervous about food. I didn't realise how wheat based the Japanese diet is and I'm gluten wheat and pea/bean intolerant so soya is out too. Sushi every Day?0 -
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Ich versuche auch Deutsche zu lernen, aber ich find es ein sehr langweilig und kompliziert Sprache, geduld ist sehr wichtige. ( No google translate, honest )
Viel Gluck dabei
Doch, langweilig ist es ueberhaupt nicht.Learning German for the last 15 months or so (after doing it for 5 years in school and not really learning anything). I don't get many opportunities to speak it (any volunteers?) which is an issue but I love the language and enjoy learning it. Going over to Berlin for a few weeks during the summer which should hopefully help.
Feckin EVERYONE speaks English. Biggest thing I noticed the last time I visited, in contrast with the other former GDR city I live in. It took a good half an hour before I actually heard German in the street.This has turned out to be a really, really interesting thread
Another question, how do you guys find different dialects in the language you are learning?
Especially those of you with a bit of Japanese! 'Cos we all know people from Osaka are all like なんでやねん all the time :pac: But seriously, I do find the Osaka dialect and accent really fascinating
Oh now the German dialects and accents are just wonderful. Extremely varied, all hilarious to listen to.
As well as German I speak French, and ****e Spanish, hoping to give it a kick in the hole soon though. Started learning a bit of Polish as well for the craic.0 -
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denhaagenite wrote: »As regards vocab, I think words and phrases seem to fall out of fashion a lot more here than in other languages, which is very odd. But then again, so are the Dutch
Being one of those oddballs, i.e Dutch, I've had English lessons in school for years and manage perfectly fine with my knowledge of the language (eventhough I'm fully aware that its not perfect). But I'm still working on learning English, understanding Irish-English that is. Besides struggling with the Irish accent sometimes, it's use of figurative speech in daily life situations that give me problems with understanding people. For example in a shop or a taxi I'll keep my mouth shut and let my BF (who is Irish) do all the talking because I simply don't have a clue what they're talking about when it's not 'textbook English'.
Something not so much language related but perhaps more an Ireland thing is the way you greet eachother. I'm still amazed about how everybody asks how you are doing, but isn't expecting an answer to the question. Why not simply say 'Hello' or 'Good morning' instead?0 -
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Something not so much language related but perhaps more an Ireland thing is the way you greet eachother. I'm still amazed about how everybody asks how you are doing, but isn't expecting an answer to the question. Why not simply say 'Hello' or 'Good morning' instead?
Ya, we had some Dutch friends in Ireland for our wedding and they all thought it was hilarious when people working in shops/ restaurants asked "Are you alright?" instead of "How can I help you?". To be honest, being in a country where everything is so practical I prefer blunt to disingenuous now
Oh forgot to add, the Dutch like to test your pronunciation by checking how you say "Scheveningse Haven"- ala Soldaat van Oranje 0 -
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I've currently got B2 French and Spanish, and around A2 German (can't wait to get that higher, I love the language). In summer I plan to start something new while keeping those up - torn between Italian, Portuguese, Dutch and Norwegian (though there aren't a lot of resources for the Scandanavian ones
). I'm addicted.
I'm Irish and to be honest that gets me too. If someone asks how I'm doing and I ignore them I feel rude, so I end up answering, which people seem taken aback by. Can't win! :pac:
Something not so much language related but perhaps more an Ireland thing is the way you greet eachother. I'm still amazed about how everybody asks how you are doing, but isn't expecting an answer to the question. Why not simply say 'Hello' or 'Good morning' instead?0 -
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