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Thread: For the love of <insert deity of choice> STOP RAINING.

  1. #11
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chris View Post
    That's it then. I really can't imagine you in a situation where you wouldn't be able to talk to people.
    I think Nellie is in the same category as me which could accurately be described as garrulous.

    In 1988 my other half talked me into moving to Spain as she had got a job teaching English.
    At that stage I had a total of about 10 words of Spanish, mostly related to beer and wine, and I can remember a really strong feeling of isolation as I was so used to spending my free time bantering with mates and I was now reduced to a mixture of sign language an pidgin.
    After 6 months I could read pretty fluently but it took me a good 5 years to gain any degree of verbal fluency.
    Reading and writing is easy as you have all the time in the world but listening and speaking is way more demanding.
    people who do not speak a second language think that you kind of absorb it through the skin if you move abroad but I remember Spain was full of 20 year veteran expats who still had no Spanish at all.
    maybe I am just a plodder with regard to foreign language acquisition but I can remember putting in a lot of really hard work at the start, always reading the paper with a dictionary and a notebook open and stuff like that.

  2. #12
    Senior Member HJBee's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    I think Nellie is in the same category as me which could accurately be described as garrulous.
    or is that Gallous? ;0)

  3. #13
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    You know how to wound

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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  5. #15
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    The first definitions I found were the "deserving to be hanged"

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    HJBee, being the lovely lady she is, will have meant the 'stylish, impressive' variant.

  7. #17
    Senior Member HJBee's Avatar
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    I'm no lady Gavin, as I often tell folk (one tries from time to time for appearances sake).

    Adjective - Gallous
    fit to be hanged; wicked; mischievous

    After reading a lot of posts from Nellie & Jon, I would say I am fairly accurate with the last 2 for sure!

    The manner in which this adjective is used by the Glasga natives (my relatives and colleagues) is usually in a complimentary manner (oooh the banter for any chewing the fat fans) . This was my attempt at joining the boys 'lighthearted banter' peppered across the forum. It seems I failed with the need for explanation, will go and stand in the corner of the room for about 2 minutes penance. 😏
    Last edited by HJBee; 22-06-2012 at 11:57 AM.

  8. #18
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    Not at all, I'm going to point at Gavin rather than me and suggest we send him to the SBAi naughty step.

  9. #19
    Senior Member chris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jon View Post
    maybe I am just a plodder with regard to foreign language acquisition
    Without wishing to compliment you, I believe the speed of learning a second language is inversely proportional to ones intelligence

  10. #20
    Senior Member Jon's Avatar
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    There is a grain of truth in that in my experience but I think the key thing is personality trait. Some are too lazy and think the rest of the world should speak English. Other perfectionists will not say anything if there is a chance of making an error - bad strategy for a beginner! There was one of our crowd who used to correct all of us on inappropriate use of the subjunctive but he couldn't hold a conversation with anyone.
    The key thing is getting a bit of confidence and being prepared to communicate through paraphrasing at the start. If you don't know the word for donkey it is perfectly acceptable to say that you saw and animal like a horse but with bigger ears.
    At some point heading towards fluency you realise that you are not declining verbs internally any more and your discourse is coming out of your mouth the same way English does but with a funny accent. That's the way it worked for me anyway. I dropped all languages early on at School, mostly in favour of Science subjects. I picked Geology over French, after 3 years of French, Geography over Latin after 3 years and Art over German after one year of it. I have a mental block about German (sorry Doris and Eric!) I just could not get my head around that language at all.
    Spanish is so like Latin
    Verb to be.
    Sum Es Est Sumus Estis sunt
    vs
    Soy eres es, somos estais son

    Best adjective for garrulous in Spanish is probably baboso, from baba meaning slaver or spittle.

    El apicultor de Bristol es baboso.
    Last edited by Jon; 22-06-2012 at 01:39 PM.

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