Сообщений в теме: 947

[ScarabeY]

...what does "used to bla-bla-bla" mean?
Like "i used to speak" or "he used to work"

It might mean "I was blabbing a lot before (but not now...)"

And you'd better tell us about the context, in which you faced with this expression.

I don't remember exact phrases
And it looks like you're right about tranlation, just wanna define exactly, does it mean "but not now"?
It also makes me unsure, cuz in dictionary it says

used to
прил. привыкший
to get used to hard work ? иметь привычку много работать
She is used to working hard. ? Она привыкла много работать

[SubaRulezzz]

And it looks like you're right about tranlation, just wanna define exactly, does it mean "but not now"?

Yep. Exactly "but not now". See additional explanations below...

It also makes me unsure, cuz in dictionary it says

used to
прил.  привыкший
to get used to hard work ? иметь привычку много работать
She is used to working hard. ? Она привыкла много работать

That's right... But here used to is used as a participle (причастие). That's why in these examples they use it in conjunction with "to be" verb: "she is used to...", "I am used to..." and so on.

In your first message about "used to bla-bla-bla" you've produced examples like "he used to speak..." and "I used to think..." Note, that there's no "to be" here!!! So, here "used to" is a verb. But that's not all...

The point is that "used to" being used as a verb - is a phraseologism... It stand for "do something often in the past" and when translating such a phrase into Russian you'd better start the phrase with "Раньше..."

So, to conclude:

1) I used to go to this restaurant - means "I visited this restaurant often in the past, but don't visit it anymore"

but

2) I am used to go to this restaurant - means "I visit this restaurant because that's my habit"

Clear?

[xEn0s]

Thank you all for your answers on dialects.

Exactly! American English is actually all we need.

I agree to you. Am E is widespread. And its knowledge is enough for practical needs. But British is also widely used and popular cause they have stronger methods system of teaching and "supporting" it(books, TV, British Councils). So its better at least to understand it too.

Australian English just cracks me up, the way they pronounce the words and some word combinations they use are so funny.

They also have some unusual native words replacing English ones. Espessialy in agriculture.

The only "English" I totally don't understand is Jamaican!!! Of course, it's the hybrid of English and some native (local) Jamaican language, but Jamaicans still call it "Broken English". By the way none of my co-workers are able to understand it too. So seems to be we need to find the definition of where the English ends and something different (hybrid in this case) begins

I've never heard about Jamaican English before(may be for better ). I guess this case is closer to "language death".
Actually, if we are completely not able to understand the dialect, we may say of another language. I think it has a right to be the one. In fact, lots of languages appeared artificially in different times that's why they are close to each other even if they derived from different language families.

I?ve had some difficulties trying to understand Indians, especially the way they speak with each other mixing English words with Hindu or whatever language they speak. Once there was a funny situation when I said to my friend in Russian that we had to buy a watermelon. An Indian guy was in the same room and started laughing when he heard the word ?арбуз?.  It turned out that in Hindu they say ?garbuz?, so we found at least one common word that Indians and Russians use. Now I wonder where the word garbuz/арбуз comes from. 

IMHO, Indians speak Russian the same way as English .
I had an Indian friend. I assisted him to practice in Russian and he helped me to practice English. And we often mixed the Russian and English words, for example, друг's house. That was funny.
And there was one more funny situation: My name is Muslim and when I asked Indian his name he answered:
- Adjish.
- Muslim, - I gave him my hand(I made a stress on last syllable).
- Oh, no-no, - he exclaimed. - I'm christian!

[xEn0s]

Also a bit of hard was for me to communicate with Puerto-Riccians. I guess this dialect can be applied for all first generation Latins in U.S.

[Visual1]

Exactly! American English is actually all we need.

I agree to you. Am E is widespread. And its knowledge is enough for practical needs. But British is also widely used and popular cause they have stronger methods system of teaching and "supporting" it(books, TV, British Councils). So its better at least to understand it too.

Wow! What a great thought in the last sentence of your reply!

