![hi in slavania hi in slavania](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/akixmhbIn7k/maxresdefault.jpg)
![hi in slavania hi in slavania](https://res.cloudinary.com/hostelling-internation/image/upload/v1393576364/TripBooks/img47932-Slovenia_Kobarid_Nadi%C5%BEa_Julian-Alps.jpg)
Slovenian also has something called the ‘dual plural’, a rare, archaic feature which has all but died out in most other languages, if it ever existed at all. My least favourite aspect of Slovenian: ‘cases’ which mean you must constantly change the endings of words, depending on context I rarely get the endings of all my words right, although for the most part, the meaning of my sentence can still be understood. For native English speakers, this is an ongoing trip hazard. It’s grammatically complex, with an annoying number of ‘cases’ ( sklon) which mean that you have to constantly modify the endings of words depending on the context of the sentence. It’s true that Slovene is not the easiest language to grasp for non-Slavic speakers. Where’s Spot? High brow Slovenian literature I’m not completely alien to language learning I have an intermediate level of French, I lived and worked in rural Japan for two years so banked some nihongo, and I even (reluctantly) attended Russian classes at school. Taking time to learn your host country’s tongue opens the door to cultural insights and shows a level of respect and interest in your adopted country, which I think is important and worthwhile. Not only will this help me understand and operate better here, but it’s a matter of manners too. The British already have a reputation for being lazy when it comes to languages so I want to learn as much of the local lingo as possible. Tools for the jobīut I don’t want to become another foreigner who never bothered to learn the language of the country in which they reside. (Although you can still run into problems, as I discovered at the uprava enota…see: Battling Bureaucracy: A Taste of Red Tape in Slovenia). In Slovenia, and especially Ljubljana, it’s easy enough to rely on the locals’ excellent linguistic skills and spare yourself the trouble of tackling mind-twisting grammar when it’s quite possible to operate in English alone for the vast majority of daily life. Indeed, I have met several expats who have been living here for years, have Slovene partners, yet don’t speak Slovenian at all. Trying to learn Slovene inspired me to create this desgin (based on a classic Slovenian cigarette brand) – available on t-shirts & other mearch at