Am I Insane?

[GodOfRhythm]

Wow, thanks GoR!

Maybe I should just take a course at the local college or something.

So "You give hotel" would be Tu donnes hotel, pronounced "too donn sotel"? But because the s is normally silent, I pretend the word donnes ends in e, so the e isn't pronounced?

Maybe it's the romantic vs. germanic that's messing me up. English and German are both germanic, so there's wasn't that big of a leap. Maybe if I started with Spanish or Italian then French would come a bit more naturally?

Well, Spanish and Italian are also pretty much roman languages, even closer to it than French, so the leap might be even bigger.

Your example is kinda funny, since the H at the beginning of the word is usually silent too, when matched with a word in front of it that ends in a consonant So you'd use the -s as a means of connecting the two. LOL this is damn frustrating through this format, get the class man, I assure you you'"ll get something out of it!

[Newc]

Not only do you (naturally) easily understand Roman languages and their rootwords and whatnot, you also go deeper than that and start to understand the fundamentals of deciphering syntax, patterns, verbs, conjugations and whatnot, whatever language form it may be.

Agreed. Since so many common languages are based in Latin (English, French, Spanish, etc), understanding where words come from really helps decipher what someone who doesn't speak English very well is trying to say, because they'll use the correct words, but not always in the correct order.

Like those bad Chinese Ebay translations, or the Ishibashi translations from Babelfish (i.e. "the case of it is being soft" means "includes soft case", which in turn means it comes with a gig bag).

[AlexL]

I started studying Japanese for similar reasons as you; I wanted to learn to write it, primarily, and speak it, secondly.

At my peak, I could read and write Hiragana, Katakana, and about 500 Kanji. The structure behind the Kanji is fascinating. Most think that the characters are a random assortment of squiggles, but there is a logic behind it all. Once you tap into it, it's really not that difficult.

I found it extremely rewarding, and one of the best things I ever did.

I can recommend some books to you if you like. I have a shelf full of them.


- Eric

[QuantumRider]

Or just speak LOUDLY and S-L-O-W-L-Y in English until Johnny Foreigner backs down and speaks English. (They all can you know, they pretend not to just to be awkward)

A friend of mine from high school suggested a trip to Belgium later this summer. I asked him,

"Do they speak English there? Or just French, Flemmish, and German?" to which he responded,

"EVERYBODY speaks English, because we own the world! And by 'we' I mean you and me" :ROTF:

GOR, that last post was fucking brilliant. I haven't read it, but I will, and I'll pay attention, I'm actually very much into being able to speak something in the local tongue, even if it is just "Hello, please,thank-you, where is the railway station, help me, I'm English and my drinks appear to have been spiked, my passport has been stolen and I'm wearing a complete stranger's underwear, please call the British Consulate immediately, let go of me you Fascist bastard pig, we beat you in the War you know" etc etc. You know, just the essentials to get by.

I can order two beers (zwei biere, dos cervezas, etc) and ask where the toilet is in about twelve different languages

And Ben, if you have any specific questions regarding the Japanese language, post here or shoot me a PM. I've been living in Japan for the past seven years, and have become fluent thanks to my Japanese wife, and literate thanks to my job at a law firm here.

[Flatpicker]

You may want to look at Chinese instead.
They have a growing economy and it may be more useful than Japanese in the next 10 years.

As for your question?
Probably, but we are all somewhat crazy.

[Spivonious]

Here's another French question for you GoR.

Liaison. I totally understand it. But why does it happen sometimes and not others?

Especially here "comment allez-vous" vs. "comment est-il". The first one gets it and the second doesn't? Wha??