I'd like to learn a language.

[Tarvos]

If you're interested in music, you could try Italian...

I know those terms, I studied music theory.

 

[Tarvos]

Why Portuguese, then? You say that Italian would be too easy - wouldn't Portuguese as well?

And any of the Scandinavian languages would be way too easy, seeing as you already know three Germanic languages (and German, I've heard, gives you a huge lead on Swedish vocabulary) and the grammar is really simple.

As for the sound of Spanish, well different strokes for different folks. :P What kind of Portuguese were you interested in?

Pronunciation. I've heard it's a bitch in Portuguese. I'm interested in Portugal-Portuguese. Brazil doesn't attract me.

Scandinavia I am just generally interested in.

 

[Lorem Ipsum]

|S | Pl
nom |puella | puellae
gen |puellae | puellarum
dat |puella (long a)| puellis
acc |puellam | puellas
abl |puella (long a)| puellis

just dropping in to say that unless my latin tuition has been wrong for the past four years, then your singular dative and ablative are out - it's "puellae; amphorae; viae", is it not?

oh, and yeah: learn latin/russian :)

 

[Zuu]

... I was taught that singular dative should be 'ae' and singular ablative be 'a' for the first feminine case.

 

[Tarvos]

Dezzuu is right.

It's:

nom. mensa
gen. mensae
dat. mensae
acc. mensam
abl. mensa

(where mensa means table)

 

[Erif]

English OWAI-

Eh, I love French, and I hated Chinese. Russian really interests me, but it's supposedly and extremely hard accent and language to perfect. Japanese could be a fun choice, and Italian is an alternative "Romance" language.

 

[Lorem Ipsum]

Ah, you're right - the ablative is just "a" on its own

 

[hopeandjoy]

just dropping in to say that unless my latin tuition has been wrong for the past four years, then your singular dative and ablative are out - it's "puellae; amphorae; viae", is it not?

oh, and yeah: learn latin/russian :)

Nope, it's long a. My notes and Wikipedia agree.

EDIT: So late.

 

[Tarvos]

You learn if you've done Latin for five years.

 

[Tailsy]

Who on earth even learns Latin any more? My dad took it when he was 13/14, and that was at a poncy public Catholic school in the 1970s. Did I just go to the worst comprehensive school on the planet or are you guys just self-learning/have weird school systems?

I don't know. Wouldn't langues vivantes be more helpful...?

 

[Zuu]

actually, Latin is often offered as an elective across high schools in the States as far as I can tell. there are competitions through the Junior Classical League and I went to state in one of them. :V

anyway, the class I took wasn't just a language class; it involved history, mythology, literature ... it was a good experience and I definitely would not have chosen a different language.

 

[1. Luftballon]

I know a middle school where latin is mandatory. don't ask.

 

[Lorem Ipsum]

You learn if you've done Latin for five years.

I've done Latin for four, actually - an error in remembrance doesn't make me completely incorrect (unless of course that comment wasn't aimed at me and I've been embarassingly arsey). And Ketsu, I still maintain that it's "ae" for the dative singular, and Wiki backs me up as well: [source]

Jessie, I only get taught Latin because I go to a grammar school - it's compulsory for the first two years, and then I chose it for "mini-option", and then at GCSE. We have to learn French/German, and then Spanish/Chinese as well.

 

[Tailsy]

@Dezzuu :o Oh, I see. THE MORE YOU KNOW! It just seems like a weird subject choice...

@Lorem Ipsum oh, grammar school? I keep thinking those were abolished lol ;;

 

[Tarvos]

Latin was an elective at my school, I chose to do it until my finals.

 

[Lorem Ipsum]

Grammar schools were abolished, but only in name. They're called "state selective" now - but everybody still calls them grammars. Downside is that Labour's vendetta against the middle class and anybody who has a chance of doing remotely well in any area means that we get severely underfunded (see: crumbling walls and severe lack of exercise books in our school while local comprehensives get state funding to build sports pitches and buy hundreds of computers).

 

[Ruby]

Some people do Latin at my school, and it's a comprehensive. Some even do A-level Ancient Greek.

 

[goldenquagsire]

Grammar schools were abolished, but only in name. They're called "state selective" now - but everybody still calls them grammars. Downside is that Labour's vendetta against the middle class and anybody who has a chance of doing remotely well in any area means that we get severely underfunded (see: crumbling walls and severe lack of exercise books in our school while local comprehensives get state funding to build sports pitches and buy hundreds of computers).

oh no, how dare the underprivileged get access to sport and IT.

 

[Lorem Ipsum]

oh no, how dare the underprivileged get access to sport and IT.

What I'm saying is that governments should get their priorities right. When they've already got fields and a large number of computers, comprehensives don't need more, especially when other schools (such as my own) have bugger all in terms of the basics, such as decent classrooms, or enough exercise books to actually have one for each subject, or textbooks that are so out of date that they are still saying that John Major is Prime Minister, and that we still own Hong Kong.

Sorry, I forgot: how dare anybody remotely intelligent get a penny in funding, just because of perceived class divides (those perceptions in fact being bullshit in my experience)? How dare we encourage anybody who actually shows promise? No - just neglect them during education, and then tax them silly when they're doing the jobs that keep the country running.

 

[goldenquagsire]

What I'm saying is that governments should get their priorities right. When they've already got fields and a large number of computers, comprehensives don't need more, especially when other schools (such as my own) have bugger all in terms of the basics, such as decent classrooms, or enough exercise books to actually have one for each subject, or textbooks that are so out of date that they are still saying that John Major is Prime Minister, and that we still own Hong Kong.

Sorry, I forgot: how dare anybody remotely intelligent get a penny in funding, just because of perceived class divides (those perceptions in fact being bullshit in my experience)? How dare we encourage anybody who actually shows promise? No - just neglect them during education, and then tax them silly when they're doing the jobs that keep the country running.

I can't imagine that your state selective is quite as bad as you make it sound. regardless of whether the classrooms are a little leaky (which, incidentally, might just mean that you're in an old building; fixing all that up is rather expensive and the money could be better spent on stuff more directly pertaining to education), I'm sure you and your high-achieving peers still receive high quality education from enthusiastic professionals. the pupils in your local comp probably don't get all that, even if they have nice playing fields.

and also, as a middle-class person, you've probably had multiple advantages since birth: good nutrition, literate parents, etc. true, you also likely have a certain amount of innate intelligence; but social factors have given you a headstart over many other people. there are kids in that comprehensive that are as smart and hardworking as you, probably some that are even smarter. also, there may be others who aren't as academically gifted as you, but who excel in practical skills. you might sneer at them, but I bet they'll end up earning more as plumbers and carpenters than you will. they'll be contributing just as much to society as you, so I don't get why you deserve better treatment than them. even if they're not sitting behind a desk like a drone, they're still 'doing jobs that keep the country running' (probably moreso; I don't think we'd be any worse off with a few less bankers, but I would laugh my arse off at all the pampered middle classes trying to do without qualified plumbers).

this persecution complex that people like you have is ridiculous. you're set for life; you'll go to uni, get a good degree, get a good job, have an easy ride. people who come from much harder backgrounds than you need a little more support, because if we just leave them to rot, there's no chance at all of social mobility.

the Victorians shat into open sewers and even they had a sense of philanthropy. we've sure come a long way in 100 years, huh.