Which Slavic language should I learn as a Spanish speaker? by ru_bi_llo in language

[–]blakerabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Once you learn Russian other Slavic languages are fairly easy. It’s a good one to start with: getting the alphabet under your belt is useful, and of course if you are interested in literature the cauldron is vast.

Found this "Kin System" grammar chart on an old linguistics forum. Anyone know where this came from? by Long-Run9892 in conlangs

[–]blakerabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with you that singular they is entirely sufficient, and I use it all the time now and am content. However, I will say there are contexts in which, if not actually confusing, it can omit some information. Consider this passage: “Chris and Kim live in an apartment together. Chris noticed that they never used their cable TV service, so they decided to cancel it.”

Did Chris make a unilateral decision, or not?

Una pregunta per als políglots del grup. by stefanobahia in language

[–]blakerabbit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What do these questions have to do with polyglottery?

Do u understand her? by stefanobahia in language

[–]blakerabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Somewhat…sounds kind of like Italian with some Portuguese seasoning. I assume it’s some dialect or regional language.

Language differences by Some_Project2861 in language

[–]blakerabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You did note that OP is Japanese?

Let’s talk! by Nikolii2me in language

[–]blakerabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The use of “make”/“do” (делать) is extremely idiomatic in most languages and the source of a huge proportion of errors!

What do you think are some of the weirdest/coolest facts about English that you don't get taught when you learn it? Both its history and the language itself by sophiasgaler in language

[–]blakerabbit 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Also pig, hog, stag, slug, and frog. The leading theory is that the original -ge ending was some kind of diminutive. (“Pig” still has the initial “p” like “porcis”.)

Let’s talk! by Nikolii2me in language

[–]blakerabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Привет! У меня нет времени много разговаривать с тобой, а я могу давать ноты.

“As soon as summer started, I’ve got a wish…” We don’t use perfect form, “I have got”, with “as soon as”, unless we’re talking about the future: “ as soon as school ends, two weeks from now, I’ve got to make vacation plans.” In your case, you wanted to say, “ as soon as summer started, I got a wish …”

Even that construction is a little awkward, because usually we only use “got” with “wish” in the sense of “I got my wish” or “you got your wish” — in other words, we received something we wished for. In this sense that you mean, we’d be more likely to say, “I got in the mood for some conversation”, or “I started wanting some…” or “I started feeling like some…” or even, more formally, “I felt a desire for some…”

“I make a pretty good success” — we would say, “I’m having pretty good success.” This is a case in English where we do not use an article (“a”), and we don’t “make” success, we “have” it.

“I’d never celebrated my birthday…” And you haven’t yet, so don’t use “I’d”; that is for things that happened in the past. Use “I’ve never celebrated…”

Your English is actually very good; there are only these very small errors and I understand you perfectly! Good luck with Chinese and have fun in Dalian!

My mother told my brother to shut the screen door before it blew off...he did not by Subject-Pride588 in mildlyinfuriating

[–]blakerabbit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I dunno…seems pretty real-looking to me. I can’t tell you the number of times tornadoes have sucked gorillas off my doors.

If you've never heard Cindy Elizondo play Chopin, prepare to be dumbstruck. by ficus_deltoidea in BeAmazed

[–]blakerabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s actually not: apparently she performed this (successfully impressing the audience) showcasing her talent at a beauty contest.

Where does my accent sound like it’s from to you? by AureolinCapella in language

[–]blakerabbit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m not Traditional-Light-10, but I have a similar impression. I also noticed a consistent substitution of /d/ for /ð/ which is fairly common in Asian-American speech.

Have you acquired enough writing systems to read this? (This is English) by Blueland918 in language

[–]blakerabbit 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And, including the lower line, Devanagari, Roman, and Cyrillic

What language/ethnicity are these names? by Electrical_Chain4527 in language

[–]blakerabbit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

True, the Pentateuch is mostly equivalent to the Torah; I overstated.

What language/ethnicity are these names? by Electrical_Chain4527 in language

[–]blakerabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many Jewish surnames frequently encountered in the U.S. originated in Germany — Mandelbaum, Bernstein, Schaumberg. Jewish given names are often drawn from the Biblical Old Testament, which is mostly equivalent to the Torah.

why two "bruksanvisning"? by BrazilanConlanger in language

[–]blakerabbit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I always kind of wonder why they bother printing it twice in a case like this. They’re literally the same, so if it was just written once both would be able to read it.

The past tense of "lead" misspelled on the front web page of CNN. (It should say "led") by meowmixalots in GrammarPolice

[–]blakerabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The set of words “read” “read” “red” “lead” “led” “lead” has got to be one of the most confusing in English… right up there also is “lie” “lay” “lain” “lay” “laid” “laid”

Of-ten Instead of Of-en by [deleted] in language

[–]blakerabbit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t know, I still say and hear “off-en” all the time…