do you learn Englsih as in a translation, or just launguage by it self?
and what I just said doens't make sense...

Now that's an odd thing, because most governments in the US are terrified of appearing like they're forcing religion on anyone, to the extent that a number of religious references in public buildings have been removed due to complaints (though it's far from an epidemic). While the conservative side of the US insists it's a christian nation, most people know that if the government were to actually enforce some form of religion, it would just start squabbles between christian sects again, because there is no state religion.

That the US is religious, that's another matter entirely, but then again that's hardly an uncommon phenomenon.

Not only translating comics.

The real english knowledge which I conquered(now) was reading, writing(MSN, Omegle, forums,etc.), playing games and trying to do simultaneous translation from my language to english.

But all these things don't help to talk with someone. Only practicing speech. Or do a course. Doing courses helps you to learn more faster(if you do on a very good course). I tried to learn japanese for four months and I learned very much. I never though japanese was so easy.

@mactwisp
I should think about learning Japaness, so that I can watch anime without subs'.
It sounds odd but, you can talk to youur self in English to practice :p
----------------------------
Speaking of national antheme, sure UK's antheme is about praising the Loyal Queen. While our's being a celebration of the freedom and the independent, and more...

UK:God save the Queen!
USA:In God is our trust.

"In God We Trust" is printed on our money, but it doesn't appear in the text of our national anthem.

If you count all verses...


O say can you see by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." <--------------------------
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

yeah, no one really knows about other three verses.

Oh I misread what you said anywhere. It's on all of our money. Muscle memory, yaknow?

In America it differs from state to state, but I was required to take 2 years of a foreign language in highschool. Usually Spanish I & II (or French or maybe Latin).
Then colleges have their own requirements for foreign language (here it is 3 semesters of a foreign language).

So most people here don't really learn much at all, and then they forget it once they get out. It's actually pretty sad.

Me: I took Spanish I - IV in highschool (not that I really learned all that much, but it was a good foundation). Now I'm taking Japanese I - VI in college
Fun Times!!!

Same here.

'cause I didn't choose the second foreign language (French, for obvious reasons) in middle school and took another class instead I had to attend a Latin crash course in high school. Fun times.

Another common stereotype: we're crazy for soccer. Well, yes, the general majority is.

Is it true that Germans eat a lot of meat? =D

It depends on whether you compare us to other developed countries or the entire world.

Also, thank you for asking, otherwise I hadn't stumbled over this awesome site.

Hahah, you're welcome And indeed, it's a pretty neat site. At least I know now what average of weight is in my country per person.. and that we eat less than Germans

And I asked is because I heard that Germans like to eat various types of sausages, adding beer to it. But the stereotype of beer got overturned already in this thread, so just wanted to make sure how's with meat

While I have no hard numbers on that one, I think sausages are among the favourite foods here. At least I always see a wide variety at meat counters. Various kinds of steak are popular, too.

But I believe it varies greatly from region to region. We're a less monolithic country than the global public may think (many countries are, I guess). A few hundred years ago there were only the "Germanies", a diverse cluster of states with more or less the same language, so our now unified nation retains a diverse set of customs and traditions.

My federal state Rheinland-Pfalz, for example, is a mix of Bavarian and French culture, so a lot of our idiosyncrasies aren't representative of the rest of Germany.

I haven't seen any of American dollar/changes for several years... and my muscle has short term memory loss symptoms.

I don't like how canadian one buck is coin(loonie) not a paper money. spending a dollar just feels like spending a qurtar..

Hey, I got a question to Italians since there are some of them here

Is it true that Italians are the most fanatic football/soccer supporters in Europe or it's just a stereotype?



I'm not sure is religion popular in United States. From what I observe by watching media, it's more like they turned away from religion and it's believes. But maybe it's because I'm an outsider who looks upon US differently.

The US is indeed very religious, especially the South and Midwest. Religion (specifically various interpretations of Christianity) is one of the most dominant factors in politics. It plays a role in everything from gay marriage and abortion to helping the needy and war. Most people are aware of the evangelical Christian right, but there is also a very large Christian left as well. Did you know that except for some of the founders (a few who were Deist, a bit of an off-shoot), every President of the US has been Christian? And only one of them was Catholic (JFK).

