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« on: January 20, 2012, 07:12:05 PM » |
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I really want to learn French but I've been told I need to get myself prepped with Esperanto. I heard lernu! is a good site to learn from but does anyone have any advice/suggestions on learning a language that I will basically be self-taught? Or is self-taught just a recipe for failure?
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JamesRottnek
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« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2012, 08:20:49 PM » |
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Why did someone recommend you learn Esperanto to learn French? Just learn French.
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TheMathematician
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« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2012, 08:40:36 PM » |
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honestly, just take a class at a community college. cheap(ish), and you really need a class to learn
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dzheremi
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« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2012, 08:45:45 PM » |
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If Wikipedia's description of Esperanto is correct (a big if I guess, but I don't know anything about Esperanto), it sounds like it might be more of a help to learn Romanian than French. I agree with James. Just learn French.
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christian7777
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« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2012, 03:23:52 PM » |
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Esperanto never struck me as a useful language. I also agree with JamesRottnek, just learn French. If you want to learn a language prior to that, try Spanish.
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« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2012, 03:35:33 PM » |
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Learning languages are always better with an instructor, in my experience.
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« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2012, 03:37:13 PM » |
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Learning languages are always better with an instructor, in my experience.
This is how it is for me as well. |
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ialmisry
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« Reply #7 on: January 21, 2012, 03:47:08 PM » |
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I really want to learn French but I've been told I need to get myself prepped with Esperanto. I heard lernu! is a good site to learn from but does anyone have any advice/suggestions on learning a language that I will basically be self-taught? Or is self-taught just a recipe for failure?
unless you can only get French grammars and dictionaries in Esperanto (or should I say "Esperante"?), I don't know why you would learn it to learn French. Do use the Routledge Frequency Dictionary http://www.amazon.com/Frequency-Dictionary-French-Vocabulary-Dictionaries/dp/0415775310on building your vocabulary. Expose yourself as much as possible to French. There's enough on youtube etc., French websites etc., to do that. Don't worry if you don't understand a thing at first, or even for a while. Eventually you'll find yourself doing so. |
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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.
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« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2012, 04:00:31 PM » |
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I would not expect learning French outside the classroom to be exceptionally difficult. As Isa points out, there is enough material on the internet to become familiar with the language, and as you already speak an Indo-European language (presumably natively), the learning curve is less steep than if you were to attempt to learn a genetically-unrelated language. Certain other factors are also in your favor (writing system, the very large number of cognates in English due to our history of borrowing from French, etc). Go for it!
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« Last Edit: January 21, 2012, 04:01:04 PM by dzheremi »
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« Reply #9 on: January 21, 2012, 04:57:54 PM » |
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French bears resemblance to Spanish and the other Romance languages. If you learn French, you'll find the others are a bit easier as well. I can read Spanish thanks in part to having studied French. I don't know of a place where they speak Esperanto- you can learn it for fun, but if you want to learn something people you will hear people use in real places, go for French, Spanish or something like that. You may get some help from the Teach Yourself series, or Berlitz, or programs like that. Many of them are available in public libraries. These days, you can also download programs or buy them used as well. Good luck.  |
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« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2012, 08:43:20 AM » |
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I'm from the city the Esperanto creator was born.
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formerly known as mikeDespite being a Polish citizen I am not a Pole.  Long live Belarus! "It's my constitutional right!" |
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ialmisry
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« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2012, 11:21:47 AM » |
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I'm from the city the Esperanto creator was born.
I was in Poland when the Esperantistoj were gathered to celebrate the centennary of their language. Chu vi parolas Esperante? |
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« Last Edit: January 22, 2012, 11:22:28 AM by ialmisry »
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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.
A hasty quarrel kindles fire,
and urgent strife sheds blood.
If you blow on a spark, it will glow;
if you spit on it, it will be put out;
and both come out of your mouth
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« Reply #12 on: January 22, 2012, 11:25:10 AM » |
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No  |
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formerly known as mikeDespite being a Polish citizen I am not a Pole. Long live Belarus! "It's my constitutional right!" |
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Eugenio
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« Reply #13 on: January 23, 2012, 01:52:28 AM » |
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To learn Esperanto, shouldn't you take 2 years of Polish, 2 years of Spanish, and then combine the two? </sarcasm>  |
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Achronos
Miami's Theme Song (Spongebob): Who lives in Miami right by the sea? LeBron James! Absorbent and bald and selfish is he. LeBron James! If not being clutch be somethin' ya wish. LeBron James! Then drop on the floor and flop like a fish.
