English Grammar and Foreign Languages

[Aerin-Sol9]

[Mammon]

Aerin-Sol9

Wow, that's pretty interesting. *scratches head*

Sadly enough, that's not the first time I've gotten that response from others. Luckily, because I'm a little crazy, I always have the voices in my head to tell me everything is alright.

*laughs out loud*  

[The MoUsY spell-checker]

Aerin-Sol9

I guess this is a boring topic...sorry!

Don't worry. This is the Gaian Grammar Guild. Anything to do with grammar is relevant. (Anything that isn't related to grammar is still alright for the "General Discussion" subforum.) Remember that not everyone goes online at the same time (especially because not everyone lives in the same country, so there are time differences), so you might have to wait a while for replies no matter how interesting your topic is.

Now, back to the topic. English is my second language, so I have been taught some grammar. You can't really learn a foreign language without having to learn grammar, and having been taught the grammar probably makes the most difference. I've heard that teachers of languages other than English usually have to teach some English grammar first, because many English-speaking students don't know much about grammar, not even the basics.

While I don't think knowing Chinese helps me with English grammar, I think it makes it easier for me to pick apart the morphemes in technical terms so that I can understand how they're made up, which helps when I see words that I don't already know.

I've also studied French for 4 years, but I don't think it really helps my grammar that much. It definitely helps my vocabulary though.

EyeofHora

Well, it DOES help me...I speak chinese, and it helps me to insult people...XD
Like this word..It means "other"
"Ney-geh" is the pronounciation. Now say it really fast. *giggles*

Do you mean "那個"? I've never heard it being used to mean "other". I thought it means "that"?  

[The Man who was Thursday]

Aerin-Sol9

Ezra Pound

It's not English grammar exclusively. It's grammar in general.

I never said that it's English grammar exclusively. I was simply pointing out that it helps your English grammar a great deal.

The word "English" in that sentence is unnecessary. It helps you understand grammar. The fact that it helps you understand grammatical structures that are used in English is secondary.  

[splashseal]

Aerin-Sol9

sparkling_sora

Aerin-Sol9

You know, the best way to have good English grammar is to learn a Foreign Language.

Damn straight. I've always said the same thing. You never learn proper grammar until you take a foreign language class, and I have had several. I would have to say that French, German, and Latin have helped me the most.

Pathetic that you learn basic English grammar in foreign language classes, though.

Yeah, it is pretty pathetic that you have to learn other languages to get a good grasp on English grammar.

Isn't it though? True we know what nouns, verbs, etc. are because we use them all the time, but then again, one cannot assume anything. I took an advanced grammar class at my university and the things you learn. And the only reason I knew what I did was because of those foreign languages. I think if we actually knew what we were doing, we would all use better and proper grammar and maybe even have a much quicker grasp on other languages.  

[Aerin-Sol9]

Ezra Pound

Aerin-Sol9

Ezra Pound

It's not English grammar exclusively. It's grammar in general.

I never said that it's English grammar exclusively. I was simply pointing out that it helps your English grammar a great deal.

The word "English" in that sentence is unnecessary. It helps you understand grammar. The fact that it helps you understand grammatical structures that are used in English is secondary.

So, what exactly is your point? Also, what do you mean by "The fact that it helps you understand grammatical structures that are used in English is secondary."? In this case it isn't secondary because I'm specifically talking about English grammar. That also doesn't mean I'm saying that it helps English grammar exclusively, it just means I'm only talking about the English language. I could have said that learning a foreign language helps your grammar without the English (because that's true, that learning a foreign language helps your grammar in general). I didn't because I wanted to point out that it helps your English grammar.  

[Aerin-Sol9]

sparkling_sora

Aerin-Sol9

sparkling_sora

Aerin-Sol9

You know, the best way to have good English grammar is to learn a Foreign Language.

Damn straight. I've always said the same thing. You never learn proper grammar until you take a foreign language class, and I have had several. I would have to say that French, German, and Latin have helped me the most.

Pathetic that you learn basic English grammar in foreign language classes, though.

Yeah, it is pretty pathetic that you have to learn other languages to get a good grasp on English grammar.

Isn't it though? True we know what nouns, verbs, etc. are because we use them all the time, but then again, one cannot assume anything. I took an advanced grammar class at my university and the things you learn. And the only reason I knew what I did was because of those foreign languages. I think if we actually knew what we were doing, we would all use better and proper grammar and maybe even have a much quicker grasp on other languages.

3nodding  

[Aerin-Sol9]

The MoUsY spell-checker

Aerin-Sol9

I guess this is a boring topic...sorry!

Don't worry. This is the Gaian Grammar Guild. Anything to do with grammar is relevant. (Anything that isn't related to grammar is still alright for the "General Discussion" subforum.) Remember that not everyone goes online at the same time (especially because not everyone lives in the same country, so there are time differences), so you might have to wait a while for replies no matter how interesting your topic is.

