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Post by Sensei on Dec 15, 2005 16:22:37 GMT -5
Don't give up Cathmoi! I'm not sure how easy it is to find resources to learn Thai in Norway... but if those resources do exist--classes, friends that speak the language, family that are willing to help you--then take advantage of it!
It's never too late. I only started learning Chinese last year, yet have learnt a lot already with the help of friends, the internet, songs, movies, etc. I found pronunciation hard at first, like you--but keep at it! It will get easier. promise.
If something's really important to you... then you can't afford to led it slide away and go on with your life. and learning the language of one half your heritage is damn important! gl ;D
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Post by erika on Dec 15, 2005 16:40:23 GMT -5
Well my first language was Japanese, because I lived in Japan, and when I came back to NZ at 9, I picked up English. My brother pretty much lost the Japanese language, (he was four when we came back to NZ) Now I'm starting to forget Japanese, because I rarely hear it being spoken.
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thea
Full Member
Posts: 334
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Post by thea on Dec 15, 2005 16:58:15 GMT -5
My parents primarily spoke English to us kids, and to each other. My mom and dad would also communicate to each other in Waray (my dad's Visayan dialect). My mom spoke Ilocano, her own dialect with her relatives and province mates. Waray with my dad's family and province mates. Tagalog only when she met Filipinos from Tagalog provinces. I can understand phrases and the gist of conversations in the various dialects, but I'm not fluent. My mom communicates constantly to my son in tagalog and or Ilocano. My son can respond back as well. My husband, isn't that great with languages. He was required to take Irish in school, as well as a french elective in Ireland, but he doesn't remember anything but for a few phrases and words. So it looks like our son won't learn any Irish from dad.
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Post by cathmoi on Dec 15, 2005 18:46:37 GMT -5
yeh, but my mum had to force my dad to teach me and my sisters malay. i was also taught how to read and write arabic and somehow some1 taught me futhark, the bloody viking alphabet. Lol..seriosly? you know the entire futhark alphabet? We had some of that back in high school..funny
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Post by cathmoi on Dec 15, 2005 18:49:56 GMT -5
Don't give up Cathmoi! I'm not sure how easy it is to find resources to learn Thai in Norway... but if those resources do exist--classes, friends that speak the language, family that are willing to help you--then take advantage of it! It's never too late. I only started learning Chinese last year, yet have learnt a lot already with the help of friends, the internet, songs, movies, etc. I found pronunciation hard at first, like you--but keep at it! It will get easier. promise. If something's really important to you... then you can't afford to led it slide away and go on with your life. and learning the language of one half your heritage is damn important! gl ;D Thx for trying to cheer me up:D... I know its not impossible,but you have to admit that its a whole lot more difficult learning a language as an adult then it would be if you were a kid?? But someday sooooon,not giving up;)
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dadu
Junior Member
Y?S?
Posts: 169
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Post by dadu on Dec 15, 2005 20:09:54 GMT -5
Both my parents speak vietnamese (very useful for them when they didn't want any french people around to understand!) so they used to speak viet together and to me when I was a kid. The funny thing is that my french mom encouraged me to speak viet and tried to speak to me in viet as much as she could while my viet father only got bored when he was seeing that I wasn't understanding right away (I was a kid though...). Anyway, I don't know about thai but vietnamese is a very tonic language with few grammar rules, so basically the hardest thing is the pronounciation. I found out that this pronouciation was way easier for me when I tried to learn viet when I grew up. So, it's in the blood kind of...what I mean is that you are accustomed to the language, you "feel" it better... It's easier to learn when you're young of course, but you also forget faster (scientific fact here). Learning when you're a grown-up makes you get stronger bases, so it's all good! and you can still speak with your friends and mom so you'll make good progress!! JUST KEEP IT UP!
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Post by nmffnurse on Dec 15, 2005 20:30:37 GMT -5
No my mom never taught me Ilocano, her language. Well, after I got out of the Active Army and had some money saved up I decided to head my butt over there. I hired this guy to teach me Tagalog only to find out when I arrived that my mother's family spoke Ilocano.
Next time I had a Ilocano-English dictionary. Stayed in the Philippines for three months. ATe, drank, slept Ilocano. When I left I was pretty fluent. Okay.....pretty fluent for a 3 year old. I may not have had the best grammar but I was able to make myself understood and was able to understand what others were talking about. So for me....the immersion method was best.
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Post by sorlano on Dec 15, 2005 22:56:20 GMT -5
I'm Full Filipino, born in manilla but i can't speak my language. My parents thought i wouldn't need it when we moved to Aus when i was 5. Now i've lost it. When i have kids, no matter what, im gonna make my parents speak to them in tagalog hahaha! I feel crippled that i can't speak tagalog and im an adobo ;D hehe
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Post by DivaDancerLara on Dec 15, 2005 22:57:25 GMT -5
No Stinkin learned french instead
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Post by clara on Dec 15, 2005 23:31:05 GMT -5
My mum never taught me Chinese (except for happy new year, or other random phrases to unleash on my grandma) - my dad never spoke to me in Creole or French either. I’m teaching myself Chinese and my friend is coaching me in French so stuff ‘em!
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Post by z. on Dec 15, 2005 23:34:59 GMT -5
On a side note Cath kinda looks like Angelina Jolie agreed. that's what i thought too. I picked up viet from my parents when u was super young... use to speak it super fluent up until i started schooling, then english became my predominant language even though i went to viet school every sunday. Now i don't even try to speak viet, but i can understand it which is good enough.
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Post by Sensei on Dec 16, 2005 0:11:14 GMT -5
Thx for trying to cheer me up:D... I know its not impossible,but you have to admit that its a whole lot more difficult learning a language as an adult then it would be if you were a kid?? But someday sooooon,not giving up;) I agree. when you're a kid, you're able to absorb more by just listening. now that you're an adult, you have to supplement the listening and conversation practice by studying grammatical rules etc etc. Anyway, I really urge you to try your best. : ) Even if you start out slow, it's better than to keep putting it off. Learn how to say "I am thai" (even if you're actually only half), and then you can say it to all your thai friends! what fun!!! ;D
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Szymon Von Zalyn
Full Member
50% Polish of Prussian descent, 25% Italian, 25% kalmyk, but 100% English.
Posts: 367
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Post by Szymon Von Zalyn on Dec 16, 2005 6:37:20 GMT -5
My parents did not teach me either Italian or Russian so I have largely grown up with English, due largely as that is the only language that they could communicate with.
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magpie
Junior Member
Posts: 51
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Post by magpie on Dec 16, 2005 16:09:10 GMT -5
Son's a typical American kid. All English. Mother-in-laws trying to teach him Mandarin, but really isn't that good at it. I tried a Mandarin language tape, but it's hard to find the exact spot on the tape that you actually learn words and phrases. Son can count to 100 in Chinese, which is what his Sifu wants for the "1000 punch" exercise. He's also learning Spanish by protest in school. I throw in a little French and German here and there.
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Post by thezealouscookie on Dec 16, 2005 21:05:55 GMT -5
Well, I was beaten to this punchline a few times over, but yes I do speak English (albeit with a Brooklyn accent). I'm 3rd gen American on both sides and have long since culturally assimilated. Frankly, I have better things to do than learn a new language; like eating processed food, watching reality television shows, and praying for George W. Personally, I'm going to teach my kids Fortran, lest it be forgotten by future nerds.
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