[astra]

Originally Posted by beppe

The ones that French to prounounce that sound shape their mouth like the rear anatomy of the chicken

Oh my!
This one is favourite of my wife because she enjoys making fun of beautiful girls with small shaped mouths, by pointing her finger and saying: you won't like this one ha-ha-ha you won't, her mouth has a shape like the rear anatomy of the chicken (knowing well that I love full lips )

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I can't stand bergamot so when I read what you wrote I couldn't understand why I liked the Ahmed tea so much!!
So I ran into the kitchen and looked at the tin...:
I had picked up the wrong package! . Thinking I was grabbing Ahmad English #1, I actually took Ahmad's English Breakfast tea which was right beside it! I guess this turned out to be a lucky break for me because if there had been even the slightest taste of bergamot I would have thrown it all away immediately. So for the past couple of days, all my praise and raves about Ahmad's was actually for the English Breakfast tea! Who knew?

Remember that I mentioned having tried Ahmad before and not liking it... It must have been the English #1, as if it had any flavoring to it other than pure tea I wouldn't have even finished the cup!

But I'm on my second mug of Ahmads already, and loving it. No flowers... just tea!

Okiedokie. This one is sorted then.

Would you believe it? I complained to my wife yesterday. I told her that this guy who lives in Japan (she knows about you already) used to tell us he doesn't like bergamot but now he says he loves #1. She immediately picked up the source of my frustration: inconsistency. Being a logical robot and more loyal than a dog, I always notice it

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I agree that in today's world it pays to speak/read as many languages as you can. Being a native English speaker, learning French and Spanish came fairly easily. German had to be beaten into me, Hebrew too.

You know Hebrew? Wow! Impressive. It is an odd language and not an easy one for English speaking people. Easy for Russians to speak it. The same sounds. When I speak in Hebrew I have a heavy Russian accent but everyone understands me without a problem. No th English nonsense, no other English antiques such as if it is daughter you say d-a-u-g-h-t-e-r, no dote...etc., (what can you do if the written language is lagging 300 years behind the spoken one?, although the younger generation takes it easy: To be or not to be, innit?). Easy to learn grammar for any logical brain, because it is like a math. Remember 9 formulas and you are good at it
You have an impressive list of foreign languages because they are so different in nature.

Originally Posted by bjones6416

As for the language thing, I am truly embarrassed at my lack of language skills among all of you multilingual people.

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Sure, Betty, I'm multilingual! I speak Texan and US English! . I used to be able to count change back in Spanish, but I didn't use it and lost it.

Ladies, I am going to contradict all wise and smart people and say it (yes, I know, I am a lazy ass and probably have proven what Einstein says in my signature more than it is allowed for one person): If English were my first language, I would never ever waste my time on learning another language. If you have spare time, why not to learn....geography? history? astronomy!!!? Something really interesting and useful!

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

The old joke is;
What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks one language? American.

You could add Brit here

They stopped teaching English language in schools some ...20-30 years ago? 16-17 year old don't know what is verb, noun etc. How can you learn another language if you don't know the basics of grammar of your own language? (well, if you have an aptitude you probably talk like a parrot)

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

VERY different, and sometimes embarrassing!
The word for 'water buffalo' is the same sound (with a different tone) than the slang word for 'penis.' You have to be verrrrry careful when you ask someone to hold your water buffalo...
Being deaf, I can't hear them very well, but Thai uses five tones!

I have heard the same about Chinese? (don't know which one )