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Old September 06, 2008, 12:02 AM
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I'm not trying to convince you that I'm right, I'm just asking because I'm curious.
What I was thinking when I wrote the post was that "newspapers" are one media, "television-channels" another media, "radio-channels" a third media, thus medias. Or, do one still just talk about them all as one, single mass-media?

I think dubbing ruins movies. It looks so funny when the sound doesn't fit to the movement of the actors mouths. I know it's the same in Germany. Everything - everything is in German, all movies, series, etc. are dubbed. Luckily, it isn't like that here in Denmark. We have the original sound, with subtitles.

7% is not much. But do you think those people who don't know a foreign language actually want to learn one? I mean, many people think their life's fine, so they can't see why they should learn another language, when they don't have a need for it.
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  #32  
Old September 06, 2008, 06:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElDanés View Post
I'm not trying to convince you that I'm right, I'm just asking because I'm curious.
What I was thinking when I wrote the post was that "newspapers" are one media, "television-channels" another media, "radio-channels" a third media, thus medias. Or, do one still just talk about them all as one, single mass-media? Although media is technically a plural noun, at least one of the dictionaries I perused says it has also been used as a singular noun since the 1920's. I know I've heard people say "the media is" instead of "the media are." In America, it is VERY common to hear people use the contraction "there's" when it should have been "there're." "There's lots of people " who seem to think that "there's" is THE contraction for "there is" AND "there are." This same thought process seems to be universally applied to all nouns followed by "is" or "are." Thus, "the media's going wild over politics right now," will be heard much more often than "the media are going wild over politics right now." (Admit it, that last phrase sounded pretty awkward. )

I think dubbing ruins movies. It looks so funny when the sound doesn't fit to the movement of the actors mouths. I know it's the same in Germany. Everything - everything is in German, all movies, series, etc. are dubbed. Luckily, it isn't like that here in Denmark. We have the original sound, with subtitles.
I wholeheartedly agree. Dubbed movies are a disgrace. I would much rather hear the original language.

7% is not much. But do you think those people who don't know a foreign language actually want to learn one? I mean, many people think their life's fine, so they can't see why they should learn another language, when they don't have a need for it.
Except for Europe, where a neighboring country has a different tongue, I think most people are happy to speak just one language (there is no need to learn another one, so why do it?). In the United States, unfortunately, many people are actually appalled when a foreign language is spoken in their presence. I, on the other hand, am grateful that I had the opportunity to learn another language (and I haven't been satisfied with knowing only two).
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  #33  
Old September 06, 2008, 07:47 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.
Yes, probably the most common usage is to use media for both the singular and plural, unless you're talking about art media (oil paint, acrylic paint etc), then the plural would be medias.
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  #34  
Old September 06, 2008, 07:48 AM
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Except for Europe, where a neighboring country has a different tongue, I think most people are happy to speak just one language (there is no need to learn another one, so why do it?). In the United States, unfortunately, many people are actually appalled when a foreign language is spoken in their presence.
So true, and so unfortunate.

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I, on the other hand, am grateful that I had the opportunity to learn another language (and I haven't been satisfied with knowing only two).
You know more than two, I think, even if it just a bit.
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  #35  
Old September 06, 2008, 07:50 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty
In America, it is VERY common to hear people use the contraction "there's" when it should have been "there're."
I feel a bit stupid now, because I always use is with there.
Now when I think of it, I have always used there as a pronoun. It is first now you make me think of it, and now I understand, that the verb, to be, don't actually belong to there, but a noun later in the sentence.

