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Post by Bartbär on May 29, 2009 0:31:05 GMT 2
Check out these websites Crystiannia: www.livemocha.com - Great website for communicating with people all over the world no matter what the language. They offer courses, very general but still fun, for about a dozen languages, including Icelandic, Russian, and freshly up: Estonian. Anyone can add programs to my knowledge once they are approved, so there is bound to be more springing up in the future. If not it will give you a chance to brush up on the German. Also check out Byki, search for it on Google, it is a free language program that you can download, along with free language packs. You can choose to purchse full programs for a pretty fair price (I don't remember how much, but compared to Rosetta Stone it is cheap!). If you would like some help finding a program, let me know, I try to look around and see what courses work and which ones are difficult to understand. Although it is subjective, some people, like myself, learn great with just a book and lists of vocab and grammar. Others learn better with the fancy programs like RS. But if you end up being a better learner with one program over a more expensive one, then it defeats the purpose spending so much money on something that may not be worth it in the end. I'll end here, haha. Danish may be a step easier for you since you have a previous knowledge of German. German is a great place to start since it afterall is closest to the Proto-Germanic root language from which many languages stem from, although in it's modern form it is a little more different. Still, close enough to make it easier in the long run. I'll quit babbling now.
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Post by Heer E. Tik on May 29, 2009 3:10:00 GMT 2
German is a great place to start since it afterall is closest to the Proto-Germanic root language from which many languages stem from Not a fact. It's just one of the modern branches from that ancient root, and other branches are no farther away from it based on their own lines of development. Old Norse, of course, was closer, as was Old Saxon, simply since they were closer to it historically, if a matter of centuries matter in the breath of eternity. Icelandic today is very little changed from Old Norse, and its closest mainland Scandinavian cousin is Norwegian (most old Icelandic settlers having come from Norway). Just another branch on the same tree. Which modern language is closest to Proto-Indo-European? Hindi, by its location, would be an instinctive answer, yet it doesn't hold a candle to Sanskrit, and many other languages from places farther away to the West hold an equal amount of other keys and linguistic clues to that ancient source whose trace in the near East and mid-Asia is not found.
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Crystiannia
Clansman
"Here is the deepest secret nobody knows..."
Posts: 384
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Post by Crystiannia on May 30, 2009 0:47:09 GMT 2
Check out these websites Crystiannia: Also check out Byki, search for it on Google, it is a free language program that you can download, along with free language packs. You can choose to purchse full programs for a pretty fair price (I don't remember how much, but compared to Rosetta Stone it is cheap!). I like the Byki one and the option it allows you to try several languages. We'll go with that one first! Thanks so very much! We had to chose a language in school and it's funny I chose German simply because of the country's proximity to Denmark! Silly, I know. But our choices were very limited and I had no desire to take up Spanish, French, or Latin (although I did dabble in the last one a bit). These days I don't think German is an option in most schools. Even then there were only 6 of us in the class, but it was such fun!
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Post by Bartbär on May 30, 2009 1:56:05 GMT 2
Yes, German is sadly being slowly destroyed in most american schools. I don't know what to blame it on, the lack of education or the lack of good teachers. My high school teacher couldn't even pronounce it correctly and frequently had to be corrected by us. I would like to see it pick up, but I don't know if it will. I've been dedicated to reviving it but it has always fell on deaf ears. My German club idea in college last semester fell through thanks to a totally unsupportive administration. I just hope that by the time I get a degree in German and Philosophy that I will still have an oppurtunity to teach the language... I know there will be, but just much harder to find and acquire. Byki is good, great program indeed and quite fun. Livemocha I recommend simply for getting to talk to and ask questions to natives from these countries. They are very very helpful and extremely kind. And Hjalagh, my apologies, I should not type up those elaborative subjects when I do not have time to completely delve into them. (Your commentary makes up for it though. )
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Post by wolferin on May 31, 2009 20:42:51 GMT 2
Which modern language is closest to Proto-Indo-European? It's a great question and many scholars had devoted time to it. We had to chose a language in school and it's funny I chose German simply because of the country's proximity to Denmark! Silly, I know. Not silly at all. In some parts of Denmark is spoken German and also if you know English and German it will be easier to learn any language from the German group.
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Post by trickmaster on Jun 17, 2009 18:00:10 GMT 2
Native language: Spanish Foreign language: My English is almost as good as my Spanish, I've been learning it since I was 9. I've been learning French since last year, which means I currently suck at it. I'd like to learn a lot of languages, including Italian, Finnish, Danish, German, Japanese, Welsh, Latin, Russian. I'll try to start learning Italian this year or the next, it will be easy since I already know Spanish and some French.
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Post by Esteban on Jun 20, 2009 0:09:03 GMT 2
Native:Turkish. My foreign language is English.I've been learning German for 3 years.My friends on myspace teach me Greek and Portuguese too.I want to learn Finnish,Swedish,Norwegian,Spanish and Arabic too.
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MetalTherapy
Wolfcub
Meet you at 2.10.2009 Arena, Wien
Posts: 5
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Post by MetalTherapy on Jun 28, 2009 22:38:07 GMT 2
Native: Bulgarian Foreign: from most fluent to less so: English, German, Russian, Norwegian. At the moment I am supposed to be learning Serbian but I quit in order to have more time for an admission exam for scandinavistics. From October on I hope to start Norwegian, Latin and Finnish at the university Want to learn Swedish, Danish, Italian, Mongolian, Chinese Love the topic ;D
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Post by wolferin on Jun 29, 2009 18:06:52 GMT 2
to have more time for an admission exam for scandinavistics. There' something like fashion about scandinsvistics and the marks for the entry exam are high there. If I was now candidate for the university, may be, I'd try this. And wish you good luck!
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MetalTherapy
Wolfcub
Meet you at 2.10.2009 Arena, Wien
Posts: 5
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Post by MetalTherapy on Jun 30, 2009 0:16:27 GMT 2
They only admit 8 boys and 8 girls...
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Savi
Clansman
Artist meets Survivalist
Posts: 294
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Post by Savi on Aug 28, 2009 17:53:47 GMT 2
Native: German Foreign: English,French, Spanish I would love to learn Finnish, Gaelic, Japanese and Swedish
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Post by womanoffire on Sept 14, 2009 18:49:25 GMT 2
Native Language: French! Foreign: English...I've learn a little Russian too. I would love to learn Finnish, Spanish, Romanian (my origin language)...and many others
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2009 19:59:12 GMT 2
Native Language: French! Foreign: English...I've learn a little Russian too. I would love to learn Finnish, Spanish, Romanian (my origin language)...and many others Romanian? Great!do you speak it a little or...?
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Post by rayla on Sept 16, 2009 19:24:56 GMT 2
My native language is Polish; then, I speak fluent English, basic Russian, and remember a few phrases in German that I learned in high school (and the one I'll never forget is "Bitte die Hausaufgabe", which I heard at all of the classes). Also, in about two weeks I'll start learning Finnish. And I hope it will not be the end of my language learning. I hope to continue Russian, and I wish I could someday learn Norwegian, German and Czech (in that order ).
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Post by devilsdaughter on Sept 23, 2009 22:41:14 GMT 2
native: german good: englisch
when i'm learning spanish at the moment, and once learned french at shool (but don't remember it well), and soon i begin with either norwegian or finnish.
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