It was my understanding that another difficulty with English was l'expressiones idiomatique. Do I have the gender correct, S? (It's been so long ...) In that there are so many of them, and as in Simon's initial post, they are nonsensical in literal translation.
Also, there is the issue of words like so and sew. And to and too. Fare and fair. etc. etc. The phonetics are exactly the same, yet the spelling and meaning are completely different. We do not even have the benefit of inflection or case, as do some Asian languages. I can't remember the grammatical term for these words. They're not synonyms (alike) or antonyms (different), they are _____ (someone, please, fill in the blank for me, it's driving me nuts!). Is it homophones?
I found French a breeze for 8 years. That, and Latin for three, were 'bird' courses for me. But then, even moreso were Maths and Sciences (pls note, crazy151, yes I am a woman and a math lover :o). That ties in, though, because both Latin and French conjugate their verbs similarly, have feminine and masculine, and are generally very structured. As are Maths and Sciences (structured, that is).
Hmm, I guess it's just all about what we pick up, what we enjoy? I dunno. Some of my friends have found Asian languages very easy; others the opposite. *shrug* German is said to be similar to French & Latin in its structure, although I know little of it myself except for Kennedy's famous Berlin Wall line, and about a half-dozen other words. It would be an interesting project, to study German.
Yes, there's an idea! I'll prolly be too lazy and unmotivated to follow through with it. But it is an idea. :D
(of the 'waiting for the genious comment from the peanut gallery' class **come on, give it your best Shot ... Gun!** heheh)