Now, back to the topic. English is my second language, so I have been taught some grammar. You can't really learn a foreign language without having to learn grammar, and having been taught the grammar probably makes the most difference. I've heard that teachers of languages other than English usually have to teach some English grammar first, because many English-speaking students don't know much about grammar, not even the basics.

While I don't think knowing Chinese helps me with English grammar, I think it makes it easier for me to pick apart the morphemes in technical terms so that I can understand how they're made up, which helps when I see words that I don't already know.

I've also studied French for 4 years, but I don't think it really helps my grammar that much. It definitely helps my vocabulary though.

EyeofHora

Well, it DOES help me...I speak chinese, and it helps me to insult people...XD
Like this word..It means "other"
"Ney-geh" is the pronounciation. Now say it really fast. *giggles*

Do you mean "那個"? I've never heard it being used to mean "other". I thought it means "that"?

Well, even if it didn't help in your case, I know several cases, including mine, where learning and knowing a foreign language helped your grammar, especially English grammar(if it's your first language). Oh well, in general, knowing and learning foreign languages usually helps a lot in English.  

[The Man who was Thursday]

Aerin-Sol9

Ezra Pound

Aerin-Sol9

Ezra Pound

It's not English grammar exclusively. It's grammar in general.

I never said that it's English grammar exclusively. I was simply pointing out that it helps your English grammar a great deal.

The word "English" in that sentence is unnecessary. It helps you understand grammar. The fact that it helps you understand grammatical structures that are used in English is secondary.

So, what exactly is your point? Also, what do you mean by "The fact that it helps you understand grammatical structures that are used in English is secondary."? In this case it isn't secondary because I'm specifically talking about English grammar. That also doesn't mean I'm saying that it helps English grammar exclusively, it just means I'm only talking about the English language. I could have said that learning a foreign language helps your grammar without the English (because that's true, that learning a foreign language helps your grammar in general). I didn't because I wanted to point out that it helps your English grammar.

It's a far stronger statement when you generalize it.  

[Red-Chocolate]

I'm only on my second year of French, but it has helped some. I think we should have a language topic for each different languages to help every one perfect their language.  

[Aerin-Sol9]

Ezra Pound

Aerin-Sol9

Ezra Pound

Aerin-Sol9

Ezra Pound

It's not English grammar exclusively. It's grammar in general.

I never said that it's English grammar exclusively. I was simply pointing out that it helps your English grammar a great deal.

The word "English" in that sentence is unnecessary. It helps you understand grammar. The fact that it helps you understand grammatical structures that are used in English is secondary.

So, what exactly is your point? Also, what do you mean by "The fact that it helps you understand grammatical structures that are used in English is secondary."? In this case it isn't secondary because I'm specifically talking about English grammar. That also doesn't mean I'm saying that it helps English grammar exclusively, it just means I'm only talking about the English language. I could have said that learning a foreign language helps your grammar without the English (because that's true, that learning a foreign language helps your grammar in general). I didn't because I wanted to point out that it helps your English grammar.

It's a far stronger statement when you generalize it.

See, now that's what you should have said in the first place. Ok, maybe I should have generalized it, but then again, isn't this Guild dedicated to English grammar?

Quote:

A guild dedicated to the protection of the King's English.

That's why I said English grammar instead of generalizing it and saying just grammar.  

[Aerin-Sol9]

Aerin-Sol9

That's why I said English grammar instead of generalizing it and saying just grammar.

I'm sorry, I'm being quite redundant... I just want to get my point across.  

[Aerin-Sol9]

Red-Chocolate

I'm only on my second year of French, but it has helped some. I think we should have a language topic for each different languages to help every one perfect their language.

That's a cool idea, but what exactly do you mean by that?  

[Sheep Kitchen]

Ich spreche Deutsch!

My English grammar has improved since I started learning Spanish, then French and now German. I've found that grammar rules can change significantly in other languages. My German grammar is definitely not as good as my English (I still don't have a complete grasp on dative noun forms). xp

And I'd love to see some topics for foreign languages. That'd be awesome. Though, I have yet to see anyone that speaks German... xd No one ever takes German.  

[The Man who was Thursday]

Rose the Homicidal Maniac

Ich spreche Deutsch!

My English grammar has improved since I started learning Spanish, then French and now German. I've found that grammar rules can change significantly in other languages. My German grammar is definitely not as good as my English (I still don't have a complete grasp on dative noun forms). xp

And I'd love to see some topics for foreign languages. That'd be awesome. Though, I have yet to see anyone that speaks German... xd No one ever takes German.

I took German.

It proved to be a waste of time, though.  

[Gachetemas]

I learned from my guitar teacher that there are twelve different ways to say "the" in German.

I take Spanish. It is one of my favorite subjects. Maybe it's easier for me because I don't have a hard time with grammar things. Sometimes grammar is reviewed to help out other students.