Do you speak any foreign languages?

*Prowler* · 07-10-2014, 03:08 PM

Since this is a fairly diverse forum with people from all over the globe I was wondering how many of you speak a foreign language or another.

My native language is Portuguese, as you could probably tell from my location.

I've been fluent in English since I was 13-14 or so. It's always been my best subject at school, dunno why. I could take the risk of not studying at all for a test and still getting one of the highest grades in class.

I also speak German at an intermediate level. Made a lot of progress in the last year or so. If I was more exposed to it I'd become fluent in it faster, I'm sure of it.

I've studied French from 7th to 9th grade(compulsory foreign language alongside English here) but that was a long time ago and I barely remember any of it. Can read up to 50% of a text in it due to being a Romance language like Portuguese and also having several words similar to English, but there's no way I can speak it all.

I find linguistics to be a fascinating subject. It's good for your brain and very helpful when travelling or talking to people from all over the world. Looks good on your CV as well. Also, apparently, bi-lingual people are less likely to get Alzheimers in the future.

How about you?

*Icebot* · 07-10-2014, 05:59 PM

I only speak English but I do know a couple words in Spanish and French and goodbye in Japanese but that's about it.

*Prowler* · 07-10-2014, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icebot

I only speak English but I do know a couple words in Spanish and French and goodbye in Japanese but that's about it.

I know some Japanese words and expressions from all the anime I've watched in the past few years. But never felt like learning it due to not being very useful outside of Japan.

*Candy Kappa* · 07-10-2014, 06:07 PM

English is my second (third as Norwegian technically have two written languages) language, something we're taught at a very young age.

I did start learning Japanese, but after the first year of basics it kinda died off as I rarely have anyone to converse with.

And since the Scandinavian languages are pretty similar I can read and verbally understand Danish and Swedish pretty well. The modern written Norwegian language is basically a harder Danish anyway.

*Prowler* · 07-10-2014, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

English is my second (third as Norwegian technically have two written languages) language, something we're taught at a very young age.

I did start learning Japanese, but after the first year of basics it kinda died off as I rarely have anyone to converse with.

And since the Scandinavian languages are pretty similar I can read and verbally understand Danish and Swedish pretty well. The modern written Norwegian language is basically a harder Danish anyway.

Well, I can read Galician and Spanish/Castillian/Catalonian pretty well due to them being Ibero-Romance languages as well. As for verbal understanding of them, it depends on the speaker and its accent. Also can read and understand spoken Italian to some degree as well. But since I've never studied any of those 4, I didn't think it was worth including them in my list.

*Netkeeper* · 07-10-2014, 06:10 PM

I tried learning German once, but it didn't last long since that was in High School and I had to transfer to another school that didn't offer it. Makes me sad because I love that language and I'd kill to learn it.

*Prowler* · 07-10-2014, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Netkeeper

I tried learning German once, but it didn't last long since that was in High School and I had to transfer to another school that didn't offer it. Makes me sad because I love that language and I'd kill to learn it.

Not the best online resource but you can always try Duolingo for a while. It should help you learn some vocabulary at least.

*shuriken* · 07-10-2014, 06:12 PM

Spanish. Some Italian and German. Want to learn more German though.

*CyberCubed* · 07-10-2014, 06:18 PM

Only English. Obviously took Spanish in High School but forgot it all.

English is all you really need, but I do sometimes wish I knew Spanish just so I could understand what all these random pedestrians are saying when I'm out on the street.

*Prowler* · 07-10-2014, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Only English. Obviously took Spanish in High School but forgot it all.

English is all you really need, but I do sometimes wish I knew Spanish just so I could understand what all these random pedestrians are saying when I'm out on the street.

Only in countries where it's the native language. Sure it's the lingua franca, but good luck going to France, Spain, Italy or several Eastern European countries and speaking nothing but English.

*Whatswiththeheadbands?* · 07-10-2014, 07:02 PM

I speak English as my first language, but I know a bit of French.

