The Official Language Thread II - Page 17

**Mari** · 01-30-2010, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katya

When I'm trying to talk French in my head, all the gaps in my knowledge get filled in with Japanese, not English. It's interesting because the grammar, unlike with other Romance languages or even English, is completely different.

I have the same problem.

But when I went to the UK through France a few weeks back, I heard some French around me and after that I dreamt in French (even though I thought I remembered nothing from my lessons), so don't despair.

GrayMouser · 01-31-2010, 06:00 AM

There's been a discussion here in Taiwan about an interesting phenomenom: almost all the students studying French, Spanish, or Italian are female. My friend teaches French and Spanish at our local university; he has three male students out of 34; in Spanish 17 out of 17 are women.

Our local expat discussion board has confirmed this; Romance languge teachers all over Taiwan testify that their classes are almost entirely female.
The question is, of course, why? While women tend to study foreign language more in general, other languages taught- Japanese, Korean, German- don't show such overwhelming imbalance.

Does anybody have similar observations from other countries? Are there some languages that appeal more to one sex?

***Jonathan*** · 01-31-2010, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrayMouser

Does anybody have similar observations from other countries? Are there some languages that appeal more to one sex?

I reckon the explanations of such academic gender ratios are best uncovered locally. Maybe Taiwanese women are generally more keen on exploring job possibilities in Europe than their male compatriots, or whatever.
In any case the idea that a language would appeal more to one sex (universally, that is) seems remote to me.

katya · 01-31-2010, 09:47 AM

I agree with Jonathan. All the language classes I have taken or taught (including French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese) seemed to be pretty even. And the high school where I teach offers French/Spanish and German/Japanese so it's also even between romance and not-romance.

katya · 01-31-2010, 11:46 AM

Is this right?

Hier, j’ai regardée les vidéos de Gackt et j’ai fait des jeux vidéos au lieu d’étudier.

GrayMouser · 02-01-2010, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan

I reckon the explanations of such academic gender ratios are best uncovered locally. Maybe Taiwanese women are generally more keen on exploring job possibilities in Europe than their male compatriots, or whatever.
In any case the idea that a language would appeal more to one sex (universally, that is) seems remote to me.

Sorry, poor wording- I meant are there some languges in the country/culture you live in that appeal more to one sex than the other.

***Earniel*** · 02-01-2010, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katya

Is this right?

Hier, j’ai regardée les vidéos de Gackt et j’ai fait des jeux vidéos au lieu d’étudier.

I would say 'j'ai joué'. 'Jouer' means 'to play', while 'faire' is more 'to make'. I have a suspicion it should be 'j'ai regardé' as I think the 'accord' is usually made with the verb 'être' instead of 'avoir', but it's all been so long ago that I even can't be sure.

Gwaimir Windgem · 02-01-2010, 10:23 AM

From my experience, Russian seems to appeal to American males, more than to American females. There's a perception of Russian as a "hard" or "tough" sounding language, doubtless derived from American Cold War flims and, more recently, Night and Day Watch. The supposed "toughness" of the language makes it appeal more, from my experience, to mean than to women.

Of course, I haven't actually had a class on Russian in ages, so this is purely derived from minute-long conversations with people on the topic.

**Mari** · 02-01-2010, 07:25 PM

I'd love to learn Russian. It's on the list as the next language, after I improve my Japanese further and maybe pick my German and French up again. But I wouldn't self-study a language from scratch.

In my language classes there were always more women, but there were also more women in my math and art classes. I wouldn't dare draw a conclusion on it

katya · 02-02-2010, 07:49 PM

So yesterday I went to French class and then went straight to Japanese Conversation Club after that. Holy smollies that was confusing.

I picture stuff like German or Russian having more boys learn it, but I know lots of girls who (comme moi) like those languages. I like them better than the romance languages, in fact, and there were a lot of girls in my German class. And French seems girly but there are 7 girls and 8 boys in my French class, even though there are only 38% males in the whole school and 62% female.