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« Reply #14 on: January 23, 2012, 01:56:50 AM » |
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Thanks guys.
No I was told one "should" have a grounding with Esperanto because then its like a gateway to other foreign languages and it makes it easier to learn.
The problem is getting exposed to French every single day. I guess that means alot of time with French films which is fine with me, but yeah maybe I need to get a pen pal or something.
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« Reply #15 on: January 23, 2012, 02:34:18 AM » |
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I took several years of French in middle & high school and college. Never needed to learn any other language to help me understand it.
If you were going to learn a language to prep you for French, I'd recommend either Latin or Spanish. Good idea to learn some Latin regardless with the number of Latin roots we have in English.
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« Reply #16 on: January 24, 2012, 01:43:59 AM » |
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I would suggest taking a class at your local community college. I think if you enroll as a non-degree seeking student with only the intention of taking the French classes it could be significantly cheaper.
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Aidan
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« Reply #17 on: January 24, 2012, 06:06:08 AM » |
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I am interested to know why anyone would choose French to learn for the first time. It's not spoken as widely as Spanish or English. Spanish is easier to learn and Spanish is lovely on the ear (I was made to learn French at school and French people didn't used to make it easy to converse with them so I have an anti French language prejudice!)
Then there are other important and rewarding languages like Russian, Arabic and of course Chinese.
So why French? It ain't easy!
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ialmisry
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« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2012, 06:44:25 AM » |
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I am interested to know why anyone would choose French to learn for the first time. It's not spoken as widely as Spanish or English. Spanish is easier to learn and Spanish is lovely on the ear (I was made to learn French at school and French people didn't used to make it easy to converse with them so I have an anti French language prejudice!)
Then there are other important and rewarding languages like Russian, Arabic and of course Chinese.
So why French? It ain't easy!
LOL. Far easier than Russian, Arabic and of course Chinese. |
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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.
A hasty quarrel kindles fire,
and urgent strife sheds blood.
If you blow on a spark, it will glow;
if you spit on it, it will be put out;
and both come out of your mouth
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Ortho_cat
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« Reply #19 on: January 24, 2012, 01:36:44 PM » |
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I really want to learn French but I've been told I need to get myself prepped with Esperanto. I heard lernu! is a good site to learn from but does anyone have any advice/suggestions on learning a language that I will basically be self-taught? Or is self-taught just a recipe for failure?
go for greek...  |
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« Reply #20 on: January 24, 2012, 01:38:57 PM » |
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I really want to learn French but I've been told I need to get myself prepped with Esperanto. I heard lernu! is a good site to learn from but does anyone have any advice/suggestions on learning a language that I will basically be self-taught? Or is self-taught just a recipe for failure?
go for greek... ive always wanted to learn Greek! couldve done it in college if i wasnt such a slacker... |
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Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved. — Chrysostom BLOG |
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« Reply #21 on: January 24, 2012, 01:44:51 PM » |
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I use busuu.com to help me practice Russian. They have a wide selection of languages, including Francais! It's a good supplement to go along with your main learning resource. http://www.busuu.com/ |
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« Reply #22 on: January 24, 2012, 02:32:44 PM » |
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I really want to learn French but I've been told I need to get myself prepped with Esperanto. I heard lernu! is a good site to learn from but does anyone have any advice/suggestions on learning a language that I will basically be self-taught? Or is self-taught just a recipe for failure?
Just learn French. If you wish to be self-taught, and that is possible, it is good to have a coach, who is a native speaker of French. First of all, study the language features of French. Knowledge of the phonetic sounds, the morphology, and the syntax will greatly increase your acquisition of the French language. Listen to children's songs and the news in French. Get some French newspapers, books, and magazines to keep current. Did you know that American Sign Language comes from the French? So the syntax of American Sign Language is different from English syntax. Oh, learning Spanish, which is also a Romance language will help you learn French. And if you wish to learn Spanish, Latin and Greek will help as many words in Spanish are derived from the Latin and the Greek. |
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« Last Edit: January 24, 2012, 02:34:15 PM by Maria »
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ialmisry
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« Reply #23 on: January 24, 2012, 02:35:38 PM » |
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I really want to learn French but I've been told I need to get myself prepped with Esperanto. I heard lernu! is a good site to learn from but does anyone have any advice/suggestions on learning a language that I will basically be self-taught? Or is self-taught just a recipe for failure?
