Languages

[paladinoflunaria]

Other than English, I speak a little German. I'm considering teaching myself Gaelic. I also took a short class on Mordern and Classic Greek. I would like to become fluent in at least one other language, but I don't know if it's worth my time.

What do you think about creating new languages?

[lauriep]

I really only speak English well. I tried spanish in high school but had a horrible time with it. Taken some latin and did much better but didn't follow through with the class.

As far as creating languages, I actually did that as a toddler. I had a series of very bad ear infections as a baby from about 6 month to about 3 years old so I couldn't hear properly during that period. However, as the infections would clear up and then get worse again, what I did hear wasn't consistent. To verbally communicate I made up my own language complete with nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. and then gradually switched to English when I started kindergarten. Don't remember any of it though :(

I've considered learning Russian, always wanted to read Tolstoy in its original form. But like you, don't know if it's worth the effort.

[SheepDog]

I've had classes in German and Spanish in school, but neither one stuck. I have enough trouble with English.

I'm pretty fluent in C/C++, Java, and Perl.

[Claverhouse]

I suck at languages. I'm ok in English, and can read French to get a semi-understanding; but I once took weekly evening lessons in Russian and forgot everything by the next week. I managed to live and be schooled in Danmark for a year or so without learning more than a few words...

However if I had the time and ease to learn German I know I could. It's so pretty, and always sounds logical and meaningful.

How do you mean 'New Languages' ? Like Esperanto, or private languages ?


I admire linguistic ability.



Claverhouse :ph34r:

[Nindy]

I speak both Dutch and English fluently, am learning Japanese and also have German, French, Latin and Classic Greek classes at my school. I'm said to be very linguistic.

[synchronous]

Deux - Francais et Anglais.

[Melody]

.i speak english and spanish perfectly, like a boxing game announcer

.i cant write spanish though

.i am thinking of getting my physics phd in japan

,wait a minute

?do they even have phds over there

[jimkopelli]

English - very fluent. Almost too much for some...
German - one year of high school German 1. All I really remember is "Gleich gegenuber von Spielplatz!" (which sounds really cool but means something like "right across from the playground") and how to count.
Spanish - a few years in elementary school, then they cut funding. Counting, basic nouns and not much else. I can guess pretty well at meanings sometimes.

I like to learn enough about a language that I can read it aloud, not necessarily with comprehension but get the pronounciation right. In short, I'd like to be able to order food without making a fool of myself.

[Sam172]

Like Esperanto

Nice language to learn. I'm currently working at it :)


I only know English fluently :(. I was classed as too remedial to do 2 foreign languages at school, unlike the majority of the school :( . So I learnt....and nearly failed in French...
Don't get me wrong though, I love the french language. So much groovier than English....just I couldn't grasp it.

[Nighthawk]

Fluent in English and German, conversant in Dutch/Flemish, and some Spanish. Never had much opportunity to use anything other than English ... with the exception of growing up speaking German and Flemish.

[file cabinet]

I took French in Canada starting in 4th grade... I took it til 10th grade I think.. I wasn't fond of it.

Following up on SheepDog's post, I am fluent in JavaScript and PHP.

[BritainOphira]

I speak English better than most people I go to school with, but I am hopeless when it comes to any sort of knowledge about grammar. Sure, I can conjugate basic tenses and catch other's mistakes, but that is about the extent of it.
I'm in an advanced French class in school, but I really have no grasp of the language at all. The only phrase I can usually say without doubting myself is "Mon Dieu! J'ai oblier mon pantalon!" (My God! I have forgotten my pants!), which, surprisingly enough, does not help me in class.

[Vagabond]

Greek, english, french and italian... some spanish too. I took some swedish classes once, but I hardly remember anything... :(

[Melody]

!Vagabond

,i wanted to ask u

?how is 'Aristotle' pronounced

,im pretty sure i got the 'aristo' part right

.i just amnt sure aboot 'tle'

.Greek is interesting because words can start with 'double-consonant'-ish sounds and they are pronounced as such

.u wont find words of this nature in English, and if u do, they are only written, but not spoken so

[Melody]

...hmmm actually 'cr' might be

.it may be that i am used to pronouncing it and other similar speaks and am not aware of its 'double-consonant'-ish nature

[Vagabond]

Vagabond!