Gwaimir Windgem · 02-02-2010, 11:03 PM

The boys are probably hoping to impress girls.

***Tessar*** · 02-07-2010, 12:18 AM

¡Hola! Me llamo Tessar. Poco a poco estoy comprendo mas Espanol. Perdono me gramatica y falta por favor.

Gwaimir Windgem · 02-07-2010, 01:23 AM

Ola, Tessar! Meu nome e Gwai. Nao falo espanol, mas um poquinho portugues. Muito prazer!

***Jonathan*** · 02-07-2010, 02:20 AM

Salut, Tessar et Gwai! Je m'appelle Jonathan. Moi, je parle français et un peu d'espagnol. Je peux aussi comprendre ce que Gwai dit, parce que la langue portuguaise est assez pareil.

**Mari** · 02-07-2010, 07:05 AM

It's frustrating. I understand what all of you said perfectly fine, but I couldn't even formulate half a sentence in French to save my life >_<

Gwaimir Windgem · 02-07-2010, 12:51 PM

Eu sei. Eu tambem entendo um pouco de frances, mas falo nem pouquinho.

E, sim, Jonathan, e muito parecido ambos espanol e frances.

***Tessar*** · 02-07-2010, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mari

It's frustrating. I understand what all of you said perfectly fine, but I couldn't even formulate half a sentence in French to save my life >_<

No problema... me gusta tu cara, senora Mari, es muy buen.

**Mari** · 02-07-2010, 06:16 PM

Gracias.

***Tessar*** · 02-07-2010, 10:33 PM

Ningun problema, senora. Con mucho gusto.

Yo aprendido un poco mas Espanol hoy. Me papa es muy bueno en la enseñanza. Pero yo aprendido conversacional Espanol, tan perdono me mal sintaxis.

Gwaimir Windgem · 02-08-2010, 12:15 PM

Quis quoque scit linguam latinam? Aliquis?

Discite celeriter, sed cum cura, Tess. Festina lente, ut dicunt.

01-31-2010, 06:00 AM	#322
GrayMouser Elf Lord Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Ilha Formosa Posts: 2,068	There's been a discussion here in Taiwan about an interesting phenomenom: almost all the students studying French, Spanish, or Italian are female. My friend teaches French and Spanish at our local university; he has three male students out of 34; in Spanish 17 out of 17 are women. Our local expat discussion board has confirmed this; Romance languge teachers all over Taiwan testify that their classes are almost entirely female. The question is, of course, why? While women tend to study foreign language more in general, other languages taught- Japanese, Korean, German- don't show such overwhelming imbalance. Does anybody have similar observations from other countries? Are there some languages that appeal more to one sex? __________________ Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep. Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them? "I like pigs. Dogs look up to us, cats look down on us, but pigs treat us as equals."- Winston Churchill

02-01-2010, 10:23 AM	#328
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	From my experience, Russian seems to appeal to American males, more than to American females. There's a perception of Russian as a "hard" or "tough" sounding language, doubtless derived from American Cold War flims and, more recently, Night and Day Watch. The supposed "toughness" of the language makes it appeal more, from my experience, to mean than to women. Of course, I haven't actually had a class on Russian in ages, so this is purely derived from minute-long conversations with people on the topic. __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle

02-01-2010, 07:25 PM	#329
Mari Elf Lady Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In the lands where mountains are but a fairytale Posts: 8,588	I'd love to learn Russian. It's on the list as the next language, after I improve my Japanese further and maybe pick my German and French up again. But I wouldn't self-study a language from scratch. In my language classes there were always more women, but there were also more women in my math and art classes. I wouldn't dare draw a conclusion on it __________________ Love always, deeply and true ★ Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer. ★ Friendship is sharing openly, laughing often, trusting always, caring deeply. ...The Earth laughs in flowers ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"...

