Comments on: The Language Difficulty Myth http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/ Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:44:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Josephine http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-606 Josephine Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:01:47 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-606 Hey~ Yep, I speak Indonesian. <br><br>Yes, technically 'ayam makan' can mean any of those things. In order to distinguish between all the meanings you mentioned, we add suffixes and prefixes to the verb. makan = dimakan (be eaten), memakan/makan (is eating), makanan (food) etc. To distinguish between the past, present and future, we insert 'time words' eg. akan = will be, lagi = currently, etc. Ayam akan dimakan, therefore, will translate to 'Chicken will be eaten'<br><br>Once you learn these rules (which are nearly always regular and should take about 1 month for the laziest learner), lo and behold .. I daresay a good 70% of conversational Indonesian will be open to you. 8) The other 30% comes from the hordes of Indonesian slang that my generation has created...<br><br>I shall now make my leave before I sound like I'm exaggerating too much (which I'm not, by the way)! Hey~ Yep, I speak Indonesian.

Yes, technically 'ayam makan' can mean any of those things. In order to distinguish between all the meanings you mentioned, we add suffixes and prefixes to the verb. makan = dimakan (be eaten), memakan/makan (is eating), makanan (food) etc. To distinguish between the past, present and future, we insert 'time words' eg. akan = will be, lagi = currently, etc. Ayam akan dimakan, therefore, will translate to 'Chicken will be eaten'

Once you learn these rules (which are nearly always regular and should take about 1 month for the laziest learner), lo and behold .. I daresay a good 70% of conversational Indonesian will be open to you. 8) The other 30% comes from the hordes of Indonesian slang that my generation has created…

I shall now make my leave before I sound like I'm exaggerating too much (which I'm not, by the way)!

]]> By: lyzazel http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-603 lyzazel Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:55:16 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-603 Wow, do you speak Indonesian? I learned about it in one of my TTC courses. <br><br>I think the only phrase I know is "ayam makan" which was an example of easy grammar: it could supposedly mean (the) chicken eats, chicken will eat, chicken ate, chicken was eating, chicken is eating, chicken will be eating, chicken was eaten, chicken is eaten, chicken will be eaten, and a number of other things. Wow, do you speak Indonesian? I learned about it in one of my TTC courses.

I think the only phrase I know is “ayam makan” which was an example of easy grammar: it could supposedly mean (the) chicken eats, chicken will eat, chicken ate, chicken was eating, chicken is eating, chicken will be eating, chicken was eaten, chicken is eaten, chicken will be eaten, and a number of other things.

]]> By: Josephine http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-602 Josephine Sun, 25 Jul 2010 12:54:14 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-602 Me too, somehow. Although in my case, I have a feeling that Indonesian is scientifically proven to be the easiest language in the world!<br><br>Non-fussy pronunciation, no tenses, no cases, natives murder their own grammar on a daily basis, few conversational vocabulary, spelling not usually taken into account while typing etc. Me too, somehow. Although in my case, I have a feeling that Indonesian is scientifically proven to be the easiest language in the world!

Non-fussy pronunciation, no tenses, no cases, natives murder their own grammar on a daily basis, few conversational vocabulary, spelling not usually taken into account while typing etc.

]]> By: geriva http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-526 geriva Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:47:21 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-526 I think I had some contact with your husband lately on facebook. Great to have caught up again.<br>Yes, I had some school-English at that time. Twice I missed a grate in the same class. This might at least have been a good basis to work with. I place here an temporary e-mail adress, so we can get in touch. On this site you can find a multi-lingual experiment, when my daughter Esther had a cerebral haemorrhage. That was my way to work with it.<br><a href="http://ivanovitsag.gmxhome.de/estherTagebuch1.html" rel="nofollow">http://ivanovitsag.gmxhome.de/estherTagebuch1.html</a><br><a href="mailto:aeg@topmail-files.de" rel="nofollow">aeg@topmail-files.de</a><br>Thanks to this forum for communication. I think I had some contact with your husband lately on facebook. Great to have caught up again.
Yes, I had some school-English at that time. Twice I missed a grate in the same class. This might at least have been a good basis to work with. I place here an temporary e-mail adress, so we can get in touch. On this site you can find a multi-lingual experiment, when my daughter Esther had a cerebral haemorrhage. That was my way to work with it.
http://ivanovitsag.gmxhome.de/estherTagebuch1.html
aeg@topmail-files.de
Thanks to this forum for communication.

]]> By: lyzazel http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-525 lyzazel Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:04:38 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-525 Well, I guess that's a small world. :) Well, I guess that's a small world. :)

]]> By: lyzazel http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-791 lyzazel Sun, 25 Apr 2010 22:03:00 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-791 Well, I guess that's a small world. :) Well, I guess that’s a small world. :)

]]> By: tomris somay http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-524 tomris somay Sun, 25 Apr 2010 21:50:52 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-524 hello gerhard,how nice to have met you after all these years,but if I remember correctly, I had'nt taught you english ,you already spoke english,anyway, that's of no importance,wish the best for you all hello gerhard,how nice to have met you after all these years,but if I remember correctly, I had'nt taught you english ,you already spoke english,anyway, that's of no importance,wish the best for you all

]]> By: Amelia http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-519 Amelia Sat, 17 Apr 2010 01:30:42 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-519 Love the first comment! My first thought after reading this article was that the only people I've ever met who think their language is easy were Turks and sure enough.... What's more, at least in Istanbul, locals are very supportive when you're trying to learn, which also helps. Of course, Turkish went through language reforms to make it so regular and "easy." <br><br>But yes, people seem to like to score points for having a "difficult" language as their mother tongue. Some will scare foreigners with these statements and then wonder why foreigners don't try to learn. Sigh. Love the first comment! My first thought after reading this article was that the only people I've ever met who think their language is easy were Turks and sure enough…. What's more, at least in Istanbul, locals are very supportive when you're trying to learn, which also helps. Of course, Turkish went through language reforms to make it so regular and “easy.”

But yes, people seem to like to score points for having a “difficult” language as their mother tongue. Some will scare foreigners with these statements and then wonder why foreigners don't try to learn. Sigh.

]]> By: geriva http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-517 geriva Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:42:32 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-517 Have you been in Istanbul Ataköy in 1970?<br>Maybe it was you who taught me English at that time,<br>I am from Austria Have you been in Istanbul Ataköy in 1970?
Maybe it was you who taught me English at that time,
I am from Austria

]]> By: Robby Kukurs http://ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/the-language-difficulty-myth/comment-page-1/#comment-509 Robby Kukurs Sun, 11 Apr 2010 20:14:24 +0000 http://www.ikindalikelanguages.com/blog/?p=226#comment-509 Hi Geriva,<br><br>You might find this article interesting: <a href="http://bygonebureau.com/2010/03/19/the-awful-elements-of-english/" rel="nofollow">http://bygonebureau.com/2010/03/19/the-awful-el...</a> where the author argues English difficulty against German language's simpicity... :-) Hi Geriva,

You might find this article interesting: http://bygonebureau.com/2010/03/19/the-awful-el… where the author argues English difficulty against German language's simpicity… :-)

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