As Rick said, the government itself has no role in this and is explicity prohibited from being involved in religion by the Constitution. It's entirely cultural. The culture is generally shifting away from conventional Christianity among the younger generations.

I may be generalizing a bit. Maybe.

Let's be careful around religion, especially in terms of where it intersects with politics. I think we're doing alright for the moment, I just wanted to remind y'all since that seems to be where we're headed.

Dan's right that, if the US appears religious, that's a societal rather than governmental thing. I have no idea how the religious beliefs of today stack up with the past because I've never researched it and I haven't really been on this planet long enough to tell the difference.

is it true that Xbox is banned in Germany?
and is there lots of german shepherd around?

It would deeply surprise me if anybody is a bigger fanatic then England...I've never been to Italy, but I know every pub in England is always showing Football or Cricket.

Oh. I guess I used the wrong word to express what I meant By fanatic I meant those who are brutal and ruthless. Next time I'll try to be more precise

And I'm not sure are British supporters one of the most danger supporters on the world. Few years ago I would say they are, but after Margaret Thatcher's government made reforms about bans from stadium for breaking law, it actually became peaceful, from what I can see from TV as I watch Premier League.

And the reason why I asked Italians this question is because I heard they have terrible wars, including a situation where people threw a scooter down on supporters of enemy team.

Which is doesn't means they are only ones. In Brazil we're fanatics too. we won five World Cups, winning Italy. But not with so violence. Sometimes have a little fight, when the crowd have intimidated with the opposing crowd. But not so much violence what about the England violent crowd stereotype. I think we had two or three crowd fights in the last two years.

And I heard it the Japan likes football/soccer and golf, is that right?

Huh? Where did you get that from? At no point was this seriously considered.


Yes, they're even the most popular race.

he iz a liar!
http://youtu.be/rOuZLlM24ao?t=43s

Are not all IGN news lies?
-------------------------
Mexican Stereotypes:
-All the roads are dirt roads
_no

-we walk with our ponchos and big hats down street yelling "AY AHHY AY!"
_no, though we make fun of that sometimes

-we make fun of ourselves' mistakes
_as I said, yes sometimes

-We have indigenous ethnic groups
_Yes we do, they are the original and REAL mexicans, we are just a mixture of Species (average mexican), and some of them they wear traditional clothing wich is similar to this:

Not like this:


-We are Very rude
_Lots of people are..most of people..specially with tourists..american tourists mostly because we feel they are very racist, and only some of them are... (yeah, i know theres bad and good people just as everywhere else)

-Cops are corrupt and as bad as criminals
_Many of them are, there are good cops too but that would be like a 70%-30%

Questions? You can ask openly, seriously I dont bite ^_^ ...Neither Bark

(Some) Canadians Claim that they don't Say Eh and it's only stereo type thing. But I don't know, I already heard it half a dozen times today.

The three common words i hear that most don't know about Canadians is the words "Aye!", "Bai!" and "Eh". Where i'm at on Cape Breton, We love using the terms "Hey, Buddy!" when talking to anyone, so we commonly just say "Aye, bai!".

I'm not your buddy, guy!

he's not your guy, friend.

I'm not your~ oh,wait... How silly of me.

Aye, bai! I'm your friend!

Since Canada was mentioned, I got a question

is it true that Canadians have obsession at maple syrup?

I wouldn't say obsessed, but we definitely love it. I love maple syrup in the morning on my breakfast with Pancakes and toast because of how sweet and tasty it is. I seen it be put on fries and eggs even at times too at restaurants.

Oh, and i don't know if this works outside of Canada, but i never seen a restaurant that doesn't have maple syrup for breakfast if you ask for it, which is awesomely convenient.

nahhh not really obsessed.
you oughta help me out with this cob.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=928&start=360

On this topic... is it true that you Canadians have amassed on the border to invade and finish what was started in the War of 1812?

HouseFoxy may know about it.
not really an answer, Just sayin'.
Texas has the right to divide into Five states. but if we did, Texas wouldn't be Texas.

Hey Miles, since you brought that up, would you mind if I ask you a similar question?

Is it true that a lot of Scots want to separate from UK to become independent?

I know a few do, but definitely not a large portion. Though there are a few Northerners that would love to see them secede .