I switched over to studying #French this last week because I'm a sucker for that #Duolingo friend streak (don't wanna let the BFF down!) and I was getting tired of practicing Spanish.
In Spanish, the odious "A (person)" phrasing finally sunk in, though. As in: "A mi, me gusta..." it was a shock when I found myself thinking like that, but I was actually happy that I was thinking in Spanish without first thinking in English. That's progress!
I have a serious worry about learning the French language that I hope is not insulting and is simply based in my own complete ignorance: it seems like almost every single vowel/combination is pronounced almost the same, no matter how it's spelled. Sort of a gutteral-nasal grunt and a little "ah" sound. Well, except for when it's "ooh", which is also confusing.
Next time I notice this, I'm going to note the vowel combinations that seem to be pronounced the same. I need to be taking notes anyway. I took notes when I was studying Japanese, but I gave up on Japanese quite a while ago in favor of Scots Gaelic (which I've let slide, too).
Duolingo isn't that great at teaching languages as far as "I'd like to chat with my pocket friends who use this language" goes, but it's all I've got right now.
Earlier today, I commented on somebody's post and then made sure that I also posted a translation of what I wrote in French, because the OP was in French. I hope I didn't insult them! It helped me learn the phrasing of the simple thing that I said. I really do want to learn the language. I find it more fun and challenging than Spanish right now.
I am starting to be able to look at something on the screen and translate it to English in my head without looking at the answer, though. That's progress!
