English topic

Hell and Heaven are opposite

Yes, that's right…
Did you had a good day today ?
For me all had been all right, and now I'm in holidays, but with a lot of lessons in philosophy for the 8th of November…So bad !!

To know how is my life
==> My webblog : direngal.skyrock.com
In few languages…

few=peu de
a few = several = plusieurs

Maybe time comes to get this thread out of the sand again, since it seems to be slightly dying, heh.
Well, congrats for having carried out such a thread but keeping it alive would be greatly appreciated and very useful, not only for those who take part in it but for all those being interested in enhancing their english.

As for myself, It is definitely a vital thing to keep it improved, not only for the BAC, but for the incoming years as well, who knows, maybe this second language might be helfpul one day.

Kind regards

Hello, el_torro, or should we call you the bull?

Did you know that one of the items that helps keep blogs alive (and this thread ressembles a blog) is the introduction of new ideas, or injecting a question to which other readers might like to reply.

I wonder for example how many of you have homework to do during the holidays and are putting it off until the last minute, when it might be done in a panic.

I wonder what young people feel about having to do homework in Primary Schools, where it is not at all obligatory.

I wonder what you feel about the number of hours spent each year for your schooling? Does going to school more than Finnish students (5523 hours for the 7 to 14 year olds in 2004) or South Coreans (5993 hours) or Japanese (6362 hours) make the up-and-coming French generation (7544 hours in State schools) intellectually more gifted than their foreign counterparts?

This message may well set the cat among the pigeons 🙂

A good question indeed, honestly, I think this is mainly about a matter of 'mentality', things tend to be slightly different in every country, it depends on several cultural factors and reasons.
In my judgement, even spending much more studying time than others do, should not make us look bad in a certain light, surprisingly french studies are pretty well seen in foreign nations.
So let's see it as a good point. ;]

Regarding the issue of homeworks being done "at the last minute", from a personal point of view, I think this depends on the student in question, whether he is able to get'em done in a proper way or not, if he is unable to carry them out in the right way than he better should take his time, otherwise why not keep to follow his risky way as long as he makes sure to get things correctly done, heh.

Concerning Homeworks in the primary school, it was for me, quite boring, sometimes interesting but overall, boring… but I think you can't take them out since they seem really necessary, despite my opinion and with a little of hindsight, I must assume that they have been helpful, not in terms of acquiring 'the lessons in question' but in establishing an effective way of working.

More opinions in this regards, would be greatly appreciated as well.
😉

Kind Regards

I went once in England, but I was eleven years old, lol! Maybe I will return, I don't know, but I hope.

Unluckily, I never got the chance and the opportunity to travel to an anglo-saxon country, so I had to do with what I have:
US movies, Games, Internet… etc
Even being helpful, they don't really replace a little travel to an english speaking country.

kind regards

Bonjour, el-t.
At least your written English is quite good. 🙂

What difference do you make between "chance" and "opportunity"?
What difference do you make between "Anglo-Saxon" and "english-speaking"?

Happily you'll have plenty of time to travel later on in life.

Hi,

Well, the difference between 'chance' and 'opportunity' is slightly different in terms of meaning:
- 'Chance' somewhat means 'luck'' whereas 'opportunity' has the same meaning but rather means 'Ability' or 'possibility' or even 'prospect', it depends of the context it is used.

Regarding the second question, the difference between 'anglo-saxon' and english speaking comes in the fact that you could be an 'english speaking' person without being an 'anglo-saxon', you are french, but you speak english, which makes you an 'english speaking' man.
😉


kind regards

el_torro a écrit :- 'Chance' somewhat means 'luck'' whereas 'opportunity' has the same meaning but rather means 'Ability' or 'possibility' or even 'prospect', it depends of the context it is used.

Regarding the second question, the difference between '*anglo-*saxon' and *english speaking comes in the fact that you could be an '*english speaking' person without being an 'anglo-saxon', you are *french, but you speak *english, which makes you an '*english speaking' man.😉

In the way you use "chance" it must mean "good luck".
"Chance" corresponds to "hasard" = the unpredictable, but can also mean "possibility" and "opportunity" according to my Collins *English dictionary. The reverse is not true.

I still wonder what "*Anglo-*Saxon" means. in spite of the invasion of William the Conqueror and the ensuing Norman occupation, England remained mainly Saxon in its population. The same may be said of the original states of America in 1776; however it is scarcely true to say that the population of the USA in 2007 is Anglo-Saxon (the famous 'melting pot of Europe').

