How many languages do you speak? (108)

May 14, 2012 11:55 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
smoky
smokysmokyUnterland, Zurich Switzerland266 Threads 6 Polls 9,412 Posts
I used to speak 2 and a bit, and now I speak half of two, and about a quarter of another.

I used to speak English and Afrikaans and a little bit of Zulu.
Then I came to Switzerland, and learned some German and lost a lot of my English, and I understand about a quarter of Swiss German.

Oh yes, of course I forgot about my Fhasi. I think I may have forgotten that by now though. No chance to speak it here.

So ........ can you converse in a language that is not your mother tongue?
May 15, 2012 10:34 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
Phoenix
PhoenixPhoenixBelfast....., Antrim Ireland274 Threads 65 Polls 6,948 Posts
I can speak French and a few computer languages<--although they written not spoken as such..
May 15, 2012 2:45 PM CST How many languages do you speak?
smoky
smokysmokyUnterland, Zurich Switzerland266 Threads 6 Polls 9,412 Posts
Phoenix: I can speak French and a few computer languages<--although they written not spoken as such..
And you speak English and Irish ........(well, Irish is a language, isn`t it?)
May 15, 2012 3:11 PM CST How many languages do you speak?
new56
new56new56Bremen, Germany2 Threads 33 Posts
I can speak French, English, a bit of German and Arabic, Bengali and of course Bamun which is a must. peace peace peace and some computer languages rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing rolling on the floor laughing
May 15, 2012 3:26 PM CST How many languages do you speak?
EagleWoman
EagleWomanEagleWomanMalaga, Andalusia Spain22 Threads 4,719 Posts
My mother tongue is Spanish which I speak and write fluently.

My second language is French as I was brought up in france and studied there.

My third language is English as I lived and worked (teaching French and Spanish) in UK for the biggest chunk of my life.

I can manage a basic converstion in Italian and learned BSL (British sign language) up to basic converstional level, but have forgotten it as I never practise.
May 16, 2012 4:51 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
Bental
BentalBentalAttard, Majjistral Malta2 Threads 574 Posts
I can speak my native tongue, English which is my second official language and Italian quite fluently. I can babble a bit in the Czech language but after 36 years it does not come easy.

A few words here and there, like French knickers, French fries, French mustard and French kiss do not entitle me to say that I can do French as well.

Just on an informative note, many, many natives can hardly put a few words together to form a decent sentence in Maltese. The main culprits are the media people, legal people and politicians. They are killing my language. To impress, they borrow foreign words mostly Italian and often out of context. They are terrible and I just hate them.
May 16, 2012 8:22 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
EagleWoman
EagleWomanEagleWomanMalaga, Andalusia Spain22 Threads 4,719 Posts
Bental: I can speak my native tongue, English which is my second official language and Italian quite fluently. I can babble a bit in the Czech language but after 36 years it does not come easy.

A few words here and there, like French knickers, French fries, French mustard and French kiss do not entitle me to say that I can do French as well.

Just on an informative note, many, many natives can hardly put a few words together to form a decent sentence in Maltese. The main culprits are the media people, legal people and politicians. They are killing my language. To impress, they borrow foreign words mostly Italian and often out of context. They are terrible and I just hate them.


I don´t know if it´s fair to blame anyone else for the decline of one´s language.

During Franco´s reign in Spain, speaking Catalan in Cataluña (Barcelona area) was punishable with death (no trial). Yet the people continued to speak it in secret AND taught their children in secret. When Franco died after many decades of rule, Catalan was re-instated (including as the main language of study for all subjects in schools) without a problem as they ALL spoke it!!

If "the people" don´t want their language to die, it doesn´t!!
May 16, 2012 9:22 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
Bertrand_Geneva
Bertrand_GenevaBertrand_GenevaGeneva, Switzerland2 Threads 1 Polls 10 Posts
I can converse in English more or less easily (I'm still learning it and find it's a bit difficult to pronounce)

Living in Switzerland, I find interesting to have the possibility to chat with expatriate, they gave me a new interest about my country and my home town, Geneva. (thanks to the English Forum Switzerland and Glocals)

I want to learn German.

French is my mother tongue.
May 17, 2012 3:48 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
venere08
venere08venere08Puglia and Autumn, South Australia Australia121 Threads 2 Polls 9,996 Posts
Bertrand_Geneva: I can converse in English more or less easily (I'm still learning it and find it's a bit difficult to pronounce)

Living in Switzerland, I find interesting to have the possibility to chat with expatriate, they gave me a new interest about my country and my home town, Geneva. (thanks to the English Forum Switzerland and Glocals)

I want to learn German.

French is my mother tongue.


English and 'Strine'(let's not confuse one with the other)...

Italian(fair to good); Napolitano(yes, it has it's own phonetics and vocabulary);...