*Powder* · 07-10-2014, 07:26 PM

Not really, but I am slowly trying to learn Japanese.

RaphAndDonnie · 07-10-2014, 07:40 PM

I'm learning Finnish.

*pennydreadful* · 07-10-2014, 08:58 PM

I know a handful of cuss words in a few different languages, a tiny bit of German (from highschool and listening to German metal) but not enough to really count, and a teensy handful of words and phrases in Japanese due to anime/manga...

but I don't speak any foreign languages - I would love to though.

*CyberCubed* · 07-10-2014, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prowler

Only in countries where it's the native language. Sure it's the lingua franca, but good luck going to France, Spain, Italy or several Eastern European countries and speaking nothing but English.

I'll probably never visit those countries, so it doesn't really matter. And I would hope those countries have people speaking english in the modern year of 2014. There's no reason people in France, Spain and Italy shouldn't all be fluent in english.

*Netkeeper* · 07-10-2014, 11:55 PM

If I were to ever go to a country where English isn't the first language I'd make it a top priority to learn as much about the native language as possible before going. This is why people over in other countries don't like American tourists. They don't bother because they think everyone is "obligated" to learn English. They're not.

*Prowler* · 07-11-2014, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

I'll probably never visit those countries, so it doesn't really matter. And I would hope those countries have people speaking english in the modern year of 2014. There's no reason people in France, Spain and Italy shouldn't all be fluent in english.

Well, then saying English is all you need in the USA is nothing other than stating the obvious. Just like people in, let's say Japan, don't really need anything other than Japanese.

All of them? Do you actually think everyone in the world speaks English? Especially in countries where everything is dubbed, including tv shows and movies?

Hate to break it to ya, but the only countries in Europe where you'll get away easily by speaking in English to people of all age groups are the UK, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium(Flanders), Austria and Switzerland. Portugal, Germany and Greece to some degree as well.

I've been to France, Spain and Italy before and it was pretty hard finding someone who spoke English there. And the ones who did spoke a very broken English. Not to mention people in big countries are more proud of their language and culture and probably will take offense if you just start speaking English to them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Netkeeper

If I were to ever go to a country where English isn't the first language I'd make it a top priority to learn as much about the native language as possible before going. This is why people over in other countries don't like American tourists. They don't bother because they think everyone is "obligated" to learn English. They're not.

It depends, really. In my country, no one really expects a foreign tourist to speak Portuguese. So, as long as you won't be rude and start yelling in English in people's faces, no one will feel upset if you speak English to them.

TMNachoT · 07-11-2014, 11:12 AM

Spanish, english, french and a little of portuguese.

It is kinda absurd to presume that all the people have to speak english, some people don´t need to ´cuz that is not vital in their life/job...

*BubblyShell22* · 07-11-2014, 05:59 PM

I took Spanish in high school and college, so I know some things. Also took sign language in college which was cool. I know some French from watching the Canadian version of Sesame Street when I was little.

*Mzx10484* · 07-11-2014, 06:04 PM

After pretty unsuccessful 4 years education in French (long ago), it remains at a sufficient English next to my mother tongue German ...

07-10-2014, 03:08 PM	#1
Prowler Emperor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,999	Do you speak any foreign languages? Since this is a fairly diverse forum with people from all over the globe I was wondering how many of you speak a foreign language or another. My native language is Portuguese, as you could probably tell from my location. I've been fluent in English since I was 13-14 or so. It's always been my best subject at school, dunno why. I could take the risk of not studying at all for a test and still getting one of the highest grades in class. I also speak German at an intermediate level. Made a lot of progress in the last year or so. If I was more exposed to it I'd become fluent in it faster, I'm sure of it. I've studied French from 7th to 9th grade(compulsory foreign language alongside English here) but that was a long time ago and I barely remember any of it. Can read up to 50% of a text in it due to being a Romance language like Portuguese and also having several words similar to English, but there's no way I can speak it all. I find linguistics to be a fascinating subject. It's good for your brain and very helpful when travelling or talking to people from all over the world. Looks good on your CV as well. Also, apparently, bi-lingual people are less likely to get Alzheimers in the future. How about you?

