By Idioms, Accents

There's some truth in that article. My parents, for instance, used to speak in Sardinian (not a dialect, but recognised as an endangered language by the UNESCO) when talking to each other or to their relatives, but they would only speak Italian with my brother and me. I grew up monolingual,...

My problem (but I know it's normal, even for native speakers) is that I only understand what I already know. For example, "what are you doing?", "Hi, my name is...", that's simple stuff I know, and I understand, I don't listen to the sounds, I just understand. But if you say something I don't...

Thanx for your answer. may i ask why do you think you have a hard time understanding people in Hull ? Is it because of their accent ? Idioms ? something else ? And, if anyone can help, what is the accent there like ? Can someone give an example ? Thanx.

La Rose wrote:me also i have proble in Listening .....but i began by good book called "Speak English Like An American " Amy Gillett its wonderful book to improve ur listening , pronounciation & know every day langauge. I get difficult to listen from BBC now because am just begginer Hi La...

Hi KooyeenThere is nothing to forgive! I am certainly not in the least offended by your post. In fact, I enjoyed reading it tremendously! I even agree with you to some extent on some of the points you made. I am the first person to admit that my knowledge of English isn't as good as that of a...

dialect n : the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people; "the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English"; "he has a strong German accent" [syn: idiom, accent

Englishuser wrote:I couldn't agree more: English idioms and spellings tend to be difficult even for many a native speaker! I would also like to add that the size of the English lexion makes learning English relatively difficult. Just out of curiosity: What exactly do you try to sound like on...

Hi Cool Breeze, You wrote: What is difficult about English are the countless idioms and spelling.By the way, when I am abroad I try not to sound British or American even though I have been told that I am able to mimic the American accent quite well. I couldn't agree more: English idioms and...

Englishuser wrote: A non-native speaker who has immersed himself or herself with highbrow literature written in a foreign language could very well have a more vivid vocabulary and a better knowledge of the grammar of the language than the average native speaker. At least as far as the 'standard...

Hello EUI'm not an expert in these matters; so what follows should probably be taken with a pinch of salt.Some stray thoughts, in no particular order:1. I think Scandinavian, Dutch and German natives have the best chance of sounding convincingly "British English". I have several such people in...