There is some cows.
Some cows is there.
There are some cows.
Some cows are there.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty
In the United States, unfortunately, many people are actually appalled when a foreign language is spoken in their presence.
It's exactly the same here. In fact, I've seen it happen lots of time. My dad was born, raised and lived a lot of his life in Finland, thus his Danish has a bit of an uncommon accent, although he has been speaking it for more than twenty years. Some people feel uncomfortable when they first meet him, because he sounds a bit different (not much, but a bit). I wonder what they think, when they meet a complete foreigner.
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  #36  
Old September 06, 2008, 08:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElDanés View Post
I'm not trying to convince you that I'm right, I'm just asking because I'm curious. I know.
What I was thinking when I wrote the post was that "newspapers" are one media, "television-channels" another media, "radio-channels" a third media, thus medias. Or, do one still just talk about them all as one, single mass-media? Yes, you would say for example: I hate the way mass media manipulate the news (and you could be talking about The Daily Telegraph, BBC and the Sky News on-line page - just the first three examples that came to my mind).

I think dubbing ruins movies. It looks so funny when the sound doesn't fit to the movement of the actors mouths. I know it's the same in Germany. Everything - everything is in German, all movies, series, etc. are dubbed. Luckily, it isn't like that here in Denmark. We have the original sound, with subtitles. I hate dubbing, but most people are used to it in Spain. When I was little I only saw dubbed movies and was ok with them, but I didn't know any different. Now, the few times we see a film in Spanish my husband laughs at me because there are expressions I don't understand.
(soy el colmo)

7% is not much. But do you think those people who don't know a foreign language actually want to learn one? I mean, many people think their life's fine, so they can't see why they should learn another language, when they don't have a need for it.I'm not sure.
In some instances it's a case of not needing it and in other cases something that is very Spanish: a fear of ridicule. Here in Spain there are many of us who are very self-conscious. A neighbour told me the other day that she would love to study English, but says she would never do it because she would find it terribly embarrassing. Some of my best students don't want to talk in front of their classmates because they think their English is not good enough or they compare themselves to the others.
Time is another important factor, most of us lead really stressful lives and language learning requires effort over a long period of time.(Jane says that Spaniards are very impatient and she is right, we often want immediate results...):thinking :
Hope you are having a nice weekend.

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Last edited by María José; September 06, 2008 at 08:14 AM.
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  #37  
Old September 06, 2008, 08:27 AM
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Originally Posted by ElDanés View Post
I feel a bit stupid now, because I always use is with there.
Now when I think of it, I have always used there as a pronoun. That's what it is - a pronoun used to introduce a subject that usually follows a verb. The verb that follows 'there' agrees in number with the subject.

(Just now you made me think of it -or, more common - This is the first time I've thought about it) It is first now you make me think of it, and now I understand, that the verb, to be, doesn't actually belong to there, but a noun later in the sentence.

There is some cows.
Some cows is there.
There are some cows.
Some cows are there.
Don't feel stupid. You're speaking the way most people do when you say "there's some cows over there." It isn't correct, but most people wouldn't think twice about saying it that way. I try really hard to say "there're some cows over there," but even then the contraction is pronounced almost the same as the word "there" by itself and the "s" in the next word makes it sound like I said "there's." Maybe that's why the mistake is so prevalent.

From a dictionary:
The verb following there is singular or plural according to the number of the subject that follows the verb: There is a message for you. There are patients in the waiting room. With compound subjects in which all the coordinate words are singular, a singular verb often occurs, although the plural may also be used: There was (or were) a horse and a cow in the pasture. When a compound subject contains both singular and plural words, the verb usually agrees with the subject closest to the verb, although a plural verb sometimes occurs regardless, especially if the compound has more than two elements: There were staff meetings and a press conference daily. There was (or were) a glass, two plates, two cups, and a teapot on the shelf.

Last edited by Rusty; September 06, 2008 at 08:31 AM.
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  #38  
Old September 06, 2008, 08:39 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by María José
A neighbour told me the other day that she would love to study English, but says she would never do it because she would find it terribly embarrassing. Some of my best students don't want to talk in front of their classmates because they think their English is not good enough or they compare themselves to the others.
That's a shame.

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Hope you are having a nice weekend.
You too!

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Originally Posted by Rusty
There was (or were)
It's actually funny, because I have always used was or were right with there. It's strange that I've only been doing it wrong in present tense. I guess the reason is what you explained. Common usage among people has made me use it as well.
And thank you for the corrections!
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