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Another interesting thing about language differences, is that some languages don't have articles (like "the" in English - if I remember my English grammar [1] a
by vram22 7y ago
Another interesting thing about language differences, is that some languages don't have articles (like "the" in English - if I remember my English grammar [1] and my Hindi and Sanskrit [2] correctly, heh).
[1] Slightly funny anecdote: When in school (maybe class 5 or 6), I once mixed up the dates of the English Grammar and English Composition semester exams (they were within a day or two of each other), and thought that the next day's exam was Composition, so did not prepare (because you do not prepare for composition a.k.a. essay writing, you just do it on the spot). Turned out that it was actually the Grammar exam, for which you can prepare. I was surprised and pleased to learn later, that I got as good a grade / mark on it - a high one (as I could guess) as if I had actually prepared for it :) I think I had and (still have) some natural aptitude for English grammar, and maybe of some other languages too, for which I am thankful. Good fun.
[2] I studied both Hindi and Sanskrit for many years in school (and did well on both), but don't remember all the grammar rules now, I just speak Hindi naturally, same for English grammar. Native Hindi speakers have told me in the past that my Hindi is pretty much indistinguishable from that of a native speaker.
- geff82 7y agoI speak Persian quite fluently and Persian is completely free of articles. It is also an absolutely gender neutral language (Persians really have to ask if you are talking about a woman or a man if they need context). Besides that, there are no irregular verbs at all. I love it.
- vram22 7y agoCool. Interesting. Then it must have diverged somewhat in that respect from Sanskrit, because both are descended from Proto-Indo-European languages, I've read. Sanskrit does have genders, IIRC - masculine, feminine and neuter. Sanskrit is also supposed to be a very regular language. I studied it for 3 or 4 years in high school. After you know the basics of some vocabulary and some grammar and some rules for joining words (called sandhi), you can easily understand compound words and even make up your own, like in German. Also, Sanskrit poetry can sometimes have good wordplay because many words have many different meanings (each).
- ajuc 7y agoArticles seem completely pointless to me as a Slavic speaker. In my language you can specify the a/the distinction if you want by using equivalents of "this/some", but it's optional and most of the time you just use the nouns alone.
- vram22 7y agoI personally think articles can be useful, but I am not an expert on grammar or linguistics.