02-02-2010, 11:03 PM	#331
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	The boys are probably hoping to impress girls. __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle

02-07-2010, 12:18 AM	#332
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	¡Hola! Me llamo Tessar. Poco a poco estoy comprendo mas Espanol. Perdono me gramatica y falta por favor. Last edited by Tessar : 02-07-2010 at 12:19 AM.

01-31-2010, 09:47 AM	#324
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	I agree with Jonathan. All the language classes I have taken or taught (including French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese) seemed to be pretty even. And the high school where I teach offers French/Spanish and German/Japanese so it's also even between romance and not-romance.

01-31-2010, 11:46 AM	#325
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	Is this right? Hier, j’ai regardée les vidéos de Gackt et j’ai fait des jeux vidéos au lieu d’étudier.

02-02-2010, 07:49 PM	#330
katya Elven Maiden Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 3,309	So yesterday I went to French class and then went straight to Japanese Conversation Club after that. Holy smollies that was confusing. I picture stuff like German or Russian having more boys learn it, but I know lots of girls who (comme moi) like those languages. I like them better than the romance languages, in fact, and there were a lot of girls in my German class. And French seems girly but there are 7 girls and 8 boys in my French class, even though there are only 38% males in the whole school and 62% female.

02-07-2010, 01:23 AM	#333
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	Ola, Tessar! Meu nome e Gwai. Nao falo espanol, mas um poquinho portugues. Muito prazer! __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle

02-07-2010, 02:20 AM	#334
*Jonathan* Entmoot Attorney-General, Equilibrating the Scales of Justice, Administrator ♎ Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 3,891	Salut, Tessar et Gwai! Je m'appelle Jonathan. Moi, je parle français et un peu d'espagnol. Je peux aussi comprendre ce que Gwai dit, parce que la langue portuguaise est assez pareil. __________________ An unwritten post is a delightful universe of infinite possibilities. Set down one word, however, and it immediately becomes earthbound. Set down one sentence and it’s halfway to being just like every other bloody entry that’s ever been written. ☻ Last edited by Jonathan : 02-07-2010 at 07:38 AM.

02-07-2010, 07:05 AM	#335
Mari Elf Lady Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In the lands where mountains are but a fairytale Posts: 8,588	It's frustrating. I understand what all of you said perfectly fine, but I couldn't even formulate half a sentence in French to save my life >_< __________________ Love always, deeply and true ★ Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer. ★ Friendship is sharing openly, laughing often, trusting always, caring deeply. ...The Earth laughs in flowers ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"...

02-07-2010, 12:51 PM	#336
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	Eu sei. Eu tambem entendo um pouco de frances, mas falo nem pouquinho. E, sim, Jonathan, e muito parecido ambos espanol e frances. __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle Last edited by Gwaimir Windgem : 02-07-2010 at 12:53 PM.

02-07-2010, 06:16 PM	#338
Mari Elf Lady Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: In the lands where mountains are but a fairytale Posts: 8,588	Gracias. __________________ Love always, deeply and true ★ Friends are those rare people who ask how we are and then wait to hear the answer. ★ Friendship is sharing openly, laughing often, trusting always, caring deeply. ...The Earth laughs in flowers ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"...

02-07-2010, 10:33 PM	#339
*Tessar* Master and Wielder of the Cardboard Harp of Gondor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: IM IN UR POSTZ, EDITIN' UR WURDZ Posts: 6,433	Ningun problema, senora. Con mucho gusto. Yo aprendido un poco mas Espanol hoy. Me papa es muy bueno en la enseñanza. Pero yo aprendido conversacional Espanol, tan perdono me mal sintaxis.

02-08-2010, 12:15 PM	#340
Gwaimir Windgem Dread Mothy Lord and Halfwitted Apprentice Loremaster Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, CA Posts: 10,820	Quis quoque scit linguam latinam? Aliquis? Discite celeriter, sed cum cura, Tess. Festina lente, ut dicunt. __________________ Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis. Nulla talem silva profert, fronde, flore, germine. Dulce lignum, dulce clavo, dulce pondus sustinens. 'With a melon?' - Eric Idle

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