Definitely Coligno!

 

I have a linguistics background, so usually relish getting into arcane technical trivia!  But, even the beginner's stuff on the orthography is really difficult - or at least impractical for learning.  Most of them talk about being accessible, but then they trot out these rules (and yes, I can see, once you know the system, that Irish orthography is far more regular than English) without one or two examples and then move on to something else, or 'explain' concepts 'broad' and 'slender' consonants and vowels without any real definition.  I've actually been quite gobsmacked about how poor the materials are!  I assume it's partly because most people learning Irish would be Ireland, exposed to Irish writing everywhere and able to ask questions of people around them, so the written materials don't need to cater to poor confused foreigners!

 

cheers,

 

Rob

Or perhaps "My relationship to money, the opposite sex, those around me and myself" ... but 'attitude' is good too.

I 'think' North Americans might use 'biking' for cycling. It is also often used more generally for riding a motorcycle. In Australia we'd more often say 'bike-riding' for cycling.

I generally agree with what everyone has said, however I think 'cocky' has got the connotation that someone is 'uppity' or 'above their station', i.e. trying to be something higher than they're not. It has got classist connotations as Moira said - arrogant could be used of anyone, but cocky generally implies someone trying to get above their class. In a way, 'cocky' says more about the person speaking than the person being spoken about! It can also be used between equals to aggressively put someone down, to imply that they are less than the person who is speaking - 'don't get cocky with me, you *$&#&#*!'

I think they're both correct - usage may differ between speakers of different varieties a little. Saying 'partners' means he's suggesting that you'll become language partners together with each other, whereas 'partner' (which is how I would tend to phrase it) emphasises that s/he would like to be your language partner. The meaning is the same but with a subtle change in emphasis (which it's likely the speaker wouldn't consciously make).

I don't know any tips for remembering names, but just a quick note on the phrase you used - 'catching others' names'. 'to catch' something in the sense of 'hear', means what happens at the time they speak; it doesn't mean to remember or memorise. If I said 'I didn't catch your name' it would be an informal way of saying 'I didn't hear your name [when you just told me now]. In the sense you are using it would be more to correct to say 'I feel bad that I can't remember / have trouble remembering (other) people's names.'