#1 ·
Guys, how brutal is this language? If I sign up for a class, am I looking at a long grind just to grab the basics before heading to college in Denver? ๐ค
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Started by Peter Morris58 · · ๐ 4 views · 50 replies
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#2 ·
I honestly feel like you could probably pick up Japanese within six months if you really put your mind to it...
A buddy of mine was looking into it last year because he was considering pursuing medicine over there if things here in the States fall through again. At the end of the day, a language is just a language; itโs learnable, even if it has its fair share of annoying quirks and endless exceptions. But I don't think it'd be an impossible mountain to climb, especially since he managed to wrap his head around the basics in just three months.
So, yeah... go ahead and dive into Japanese.
๐ ๐
Anyway, I'm off to bed... assuming I can actually manage to fall asleep...
A buddy of mine was looking into it last year because he was considering pursuing medicine over there if things here in the States fall through again. At the end of the day, a language is just a language; itโs learnable, even if it has its fair share of annoying quirks and endless exceptions. But I don't think it'd be an impossible mountain to climb, especially since he managed to wrap his head around the basics in just three months.
So, yeah... go ahead and dive into Japanese.
๐ ๐
Anyway, I'm off to bed... assuming I can actually manage to fall asleep...
#3 ·
Don't sweat the language barrierโhonestly, everyone just speaks American English anyway.
They can be pretty arrogant, tooโat least from my experience living in Austin.
Just try reading some books in the local dialect; you'll probably be able to understand everythingโmaybe even speak itโwithin a week.
If you're looking into the natural sciences or anything involving math...๐ฑ
The instructor dictates the problems, saying "sixty-five" but I end up writing down "65"โI've just never been able to wrap my head around that kind of thing.
They can be pretty arrogant, tooโat least from my experience living in Austin.
Just try reading some books in the local dialect; you'll probably be able to understand everythingโmaybe even speak itโwithin a week.
If you're looking into the natural sciences or anything involving math...๐ฑ
The instructor dictates the problems, saying "sixty-five" but I end up writing down "65"โI've just never been able to wrap my head around that kind of thing.
#4 ·
It really just depends on what major you're studying. I have a buddy who went to school in Austin, and everything was smooth sailing except for his linguistics exam. Even though he spoke the language pretty well by our standardsโand believe me, heโs been practicing for a while nowโthat particular test still kicked his teeth in.
#5 ·
I mean, yeah, it wouldn't be hard to pick up, though youโd probably hit a wall once you had to deal with those brutal language exams at the University of Chicago.
Just keep Channel A on in the background, you know? The sounds will eventually just stick in your head. ๐
Does anyone happen to know where I could go in Austin to learn some Spanish quickly and actually get results...? I'm looking into it. I can understand a decent amount, but I can't really speak it. And I really want to.
p.s. Same goes for Portuguese, honestly, except I don't know a single word... besides maybe "I love you." ๐ณ ๐
Just keep Channel A on in the background, you know? The sounds will eventually just stick in your head. ๐
Does anyone happen to know where I could go in Austin to learn some Spanish quickly and actually get results...? I'm looking into it. I can understand a decent amount, but I can't really speak it. And I really want to.
p.s. Same goes for Portuguese, honestly, except I don't know a single word... besides maybe "I love you." ๐ณ ๐
#6 ·
Hey Chloe Morris12, sweetheart, since you're from Seattle, you should check out those shows on Channel Aโwatch them and learn, there are some really weird words in there
like "light" or "numbers" and all that crazy stuff, but you'll pick it up eventually
BTW: why go to the University of Texas in Austin? ๐ฑ
like "light" or "numbers" and all that crazy stuff, but you'll pick it up eventually
BTW: why go to the University of Texas in Austin? ๐ฑ
#7 ·
driftingnomad68 said:By the way, why is she looking at UT Austin? ๐ฑ
Well, first she was eyeing Italy, then she pivoted to Austria, and now she might just end up back at the University of Chicago.๐ *
#8 ·
Morgan Scott3 said:I honestly think you could pick up Japanese in about six months if you really put your mind to it....
Hmm... okay... Japanese in six months?๐
You're being a little vague here... what kind of method are we talking about?
thanks!
#9 ·
It would be so cool to pick up some Japanese, but... where do you even start? I only know three words: "hai" (yes) and "domo arigato" (thanks a lot). And don't even get me started on actually writing itโugh! All those characters... feels like staring at a wall of hieroglyphs.
#10 ·
granitesailor98 said:It would be cool to know Japanese, but... where do you even learn it? I only know three words: hai (yes) and domo arigato (thanks a lot). And actually writing Japanese... man! Those characters are like hieroglyphics.
granitesailor98: You're right... there are at least five other ways to say thanks. Honestly, Iโm skeptical that anyone can master Japanese in six months while living outside of Japan without being glued to the language 24/7. A friend of mine got his Master's over there and took some intensive coursesโeven though he already spoke four languagesโand what he learned evaporated pretty fast. Plus, your average person doesn't have the cash to pay for language school in Tokyo... everything is just so expensive these days.
