05-26-2011, 04:29 PM

So I've always been a "languages" person so I figure I was curious what languages others here know.

So for me obviously English is my native language but I've also studied:

- Latin (8 years)
- German (5 years)
- Greek, Hebrew, and Spanish (1 semester)

Currently learning Swedish since my family is Swedish and to help a bit when I travel over there so I'm not a completely ignorant American expecting everyone to speak English to me.

To learn it, I'm trying out Rosetta Stone since Swedish isn't a common language I can find in school.

So what languages do you do and how do you go about learning new ones?

05-26-2011, 04:41 PM

my native language is Slovak and other languages I know and learn are:

English (almost 15 years)
German (10 years)
Norwegian (half a year I spent in Norway)
Japanese (four semesters at my university as non-obligatory subject)

and then some basics of Italian. Moreover, my girlfriend speaks fluently Spanish so I think I'm gonna learn some basics I love to learn new languages so I think I will add some more in the future

05-26-2011, 04:48 PM

I only speak English fluently.

I studied French in school for three years, and from that I can now say the following phrases (roughly translated):

"Jai mange au burger" = I have eaten a burger
"Quelle la date de ton Anniversaire?" = When is your birthday?
"Oui madam" = Yes miss
"Jaime mon regle" = I love my ruler

As you can see, it wasnt my strong point.

05-26-2011, 05:01 PM

The best way to learn a foreign language is what matoduri is doing - date someone who only speaks that language. Funny how motivated you are and how quickly you learn. It's the more enjoyable 'immersion' method.

I wouldn't claim to have command of any language with the possible exception of English - but I still retain a fair amount of Italian. I lived in Sicily for 2 years - that's where I learned the power of a girlfriend for learning a language. All the guys there - that dated Italian women for any length of time - were easily 10x more fluent than those who didn't.

Took Spanish both in high school as well as college. Can order a beer or two in Turkish. The important stuff.

I'd love to become fluent in another language - but could never decide which one to focus on...

05-26-2011, 05:03 PM

it's a shame that my girl is originally from Slovakia...it would be faster to learn from somebody, who doesn't speak my mother tongue at all

05-26-2011, 05:16 PM

English is my native language. I also speak:

-Afrikaans (9 years)
-French (5 years)

May parent spoke Afrikaans consistently (I’m originally from South Africa), so I convinced them to teach me. French however, I am learning at school.

05-26-2011, 05:36 PM

God dag Schweb,har sta del till ?

Hehe... Don't try to go any further,with this, my Swedish is very limited, I have a few friends from Sweden and in Sweden, have been able to memorize a few...
I am a french Canadian that fluently speaks english and do babble in some spanish, probably enough to survive in Latin America, Spain...
Comma esta amiga, amigo? Une cercoise por favor and tu esta a la casa ?


To submerge yourself in a language, I find is the best way to do it...That's how I learn and forget...

05-26-2011, 05:41 PM

Only English fluently.

I took 2 yrs of French in middle school (grades 7 - 8) but wasn't very dedicated to it. I remember very, very little.

I know a little Spanish from working with a few guys from Mexico for 2.5 yrs. Enough to say a phew phrases and order food at a restaurant.

05-26-2011, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by robduckyworth

I only speak English fluently.

I studied French in school for three years, and from that I can now say the following phrases (roughly translated):

"Jai mange au burger" = I have eaten a burger
"Quelle la date de ton Anniversaire?" = When is your birthday?
"Oui madam" = Yes miss
"Jaime mon regle" = I love my ruler

As you can see, it wasnt my strong point.

J'ai mangé un hamburgeois.
Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire?
Oui Madame.
J'aime ma règle.

Yes I know, feminin and masculin is very hard for you anglos...

(Hummm, why do you love your ruler??)

05-26-2011, 05:48 PM

Some would argue Canadian French isn't real French

05-26-2011, 05:52 PM

...and I would say, "see if I care. Let them think that..."

05-26-2011, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by schweb

Some would argue Canadian French isn't real French

The issue is not whether or not it’s real French, but whether it opens up job opportunities for me in the future.

05-26-2011, 07:35 PM

Both my parents speak French fluently and they never taught us. Whenever they would get into arguments the French starts flying...and that's how I picked up French.

Studied Japanese in College for one semester but have been reading and listening to Japanese for practically my whole life. Anime and Japanese friends, also playing Japanese games.

Also been dating a Vietnamese girl for almost 7 years so I understand quite a bit of Vietnamese. Very familiar when she starts talking smack about me. >_<"

Of course English, cause parents just sit me infront of the TV as a child for hours. >_>"

05-26-2011, 07:44 PM

Well, I took French all the way up to and including grade nine. That said, I know very little. In essence, "je ne parle pas francais." I was hoping that being at a fully bilingual university would help but alas, I know just as much as before I enrolled. I do pick up parts of the language though being in Ottawa - all the signs in the city are in French and English but seeing "chemin" and "rue" over and over again doesn't really expand the vocabulary.

I'd love to learn Dutch but I don't really know where to start.

05-26-2011, 08:00 PM

English and German (although my German is admittedly roughly grammar school level tops). A spattering of Spanish (enough to live along the border). I'd love to learn Norwegian, but if Swedish is rare.. Norwegian (at least in the southwest US) is even rarer.