Originally you use "English-speaking" in reference to countries and now make a slight deviation towards the English-speaking man. (How many English-speaking persons must we find in a country for the country to become "English-speaking"? ) You'll excuse me in finding this a little illogical. All the more so because….I am not French!

*English and all other nationalities take a capital letter in English spelling (as do the countries themselves), even when adjectival.

P.-S. do you know a web site where I can check whether English-speaking takes a hyphen or not? I have seen both versions used in writing.

You can use the word 'english-speaking', not only for designating a country but for people as well.
Concerning the 'anglo-saxon' issue, I don't think that finding out the origins of the word would figure out the problem in question, since in france we have been used to call 'People who've english as first language' as 'Anglo-Saxo':

According to wikipedia:

For over a hundred years, the French have incorrectly used "Anglo-Saxon" to refer to the Anglophone societies of Britain and the United States, and sometimes (rarely) including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It is a wide-ranging term, taking in the English-speaking world's language, culture, technology, wealth, influence, markets and economy

I conclude that we are wrong (in France) and we always have been wrong regarding this question since we don't use the right meaningful word.

do you know a web site where I can check whether English-speaking takes a hyphen or not? I have seen both versions used in writing.

Google is your friend, I found a pretty helpful way that fixes anyone of my english errors:
- Before typing a word in 'Google's space', make sure to add a " before the word.
Example:
→ You wanna check out the following word: Plane, so it should be "Plane, the same goes for 'expressions' too,
→ You wanna make sure your expression doesn't sound false: I want to be a soldier, type it in google using "I want to be a soldier",

The result shows rather well whether the term is used or not in the websites selection it brought.

Let's give it a try here:
- The issue in question is : "English-speaking"
Result → It takes no hyphen.
🙂

Kind regards

el_torro a écrit :1. According to wikipedia:

For over a hundred years, the French have incorrectly used "Anglo-Saxon" to refer to the Anglophone societies of Britain and the United States, and sometimes (rarely) including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It is a wide-ranging term, taking in the English-speaking world's language, culture, technology, wealth, influence, markets and economy

I conclude that we are wrong (in France) and we always have been wrong regarding this question since we don't use the right meaningful word.

do you know a web site where I can check whether English-speaking takes a hyphen or not? I have seen both versions used in writing.

2. Google is your friend, Let's give it a try here:
- The issue in question is : "English-speaking"
Result → It takes no hyphen.
🙂 Kind regards

Hello again,
1. A useful source, but not always authoritative.
2. I already did! Result English-speaking :-
on the first page we see 16 examples without a hyphen and 4 with a hyphen. That's why I wanted the name of an authoritative site similar to the CNRTL, but for the English language.

Thanks for taking my point about capital letters 🙂
Best wishes,
J.

A useful source, but not always authoritative.

I second that, but in my humble opinion, Wikipedia staff makes sure of its content by checking it on a daily basis, of course, that doesn't make it 100% legitimate and sure, but since people seem to trust it then I don't see anything against its use as information's source.

I already did! Result English-speaking :-

For some reason, english speaking people tend to use both of ways, don't know why, though.
Maybe they are allowed to use both, who knows? heh.
English is certainly more flexible and adaptable than our language.


Kind Regards

Which part of Scotland did you visit? Most people only know the main towns: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen…..The Isles are also very beautiful, if somewhat mysterious.

JSC You have ever go to scotland? You are so Lucky!!!!!!! I Hope i will go there one day!

Yes, Jichou; I have been to Scotland.
It's quite a strange place for an Englishman, with its own banknotes as well as educational and legal systems.
It also has its own regional parliament, thanks to the activities of terrorists in the sixties and diplomacy in the seventies.

I visited Arran, Bute and Cumbrae (three of the islands in the Firth of Clyde) one summer shortly after leaving university. I led a chamber choir who sang the daily services in Millport Cathedral. Strangely the Bishop lived in Glasgow, so we never saw him!

Later I visited the North of England and the South of Scotland with a German friend. Since Hadrian's wall was built between the two countries, we were also able to visit that.

Before leaving England to live in France, I made an overnight train journey from London to Aberdeen, in order to continue the next day to Kyle of Lochaish by train, cross the water to the Isle of Skye by ferry, take a bus South, another ferry at Mallaig and a train back to Glasgow via Oban, where I stayed the night. A highlight of this trip was being able to play the organ in Paisley Abbey. It is one of the few built in Britain by the French organbuilder Cavaillée-Coll.

Although I have visited Land's End (Cornwall), I was never at John O'Groats at the Northernmost tip of mainland Scotland.