German (yes, achtung!); I can say my name and how are you, in Manadarin; a smattering of Spanish (in Madrid it helps to have slurred speach); I can answer a simple 'phone inquiry in French when I visited cousins in Belgium; conducted an ongoing conversation on a long haul flight, with a French woman who spoke only French(lots of red wine was a great icebreaker).... Similarly years ago with a Spanish lady in Madrid, where she spoke only Spanish and I replied mostly in Italian. I stand accused of having participated in some very odd conversations!

wine
May 17, 2012 3:49 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
venere08
venere08venere08Puglia and Autumn, South Australia Australia121 Threads 2 Polls 9,996 Posts
venere08: ....

German (yes, achtung!); I can say my name and how are you, in Mandarin;....
May 19, 2012 9:33 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
dolphin64
dolphin64dolphin64Hamburg, Germany11 Threads 70 Posts
smoky: I used to speak 2 and a bit, and now I speak half of two, and about a quarter of another.

I used to speak English and Afrikaans and a little bit of Zulu.
Then I came to Switzerland, and learned some German and lost a lot of my English, and I understand about a quarter of Swiss German.

Oh yes, of course I forgot about my Fhasi. I think I may have forgotten that by now though. No chance to speak it here.

So ........ can you converse in a language that is not your mother tongue?



lipslips
Interesting question...
I am fluent in German and English, some Danish, a few Spanish words and NI hao ma ( Mandarin ) And I can count in Mandarin as well....lol....oh some basic French.
But actually I want to learn Marsian. The language of men.
Who can teach me ?

Dolphinlips lips
May 20, 2012 10:33 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
marinivan
marinivanmarinivanBelgrade, Central Serbia Serbia4 Threads 31 Posts
My mother tongue is Serbian. As a holder of B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature, I am a near-native Spanish speaker, fluent in English and Russian. > However, I am unemployed.>

Knowing "Few Words" or speaking "some"...is not enough for the conversation in foreign language, although there are many tries.
Fortunately, if you speak Russian you may understand other Slavic languages. Being proficient in Spanish facilitates you to get the main idea of what people of closely related languages (Romance tongues) are talking about.
This site is helping very much to practise, am I right!?
May 20, 2012 12:56 PM CST How many languages do you speak?
Amarula35
Amarula35Amarula35Münster, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany1 Posts
smoky: I used to speak 2 and a bit, and now I speak half of two, and about a quarter of another.

I used to speak English and Afrikaans and a little bit of Zulu.
Then I came to Switzerland, and learned some German and lost a lot of my English, and I understand about a quarter of Swiss German.

Oh yes, of course I forgot about my Fhasi. I think I may have forgotten that by now though. No chance to speak it here.

So ........ can you converse in a language that is not your mother tongue?


two
May 20, 2012 5:53 PM CST How many languages do you speak?
nevica
nevicanevicabeautiful, Gavleborg Sweden11 Threads 640 Posts
eight, some better than other
May 21, 2012 6:21 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
smoky
smokysmokyUnterland, Zurich Switzerland266 Threads 6 Polls 9,412 Posts
nevica: eight, some better than other
Oh wow ..... I think it is only here in Europe where people speak SO many languages ...... seems a natural talent here?

I am fascinated when listening to group conversations where a person switches from German, to Spanish, to Italian, to English, etc etc ....... lovely!
May 21, 2012 6:22 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
smoky
smokysmokyUnterland, Zurich Switzerland266 Threads 6 Polls 9,412 Posts
Amarula35: two
That must be .....?.... German .... and .... English?
May 21, 2012 9:16 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
nevica
nevicanevicabeautiful, Gavleborg Sweden11 Threads 640 Posts
smoky: Oh wow ..... I think it is only here in Europe where people speak SO many languages ...... seems a natural talent here?

I am fascinated when listening to group conversations where a person switches from German, to Spanish, to Italian, to English, etc etc ....... lovely!
I know a guy from SA that says that almost everyone there speaks 3 languages or more.
May 21, 2012 9:44 AM CST How many languages do you speak?
smoky
smokysmokyUnterland, Zurich Switzerland266 Threads 6 Polls 9,412 Posts
nevica: I know a guy from SA that says that almost everyone there speaks 3 languages or more.
Theoretically, yes. English, Afrikaans, and one indigenous language of which there are eleven.

Most black people speak their own language plus either English or Afrikaans. Most white people speak English and Afrikaans (obligatory to pass school exams), and SOME of them speak one of the Black languages. But many white people don`t speak a Black language.
May 27, 2012 3:15 PM CST How many languages do you speak?
sibile
sibilesibileVilnius, Lithuania Minor Lithuania3 Posts
I degree,when do you know russian language,can understand a several slavic languages.
I speak lithuanian,russian,english,good understand polish,but for speaking not so much practic.Now starting with german,little by little understand more then have,but cannot speak.
Jun 10, 2012 2:34 PM CST How many languages do you speak?
georgiesuperwow
georgiesuperwowgeorgiesuperwowRome, Lazio Italy1 Threads 29 Posts
Just two: Italian and English.
Even tho I can (barely) understand some of French.
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