English vs. native language

Allan

Allan

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Jun 22, 2003
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I know I will never master English as well as my native language, but if I devote my time to mastering Danish, I will confine myself to communication with a good 5 million people.

I'm at a point in my life where I have to choose between focusing on English studies or Danish studies. Regardless of my choice my focus is foremost on being able to communicate, be it through simple conversation or through poetry or prose. Something bothers me, how can I ever reach the same depths of meaning in English as I can in Danish, none of my Danish lyrical inspirations (mainly Steffen Brandt and Michael Strunge) seem to have considered English. Didn't it bother them that they're thoughts were confined to tiny Denmark?
But where's the integrity in writing in a language which you know isn't your best?
In a way it seems like a quality vs. quantity problem and I'm not sure of what to do.

Must be some of you who can relate to this and have some thoughts to share on it.
 
Words are just contracts how to describe things. I'm sure some of my original idea is lost when I even speak finnish to finnish people let alone when I speak english to some french or whoever. Big deal. I don't have much to share anyway and it's same with other people. From my point of view music is much more universal language than any 'proper' one.

And once again it's proved that words are only good for complete bollox :loco:
 
i agree with har* comletely

communication is about far more than only words. words are only 20% of it. even if you want to communicate through writings, and i.e. your scribblings would be translated into dutch, people here might grasp pieces of meaning which aren't written down. people interpretate it anyway because of what they have met before... so whatever you try to communicate, it will always end up differently in another one his head. and many mathematical people can try whatever formula to change that, i don't believe you can put exact words onto exact feelings.

when i'm communicating in english, i have most difficulties talking with native english speakers. speaking english with french, finnish, german people is easier, because you build up some own kind of language, and because i know some french and german. finnish i.e. is horrible to learn, but even that language has structures, expressions and words which are the same as in dutch, and not as in english.

but i know it isn't easy. i've been with a finnish boy for some years, and we're both kinda fond of our own language (though in different levels). there was surely often frustration because we couldn't express really what was on. but then i wonder if it was the language which is to blame for illcommunication.
 
Eyes are the windows to the soul and all that, there's a dead basic communication that happens physically too, when you know a person longer you know their moods quicker, that sort of thing. There are gestures and movements that don't relate to language, of course :) there are ones that do too....
 
I actually agree with most of what you say, but that doesn't mean that I will stop striving to make my words as accurate and close to what I feel.

And this will sound silly, but I am still sure that you can solve almost anything by communicating. The trouble is that a people look at a discussion almost as a competition where the sole purpouse is winning, which makes discussions useless. It should be about finding the best sollution, thus the will to acknowledge you might be wrong is paramount in all discussions.

I remember in America they had debate teams as they had football teams, now there's a symbol of the current state of affairs.
 
I like English a lot, too, and I think I can use it to express some things I wouldn't say in Hungarian, cause I don't feel the weight of words that much. My first love confession was made in English, too :D
 
Dhatura said:
I like English a lot, too, and I think I can use it to express some things I wouldn't say in Hungarian, cause I don't feel the weight of words that much. My first love confession was made in English, too :D
Click to expand...

I used to write stuff only in English because I felt it sounded better, then a couple of years back I started wondering whether writing in English was away to distance myself from the meaning, or to make it sound more dramatic or romantic (them Amaerican movies and Bon Jovi).
I don't think that is a good thing, do you reallly?
 
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