As I read, I'm drinking a lovely mug of Assam, courtesy of the East India Company!
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Originally Posted by astra
You have an impressive list of foreign languages because they are so different in nature.
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I've lived in several different countries and traveled often though many, many more. Some languages I learned because I had to, other because it was easier to get around.
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How can you learn another language if you don't know the basics of grammar of your own language?
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This was my biggest problem when learning Thai! The teacher taught the class based on subject, object, preposition, etc. I hadn't thought in those terms in 50 years!
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I have heard the same about Chinese?
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I believe Chinese uses four tones. I know some 'traveler's Chinese' but I don't worry about getting the tones right. Locals are able to figure out what we mean based on context. Unfortunately, this is NOT the case in Japanese! Every sound must be absolutely perfect or there is no understanding. There are no tones but there are accents placing emphsis on certain parts of words. If these are wrong, they look at you like you are speaking Martian!
Stitchawl.