Quote:
Originally Posted by astra
I sincerely envy people whose first language is English, and if I were one of them I would never waste my time on learning a different language as a hobby (unless one enjoyes learning languages, as one might enjoy reading books, or playing chess etc.). There is so much new and interesting in the world that you can learn instead of 3.000 foreign words. Or as a worst case scenario spend the time to advance in your carier.
|
I am horrible at languages (even my own), but I am glad I speak two fluently and one haltingly (and one I should be able to speak, but can't
)
Some books lose something in the translation. Try to read Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide in any other language than English...
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
I don't know if the same thing has happened elsewhere, but here in the UK, the formal study of English grammar has very much "gone out of fashion" in schools, and the majority of people leave school today not equipped with the vocabulary to discuss language in any meaningful way. Use a word like "subjunctive" to most young people today and you'll get a blank look.
That, to my mind, is a great pity. I think that you miss many of the "subtleties" of great literature if you don't have a proper understanding of the grammar of your own language: eg, how many people today understand the distinction between "I will go" and "I shall go"? Authors like Dickens certainly understood it, and if the reader doesn't, he or she will lose something from the book.
These may be "old fashioned" views, but I firmly stand by them!
|
I find that's not only the problem with English education, it's the same here. The difference between "shall" and "will" is only the top of the iceberg. Try the difference between "then" and "than"... We have similar words ("als" and "dan") and people don't know when to use which... And those are words with a very distinct difference.