oci (plural, pronounced o-chi) in Southern Slavic languages. I know "dobro" in Romanian is "good" as is with most slavic languages. I think there are a few Slavic loanwords.
I should talk to my mum about Romanian. She grew up in Romania but is Macedonian. Consequently, she can speak both Macedonian and Romanian.
American nic - dont know how much re similarities between Slavic languages. I'd say maybe 40-80% you can read and understand but can't understand that much. For example, I find it hard to understand Polish. I can understand about say 30-35% of Russian when it is spoken. I find Slovakian relatively easy to understand but not Czech.
Gabe - re phil-OOSS-so-fee, I was thinking that the pronounciation might also be influenced by the fact that certainly in Southern Slavic languges (and presumably others), the first syllable (and sometimes second syllable) is usually the stressed syllable. The last syllable is never stressed, compare this with English. This is obviously carried over to when a Russian speaks English.
Eg. a common Macedonian surname name is Petrovski. In Macedonian, the stress would be on the first syllable, PET-rov-ski. Most English speakers would stress the middle or last syllable, Pet-ROV-ski or Pet-rov-SKI.
To clear up post above-
American Nic - 40-80% of written slavic language I could understand but I can't understand much when it is spoken, of course depending on who it is.
I've also decided to throw this bit in. Its funny when you are out in public and you are talking in your native Slavic tongue and then another group of people of Slavic extraction are nearby, and then either you or them start talking and you stare at each other and there is a glint of recognition in their eye.
It's happened many times to me but I think the most funniest was when I was looking at apples in a supermarket and my mum was saying the apples were "dobre" (meaning good in plural) and there were I think a Czech family was nearby and they stood next to us and stared at us with interest.
Hi guys.
I’m not a native english speaker, and as i was a litte bit bored i decided to ask you a silly question about one of my erotic myths “ Britney Spears “.( hahahahah )
I’ve watched at previous messages you were talking about “ deep south accents “ and one of them was Louisiana accent, so i was wondering if Britney Spears as a person born in Louisiana has the typical southeastern accent or she has an american standar accent??? Has she a clear accent ? and another question would be : has she a sexy,or atractive accent ????
Thanks for all, and please do not lynch me a lot to ask these questions ( hahahahah )
Bye
Romania is one really fascinating country and I'm so glad I've been there. I went with a school party to see a total eclipse of the sun in August 1999, which was also total in parts of England but Romania was the best place to see it and the weather there was much more guaranteed to be clear than here in the UK where you don't know what it will be doing in the next hour most of the time.
Anyway, as well as the truly fantastic scenery in Romania (Carpathian mountains.."Dracula country and loads of old monasteries and all that kind of stuff) and a level of poverty you just wouldn't believe until you go there, the people were lovely and so was there Language.
Romanian is, of course, a Romance Language and completely phonetic so it's reasonably easy to learn correct pronunciation. It's origins go back to the days of the Romans, hence its name, the Emperor Trajan leading the campaign to conquer the area in the 2nd century. So the Language developed as Romance with a Roman alphabet even though Romania is bordered by countries using the cyrillic alphabet with the exception of Hungary.
It seemed a really pleasant Language to listen to. I tried to use bits I managed to learn but, here we go again, people there wanted to revert to English instead as that is now the one Language they all want to learn. It used to be German, but now all the younger people want to speak English, and many of them speak it very well.
btw the Total Eclipse was an amazing experience.....2pm in the afternoon local time, completely clear sky....it turned into twilight, stars came out and birds stopped singing as the sun turned into a black disc. Really weird. Fantastic Baileys beads and diamond ring effect and strange crescent moons on the ground. We then had a picnic with a group of Romanians, mostly students like us, and it was fun chatting half Romanian and half English....or more correctly ten percent Romanian and ninety percent English....sadly but unavoidably.
Typo...2nd para....penultimate word...."there" = "their".
Regarding Britney Spears (shudder),
When people are mocking her, they usually use a broad Southern accent, but in reality her accent sounds pretty mild. As I recall, she spent a lot of time in other places as a child (New York and Florida), so she really only has a slight twang.
Any way, I doubt most people drooling over her could care what she SOUNDS like ...
Britney Spears doesn't have a very strong accent, IMO.
I heard several women in my office (all mothers of pre-teen girls) complaining about the way she dresses. One said, "I don't mind my daughter listening to her music, but I wish she'd cover herself up more." I have a different opinion: I don't care how she dresses, just don't let her sing.
Sorry but I quite like her.
I agree with you Deborah. She is successful and I can't blame her for using the gifts God gave her, but it sure as hell isn't her voice.
Oh, and yess, Romanian does have a lot of Slavic loan words. Though their language is a Romance language, the recent occupation by Russia (and their relative closeness to other Slavic nations) has changed the language from simply a romance language. It's is a bit like English - a bastard language but this of Latin and Slavic tongue. The latin that is used in Romanian has been preserved though in its old forms. Had it not been "bastardized" I would think it might be the closest modern language to Latin instead of Italian.
Question for Damian : Which are Britney's gifts ?......According to your opinion, obviously
Catalonia is not Spain:
Hi Cat. You seem familiar somehow.....but I digress...
....erm yes....
.....she looks nice and I say that even though I'm a gay guy. I don't mind seeing her on TV if the mute button has been pressed, but even so her speaking accent is intriguing in a strange sort of way.
>>She is successful and I can't blame her for using the gifts God gave her, but it sure as hell isn't her voice.
LOL! If only she didn't masquerade in what should be an honorable profession (i.e. music).