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Confidence in foreign language skills

Hyperion said:
Particularly when that language is English :D - too many 'rules' to learn.
:)
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I think that´s an old wives tale. As a kid, I had always heard that English was supposed to be the hardest language to learn. That is simply not true. English might be difficult to learn because written English is pretty different from how most Americans speak.

IMHO German grammar is pretty difficult because of the gender of the nouns.

I have heard that the Scandinavian languages are pretty hard; Japanese is supposed to be pretty tricky too.
 
You are probably right JP - knowing the English language already could lead to guesses and speculation about what others find difficult about learning it. Especially as you rightly point out there are differences within the language, created of course by the wide diversity of people using it. ;)
 
I can´t judge how difficult it is to learn English since I am (was) a native speaker.

I do think the English language and grammar have a pretty easy structure. I can see that the pronunciation of many words could be a problem compared to how they are spelled. Examples: laughter, thought, slaughter.

The one thing that I think is pretty easy is pronunciation and spelling in German. Even though some words seem to be very long, are spelled and pronounced exactly how they sound. Here some extreme examples; I think most Germans might have trouble with these.

Grundstücksverkehrsgenehmigungszuständigkeitsübertragungsverordnung
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz
Verkehrsinfrastrukturfinanzierungsgesellschaft
Gleichgewichtsdichtegradientenzentrifugation
Elektrizitätswirtschaftsorganisationsgesetz
Verkehrswegeplanungsbeschleunigungsgesetz
Hochleistungsflüssigkeitschromatographie
Restriktionsfragmentlängenpolymorphismus
Telekommunikationsüberwachungsverordnung
Unternehmenssteuerfortentwicklungsgesetz

These are not really everyday words, but even normal words can be quite long.

Verkehrsübungsplatz
Haftpflichtversicherung
Berufsgenossenschaft
 
Hey that's such a great and funny post. Your new little buddy Sammy seems to be very inspiring! :thmbsp:

Mark Twain said that those long words are no words but "alphabetical processions". :D

In Twain's chapter "The terrible German language" (in: "A Tramp Abroad") he mentions those rather usual words:

Stadtverordnetenversammlung
Altertumswissenschaften
Wiederherstellungsbestrebungen
Waffenstillstandsunterhandlungen and more...
 
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There's an urban legend that says that "Eichhörnchenschwanz" is the most difficult German word for English speakers to pronounce. (FWIW, it means "squirrel tail.")
 
HarmanKardon said:
Hey that's such a great and funny post. Your new little buddy Sammy seems to be very inspiring! :thmbsp:

Mark Twain said that those long words are no words but "alphabetical processions". :D

In Twain's chapter "The terrible German language" (in: "A Tramp Abroad") he mentions those rather usual words:

Stadtverordnetenversammlung
Altertumswissenschaften
Wiederherstellungsbestrebungen
Waffenstillstandsunterhandlungen and more...
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Remind me not to attempt German crossword puzzles. :no::D

finnbow said:
There's an urban legend that says that "Eichhörnchenschwanz" is the most difficult German word for English speakers to pronounce. (FWIW, it means "squirrel tail.")
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and isn't "squirrel" very difficult for Germans?
 
No. But the word "Massachusetts" almost killed once the German anchorwoman Dagmar Berghoff in a news broadcast. I was too funny... :D
 
As a genuine old tv nut, my favorite German word is elektronenkanone, which in English is an electron gun; but it sounds to an English speaker like a very big electron gun (canon). Apparently Germans don't bother with tiny cathode rays! :D
 
"What is your pet peeve? Let's have a laugh."

This thread got some 1000 posts now and I still do not understand what it is about. I don't even know what a pet peeve is.

This is very, VERY frustrating. :tears:
 
"Pet Peeve: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A pet peeve or pet hate is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to themselves, to a greater degree than others may find it.

Origin
Its first usage was around 1919.[1][2] The term is a back-formation from the 14th-century word peevish, meaning "ornery or ill-tempered".[1]

Pet peeves often involve specific behaviours of someone close, such as a spouse or significant other.[3] These behaviours may involve disrespect, manners, personal hygiene, relationships, and family issues.[4]

A key aspect of a pet peeve is that it may well seem acceptable to others. For example, a supervisor may have a pet peeve about people leaving the lid on the copier up and react angrily, be annoyed when others interrupt when speaking, or be upset by messy desks of their subordinates. [5] To most people, these may seem minor annoyances, but not to the supervisor. That same supervisor may witness employees coming into work late and not feel any annoyance whatsoever ".

If you don't ask, you don't get :thmbsp:

Cheers, og
 
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A few examples of pet peeves, especially when you're sure you're right and others are wrong:

The toilet paper should roll from the top over, not pulled from the bottom out.

Silverware placed in dishwashers should point handles up, not down (ever get stabbed by a knife in the washer?)

People buying something and do not take out their form of payment until the total is presented to them, wasting time. Moreover, asking for additional cash back or some other issue that requires a supervisor to come over. No matter which line you choose, it's going to happen in front of you.

Plus, the more in a hurry you are, the more likely it will happen.
 
mech986 said:
A few examples of pet peeves, especially when you're sure you're right and others are wrong:

The toilet paper should roll from the top over, not pulled from the bottom out.

Silverware placed in dishwashers should point handles up, not down (ever get stabbed by a knife in the washer?)

People buying something and do not take out their form of payment until the total is presented to them, wasting time. Moreover, asking for additional cash back or some other issue that requires a supervisor to come over. No matter which line you choose, it's going to happen in front of you.

Plus, the more in a hurry you are, the more likely it will happen.
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"The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!".:D
 
I had only one post in this thread, I posted it months ago, I deleted it because I thought it was nonsense. Well - after your kind explanations I see that my sentence was not that bad. I complained about the modern LED daytime running lights which are dazzling me - realizing that I am almost the only one who is disturbed by this bright ugly light of the oncoming traffic. (But there is no funny aspect in my issue which should be - according to the topic!?)

Bin ich auf der richtigen Spur? Am I on the right track?
 
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HarmanKardon said:
I had only one post in this thread, I posted it months ago, I deleted it because I thought it was nonsense. Well - after your kind explanations I see that my sentence was not that bad. I complained about the modern LED daytime runnig lights which are dazzling me - realizing that I am almost the only one who is disturbed by this bright ugly light of the oncoming traffic. (But there is no funny aspect in my issue which should be - according to the topic!?)

Bin ich auf der richtigen Spur? Am I on the right track?
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As the OP of that peeve thread, basically, if it aggravates you, and generally, it is a petty aggravation, or minor, then yes, that's a peeve. I remember your post, I thought it was appropriate.

Doesn't have to be funny, most things like this are only funny because we all tend to recognize them, or there is some universal truth.

Don't sweat the small things, Chris, you're doing just fine!
 
Thank you, sir.

By the way - there are at least two meanings of funny: comical and strange. I should consider that from time to time. Until now only the comical meaning was familiar to me and I used funny in this sense.
 
Over 'ere, Chris, we call those two: "Funny Pecuiiar" and "Funny Ha-Ha".

Cheers, og
 
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