what is grammer
What makes English so difficult to learn?
In English you can say "I love Linda" and "I love potatoes". In Spanish you can say "Amo a Linda" but you cannot say "Amo las papas". English uses the same verbs to communicate feelings or simple ideas. In the Spanish languagethat is not possible. Sencences would sound ridiculous and ugly. When you use some particular verbs in Spanish you're already dennoting the context in which you're speaking. I'm 100% bilingual and although English is my first language, I still think it lacks the substance that Spanish and other Romance languages have.
English is not difficult for the purposes of communication, but it is exceedingly difficult to learn it correctly. English, unlike inflected languages like Russian, relies on word order. So when a foreigner knows vocabulary but not necessarily the proper grammar or word structure, they can still communicate. English is so wrought with exceptions and unexpected nuances of irregularity that it is a wonder that anyone ever learns it properly.
but you cannot say "Amo las papas".
I' mot so sure. I think that in Spanish if you love things you can say : Amo mi coche. But if you love a person you have to use the preposition "a": Amo a Laura
I' mot so sure. I think that in Spanish if you love things you can say : Amo mi coche. But if you love a person you have to use the preposition "a": Amo a Laura
IAN : « English is not difficult for the purposes of communication, but it is exceedingly difficult to learn it correctly. »
Commes toutes les langues humaines. Rien de très original...
IAN : « English is so wrought with exceptions and unexpected nuances of irregularity that it is a wonder that anyone ever learns it properly. »
Encore une fois, tu pêches par anglocentrisme : toutes les langues sont perclues d'irrégularités.
Commes toutes les langues humaines. Rien de très original...
IAN : « English is so wrought with exceptions and unexpected nuances of irregularity that it is a wonder that anyone ever learns it properly. »
Encore une fois, tu pêches par anglocentrisme : toutes les langues sont perclues d'irrégularités.
<<Commes toutes les langues humaines. Rien de très original... >>
What he said was true. Just learn words and string them together in English and you'll be understood. Do the same in Russian and you'll be in a whole heap of shit.
What he said was true. Just learn words and string them together in English and you'll be understood. Do the same in Russian and you'll be in a whole heap of shit.
Tu réponds à côté de la plaque : je réagissais à *cette* remarque de IAN → « English is not difficult for the purposes of communication, but it is exceedingly difficult to learn it », laquelle est suffisamment imprécise pour s'appliquer à toutes les langues. En gros, tu peux remplacer « anglais » par « allemand », « italien », « occitan » ou encore « portugais ».
<<Tu réponds à côté de la plaque : je réagissais à *cette* remarque de IAN → « English is not difficult for the purposes of communication, but it is exceedingly difficult to learn it », laquelle est suffisamment imprécise pour s'appliquer à toutes les langues. En gros, tu peux remplacer « anglais » par « allemand », « italien », « occitan » ou encore « portugais ».>>
The phrase "English is not difficult for the purposes of communication, but it is exceedingly difficult to learn it " has 2 parts. The 2nd part is true for all languages, ie that all languages are exceedingly difficult to learn well", but the first part IS NOT! You can't communicate in Russian half as well as in English just by putting randomw words in the right order because there is no right order.
The phrase "English is not difficult for the purposes of communication, but it is exceedingly difficult to learn it " has 2 parts. The 2nd part is true for all languages, ie that all languages are exceedingly difficult to learn well", but the first part IS NOT! You can't communicate in Russian half as well as in English just by putting randomw words in the right order because there is no right order.
English you can just learn words and no grammar:
Man see dog. Dog bite man. Man become angry. Man kill dog.
Человек видеть собака. Собака кусать человек. Человек становиться гневый. Человек убивать собака.
It's impossible to know who's doing what.
Man see dog. Dog bite man. Man become angry. Man kill dog.
Человек видеть собака. Собака кусать человек. Человек становиться гневый. Человек убивать собака.
It's impossible to know who's doing what.
>>IAN : « English is not difficult for the purposes of communication, but it is exceedingly difficult to learn it correctly. »
Commes toutes les langues humaines. Rien de très original... <<
I'm not sure that Ian's sentence implied that other languages aren't exceedingly difficult to learn well, just that English is as well.
