+krizis 6 Posted December 20, 2008 We, Russians, have to learn English in school, then in University, then if we are going to take a Ph.D. degree. This order was established in our country decades ago, so IMHO it is wrong to think that confrontation between USA & USSR wouldn't allow the people to know the languages of each other. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silverbolt 104 Posted December 20, 2008 (edited) We, Russians, have to learn English in school, then in University, then if we are going to take a Ph.D. degree. This order was established in our country decades ago, so IMHO it is wrong to think that confrontation between USA & USSR wouldn't allow the people to know the languages of each other. yeah, you're right btw, in soviet union time the citzens could learn english? Edited December 20, 2008 by Silverbolt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+krizis 6 Posted December 20, 2008 (edited) Sure! As well as French and German. Moreover, the knowledge of at least one foreign language is, and was, necessary to finish russian school. Edited December 20, 2008 by krizis Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Brain32 265 Posted December 20, 2008 (edited) Sure! As well as French and German.Moreover, the knowledge of at least one foreign language is, and was, necessary to finish russian school. Same here, English and German are dominant choices but Italian and French are also present, other languages are rarely in the regular programs. In elementary school you only have to learn one, but in highschool you have "primary" foreign language(advanced lessons) and secondary foreign language(begginer lessons)... On universities you pick one of the foreign languages you studied in HS and take courses in it that are specifically related to terms and topics of the subject you are trying to graduate. Also various courses on loads of other foreign languages are easy to find and are, or atleast were when I last looked quite affordable. Come to think of it, I might as well look for something that will make my German usable lol Watching "Alarm fur Cobra" with subtitles does not cut it really lol Edited December 20, 2008 by Brain32 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gr.Viper 131 Posted December 21, 2008 man: are you single ? Lady: no Im выпущено man: why are you crying ? lady : i have a гидро :rofl: I once took up Arabic... forgotten most of it now but it's not that difficult to learn. Word structure is a bit peculiar but the rest is more understandable. BTW I also heard that Cinese is relatively simple to learn at beginner's level due to simple grammar. But when one gets to building up the vocabulary and pronouncing it, things get tough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kct 5 Posted December 21, 2008 Chinese is tough. Seriously (this is coming form a Chinese that barely knew how to read and write Mandarin). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastCargo 412 Posted December 21, 2008 No kidding Chinese is tough. My wife is ethnic Chinese but born and raised in Canada (first generation Canadian)...speaks the King's English (all those extra vowels). She's tried to teach me Cantonese...and I'm not strong in languages to begin with. The thing I've noticed about most asian languages (being half Korean myself and unable to learn the language) is that tone, stress and duration are VERY important. In English, you can say a word with a totally wrong stress, tone and duration, and it's recognizable. However, just changing one part of stress, duration, or tone in an asian language can totally change the meaning of the word. Makes it very hard to learn without lots of practice unless you've been immersed from the beginning or have a natural aptitude for that sort of thing. FC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wrench 9,852 Posted December 22, 2008 Aren't the most important phrases to learn in ANY language "Which way to the bathroom/toilet?" and "Which way to the secret installations?" -----------------| Wrench kevin stein Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Syrinx 13 Posted December 22, 2008 I must admit I feel a slight shame in not being able to speak another language. We did French and German in school, with the option of Spanish. We never took it seriously and treated it as some kind of chore we just had to get through. Wish I'd payed more attention. I'm impressed with the level of English that's displayed by a lot of members here and it's kind of humbling. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
column5 63 Posted December 22, 2008 Aren't the most important phrases to learn in ANY language "Which way to the bathroom/toilet?" and "Which way to the secret installations?" Don't forget: "Which way to the nuclear wessels?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+EricJ 4,249 Posted December 22, 2008 Okay.. moved it because we've gotten over the precipice on the topic... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gr.Viper 131 Posted December 22, 2008 "Which way to the secret installations?" I have a Russian-Arabic phasebook somewhere, that has got (among innocent tourist phrases) "Where is the aircraft carrier?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kct 5 Posted December 22, 2008 The thing I've noticed about most asian languages (being half Korean myself and unable to learn the language) is that tone, stress and duration are VERY important. In English, you can say a word with a totally wrong stress, tone and duration, and it's recognizable. However, just changing one part of stress, duration, or tone in an asian language can totally change the meaning of the word. Makes it very hard to learn without lots of practice unless you've been immersed from the beginning or have a natural aptitude for that sort of thing. Well, to make a long story short, East Asian languages are..."flowery". As in they are rather expressive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted December 22, 2008 I took more years of Spanish than I can remember, but I've had little use for it in the last 7 years or so and I've forgotten a lot. I still can get the gist of what a given sentence means, but sometimes I miss the nuances. I can read it better than hear it due to all the different accents for Spanish. Cuban can be a real pain to the ear with how they drop their d's. They don't say "ustedes"...they say "uste-es". However, I don't really try to speak or write it at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Julhelm 266 Posted December 24, 2008 Could we have this thread split with the cockpit-related posts put back in modelling forum because my intention for this was as a reference thread? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites