If you ever wanted

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
Bastette wrote:

My first flight with the proper drugs for my anxiety was like that. It
was the first time I could actually appreciate what the ground looks
like
from that high up, especially at night. Very sparkly.

I meant to mention that this was in the winter, and a lot of what I
was looking at was under snow. So it looked like the snow was glowing
in a lot of places.


By having an open mind about flying, I abolutely loved it.
Yes, of course, the plane could crash but equally I could go out in Mr F,
my car and be killed in a road accident.
I didn't get killed in the plane, and it was fantastic.

I'm with you! Unfortunately, I don't love commercial flying as much as I
used to, because leg room, seat width and service have all decreased, while
prices have increased. However, I still love flying in smaller planes.
When I visited my sister in Alaska last year, I took a large airline to
Anchorage, then a much smaller one to the town where my sister lives. The
plane was quite small, holding only 10 passengers. There is no copilot, and
most pilots will let you sit in the copilot's seat if you ask - and nobody
has gotten there first. I was thrilled when my sister told me about that.
I used to fly small planes and miss it.

Flying to Australia wasn't much fun, because there isn't much to see most of
the way. However, flying within Australia is great, because most of the
time there are virtually no clouds, so you can see everything.

Joy

Joy wrote:

Then again, I have enough difficulty understanding a significant
percentage of English-language speech, so it's just that much worse
in a foreign language.

One problem with understanding Spanish speakers is that Spanish is spoken
much more rapidly than English is. A Spanish-speaking woman once told me
(in English), "We say ten words in Spanish where you say one in English."

So, do most native Spanish speakers think English speakers speak slowly?
I've always believed that, no matter what language you speak, another
language always sounds much faster, just because you don't understand it.
It would be interesting to know that people who speak other languages
perceive us as speaking slowly.

Have you considered the possibility that you may have a hearing problem?

Yes, but I've had my ears tested several times and not been found to have
any hearing loss. I can hear quiet sounds - I just have some trouble making
sense of speech. It's not so pronounced that anyone thought I should have
fancy tests. It's not disabling or anything. But I think I have a little
more trouble with it than most people.

I'm often quite annoying at movies - nudge whisper "What did she say?"
nudge, whisper "They're going to do *what*?" And so on. This kind of thing
has been going on since I was a child, btw. One friend of mine, with whom
I went to lots of movies, was really amazed at the lack of annoyance the
first time we saw a foreign film together.

To be honest, as I age, I've noticed that my hearing *is* getting a little
worse, and I don't just mean processing words. I now have what I think is
probably tinnitus, though I haven't had it examined. Definitely have the
ringing, though. This is most likely age-related, which I believe is almost
inevitable for me since both of my parents had very significant loss by
their 70s. I had my hearing tested in 2003, and it was found to be well
within normal. But a lot can happen in 9 years, especially when you're in
late middle age.

When I got my hearing aids, I learned that only 35% of those with hearing
problems are over 64. The majority are younger than that - some much
younger.

Really? And here I was, indignant that Medicare wouldn't cover hearing
aids, when seniors aren't even the largest group of hearing-impaired.
Although, since there are so many different kinds of hearing problems,
not all of the younger people with hearing problems can be helped by
hearing aids, which as far as I know, only amplify the sound. I guess
they're the aural equivalent of those drug store reading glasses.
But a lot more expensive!

I got hearing aids a little over a month ago, and I'm thrilled with them.
However, there are still things I can't understand. Last Sunday a man sang
a spiritual in church. I could have sworn he was singing, "There's a great
can of peaches in the sky". I asked him after church, and it was actually
"a great camp meeting".

LOL! Life is one big mondegreen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen

--
Joyce

Fluffy Mackerel Pudding - "Once upon a time, the world was young and the
words 'mackerel' and 'pudding' existed far, far away from one another. One
day, that all changed. And then, whoever was responsible somehow thought
the word 'fluffy' would help." -- Hilarious recipes at: www.candyboots.com

"Joy" wrote in message
. ..
"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Bastette" wrote in message
...
Joy wrote:

I remember a few words and phrases from the Spanish I took in school.
Well,
living in Southern California, it would be difficult to forget it
entirely.
However, I always had a 'gringo' accent, and have forgotten most of
what I
learned. The one thing I did retain was the pronunciation. The rules
of
pronunciation are much better in Spanish than they are in English.

Isn't that lovely? It's so *orderly*. You can look at a word and know
immediately how it's supposed to sound. There's none of this,
"DESS-ultory??
That sounds like a disease. De-SUL-tory sounds so much better." (A
true
story!)

Of course, just about any language is better than English on that score.

I can
pick up anything written in Spanish and read it aloud, whether I
understand
it or not. My accent would be atrocious, but I'll bet most Spanish
speakers
could understand it. You can't do that with English.

The problem I have with Spanish is that, although I can read and write
pretty well and my speaking (including pronunciation) is OK, I really
can't understand a native speaker's speech at all, or hardly at all.
When I was in college and studying the language, I would speak Spanish
to the native speakers I came across, and then have to ask them to
repeat
themselves over and over. It got really embarrassing, and to this day,
I'm hesitant to start a conversation in Spanish. I sometimes watch one
of the Mexican stations in an attempt to get more familiar with the
sounds, but it doesn't help much.

Then again, I have enough difficulty understanding a significant
percentage of English-language speech, so it's just that much worse
in a foreign language.

Well that's the difficulty isn't it? we think we learned a foreign
language and when we meet a native speaker of it, we realise we haven't.
When Bob, my Michigan friend, spoke to me on the phone he said afterwards
in an email that he hardly understood what I said and that is supposed to
be English ;-)
Tweed

Regional and/or country accents are another ball of wax. When I visited
England, I found that I could understand many English people quite well,
but there were others I couldn't understand at all. I honestly believe
that England has more different regional accents than the U.S., despite
the difference in size.

I can understand them all but if you come from another country it must be
difficult. You think you can understand English and then you get all our
strange accents
Thats the problem N got..




dr them all but if you are not English, it

On 03/03/2012 04:08 PM, Bastette wrote:
Joy wrote:

I remember a few words and phrases from the Spanish I took in school. Well,
living in Southern California, it would be difficult to forget it entirely.
However, I always had a 'gringo' accent, and have forgotten most of what I
learned. The one thing I did retain was the pronunciation. The rules of
pronunciation are much better in Spanish than they are in English.

Isn't that lovely? It's so *orderly*. You can look at a word and know
immediately how it's supposed to sound. There's none of this, "DESS-ultory??
That sounds like a disease. De-SUL-tory sounds so much better." (A true
story!)

Of course, just about any language is better than English on that score.

I can
pick up anything written in Spanish and read it aloud, whether I understand
it or not. My accent would be atrocious, but I'll bet most Spanish speakers
could understand it. You can't do that with English.

The problem I have with Spanish is that, although I can read and write
pretty well and my speaking (including pronunciation) is OK, I really
can't understand a native speaker's speech at all, or hardly at all.
When I was in college and studying the language, I would speak Spanish
to the native speakers I came across, and then have to ask them to repeat
themselves over and over. It got really embarrassing, and to this day,
I'm hesitant to start a conversation in Spanish. I sometimes watch one
of the Mexican stations in an attempt to get more familiar with the
sounds, but it doesn't help much.

Then again, I have enough difficulty understanding a significant
percentage of English-language speech, so it's just that much worse
in a foreign language.

+++++++++
Our Channel 7 plays old English programs which I enjoy watching. i.e.
Last of the Summer Wine, Keeping up Appearances, Waiting for God, etc.
O do enjoy them although I do have trouble understanding some of the
heavy English speech. Anybody elswe here watch these programs? MLB

"Joy" wrote in message
...
...
Some people have a natural affinity for languages, and others
don't. Some are really good with one or two, other than their
first language. My brother-in-law lived in Greece for several
years as a teenager. There used to be a Greek restaurant near
where he lives now, and he and my sister always got the best
treatment because he spoke Greek to the owner...

My late father worked with a man born to Greek parents in
England. This anglicised Greek had this natural affinity, and was
fluent in fourteen (yes, 14!) different languages - ranging from
Arabic to Urdu, with Mandarin Chinese thrown into the mix.

It wasn't just a 'schoolboy' knowledge of each language either,
he could speak, read and write every language like a native. This
skill was well-supported by his employer, who paid for him to
attend advanced language classes, as it proved to be very useful
in his job with an international airline :-)

--
MatSav

"MatSav" wrote in message
...
"Joy" wrote in message
...
...
Some people have a natural affinity for languages, and others don't.
Some are really good with one or two, other than their first language.
My brother-in-law lived in Greece for several years as a teenager. There
used to be a Greek restaurant near where he lives now, and he and my
sister always got the best treatment because he spoke Greek to the
owner...

My late father worked with a man born to Greek parents in England. This
anglicised Greek had this natural affinity, and was fluent in fourteen
(yes, 14!) different languages - ranging from Arabic to Urdu, with
Mandarin Chinese thrown into the mix.

It wasn't just a 'schoolboy' knowledge of each language either, he could
speak, read and write every language like a native. This skill was
well-supported by his employer, who paid for him to attend advanced
language classes, as it proved to be very useful in his job with an
international airline :-)

--
MatSav

That's even more amazing than a woman I knew on another newsgroup! She was
originally from Norway, but had married a Frenchman and was living in
France, where she taught English to French-speaking students. Her newsgroup
posts were in perfect English. She was also fluent in two other languages,
but I don't remember what they were.

I can imagine that being fluent in a number of languages would definitely be
helpful when working for an international airline.

Joy