English chatting room

[deco gonzalez]

Another thing is that English has so many tenses(let me count,may be about 12). .But anyway,I think English is pretty easy to learn.

[GoJ]

We think English is easy just because we learn English since we are small. Nowadays, children learn English when they are around 3rd grade (8 years old) perhaps. But if you know more about other languages in the world, you may find easier language because that language is familiar with Vietnamese (I'm talking about Asian languages).

For example, Chinese is the closet language to Vietnamese, next is S.E.Asian languages. Japanese is close to Vietnamese too, it have so many points in common than you can image.

For me, there is no easy language because language is a product of human, and human can never be simple ^^

[bestnmtuan]

(31-08-2008 11:38 PM)GoJ Wrote:  We think English is easy just because we learn English since we are small. Nowadays, children learn English when they are around 3rd grade (8 years old) perhaps. But if you know more about other languages in the world, you may find easier language because that language is familiar with Vietnamese (I'm talking about Asian languages).

For example, Chinese is the closet language to Vietnamese, next is S.E.Asian languages. Japanese is close to Vietnamese too, it have so many points in common than you can image.

For me, there is no easy language because language is a product of human, and human can never be simple ^^

Just a comment, the language most usually considered to be closest to Vietnamese is Malaysian, not Chinese.
Anw, most Malaysians can say my name, one thing that hardly had any Chinese been able to do so far.
(if ya wanna know, my name is Nguyễn Minh Tuấn).

[diamondofperfect]

How do you define "easy" when you learn a language? Is Vietnamese easy to learn? Definitely not even though it's our native language. It's only easy to learn a language as a mean of communication. When you want to learn and understand its "soul" wholly, to read between the lines in that language, to see and decipher the metaphor it contains, it's not that easy, guys ^~^!

[medoubleq]

(01-09-2008 12:38 AM)bestnmtuan Wrote:  

(31-08-2008 11:38 PM)GoJ Wrote:  We think English is easy just because we learn English since we are small. Nowadays, children learn English when they are around 3rd grade (8 years old) perhaps. But if you know more about other languages in the world, you may find easier language because that language is familiar with Vietnamese (I'm talking about Asian languages).

For example, Chinese is the closet language to Vietnamese, next is S.E.Asian languages. Japanese is close to Vietnamese too, it have so many points in common than you can image.

For me, there is no easy language because language is a product of human, and human can never be simple ^^

Just a comment, the language most usually considered to be closest to Vietnamese is Malaysian, not Chinese.
Anw, most Malaysians can say my name, one thing that hardly had any Chinese been able to do so far.
(if ya wanna know, my name is Nguyễn Minh Tuấn).

is it Malaysian which is closest to Vietnamese? Cool! Gotta check it! Chinese-speaking people cannot pronounce our name. They all call me Jeremy
The only thing I know is that Thai has the closest (may be the same) accent with Vietnamese!

[deco gonzalez]

Let me compare English with Vietnamese.In VIetnames,it seems like we just have to combine the words to make a sentence,and the vocab system is not complicated.I mean that in differrent tenses,we still only use one kind of verb,we don't have to change the verb.But in English,the tense is a bit complicated,it may confuse the speaker,and we have to change the verb.And we have to follow some rules(may be a bit complex) to make a sentence,too.

However,the way we pronounce a word in English is much easier than in Vietnamese.

[medoubleq]

some rules are better than no rules! Vietnamese spoken in the real life seems to be out of anything can be explained by grammar

[neo260192]

almost Vietnameses agree that our languge is the easiest one to learn or speak because of no rules but according to foreigners , they think that Vietnamese is one of the most difficult one to learn , because of the grammar , sound , track ..... . But there are many similars about the pronunciation so Vietanameses seem to be good at learning English . What do you think about it ?

[medoubleq]

similar pronunciation???? Really???? Vietnamese and English??? Totally disagree!!!!

[WodenFreya]

I'd been to many different English-speaking countries and had had chances to explore many different English accents. Up to now to me the North American one is the most beautiful 'coz it really sounds like a song . Ppl there read fast with a really special tone that I think you could not disagree with me whenever you had a chance like me too...

Well... for why English had become a global language , we should mention about History... How English man had planned to convey the World before.. Many ppl find it's hard to learn because of its polysyllable , spelling and meaning . Vietnamese already has its own set of diacritic marks to form its own accent while English has not . Therefore many accents had been formed due to different locations in the Earth . (each nation has its own accent) .

