Guide to Switching Languages

With this guide I'm hoping to teach you some tips and little things you guys should keep in mind when switching languages whether it's just for fun or to actually learn a new language. I hope this guide helps you go through the most important things to have in mind and remember that there are plenty of people doing the same thing now-a-days so don't feel alone! We have all gone through the same though time when learning a foreign language and it's just a phase we all must face and deal with in order to become fluent.

Basic information

Many people always ask me the same thing: If you switch to a different language, can I go back and pick mine again later? Let me tell you that you indeed can. You just need to select your language from the dropdown menu you can find at the bottom of the page. Once you pick it and press 'Go!' it would just take a few seconds/minutes to fully turn the page to its original language.

There sure are people who have never tried to play Neopets in a different language in their lives, which is perfectly understable because they are not forced to do it or maybe they are just not interested in doing it so. In case you did not know, Neopets allows you to switch to a total of 11 different languages.

If you are wondering which is the most used language, I'd definitely say English, as the owners and creators of the site are all natives of United States. Hence why English is the most active language when you go to the boards. I've tried this in different languages and the boards happen to be more active in English than in any other language.

With no further ado, do not feel yourself afraid and worry! Try switching languages and see how things go! As I previously explained, all you have to do is go to the bottom of the page and look where it says "Select language" and there you just select the one you want to switch to.

Benefits

Being bilingual or knowing a second language is what most people in the world do today. Not only for work/personal interest, but also because the society and the world itself ask you to do it at some point. Wouldn't it be great to visit any place in the world and be able to communicate with people and understand them? Let me tell you that as a person who is currently learning his third language, that is one of the greatest feelings you could ever have. Being able to talk to people and have conversations no matter the place you are is just wonderful.

Neopets has made many people love foreign languages and I know of a lot of people whose mother tongue isn't English and yet they are perfectly able to communicate with people; They even seem to talk better than native speakers! At first it's such a hard thing to learn but it is not impossible, not at all. It will just take you some time before getting used to it. One of all these good benefits I have found out is that as the world is divided by timezones, it is most likely good for you to switch to other languages because it will allow you to get to meet people who may be playing Neopets just in the same moment as you. I know a lot of people who are fifteen or more hours ahead of the Neopian Standard Time (NST) and it's so hard for them to find people online at the same time and so when you switch languages, you will pretty much find more people to talk to!

I think one of the best benefits you can get from switching languages at Neopets is the enormous vocabulary you will start to acquire over time. You can understand and use different words over and over again, and so you will improve what you have already learned in the past. From my own experience, Neopets is the place that let me learn and earn all the vocabulary and knowledge I use when talking now-a-days.

Disadvantages

Even though there are several benefits about switching languages, I have also found a few disadvantages I didn't want to pass over without mentioning them here. I do not want you to come across something when I could have let you know beforehand in this guide.

Firstly, I'd say that even though you are ready to learn a new language, getting used to the way people express themselves in that language is going to be completely different than yours. When you learn a new language you can't just translate what you want to say to said language, you need to find the right way to express what you want to say and sometimes the way you speak in your native language is completely different than the one you are currently learning it. This is something that only practice will grant you to achieve but you ought to practice and talk to friends as often as possible. Otherwise it's going to take you forever to do it and if you are not able to communicate on an online site, then it's going to be much harder when you talk to someone face to face.

Also, the way you express and write sentences will pretty much let people understand what you mean. There's a clear example when people want to talk sarcastically. We know we love to have some laugthers from time to time and that being sarcasm it helps at some point. However, if you do not express what you want to say in a sarcastic way, then you are going to be saying something with the wrong meaning and so people would get you wrong as well. That's why you need to be careful and be one hundred percent sure about what you are going to say before posting it either on the boards, neomails or guilds. I can't tell you that it took me a lot to understand sarcasm and different slangs people use to talk to others. I mean, it did take me time, but it was not impossible to achieve and now I can tell you that I can talk just like they do. Many times I've laughed at something that was not even meant to be funny and sometimes that didn't allow me to finish a conversation because of that person. So make sure that you always keep in mind the context of things as they occur in the moment of speaking, so you can prevent yourself from encountering situations you may not be able to leave properly.

New Language

Learning a whole new language does not happen overnight, it can take months or even years! But as you know, practice makes perfect. My native language is Spanish and in less than two years and could communicate with everyone in English and so that time prepared me to this point of my neo-life in which you can find me writing down guides! Whenever I get on here, I simply play on English to get to see my friends and I hardly ever switch back to my own language. Learning a new language is incredible helpful and useful. It fills you with so many good feelings as well as it opens you doors for many things like jobs, meeting people, travelling, etc.

One of the best things about Neopets allowing you to switch languages is that when you find boards a bit die and inactive, you can simply switch to another and see more people online. During Summer/Winter break, for instance, is when people tend to do this. If you didn't know, people like me who live in the Southern Hemisphere are in the opposite season as you are now; they are just flipped!

Conclusion

My advice is to never give up and never stop learning something new! Neopets is a site that, aside from providing fun, games, plots and everything they delight us with, gives you the opportunity to learn new languages and for free, because you do not need to pay a teacher or institute. You can learn by yourself at your own time phase. Make sure to always have a dictionary near you because you will need it. Remember that the more ways to express yourself you find, the easier it will become for you to communicate. Do not stick to the same thing, try to improve yourself by exploring new ways and manners to talk to others.