MSGID: 1:153/716.0 03c570c2   
   REPLY: 2:221/6.0 602cd200   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
    AH>  I applaud your courage too, because generating language   
    AH>  requires a much higher order of skill than understanding   
    AH>  it & when you're speaking aloud you don't have time to   
    AH>  consult a dictionary or a grammar book....   
      
    AK>  Another problem, as I had said once, is that the Russian   
    AK>  language consists of longer words than English, and   
    AK>  because of it a Russian thinks and understands slower. ;-)   
      
      
             The English language dropped many inflections during the Middle   
   Ages, and this trend continues with e.g. the use of the word "actor" to   
   describe both males & females.  It doesn't necessarily result in shorter   
   words.  But the pace of modern life seems to be increasing as we speak... I   
   catch myself leaving out periods from abbreviations like "BC" because that is   
   how others spell them.  At the same time, I count myself among those who take   
   awhile to think & understand   
   ... as I do when folks like you & Anton ask really, really good questions.  :-)   
      
      
      
    AK>  So, for training hearing skills a Russian should start   
    AK>  hearing all the Russian video show and movies sped up   
    AK>  by 1.5-2 times.   
      
      
             Maybe.  A friend of ours who is totally blind can make sense of   
   stuff read aloud in English by a computer far more easily than Dallas & I   
   can.  But I notice also that when native speakers of a foreign language   
   address one another the pace is usually too quick for me to keep up with even   
   if I have studied the language for some time.  I'm not sure this skill would   
   be transferable....  :-)   
      
      
      
    AK>  I am a morning person when I go to my office. I can   
    AK>  secretly type some messages to FIDO behind my colleges   
    AK>  backs, but it is hardly possible to do Skype talks,   
    AK>  without having round eyes around. ;-)   
      
      
             I thought it might be something like that.  One of the things I   
   enjoy about Fidonet is that we get a bunch of mail in the morning, from people   
   on the same continent, and a bunch more in the evening from people on others.    
   Just as there are people who leap out of bed at 5:00 AM & go jogging for an   
   hour before getting ready for work, there are people who check their Fidonet   
   mail every day as soon as they're awake enough to take it in.  Some apparently   
   type up a storm immediately.  But that's not my style, and I gather it's not   
   yours either.  :-)   
      
      
      
    AK>  On weekend, of course, I like to sleep more than usual.   
      
      
             Ah.  You're a morning person on weekdays because that's what you   
   have to do to earn a living.  Dallas & I have been there too.   
      
             When I switched to the elementary level, others commented on how   
   much healthier I looked.  My starting time there, BTW, was somewhat later.  :-)   
      
      
      
    AK>  maybe at 9am Moscow Time on Sunday it can be the window,   
    AK>  while you have 10pm.   
      
      
             Hmm.  By my calculations you are eleven hours ahead of us... at   
   least until Daylight Saving Time kicks in.  Unfortunately, however, Dallas & I   
   aren't available nowadays on weekends when others are.  For us a Tuesday or a   
   Thursday eening would be better.  Perhaps you have some holidays which differ   
   from ours? Monday or Wednesday evening might also work if your timing is   
   flexible....  :-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)   
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