[Andy141]

I'm a British Guy going insane listening to my wife babble on over the phone or to friends in her native language, what a bloody racket but as they say, if you can't beat them, join them.

I've tried the self learning tapes but I suck at it on my own so need a real teacher who can give me small amounts of homework from time to time (I don't need to learn the whole language in a week) and see her once or twice per week for the next 10 years or so...

Ako si Andy 61920492

[Nasty_Boy]

Originally Posted by Andy141

I'm a British Guy going insane listening to my wife babble on over the phone or to friends in her native language, what a bloody racket but as they say, if you can't beat them, join them.

I've tried the self learning tapes but I suck at it on my own so need a real teacher who can give me small amounts of homework from time to time (I don't need to learn the whole language in a week) and see her once or twice per week for the next 10 years or so...

Ako si Andy 61920492

Kamusta Andy (How are you Andy),

First of all, there are so many Filipino dialects. Are you sure your wife speaks tagalog or not other dialects like kapampangan, bisaya, etc.? Tagalog as it is is very hard to master. I guess any foreign language per se is hard to master. Plus, most if not all filipinos speak fluent english, and would rather talk to you in english than teach you tagalog, hahaha.

Btw, if you know a little bit of spanish, it might help you also.

Good luck.

Nesty

[TaLL|dUdE]

compared to say learning canto or mandarin.. i'd say it's a breeze. hehehe!

i know a lot of british or american nationals who are expats in the Phil. who are now quite fluent or have at least some conversational tagalog or dialects after a few years or so of staying there. so i don't think it's that hard.

[Rimo]

Hi Andy,

I will ask around, maybe i can find someone who will be patient enough to teach you, hehehe, but nasty boy is right, aside from Tagalog, you need to find out first what's your wife dialect is, it will also help us find a perfect teacher for you.

Rimo

[zeroth]

first things first. tagalog is a language. bisaya is another language, as kapampangan is. dialect is only a manner of how you speak a particular language like the pronounciation or tone. thus, people with different dialects might be able to understand each other. say, a batangas-tagalog and a laguna-tagalog will most probably communicate with each other. the philippines has about 70 or 80 languages...(mostly because it's comprised of many islands)

know which particular language your wife speaks. if it's tagalog, that would be good 'cause it's more of the universal/common language in the philippines (other than english).

to be able to speak (and to be understood) tagalog is rather easy. filipinos would really try to understand your tagalog even how bad it is. to master it and know it with proper/correct grammar could be hard because it has many rules. good luck.

[zeroth]

..and learning languages has got nothing to do with sports and fitness.

[Andy141]

Thanks for the reply Guys,
My wife is from Manila so she says that Tagalog will be fine. Are there any other British or American Guys married to Filipino out there with the same interest?

Oh Ye, sorry that I put this in the sports and fitness section but I'm in the Gym & massage business so don't bother with other areas. Maybe if I take the lessons in my gym shorts!!!

Andy.

[HKLozzo]

Sorry, Zeroth but i have to let you know that you are incorrect in your explanation of the different languages of the Philippines. You may well be right in that they are different languages. I don't know. I have no knowledge of the differences. But you say the dialect is how you pronounce the language. Wrong! Dialect is the use of words which are specific to an area or region and may have been passed down through generations. How you pronounce the words, how they sound from your mouth is called Accent. Many regions combine both dialect AND accent to produce something that may sound like a different language but is essentially still the same language.
As an example, have you heard a French person speaking English? They are speaking the same language as me but sound different because of their accent. Now heres some english dialect. Note, this is still english language but using an 'unofficial' dialect. " Ay up mi duck. Ee i were frit ta death t'other neet"
This is English. See the funny, non-standard words? Thats dialect. If i said this with the accent specific to the region, you could tell where i was from.

Hope this clears up any confusion. I like to think you can go on through life now and have the correct information available to pass onto others.

[TaLL|dUdE]

ditto with what LKLozzo said...

[bobbyjo]

I'm a British Guy going insane listening to my wife babble on over the phone or to friends in her native language, what a bloody racket but as they say, if you can't beat them, join them. ......

Thanks Andy, made me laugh, i know the feeling so well is just same for me,they sure do babble on and so loud with it. Im like you and would like to learn Tagalog as well.Maybe over 10 years we might be able to say hello in there given language. Im also a brit and understood everything that HKlozzo said. Also i not think it will be that easy to learn at my age. Well time will tell. Cheers.. Bob.