Originally posted by Lira
Well, I've just got started, and I haven't even moved on to the words yet, so there's always the hope I'll nail this distinction down in the near future. Still, I can't quite remember the last time I decided to learn a language, heard the sound, read the description, and still didn't quite know where to begin :p
It is not an easy language to learn at all, and most learners drop that letter altogether because they simply cannot pronounce it. Quite a few of them, however, persist and manage to reproduce it, or something tolerably close.
quote:
Originally posted by Lira
Actually, we imitate goats here using either ا or ه :D
That is wrong! :mad:
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by Intellekshual
It is not an easy language to learn at all, and most learners drop that letter altogether because they simply cannot pronounce it. Quite a few of them, however, persist and manage to reproduce it, or something tolerably close.
I'm not going to give up that easy. I mean, I learnt how to pronounce some of the basic clicks...
... and implosive consonants (the ones that you pronounce pulling the air inwards)...
... no way I'm going to let THAT "hhhhhh" thing defeat me :thepirate
quote:
Originally posted by Intellekshual
That is wrong! :mad:
It's the best we can do :p
Vector A
Mandarin sounds neat and I'd like to learn it but it also seems like it would be too ing difficult to be worth it. Same with Russian really.
r5a
holy .
reading Lira's post made me feel like a complete retard. sick.
wheres the floppy disks at to install languages into brain pl0x. matrix me up brah
Vector A
quote:
Originally posted by Lira
...some of the basic clicks...
Those actually don't seem that difficult, probably because I've made all sorts of clicking noises with my mouth as a habit for years. :p
One day I went through a ton of Wikipedia IPA sound pages and tried making all the sounds. It seemed like some of the hardest ones came from Vietnamese.
DJ Shibby
It seems like the trick is being able to speak two "letters" or sounds simultaneously.
Keeping in mind that it doesn't matter, since you would need to learn the specific region anyway. Kind of like how a Yankee can't really speak to a Southerner. :P
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by Vector A
Those actually don't seem that difficult, probably because I've made all sorts of clicking noises with my mouth as a habit for years. :p
But speaking a language with those clicks is tricky for some people. Actually, the only time in my life I met someone who could speak a language with clicks, he kept insisting no one he knew (here) could get it right. Although I suspect he was mainly bragging :p
quote:
Originally posted by Vector A
One day I went through a ton of Wikipedia IPA sound pages and tried making all the sounds. It seemed like some of the hardest ones came from Vietnamese.
I simply hate Vietnamese tones. I decided to pick up the language earlier this year, and I can't tell how frustrated I was listening to the tones trying to understand what the hell was going on.
What I found confusing as hell in Vietnamese is the letter "a", because it often (but not always) sounds exactly like it does in English - and my first reaction is to interpret it as an open "e". So if I'm just listening to the language (instead of reading and listening to it), I always need to double check because the words are short and one single vowel can change everything :p
However, except for the letters "b" and "d", which are somewhat different from what we're used to, I would've imagined the language posed no challenges for someone who speaks English. What did you find difficult?
quote:
Originally posted by r5a
holy .
reading Lira's post made me feel like a complete retard. sick.
wheres the floppy disks at to install languages into brain pl0x. matrix me up brah
Haha, it's just what I do for a living, mate. I only know the basics, by the way, and I would never be able to survive in China for more than... well... how long does it take for a person to die of starvation? :p
zyklon-jay
After a full day devoted to this language, all i can say is I now know why they are always kicking stuff.
Lira, mystery meat can be awesome sometimes if you never find out what it was.
Vector A
quote:
Originally posted by Lira
However, except for the letters "b" and "d", which are somewhat different from what we're used to, I would've imagined the language posed no challenges for someone who speaks English. What did you find difficult?
I don't remember. It was a while ago and I didn't save the pages.
Lira
quote:
Originally posted by zyklon-jay
After a full day devoted to this language, all i can say is I now know why they are always kicking stuff.
:stongue:
quote:
Originally posted by zyklon-jay
Lira, mystery meat can be awesome sometimes if you never find out what it was.
Someone I know accidentally ate monkey brain once for this exact reason :p
Being a vegetarian, I don't really have that problem. Except for this one time I went to Chinatown, and the girl couldn't tell me in English what the "vegetables" in the "vegetable soup" were. I ordered it right away :D
Vector A
quote:
Originally posted by Lira
But speaking a language with those clicks is tricky for some people. Actually, the only time in my life I met someone who could speak a language with clicks, he kept insisting no one he knew (here) could get it right. Although I suspect he was mainly bragging :p
Maybe. I'm sure there are nuances that people who grew up click-free simply can't hear.