[КАРРА]

Also a bit of hard was for me to communicate with Puerto-Riccians. I guess this dialect can be applied for all first generation Latins in U.S.

I wouldn?t call it a dialect, but rather an accent, Spanish accent in this case. The same applies to the Russian, Chinese ?(you name it) accents. When Americans speak in Russian they also have an accent. You cannot call it a Russian dialect, right? In the States there are so many accents, cause it?s normal for immigrants to have accents as English is their second and sometimes third language. There is a special course in some schools here, which can help to eliminate the accent, but it?s very individual and can work for some people, but majority still have their accents ?

[xEn0s]

There is another funny thing about Indians. As far as I know, many of them don't have sex before marriage. I knew a 27-year old Indian guy who wasn?t married and had never had sex before. The rules are probably even stricter for Indian women then for men. I?m kind of confused: if Indians are so strict about sex, how could they ever create Kama Sutra?

I think the restriction led to more respectable attitude towards sex and they formed sex culture that was reflected in the treatise(трактат). That is the only reasonable explanation.

[xEn0s]

Exactly! American English is actually all we need.

I agree to you. Am E is widespread. And its knowledge is enough for practical needs. But British is also widely used and popular cause they have stronger methods system of teaching and "supporting" it(books, TV, British Councils). So its better at least to understand it too.

Wow! What a great thought in the last sentence of your reply!

It's my "pearl of wisdom"

[xEn0s]

Also a bit of hard was for me to communicate with Puerto-Riccians. I guess this dialect can be applied for all first generation Latins in U.S.

I wouldn?t call it a dialect, but rather an accent, Spanish accent in this case. The same applies to the Russian, Chinese ?(you name it) accents. When Americans speak in Russian they also have an accent. You cannot call it a Russian dialect, right? In the States there are so many accents, cause it?s normal for immigrants to have accents as English is their second and sometimes third language. There is a special course in some schools here, which can help to eliminate the accent, but it?s very individual and can work for some people, but majority still have their accents ?

You are right. In this case I should call it an accent cause Spanish is their first language. But could another language be a factor influencing on the appearing of dialect or it can appear just because of internal factors? The definition of the word 'dialect' allows it to derive from "territory, proffesional or social similarity(community)", however, for instance in Jamaican English case we are dealing with language factor or it's already a new artificially created language?

[Visual1]

Exactly! American English is actually all we need.

I agree to you. Am E is widespread. And its knowledge is enough for practical needs. But British is also widely used and popular cause they have stronger methods system of teaching and "supporting" it(books, TV, British Councils). So its better at least to understand it too.

Wow! What a great thought in the last sentence of your reply!

It's my "pearl of wisdom"

My condolence to you...

[КАРРА]

Also a bit of hard was for me to communicate with Puerto-Riccians. I guess this dialect can be applied for all first generation Latins in U.S.

I wouldn?t call it a dialect, but rather an accent, Spanish accent in this case. The same applies to the Russian, Chinese ?(you name it) accents. When Americans speak in Russian they also have an accent. You cannot call it a Russian dialect, right? In the States there are so many accents, cause it?s normal for immigrants to have accents as English is their second and sometimes third language. There is a special course in some schools here, which can help to eliminate the accent, but it?s very individual and can work for some people, but majority still have their accents ?

You are right. In this case I should call it an accent cause Spanish is their first language. But could another language be a factor influencing on the appearing of dialect or it can appear just because of internal factors? The definition of the word 'dialect' allows it to derive from "territory, proffesional or social similarity(community)", however, for instance in Jamaican English case we are dealing with language factor or it's already a new artificially created language?

This not an area of my expertise ( I work in finances, not in philology ), but I think that Jamaican is a ?broken English?. Jamaica was under different influences starting from Amerindians (who discovered Jamaica), Spanish (Columbus), British, and African slaves. So you can imagine what happened to language these people have spoken during centuries. However, I can understand Jamaicans, since they speak English after all, although they mispronounce many words.