I could probably wrap my head around the phonetic side of Japanese, but learning to write it... that's a whole different beast.
What about something like Spanish? That shouldn't be such a struggle... you can understand quite a bit right off the bat since the structure is similar, and the rest just comes with time.
When people learn a language, most of them mess up because they're too embarrassed to make mistakes. Regardless, you can never truly "perfect" a language, so you have to keep that in mind...
English has about 350,000 words, but even a top-tier linguist might only know maybe 40,000. No more than that.
#11 ·
driftingnomad68 said:look indigo girl, honey, you're from the coast, just watch some American TV and learn, there's plenty of weird slang out there
like "y'all" or specific regional numbers and stuff, but you'll pick it up eventually
BTW: why go to UT Austin? ๐ฑ
Honestly, I'm lost. I want to study biology. At UT Austin, there's no entrance exam ๐, it's cheap as hell ๐, and there's a 99% chance I'll get in since they mostly look at my junior year grades and SAT scoresโwhich, fingers crossed, will all be straight As. ๐
Plus, four of my buddies already signed up for UT, so once I arrive, I'll already know where the good food is, where the hot people hang out, and all that. ๐
#12 ·
Rainbow said:Don't sweat the language thing. Everyone talks the same dialect anyway.
Theyโre pretty arrogant tooโat least that was my experience living in Austin.
Just pick up some books in the local language. You'll be fluent in a week, easy.
If you're looking at natural sciences or anything math-related...๐ฑ
The guy dictates the problems, says "sixty-fifty" and I write down 65. I could never get used to that weird way of talking.
I mean biology. And what else is "sixty-fifty" if it isn't 65? ๐
#13 ·
Amanda Kelly76 says:
I agree it wouldn't be hard to teach him, though your biggest hurdle might be that college Spanish exam.
Yep, but I don't even have to deal with that exam until next year. By then, I'll probably have picked it up. ๐
#14 ·
cell - nucleus
sail - core... well, itโs up to you to decide if you have the drive
fifty-six = 56
sail - core... well, itโs up to you to decide if you have the drive
fifty-six = 56
#15 ·
Their alphabet only has 26 letters. They don't even bother with those extra accented characters, just one version of the letter C.
Itโs all super basic. They have this whole thing with singular, dual, and plural nouns, but honestly? It's total garbage. You can get tripped up on American grammar incredibly easily if you aren't careful.
Itโs all super basic. They have this whole thing with singular, dual, and plural nouns, but honestly? It's total garbage. You can get tripped up on American grammar incredibly easily if you aren't careful.
#16 ·
Honestly, if youโre spending that much time glued to our local networks, my best advice is to just switch over to American public broadcasting instead...
I mean, seriously, just stop watching our stuff altogether...
Thatโs basically how I picked up my Americanโwell, let's just say I learned the language by immersion...
I used to spend about three or four hours a day with Channel A and some American news outlets, and boom, there you go...๐
I mean, seriously, just stop watching our stuff altogether...
Thatโs basically how I picked up my Americanโwell, let's just say I learned the language by immersion...
I used to spend about three or four hours a day with Channel A and some American news outlets, and boom, there you go...๐
#17 ·
Well, if you ask me, thatโs some seriously heavy-duty stuff right there ๐
Honestly, itโs just as easy to be misled by any ๐ ๐ ๐ anywhere else, really.
Charles Miller49 said:It is incredibly easy to get tricked when listening to American media
Honestly, itโs just as easy to be misled by any ๐ ๐ ๐ anywhere else, really.
#18 ·
If you want, we can stick to English. That dual pronoun thing is a bit trippy, but hey, what can you do? You don't have a choice. When you're talking about just two people, you say "the both of us" or "you two." For example:
The both of us are here. = We are here. (dual)
We are here. = We are here. (plural)
You two are crazy. = You are crazy. (dual)
You are crazy. = You are crazy. (plural)
Man, everything is a blurโI totally forgot my English. I used to be pretty good at it, too.
The both of us are here. = We are here. (dual)
We are here. = We are here. (plural)
You two are crazy. = You are crazy. (dual)
You are crazy. = You are crazy. (plural)
Man, everything is a blurโI totally forgot my English. I used to be pretty good at it, too.
#19 ·
Chloe Morris12 said:Guys, just how brutal is this language? If I actually commit to a course, am I looking at a lifetime of study before I can pick up the basics enough to survive a night out in Austin? ๐ค
Thatโs hardly even a veteran question.๐ ๐
#20 ·
Larry Castillo66 said:Everything's gone, man. I totally forgot my American. I used to be pretty good at it once, I guess.
Not really; you're actually doing pretty well. ๐
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