,i wanted to ask u

?how is 'Aristotle' pronounced


"Aristotelis", stress on the "e" :ph34r:

Right, I got some ancient greek and latin classes too. Hardly fluent though, lol...

[Melody]

i c

,before i thought 'Aristotle' was how it was written in Greek

.but it seems u are saying its 'real' spelling is 'Aristotelis' and so 'Aristotle' is an English attempt to preserve the original pronounciation

.cool


.this reminds me again of Reign: The Conquerer

...u might enjoy this animation

[synchronous]

I only know English fluently :(. I was classed as too remedial to do 2 foreign languages at school, unlike the majority of the school :( . So I learnt....and nearly failed in French...
Don't get me wrong though, I love the french language. So much groovier than English....just I couldn't grasp it.

LOL, yeah, French can be a bit tricky to learn. I sympathize. French is my mother tongue so I've been immersed in it from day 1. But, I can tell you I was never fond of some of the grammar rules - the ones with exceptions to the exceptions. Ex. Tout and tous. Details, details.... But, French has come in handy when traveling in places where the language derives from the same root origin.

I spend a good portion of the year in Europe, and I've observed that many if not most Europeans know at least 2 languages. Not uncommon to bump into someone who knows a few more at least at a conversational level. Last week my husband I hooked up with a couple in Mallorca. During dinner, conversation flowed in 3 languages (English, French, Castillian) to overcome language barriers.

[Werdna]

I also struggled with french in school. I thought I knew some decent french when I finished the class in high school, but once I was in France, noone could understand a word i was saying... :(
English was never a problem, always had perfect grades. Mostly because I've been sitting in front of a computer since i was 7.

[Boneca]

Learning languages seem to be one of the few things I never tire of. :-)
I am completely fluent in Swedish, English and German, speak reasonable French, and bits and pieces of Portuguese and Japanese. Oh, and I can read Dutch and Spanish without problems.

Usually I never admit to knowing all this at the same time - but I guess that you guys might understand that I'm neither lying nor trying to impress someone...I'm just an INTP with a compulsive hobby. :nerd:

[Edmond Zedo]

just a little German, French, even less Spanish. I'd have a hell of a time actually getting by in Europe...But I'm a quick learner.

[ohnoaninfp]

I want to learn Irish Gaelic, but I need to hear what it sounds like instead of guessing how the words are pronounced

[Avengardh]

Spanish and English fluently.

Japanese, I can only speak some things (but I did memorize most of their counting systems...will probably forget it...), not that bad since it's close to Spanish.
I can only read some things...so yeah, I think I could survive but barely if I went to Japan.

[ApeTheDog]

At Dutch and English I'm natural; French I'm good enough to have a conversation in, and German I'm good enough to get the idea of what's written down when I read it.

Nighthawk, if you're still reading this, whereabouts in Belgium did you live?

[hemanthraz]

english, 2 regional languages [all indians know at least 2], a little bit of japanese [my company pays for the course :-)] i would love to learn french sometime too

[Sackanaka]

Nihongo wo sukoshi dake hanaseru kedo, maa, boku dake dewa nai mitai ne ;).
(I speak a little Japanese but, well, it seems that I'm not the only one ;).)

I hated having to learn about particles and terms I'm not even familiar with in English. I'm good enough to sustain a part time job at a Japanese tour company as a customer-herder though :D.

[Sugaraddict2702]

i'm fluent in Dutch and English (dutch being my mother tongue), speak some decent french, understand enough German to get what the conversation's about (they understand you anyway even when you speak dutch) and then Latin...comes in handy for learning french. Hope to speak russian one day, I adore that language. happppy

~°´sugaraddict`°~

[Boneca]

I want to learn Irish Gaelic, but I need to hear what it sounds like instead of guessing how the words are pronouncedHaha, it's impossible to guess. Spoken Irish and written Irish are like two different languages. :D

[sbw]

I like being able to speak some spanish. Especially living in florida. I'm not all the way fluent yet, though.