People of some Caribbean islands speak so-called Creole language, which is a combination of French, English and some local Indian languages. Is it a dialect, ?new? language, or just ?broken? French and English? Who knows?.

Сообщение отредактировал КАРРА: 01.09.2004, 01:56:14

[BaboJan]

Yo! I began to understud you. may be someday i came 2 you & say: hello my English brother!
Actuly - is a flud
I just have nat any ideas abot what i have 2 post here
Yo! I got it!
Check it up:
Englsh - is international lang. and no mater what type of dialect somebody haz. WE (CT-peoplez) can understand anybody whatever thery sayd. Especialy on the drunk condition Even kazahk, german, poland etc.

[Котик]

Hey, Pusy... Pusy Cat! What did you call us for?

Hey Gangsta, stop calling me Pusy or I will start practicing bad English words on you.

What about "Kitten"?
Is that ok for u?

That's much better

[xEn0s]

Exactly! American English is actually all we need.

I agree to you. Am E is widespread. And its knowledge is enough for practical needs. But British is also widely used and popular cause they have stronger methods system of teaching and "supporting" it(books, TV, British Councils). So its better at least to understand it too.

Wow! What a great thought in the last sentence of your reply!

It's my "pearl of wisdom"

My condolence to you...

I don't need one, keep it for yourself...

[xEn0s]

Yo! I began to understud you. may be someday i came 2 you & say: hello my English brother!
Actuly - is a flud
I just have nat any ideas abot what i have 2 post here
Yo! I got it!
Check it up:
Englsh - is international lang. and no mater what type of dialect somebody haz. WE (CT-peoplez) can understand anybody whatever thery sayd. Especialy on the drunk condition Even kazahk, german, poland etc.

It's not a flood. The topic is on attitude towards dialects, not on abilities of understandings although noone argue that drunk language is an international dialect.

[Visual1]

Exactly! American English is actually all we need.

I agree to you. Am E is widespread. And its knowledge is enough for practical needs. But British is also widely used and popular cause they have stronger methods system of teaching and "supporting" it(books, TV, British Councils). So its better at least to understand it too.

Wow! What a great thought in the last sentence of your reply!

It's my "pearl of wisdom"

My condolence to you...

I don't need one, keep it for yourself...

I see you actually don't know what you need. Stop wasting your and my time and start learning both Am./Br. English thoroughly. And never say "I agree to you". My condolence to you.

Сообщение отредактировал Visual1: 01.09.2004, 21:06:10

[xEn0s]

I see you actually don't know what you need. Stop wasting your and my time and start learning both Am./Br. English thoroughly. And never say "I agree to you". My condolence to you.

I'm not trying to find your or somebody else's mistakes here. If you want to do that start a new topic. But I doubt your knowledge of English is enough for it. Take my condolences. As to me I know what I need quitte well and started the discussion for interest on this topic, if you have nothing to say, stay away from here.

[Visual1]

I'm not trying to find your or somebody else's mistakes here.

Well, I see what you're trying for.

If you want to do that start a new topic. But I doubt your knowledge of English is enough for it.

I don't care about your doubts as regard to my knowledge of English. Believe you or not!

...if you have nothing to say, stay away from here.

Do YOU have something to say? I saw your 'wisdom'. And I will not go away from here although I see your strong desire for me to do that. Who are you at all to give me such-like directions? Did YOU create this topic? Or may be you are the owner/moderator of this forum? But please "don't worry, be happy": I will stay away not from here but from YOU as far as possible. That is for sure.

Сообщение отредактировал Visual1: 04.09.2004, 20:52:35

[Котик]

2 Visual and Xenos.
You are women, right? You've been quarreling like tho chicks in a kitchen.

[Акскл]

Тем кто хочет попрактиковаться в чтении англоязычных текстов - предлагаю почитать статью о том, как наши предки правили Китаем в 13-14 веках:

http://www.kyrgyz.ru...p?showtopic=263