#21  
Old September 04, 2008, 10:43 PM
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Sounds great. I think it's a great gift to children when they're raised bilingually.
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  #22  
Old September 05, 2008, 07:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElDanés View Post
Sounds great. I think it's a great gift to children when they're raised bilingually.
Are you bilingual yourself? Finnish-Danish? Or 'just' good at languages?
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Old September 05, 2008, 07:18 AM
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No, no, I was raised with Danish only. I just think children who have parents who raise them bilingually are lucky.
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Old September 05, 2008, 08:13 AM
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Danés,
The way you write English seems so good that it appears you were raised
speaking both Danish and English. Were you taught English at a very young age? You may know that among native English speakers, mastery of a foreign language is not nearly as common as it is in Scandanavia and in The Netherlands.
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Old September 05, 2008, 08:26 AM
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Thank you!

I started learning English at school when I was 10 or 11, but I already took my first attempts at translating English lyrics into Danish at an age of 7, because I wanted to know what my favorite artists were singing about. I'm not saying I succeeded, but it was the first time I actually tried. I've never actually studied its grammar, like I do know with Spanish, it has just come naturally to me. So, it's actually new for me to learn and study a language in this manner.

And yes, I've noticed that many Americans are only speaking their native language, but I guess it's actually like that here in Scandinavia as well, although it may not seem like that. Most adults are only fluent in their native language, and have only a bit of knowledge in English (I'm not counting the other Scandinavian languages, as a speaker of one language, will naturally be able to understand much of another Scandinavian languages; Danish/Swedish/Norwegian). The younger generation, however, is getting better, but to be honest, I think it's somewhat like in the U.S., but I can't say for sure. I've never been in the U.S.
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Old September 05, 2008, 09:59 AM
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In the U.S. there are a lot of people who are bilingual, but the great majority of them are immigrants.

Like you, I fell in love with songs sung in foreign languages and commited
some of the lyrics to memory. I was German songs not Spanish songs that fascinated me, then. I loved Weil and Brecht ( I was an unusual nine year old). I can't say it made me a German speaker, but I know how to say some very Brechtian things in German.
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Old September 05, 2008, 10:17 AM
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I think it has been easier for me to learn English, than German for you, because most of the medias in Denmark (and other Scandinavian countries) are highly Americanized. This means we're loaning modern words from the English language, most movies are in English, and so on. I doubt they're broadcasting many German movies in the U.S., or other English-speaking countries.

In fact, one of our two biggest television-channels has been ordered to broadcast more Danish television by the government. Last year, 2007, less than 50% of all the television on the particular channel was in foreign languages (mostly English).
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Old September 05, 2008, 10:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElDanés View Post
... most of the medias in Denmark ...
... most of the media in Denmark ...
medium - singular
media - plural
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Old September 05, 2008, 11:03 AM
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Yes, those are the Latin declinations, but I thought media was used as singular in English. A lot of Latin words have been adopted into English, and lots of times, with the wrong endings just to make it sound "English." I'm not saying it is the same in this case, but I was just thinking.

I don't know anywhere else to look for usage, so I used Wiktionary, to check, and it seems like it uses media like I did.

I'm not sure about this. Just a thought.
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Old September 05, 2008, 03:44 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElDanés View Post
Yes, those are the Latin declinations, but I thought media was used as singular in English. A lot of Latin words have been adopted into English, and lots of times, with the wrong endings just to make it sound "English." I'm not saying it is the same in this case, but I was just thinking.

I don't know anywhere else to look for usage, so I used Wiktionary, to check, and it seems like it uses media like I did.

I'm not sure about this. Just a thought.
I agree with Poli, your English is great, but I had already told you on a previous occasion.
David is right, though. As far as I know you always use the media or mass media to refer to the plural: TV, radio...
In Spain when I was little all programs were either Spanish or dubbed and the same happened at the cinema. Now you can get original version films through satellite dishes, cable television and DVDs, but national public television broadcasts exclusively in Spanish, although some channels offer you the possibility of watching certain films in both languages.
The good news is that we have quite a few cinemas now where you can watch films in English, French...at least here in Madrid.
Although the dubbing industry in Spain is said to be wonderful and the actors have great experience, it has a negative influence on language learning.
The situation, I think, is very similar to what you have described for your country (only worse). A few years ago I read the results of a survey that said only 7 % of the Spanish population spoke a foreign language. Younger people are helping change those depressing statistics, but we still have a long way to go. When my students 'moan' about how horrible their English is I tell them to feel proud of themselves because they are still a minority.
Some of my friends from Africa and South America are surprised at the very small number of people who speak English over here.
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