Are you happy with your native language? I think our first language and especially the culture we grow up into has a permanent impact on our personalities. No matter how big or small this language is, I believe it will always have a special place in our hearts, no matter where we go and how many languages we master throughout our lives.

If you had the power, would you change it? Would you pick a different mother tongue? I'm curious :)

Anglicisms in languages Hello! I'd like to reach out to all non-native English speakers and native English speakers who are proficient in some foreign language.

An anglicism is when a word or phrase is borrowed from English and put into a foreign language as it is or with slight changes so that it can be adapted in the target language. Basically, using an English word in a foreign language.

I first learned about this phenomenon when I was learning German in high school. German uses lots of English words but I also noticed it happening in Japanese. Since then I've noticed that I also used a bunch of English words in my native language, Hungarian. And not only me, but also the vast majority of my peers.

I think these words may blend in better with the German grammatical structures but in Hungarian, we use conjugations, preffixes and suffixes a lot, and when these are put onto an English word, it sounds absolutely ridiculious and horrendous.

This is hugely thanks to the internet and the popularity of English content and therefore some words are integrated into our language because of the lack of an appropriate translation or simply because the English word is much simpler and shorter and our conjugation allows them to be used just like an ordinary native word.

The result is a weird mixture of languages, neither English nor proper Hungarian; one that really hurts my ears, since I'm proficient in both languages. Even our media is filled with these words. I hope this trend is only popular among young people though. My language has such a great variety in its vocabulary and it's so sad to hear sentences that are more English than they are Hungarian.

So I'd like to hear your opinions. Do you think this is harmful to languages, or maybe on the contrary, it just widens them perhaps? Is this present in most languages? Do you think someone is weird for using native words instead of popular/trendy words borrowed from English? Please share anything regarding this phenomenon, I'm interested.

Thanks for reading me!

What is/are your favorite quote(s)? Hello everyone!

Let's share our favorite quotes with each other. Try to give a little explanation why you like it so much.

If your quote is not in English, that's fine! Feel free to share the original and then try to translate it as best as you can :)

I have many quotes that I really like. Here is one of them:

<em>"I've always found doors fascinating inventions. They hold the entry to unlimited imagination. Before you open any door, a world filled with possibilities sits right behind it. And it isn't until you open it they are realized. Such potential they bring to our minds. And yet a lock stopped you from all of that."</em> ~ from Mr. Robot (series)

I really love that. It's very self-explanatory. The unknown fascinates our imagination, although we might give up on finding out the reality due to obstacles. Sometimes this helps me stay focused on my goals.

I think languages are similar to doors. Each holds the entry to a world filled with possibilities. Learning them will grant you the key to open them.

How could I expand my vocabulary with words and expressions that are right for my skill level? Hello there!

I was wondering about my main weakness in any language I try to learn. It feels like I could always improve my vocabulary, no matter how much of an expert or beginner I am. Generally, you can improve by reading a lot but I couldn't think of a good way to find appropriate texts for my skill level. In English, I'd prefer something complex or archaic around C1 or C2 level. In German I'd like some B1 level practice and in Mandarin I am absolute beginner so almost any word is new for me. In my native language I can come accross new words almost every single day!

The problem is that if I try something too easy, I get bored and if I try something too difficult then it takes ages for me to translate it and it just overwhelms me. I prefer a nice balance where I can understand most of the sentences but I would run into something entirely new every now and then.

So what's a good way to find appropriate articles/books/videos for a desired skill level? Do you have any tried-and-true practices or any suggestions for me?

Thanks for reading me, have a nice day!

Looking for help in or ways to start off learning Mandarin Chinese. How should I approach it? Hello there!

I thought it would be great idea and challenge to learn Mandarin. However, I am an absolute beginner. Rather than diving straight into it, I thought it's worth a shot to ask the people around here first. Any sort of help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Also, I am looking for free alternatives for now. Thanks in advance!

What language should I learn? I wanted to learn German originally, but I don't have any goals with it. I only chose it because I've learnt it before in school so I could pick it up again fairly quickly.

Also, I live in Central Europe so German is quite dominant, but even so, I feel like English is overshadowing it.

I'm going to work in IT fields and I wonder, is there a better language to learn that could help me in the future. Chinese (mandarin), Japanese, Russian? What do you guys suggest?