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Well, I'm 57-years-old and have been in and out of Spanish studies off and on for many years, but I am finally taking it serious: I'm actually going to start talking to Spanish speaking people (go me!). Though English is neither beautiful nor ugly and neither harsh nor soft, it is very elegant when spoken with a respect for its rich vocabulary and flexible syntax. Much of that, however, is lost in the vast communication of native English speakers. As for learning Spanish, I want to gain the same healthy respect for the intricacies of the language, the ability to be precise when communicating, and the overall enjoyment of the vernacular and colloquial usage the language that I experience with English—I live in Oregon, and with more and more Spanish speakers from Mexico living here, that particular Spanish is my concentration. I learned very little about the English language in school. It was only after graduating that I fell in love with the English language and its grammar. I have the same adoration for Spanish and its grammar; however, I need to talk, and that's why I am here.
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  • Commented

    Hey, Em Dee,

    Okie doke. I'll have to find a way to test this. Unfortunately, I don't talk on Skype, but will here. I'll see what I can find out.


    Thanks much!

    0 voted
    July 15, 2018
    0
  • Commented

    Hi Kuching,


    I'm still wondering, though, if by "group" you mean that 100 people can all talk at the same time on Whatsapp? I am not familiar with this program, so I don't know. But I was pretty sure that with Skype only two people can talk at one time without a Business account.

    0 voted
    July 14, 2018
    0
  • Commented
    Thanks, Jack. I was wondering, however, if both apps can have more than two people talking at the same time. I thought only two at a time was the most either will do.
    0 voted
    July 14, 2018
    0
  • Posted
    Question about groups in WhatsApp and Skype

    Greetings all,


    I'm wondering what people mean when they talk of forming groups in these two apps. I'm under the impression that only two people can talk at a time on either Skype or WhatsApp. I know that if you pay for a business license for Skype, you can then talk to more people at a time, but most people here, I'm sure, have the standard service. What am I missing here?


    Thanks.

    July 14, 2018
    7
    1
  • Commented

    I think my first birthday (the day I was born) I knew something was wrong. One look around...the doctor, the nurse staring at me...why were they staring at me?...my mother yelling her brains out, promising to do something to a part of my father's body...it didn't sound good!

    Yeah, I knew then it was going to be a bad day!

    0 voted
    July 14, 2018
    0
  • Commented
    There's really no difference. If we wanted to really pick into this to find some subtle difference, we could say that using "have" brings a sense of comparison, or rather, a balance of the scales (I have, you have). Using "do" brings a sense of what has been done to have the money I one has ("I earned all the money I have" or "I did such-and-such to get the money I have"...something along those lines). Really, this is nit-picking or making a mole hill out of an ant hill. The two really are saying the same thing.
    0 voted
    July 14, 2018
    0
  • Commented

    Very little difference.

    "You can pound a nail by using a hammer."

    "Using a hammer, you can pound a nail."

    The emphasis in the first sentence is on the nail, and it's the hammer in the second sentence.

    0 voted
    July 13, 2018
    0
  • Commented

    Frankly, I'm a bit lost. Is it "urgent" that is in question here as to its meaning?

    If so, it means that something is of utmost importance. It needs attention right now!

    "It is urgent that we pay the rent today or we will loose our apartment."

    "You need to call me about our mother; it's urgent."

    0 voted
    July 13, 2018
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  • Commented

    I'd say this. What would you do if someone were attempting to talk to you in your native tongue? Would you think they were stupid? Would you criticize them? Of course not. As you hear them talk to you, you automatically want to guide them. Once you realize that it's no different for them, and you break that ice by talking (and showing them what' you've written), you open the door to a specific reality: "I can do this, and I'm going to do this, because I would want someone to feel the same way with a chance to talk to me!"

    This is what happened to me. I drive a bus for immigrant workers who need to get to town once a week. I struck up a friendship with a few of them and spoke as much as I could (in Spanish), Man, the world suddenly opened up. Yeah, I knew I was all over the place with the language, but I also knew that I knew that, and I learn more and more how to get it right a bit more each time. Further, I'm helping one of them to learn English. The boldness and fear has just dissipated. I'm ready to talk to anyone now, anytime.

    It's all because I realized that the other person is in the same boat when trying to speak English to me. And in that I'm all ears and willing, how can I think that the other person isn't? (Yeah, there's always bound to be a few who are idiots about it, but so what; move on!).

    Hope this helps.

    0 voted
    July 13, 2018
    0
  • Commented

    The assertion that 'If I learn a language I will learn and know its grammar' is logical fallacy. All one has to do here in America is listen to the majority of thirty-year-olds and younger; their grammar, half the time is atrocious, which is not to say they can't communicate, but that's about it; often it's almost street-level grammar.

    Here in the US, one does not learn the perfect tenses and why they are so useful just by speaking English. One does not learn the parsing, conjugation and full spectrum a given work in the English vocabulary merely by speaking the language—are you kidding me? There are debates among linguists as to the correct use of words!

    Can a person communicate effectively to move within the language that person speaks? Sure. But can one learn the grammar rules and particulars by speaking their native language? No! Common sense and listening to people in their native language (at least here in the US) should tell you that.

    0 voted
    July 12, 2018
    0