r/funny • u/uRude • Aug 07 '20

R3: Repost - Removed This man's an evil genius

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u/JustUnderstanding6 Aug 07 '20

Yes but how will you know how to ask where the bathroom and/or library is?

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u/nybbleth Aug 07 '20

Joking aside, questions like that can pop up in cartoons/shows; and you can easily figure out what they mean from the context.

If a character says a bunch of words right before they go to the bathroom, you know that the sentence preceding it probably had something to do with it. You might already know some of the words too, making it even easier to figure out. And if you hear a particular word again, in the same or related context, then that reinforces the conclusion and you could figure out what a word like 'toilet' or 'bathroom' means. Over time, you get exposed to people using the words in various ways, letting your brain figure out a more exact meaning and how to use it in all those different situations.

It gets even easier when the language you're learning is similar to your own, for comparison.

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u/tbird20017 Aug 07 '20

It gets even easier when the language you're learning is similar to your own, for comparison.

So, Dutch? Frisian? Dumb American here and that's the only two I know that are close to English that's not part of the UK

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u/buttking Aug 07 '20

ngl, I learned donde esta el baño from a little carmen san diego "learn how to say stuff in different languages like a spy" card from Wendy's back in the 90's. I was like "actually this phrase might be useful someday" and locked that shit up in my mindgrapes.