Hi everyone! I was wondering about people's thoughts on foreign language levels in European countries, like Germany and France. Is foreign language learning prevelant and/or required in school? Are most people, or people in a certain category, fluent in more than one language? What languages are emphasized in different countries?
For those curious about the US, I feel like we emphasize Spanish and French in school, and then emphasize Arabic, Chinese, and Russian when we're older. Not many people in the US are bilingual unless they 1) have made an effort to be, 2) are the child of immigrants, or 3) are immigrants themselves.
In American English (not sure about other countries), but have an abundant amount of acroynms and chatspeak that we use everyday, in formal and informal settings. Many stem from and are exclusively for texting or internet chat. Some fall under the category "shorthand" and others are so intertwined with our language that they basically are words themselves. I was interested in hearing from non-native speakers about their thoughts on our heavy usage of these, if they are difficult to learn, and if they have a favorite one. Natives speakers, too, can answer, especially those who grew up before the internet.
Also, punctuation and grammar on the internet have evolved to be able to convey tone and emotion without having to hear the words. It's actually pretty amazing. Having grow up on the internet, basically, this isn't something new and is something myself and other young people are well versed in. The placement of commas and capitalizations are not always "grammatically correct," but instead are used to denote how they would be said irl (in real life). In an age where written communication is instant and constant, it's no surpise that we have developed a way of conveying spoken intonation through internet grammar.
For native and non-native speakers alike, what are your thoughts on acronyms, texting lingo, and the evolution of the English language alongside the internet?
Have you learned or heard any slang words you really like? How is it different than your native language? Can you use it properly or are you still unsure of when to use it?
Doesn't have to be for English!
Por ejemplo, en inglés no hay palabras de género pero en español casi todas palabras son masculino o feminino.
En el idioma vietnamita, los verbos no tienen conjugaciones y los pronombres cambian según la edad de cada persona.
For example, I speak English and I really like when Spanish speakers or people from India speak English.
What about you?
(I know the Indian English accent can almost be considered a non-foreign accent to an extent, due to the way English is taught and used in India, but for this I still consider it a non-native accent.)
I´m watching a new show in Spanish that uses a lot of slang. Many of the words are vulgar and equivalent to English swears, but when I hear or read them I don´t feel much of the same intensity that I feel when I hear English swears. Some actually sound cute or nice until you learn the meaning. Does anyone else have this same thing? Has anyone had an incident where they said something vulgar in their second language without realizing it?
