Originally posted by zintierivHungarian is in the same broad family as Estonian and Finnish. but Finnish and Estonian are quite close.
what about hungarian ?
or basque ?
Basque is another ballgame. It is not an Indoeuropean language. Though there are some words in Spanish that are from Basque...like
la gorra...meaning cap
and izquierda..... meaning left.
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Originally posted by mochironFinnish and Hungarian aren't Indo-European languages either. They're
Basque is another ballgame. It is not an Indoeuropean language.
Uralic in origin (Finno-Ugric branch). But you're right about Basque. One
would think that it's an Indo-European language, but it's totally isolated
from the surrounding influences.
Originally posted by stockenI am aware that they are not Indo-european as well. Finnish, Hungararian and Estonian. I was just pointing out that they are not related to Basque at all. In fact that man might know that. just clarifying.
Finnish and Hungarian aren't Indo-European languages either. They're
Uralic in origin (Finno-Ugric branch). But you're right about Basque. One
would think that it's an Indo-European language, but it's totally isolated
from the surrounding influences.
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Originally posted by mochironAllow me to disagree. Ask wormwood, who is a native Finn, unlike me,
Hungarian is in the same broad family as Estonian and Finnish. but Finnish and Estonian are quite close.
Basque is another ballgame. It is not an Indoeuropean language. Though there are some words in Spanish that are from Basque...like
la gorra...meaning cap
and izquierda..... meaning left.
yet now that I've been studying Finnish seriously and using it in the
streets on a daily basis, I don't feel my previous knowledge of
Estonian helps that much, really.
Swedish is a keeper, however, easy as brushing your teeth if you
happen to speak English, plus I've heard (don't know) that once
you speak Swedish then Norwegian is a piece of cake.
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Originally posted by SeitseHa!
...plus I've heard (don't know) that once
you speak Swedish then Norwegian is a piece of cake.
The basic grammar is about the same, but there's a lot of confusion
between our languages (those crazy Norwegians). You see, a lot of words
that are spelled and pronounced practically the same, mean completely
different things in our respective languages. So to speak to a Norwegian
is... well, confusing at best.*
Of course, the Danish aren't much better. Not only do they use the words
in an incomprehensible manner, but they speak from their throat so you
can't even understand what they're saying in the first place.
I'm telling you, being a swede, stuck between the fins, norse and danes
(not to mention those crazy buggers in skåne - deep south of Sweden) is
hell communication wise. Hell, I tell ya'! Brrrrrrrr...
Now, Swedish does have a lot in common with English, but also German.
But even though a lot of Swedish words are surprisingly similar to the
German equivalent, the Germans have a grammar that is absolutely
beyond any sane man, so it's still beyond me. In practice this means
that I'm stuck with Swedish and a little English. Other than that I can only
rely on my fellow good (wo)man to learn one of the two, or our
communication will grind to an embarrassing halt. 😞
---
* Just one example of many. The word Avse in Swedish means
something like intend. "Jag avser att slutföra uppgiften", "I intend to
finish this task". In Norwegian, the same word (pronounced and spelled
exactly the same) means to set something aside.
Now, how can you have an intelligible conversation when the same words
are used with sometimes subtly different meanings? 🙄
(Much like communicating with a teenager, come to think of it.)
Originally posted by wormwoodNo but I do teach English full-time, have done for years, to speakers of very different languages, and I've never known any of them have any problems. We can usually get students from zero English to quite conversational in a few months, if they study.
you just don't see the difficulties because english is your first language. for example, he/she/it is a odd concept for anybody coming from any language without such differentiation. and prepositions are very hard to get right for anyone speaking a synthetic language (the ones that seldom use prepositions or not at all). articles? well, we don't have them. ...[text shortened]... ng guy asked me why it's so.
I go - minä mene[b]n.
I don't go - minä en mene.[/b]
Originally posted by asromacalcioAll languages are hard to learn. I have taught English for ten years. and have learned a several as well. Like you said, it depends how much effort you put into it.
No but I do teach English full-time, have done for years, to speakers of very different languages, and I've never known any of them have any problems. We can usually get students from zero English to quite conversational in a few months, if they study.
If you want hard grammar. Try Russian. It took me a long time to get the cases down. Not to mention other aspects of the language. Romance languages are not that difficult in comparison. only, Romanian has cases and the endings are rather simple compared to Russian, or the prefixes is Welsh.... for example.
Originally posted by SeitseSeitse. perhaps it does not. But my finnish friend says says that he can understand a fair bit of Estonian. Also, I think people need to listen for the gist of the meaning if they do not speak the other language. For example, when I speak Russian with a real Ukranian speaker. I dont understand all of it..but Enough to have a decent conversation.... same with Spanish and Italian. Not easy ...but possible.
Allow me to disagree. Ask wormwood, who is a native Finn, unlike me,
yet now that I've been studying Finnish seriously and using it in the
streets on a daily basis, I don't feel my previous knowledge of
Estonian helps that much, really.
Swedish is a keeper, however, easy as brushing your teeth if you
happen to speak English, plus I've heard (don't know) that once
you speak Swedish then Norwegian is a piece of cake.
Originally posted by mochironHi
All languages are hard to learn. I have taught English for ten years. and have learned a several as well. Like you said, it depends how much effort you put into it.
If you want hard grammar. Try Russian. It took me a long time to get the cases down. Not to mention other aspects of the language. Romance languages are not that difficult in comparison. onl ...[text shortened]... and the endings are rather simple compared to Russian, or the prefixes is Welsh.... for example.
I'm studying Russian now, that was what prompted me to start this thread, as I find it so easy. I'm also learning Kyrgyz and that's also easy, but my teacher is a joke. She reads the book to me. Wow, that'll help me learn.
Originally posted by asromacalciothe basic russian grammar is not so hard. the verbs of motion and case ending take a while though. after that it gets easy. Good luck. I plan to study Tartar...in the same group i think as Kyrgy....Have friend here in Moscow from there. She was in Turkey in the summer. She had no problem understanding Turkish...well 70 percent or so.
Hi
I'm studying Russian now, that was what prompted me to start this thread, as I find it so easy. I'm also learning Kyrgyz and that's also easy, but my teacher is a joke. She reads the book to me. Wow, that'll help me learn.