Just learn French. If you wish to be self-taught, and that is possible, it is good to have a coach, who is a native speaker of French. First of all, study the language features of French. Knowledge of the phonetic sounds, the morphology, and the syntax will greatly increase your acquisition of the French language. Listen to children's songs and the news in French. Get some French newspapers, books, and magazines to keep current. Did you know that American Sign Language comes from the French? So the syntax of American Sign Language is different from English syntax. Oh, learning Spanish, which is also a Romance language will help you learn French. And if you wish to learn Spanish, Latin and Greek will help as many words in Spanish are derived from the Latin and the Greek. and the Arabic (though many of them are not recognizable). |
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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.
A hasty quarrel kindles fire,
and urgent strife sheds blood.
If you blow on a spark, it will glow;
if you spit on it, it will be put out;
and both come out of your mouth
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Maria
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« Reply #24 on: January 24, 2012, 02:48:01 PM » |
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I really want to learn French but I've been told I need to get myself prepped with Esperanto. I heard lernu! is a good site to learn from but does anyone have any advice/suggestions on learning a language that I will basically be self-taught? Or is self-taught just a recipe for failure?
Just learn French. If you wish to be self-taught, and that is possible, it is good to have a coach, who is a native speaker of French. First of all, study the language features of French. Knowledge of the phonetic sounds, the morphology, and the syntax will greatly increase your acquisition of the French language. Listen to children's songs and the news in French. Get some French newspapers, books, and magazines to keep current. Did you know that American Sign Language comes from the French? So the syntax of American Sign Language is different from English syntax. Oh, learning Spanish, which is also a Romance language will help you learn French. And if you wish to learn Spanish, Latin and Greek will help as many words in Spanish are derived from the Latin and the Greek. and the Arabic (though many of them are not recognizable). Oh, yes, the Spanish "Ojala" is from Allah .... Would that God ... |
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Glory to Jesus Christ!
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dzheremi
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« Reply #25 on: January 24, 2012, 03:13:42 PM » |
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Much more than that. Check out F. Corriente's work on Spanish Arabic (he did a dictionary and a descriptive grammar back in the 1970s-80s) and you'll have a lot of "aha!" moments. I know I did. |
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Hiwot
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« Reply #26 on: January 24, 2012, 03:38:50 PM » |
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Ok I am very curious about this, Isa, How many languages do you know ? indulge me if you please and list what they are lol |
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vamrat
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« Reply #27 on: January 24, 2012, 05:38:34 PM » |
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You will be a lot better off if you have someone to speak the language with, or some other manner of practicing it, though I have found speaking is the best. You also need a motivation to learn it. If you aren't going to use it frequently then it's going to be difficult to learn and harder to retain. I've studied Latin, German, and Russian, and while I worked in fast food I got semi-proficient in Spanish. I use these languages so rarely that there is no way I could hold a conversation in any of them.
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It is an education process for me as I learn about the psychology of spiritual apostasy. And others get the benefit of perhaps hearing righteousness for the first time.
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biro
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« Reply #28 on: January 24, 2012, 05:56:18 PM » |
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I really want to learn French but I've been told I need to get myself prepped with Esperanto. I heard lernu! is a good site to learn from but does anyone have any advice/suggestions on learning a language that I will basically be self-taught? Or is self-taught just a recipe for failure?
go for greek... ive always wanted to learn Greek! couldve done it in college if i wasnt such a slacker... That part's easy. Just try a GOA parish. |
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phthalyl.podomatic.com | the-cornet.blogspot.com | https://soundcloud.com/meteor___ Charlie Rose: If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be? Fran Lebowitz: Everything. There is not one thing with which I am satisfied. |
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« Reply #29 on: January 25, 2012, 09:15:03 AM » |
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Try this website, it is free and we all help each other, it teaches you the language in many different ways. and you submit recordings to a native speaker of your chosen language, they will give you comments back: http://www.livemocha.com |
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Timon
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« Reply #30 on: January 25, 2012, 11:07:52 AM » |
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I really want to learn French but I've been told I need to get myself prepped with Esperanto. I heard lernu! is a good site to learn from but does anyone have any advice/suggestions on learning a language that I will basically be self-taught? Or is self-taught just a recipe for failure?
go for greek... ive always wanted to learn Greek! couldve done it in college if i wasnt such a slacker... That part's easy. Just try a GOA parish. When I am able to attend, I go to a Greek parish. Thats why I want to learn... ha! I have no idea whats happening for most of the service! |
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Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy and His love for men. Even if we stand at the very summit of virtue, it is by mercy that we shall be saved. — Chrysostom BLOG |
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