07-10-2014, 05:59 PM	#2
Icebot Foot Elite Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: East Coast, US Posts: 3,225	I only speak English but I do know a couple words in Spanish and French and goodbye in Japanese but that's about it. __________________ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Icebot7/videos Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Icebot251

07-10-2014, 06:07 PM	#4
Candy Kappa The Agenda of Existing Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vikingland Posts: 14,596	English is my second (third as Norwegian technically have two written languages) language, something we're taught at a very young age. I did start learning Japanese, but after the first year of basics it kinda died off as I rarely have anyone to converse with. And since the Scandinavian languages are pretty similar I can read and verbally understand Danish and Swedish pretty well. The modern written Norwegian language is basically a harder Danish anyway. __________________ devianArt Instagram Youtube Tumblr Art Blog Patreon

07-10-2014, 06:10 PM	#6
Netkeeper tactical blackquill Join Date: May 2014 Location: Texas, but not for much longer Posts: 3,645	I tried learning German once, but it didn't last long since that was in High School and I had to transfer to another school that didn't offer it. Makes me sad because I love that language and I'd kill to learn it. __________________

07-10-2014, 06:12 PM	#8
shuriken Second City Shinobi Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chi-town Posts: 4,182	Spanish. Some Italian and German. Want to learn more German though. __________________ Some things are better left unsaid. This isn't one of them

07-10-2014, 06:18 PM	#9
CyberCubed Overlord Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 43,870	Only English. Obviously took Spanish in High School but forgot it all. English is all you really need, but I do sometimes wish I knew Spanish just so I could understand what all these random pedestrians are saying when I'm out on the street.

07-10-2014, 07:02 PM	#11
Whatswiththeheadbands? The Weed of Crime Join Date: May 2013 Location: The Shadow's Sanctum Posts: 3,007	I speak English as my first language, but I know a bit of French. __________________ Who knows what Evil lurks in the hearts of Men? The Shadow knows...

07-10-2014, 07:26 PM	#12
Powder 40 Years of TMNT Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shell-Ri-La Posts: 26,954	Not really, but I am slowly trying to learn Japanese.

07-10-2014, 08:58 PM	#14
pennydreadful trash Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Australia Posts: 4,546	I know a handful of cuss words in a few different languages, a tiny bit of German (from highschool and listening to German metal) but not enough to really count, and a teensy handful of words and phrases in Japanese due to anime/manga... but I don't speak any foreign languages - I would love to though. __________________ Creator of the Technodrome After Dark Discussion Group. PM for an invite (must be over 18 - no exceptions).

07-10-2014, 11:55 PM	#16
Netkeeper tactical blackquill Join Date: May 2014 Location: Texas, but not for much longer Posts: 3,645	If I were to ever go to a country where English isn't the first language I'd make it a top priority to learn as much about the native language as possible before going. This is why people over in other countries don't like American tourists. They don't bother because they think everyone is "obligated" to learn English. They're not. __________________

07-11-2014, 11:12 AM	#18
TMNachoT Stone Warrior Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Mendoza Posts: 827	Spanish, english, french and a little of portuguese. It is kinda absurd to presume that all the people have to speak english, some people don´t need to ´cuz that is not vital in their life/job...

07-11-2014, 05:59 PM	#19
BubblyShell22 Leo-holic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Indiana Posts: 16,912	I took Spanish in high school and college, so I know some things. Also took sign language in college which was cool. I know some French from watching the Canadian version of Sesame Street when I was little. __________________ "A warrior who never fails, never learns."-The Ancient One. "Embrace your inner a**holiness."-Mr. Anderson.

07-11-2014, 06:04 PM	#20
Mzx10484 WEM Super Starfinder 200 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 2,085	After pretty unsuccessful 4 years education in French (long ago), it remains at a sufficient English next to my mother tongue German ...