[cloakable]

Just English, with a little of a few other languages.

[Claverhouse]

I want to learn Irish Gaelic, but I need to hear what it sounds like instead of guessing how the words are pronounced
Like slurred gargling.


Used to listen to RT1 when lived in Devon, all the way over St. George's Channel. Whilst plenty of Irish music was great, especially Maura O'Connell and the Chieftains type stuff: there was also the dreaded Irish Tenor, beloved by women of a certain age. Think, shudder, of Foster & Allen. And I never really cared for Count John McCormack. Then they would start rabbitting on in Irish. Very caring sounding. One of the reasons I've never felt like visiting where my grand-paternal ancestors came from.

Still, modern Irish is a political construct on academic lines. It might have sounded more attractive in the old days; just as we have no idea what Latin sounded like to Romans ( my own guess is gutteral, like Japanese to us ).



Claverhouse :ph34r:

[Wolfchylde]

I know english of course. Pretty fluent in Latin and therefore decent at all the romance languages. Particularly spanish and italian. Leanrning japanese now nd german afterwards. Trying to get all the languages for the business world:)

[Birdsnest]

English fluently and that is all. I did take one year of Mandarin Chinese, and one year of French. I can read French and understand some of it, but not speak it that well. I can say Nin Hau a, Hau, Ni Mung Ma? (How are you, fine, I'm busy), and ee ar san sz wo lio chi ba gyo shr. (count from 1-10) in Chinese. Languages don't stick with me. My sister however, went to Heidelburg, Germany and studied German and earned BA degree in teaching German.

Oh, I can understand a little bit of Spanish, Latin, French, German and Hawaiian, but speak nothing fluently other than English.

My brain isn't designed for languages, or speaking, so the subject doesn't hold my interest.

[Swift]

Dutch: fluent (mothertongue)
English: fluent (internet addiction)
Romanian: fluent (Romanian mother & grandparents)
French: understanding is ok, producing it myself a bit less (8 years in school)
German: passive knowledge & understanding (2 years in school)
Latin: passive knowledge but good understanding (6 years in school)

Swift

[Swift]

Nighthawk, if you're still reading this, whereabouts in Belgium did you live?He explained this in this thread:
http://www.intpcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2935&highlight=german

Swift

[Heather Harrison]

Language has always fascinated me. In junior high/high school, I took one year of Spanish and four years of German, but not having much use for either one I have lost some of it, although pronunciation rules seem to stick with me. Later, on my own, I learned some Latin, enough to understand pronunciation and grammatical rules and enough vocabulary to read some passages without having to look at the dictionary too much. I can also read Middle English without looking up too many words (my signature line is in that language), but I don't have the knowledge to write it. And I have studied some Old English, but not enough to be able to really use it yet. Gothic is also an interesting language, but there is not much surviving literature in it so it would be hard to learn it and keep it up. At least there is a significant body of literature in Old English.

The concept of made-up languages is an interesting one. I haven't really dabbled in this area, but I wouldn't be surprised if I did one day.

Heather Harrison

[kooliganka]

Oh, I love languages! I get off on diagramming sentences.

I speak English and Russian fluently... in fact I'm just taking a break from researching some terminology for an interpreting assignment I have coming up.

Other languages I have studied are French, Italian, Spanish, Latin (once you know one Romance language, you pretty much know them all), but I can just read them, have never developed speaking/listening skills.

Next up: Danish, Bulgarian, German, Ukrainian. Gotta learn some Czech and Japanese one of these days too. Oh and Portuguese - it's so pretty.

[Heather Harrison]

Portuguese has a beautiful sound! I collect music recordings; I have probably over 100 CDs and records of songs in Portuguese, mostly from Brazil but some from Portugal and Cape Verde [A creole version of the language is found there]; they are some of my favorites.

I also love the sound of Arabic; it is a very musical language.

Heather Harrison