English is beautiful . Yeah . Because it's not our mother language , there we can not thoroughly understand and use it properly . I have an example . Let's consider about SLANG . Some Vietnamese who knows English a little bit can usually yells "s***" or the f-word at others while he/she cannot say it directly in his/her own language .

WELL... really ... the Variety Is The Spice Of Life . (:

[deco gonzalez]

@ neo:What make you say that? Give me an example.
@WodenFraya:Why do you consider English a beautiful language?It's not.I have talked about that.ENglish sounds little bit harsh,not like French or Japanese.
@Diamondofperfect:Basically,language is just a means of communication.We mostly use language to communicate,right?SO the basic aim of learning a language is just to use it correctly.We don't have to understand its soul.

[diamondofperfect]

I don't think language is JUST a means of communication. When you say that, you seem to underestimate the beauty of a language a lot!!! Anw, it's only my opinion, everybody has different ideas, no need to argue more =)! Peace out ^_^!

[bestnmtuan]

(02-09-2008 09:04 AM)deco gonzalez Wrote:  @Diamondofperfect:Basically,language is just a means of communication.We mostly use language to communicate,right?SO the basic aim of learning a language is just to use it correctly.We don't have to understand its soul.

I do not think so. Language plays a much more important role in every society's life. It is no doubt the very first communication means among things that have help primates evolve to human. But, to remind you, almost any species of animals, especially those forming a society, has developed their own means of communication. Do you call all that language?
Therefore, "language", as you have said - just a means of communication - was not what has played the role in our transformation from band societies to civilized societies. In my opinion, what a person should learn is not such "language" but the "language" that, in almost any encyclopedia chapter over mankind, is listed in the cultural part. Try wikipedia, then if you feels such wikies is not reliable, try encarta..

Quote:Viết lại bằng tv do trình độ anh văn as just a means of communication của mình kém cỏi quá:
Mình không nghĩ vậy. Ngôn ngữ đóng vai trò quan trọng hơn nhiều trong đời sống bất kì xã hội nào. Nó chắc chắc là công cụ giao tiếp đầu tiên, một trong những thứ giúp linh trưởng tiến hóa thành người. Nhưng mình cũng muốn nhắc cho bạn nhớ là hầu như bất kì loại động vật nào, nhất là những loài sống thành xã hội, cũng phát triển phương thức giao tiếp riêng. Bạn có gọi tất cả những cái đó là ngôn ngữ không?
Do vậy, ngôn ngữ như bạn nói không phải là thứ đã đóng vai trò trong việc giúp con người chuyển từ xã hội bầy đàn sang xã hội văn minh đâu. Theo mình, cái mà một người nên học không phải là "ngôn ngữ" theo cách hiểu đó, mà phải là "ngôn ngữ" mà hầu như những quyển bách khoa toàn thư, xếp vào mục văn hóa.

[deco gonzalez]

So can I ask you a question? What do you learn a foreign language(on this case is English) for?I bet that the very first aim for anyone to study English is to be able to communicate with foreigners('cause English is a global language).I do agree with you that Languages do play a more important role than just a means of communication in general,but the existence of languages generally is based on the fact people want to communicate with one another and language is just a "higher level" means of communication,better than gesture and or just shouting to each other.
In conclusion,language has its own beauty.But normally,we don't have to discover or to understand that,that is not our job.We just have to use it right,and that is!

[bestnmtuan]

My case is not generally like many's, I study English cause' I love Jack London and O'Henri's work so much that I want to read and understand it in its natural language.
I also admit that many many people are learning English just with their very first aim to be able to communicate with foreigners, but it does not mean that they will always consider it a means of communication. I know a lot of people who start to love English after studying it for a long time.
Besides, you agree that it plays an important role in this life, but still not argue, may I wonder which life are you living in? Not "this life" I am in, maybe? Or you are learning English for another life somewhere I do not know?
We might be having a problem of viewing things from different aspects. But I see another problems in our education system (and not only ours), that many students study a subject without loving it. They think they do not need to understand the soul of English cause' it is just a means of communication, of Maths cause' it is just a tool to other areas, of Literature cause'... of Physics cause'...