Generally American (A Journey in American English)

In this week's episode, I want to talk about multilingualism in the U.S, the languages that I personally speak and how I go about maintaining those languages. The purpose of this episode is to give you a better understanding of my linguistic background and current linguistic situation. Also, I hope that if our situations are similar, then it might be of personal use to you.

Speaking from personal experience, I know that it is tempting to stay in the walled garden that is learner material, but it is not something that will help you advance in the long run. Now, it does go without saying that you have to learn how to crawl before you can walk, and walk before you can run. The sooner you start familiarizing yourself with native content, the better. Plus, it provides you a realistic measure of your abilities.

Please do not believe that you have to start off with something like Shakespeare or Lord of the Rings. While those might be tempting to tackle, they are also quite daunting, even for native speakers. Therefore, it would be best to read those once you have solidified your English abilities.

There is native material appropriate for every level and I would like to go over that with you in today's podcast; Beginner, Intermediate and Beyond. 

In the last couple of episodes we talked about how to use the history of a language as a language learning tool, the different stages of English and the French influence on the English language. This time, to be more true to the podcast, I want to talk a little bit about dialects. It should come as a  surprise to no one that there are different dialects and variations of  the English language throughout the world. This is true of most  languages, of course. The  two most prominent being American English, also known as General  American and RP, also known as Received Pronunciation or British  English. While there are problems that go along with using these labels,  for the sake of brevity and history, I will stick to them. I  want to go over the most obvious differences between the American and  British English dialects and a a couple of American Expressions

In the last episode, we talked about the history of English; Old, Middle and Early Modern English. Now, I also touched on the fact French had a great deal of influence on English, but I did not go into detail about what that exactly means. Well, in this episode, I want to expand upon that a bit. 

It should be noted that French, just like English, has undergone a lot of changes. So, the French that is spoken today is not the same as the French that was spoken almost a thousand years ago. However, it is still possible to see the parallels between modern French(1600) and Old French (700-1300). 

In  this episode, I want to focus on a short history of the English  language. You may wonder "What does history of the language have to do  with language learning ?" Well, quite a lot actually! It is only by  knowing where we have come from that we can know where we are going. In  my language learning journey, I have not only found it fascinating to  learn about the history of a language, but I have also found it to be  very insightful. It has also allowed me to gain a greater understanding  of the language as well.

With that being said, let's talk a little bit about the history of the language. 

Today, I have a special introduction for this podcast. I have a couple  of Japanese listeners and I’d therefore like to have a Japanese introduction as well. If you don’t speak Japanese or don’t want to hear  the Japanese, feel free to skip ahead.
 
The majority of this  podcast, with the exception of the following introduction, will be in English and is geared towards all learners of English. In this episode, I  would like to talk about some language learning tips; Reading native  material, translating lyrics into English and shadowing.
 
 Please stay tuned until the end of the podcast to hear a new expression !

I want to talk about a couple of differences between my home country, the U.S, and Germany, the country in which I currently reside. I do realize that this is a topic that has been covered extensively by others, but I do also feel as if though more perspectives couldn't hurt. I would also like to think that I might be able to provide a different outlook on things. 

We will look at three aspects because, you know, three is a good number. 

1. Friendliness 
2. Portion Sizes
3. Public Transportation 

Welcome to my very first episode! This is my introductory podcast as I am still getting used to my equipment the podcast format. So, view this is getting to know me be a bit better. I hope that you will also be interested in listening to future episodes as well. 

Stay tuned for the next episode !  

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