Commes toutes les langues humaines. Rien de très original... <<
I'm not sure that Ian's sentence implied that other languages aren't exceedingly difficult to learn well, just that English is as well.
Inflection is not everything. The bias here on antimoon that I have observed from most comments, is that inflected languages are more difficult, and "refined", than analytical languages. What's more, is that people are not even logically consistent with that principle they hold, and still regard languages like Chinese (which is not inflected at all) to be complex, while disparaging english as 'pidgin-like' in its simplicity.
The title of this thread, is actually a VERY good question, because although english is popularly claimed to be exceeding easy, few people ever manage to speak well. If its so easy, whats the problem? Why can't anybody get it right?
I know a lot of people that have been in the U.S for over 10 years, and still speak the same broken english that they did when they came - many of these are intelligent, educated people( college professors, doctors) from foreign countries who tend to speak English like Yoda from Star Wars. Even those who manage to speak moderately well, never seem to go all the way, and rid themselves of all those peculiarities. Theres something about English, thats just not compatible with speakers of most of the world's other languages. What is it?
The title of this thread, is actually a VERY good question, because although english is popularly claimed to be exceeding easy, few people ever manage to speak well. If its so easy, whats the problem? Why can't anybody get it right?
I know a lot of people that have been in the U.S for over 10 years, and still speak the same broken english that they did when they came - many of these are intelligent, educated people( college professors, doctors) from foreign countries who tend to speak English like Yoda from Star Wars. Even those who manage to speak moderately well, never seem to go all the way, and rid themselves of all those peculiarities. Theres something about English, thats just not compatible with speakers of most of the world's other languages. What is it?
I think it's sometimes little things with English, bizarre little rules, which learners are unlikely to find in text books. For instance, you can either say 'He ran quickly' or 'He ran fast'. But what if you were talking about him running up the stairs. 'He ran quickly up the stairs' is fine, but 'He ran fast up the stairs' is totally wrong. I suppose you could just about get away with 'He ran up the stairs fast', but still this is an example of a complication that would probably never even occur to most learners.
<<I think it's sometimes little things with English, bizarre little rules, which learners are unlikely to find in text books.>>
Don't all languages have lots of unwritten and bizzare little conventions that you need to follow to sound like a native? The big advantage of English is that there are very few rules that you absolutely have to follow to get your point across (sometimes you do need to the get word right, though).
Languages other than English always seem to have something that makes them more difficult. Many languages have tones, pictographs, difficult phonology, elaborate inflections, etc. The syntax of these languages is at least as complex as in English, and most languages seem far more irregular, so all-in-all they're all vastly harder to learn. Can anyone name a language (other than a Pidgin or artificial language) that's simpler to learn at a basic level than English? Are there any that are simpler to master than English?
Don't all languages have lots of unwritten and bizzare little conventions that you need to follow to sound like a native? The big advantage of English is that there are very few rules that you absolutely have to follow to get your point across (sometimes you do need to the get word right, though).
Languages other than English always seem to have something that makes them more difficult. Many languages have tones, pictographs, difficult phonology, elaborate inflections, etc. The syntax of these languages is at least as complex as in English, and most languages seem far more irregular, so all-in-all they're all vastly harder to learn. Can anyone name a language (other than a Pidgin or artificial language) that's simpler to learn at a basic level than English? Are there any that are simpler to master than English?
<<I know a lot of people that have been in the U.S for over 10 years, and still speak the same broken english that they did when they came - many of these are intelligent, educated people( college professors, doctors) from foreign countries who tend to speak English like Yoda from Star Wars. >>
How many folks from some English-speaking country go overseas to live, and are unable to pick up the local language at all? If you learn English first, its sheer simplicity spoils you, and you'll have a tough time learning anything else afterward, unless you have a real knack for languages.
How many folks from some English-speaking country go overseas to live, and are unable to pick up the local language at all? If you learn English first, its sheer simplicity spoils you, and you'll have a tough time learning anything else afterward, unless you have a real knack for languages.