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What languages do you speak?


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I was just wondering what languages we all speak.

I just about speak English and am competent speaking German. I am not fluent in German but highly competent and can have good conversations if they don't get too complicated. I'm also competent in reading German. I couldn't read a German interpretation of something like War and Peace at all but I'd quite easily be able to read, say, a children's book, again something that isn't too complicated.

So what languages do you all speak?

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I have should in a glade in the hinterlands of greece talking to an orthodox priest who didn't speak English exchanging greetings, how are you, what is your name, where are you from. Does that count 

 

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I've always been better at reading and listening than speaking, but I've got a few languages I feel relatively competent at and I hope to use them to help expand that repertoire. I also have confidence to try any language abroad even if I get bits wrong! 

French, Russian (which covers a lot of Ukrainian/Belarusian), Italian, Latin too if I try hard to remember! - from those bases I hope to understand more similar languages like Spanish, Polish etc. I just want to get better at all of them!

I've always wanted to learn Arabic too since visiting the middle east and working with some Arab guys too. It's very different from any of the others I know though so who knows with that!

This year I've been to Hungary and will be going to Greece where I expect again to have little basis at all in any of the language 😅

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Welsh (was fluent at one point, now not through lack of practice, but can follow and join in most things)

German to an okay level (I can watch some German TV, listen to the radio if it's something I know about and pick up the themes of something new, and can turn what I know into a basic conversation)

Have also learnt, at various times, and used for 'getting around in the country' French and Dutch.

Now half-learning Icelandic as a 'keep brain busy on something that doesn't matter' thing. Raced through the early units of the free Icelandic Online course eighteen months ago but really only in a way to tick things off and thought the course a bit rubbish. I've gone back to the start again after a bit of a break and am now just taking it slowly - and starting to pick a fair few things up. No opportunity to speak it so couldn't converse but everything else is building up nicely.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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English, intermediate level Irish and a smattering of French 

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English; French but fading with time, but now, having recently moved from Lincolnshire to another part of the country, am leaning to translate such phrases as:" Cost kick a bo againt a wo an' then 'it it wi' thi yed till it bosses."

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English only.  (though learning 'No' and Hurry up' in Hindi, Arabic, Spanish... as they cover most conversations). 

We did a survey in the office of languages, and the only people with only one language were English.  Second most popular language is Hindi, then Spanish, with quite a range after that (Greek, German, Hungarian, Urdu, Nepali, Wolof, Arabic, Philippine, Japanese, Italian, Igbo, and a few more I can't remember).  

With the best, thats a good bit of PR, though I would say the Bedford team, theres, like, you know, 13 blokes who can get together at the weekend to have a game together, which doesnt point to expansion of the game. Point, yeah go on!

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I'd love to have learned a language, and have tried to learn French a few times.

I went travelling when I was 22 and did a bit then. I was demoralised when I plucked up the courage to speak French and the guy responded in English.

During lockdown, I did Duolingo for ages and came to the conclusion that to learn it in any way I'd have to go to totally different lengths. I naively hoped if I used an app long enough, I'd get to a point where I could read it or watch stuff.

That's my personality sadly. There are quite a number of things I can do better than your average Joe (piano, guitar, darts), but none I am expert in. I just haven't got the discipline required.

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I had a holiday home in Spain so spent a fair amount of time there.I picked up enough to make myself understood most of the time,but once people started talking back to me I was lost.I just could'nt isolate different words to translate them in my head.Hope that makes sense.

I have a French 'O' level but have lost most of that over the years.I could never get my head round Latin.

I have always had tremendous admiration for anyone who can speak more than one language fluently.

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10 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

I'd love to have learned a language, and have tried to learn French a few times.

I went travelling when I was 22 and did a bit then. I was demoralised when I plucked up the courage to speak French and the guy responded in English.

During lockdown, I did Duolingo for ages and came to the conclusion that to learn it in any way I'd have to go to totally different lengths. I naively hoped if I used an app long enough, I'd get to a point where I could read it or watch stuff.

That's my personality sadly. There are quite a number of things I can do better than your average Joe (piano, guitar, darts), but none I am expert in. I just haven't got the discipline required.

Duolingo is how I have learnt German to a competent level. I've been doing it for years, probably about 8 years now, only 15 minutes or so each morning but it's enough to get to a decent level of understanding. Doing it on a screen as opposed to actually speaking it is maybe why I'm much better at reading it than actually listening to someone speak it. Of course one of the main problems with listening to natives speak a language is how fast they speak it and how many local dialect words, and abbreviations and other little tweaks they make that a foreigner wouldn't understand.

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10 hours ago, OriginalMrC said:

Shameful to say just English though I can do very basic French. Wife is fluent in English and Punjabi though 

I don't think it is shameful, I just think it's a unique position native English speakers are in.

Let's be real here to speak any language other than English, for most native English speakers, means you have to speak a foreign language better than the person you are communicating with can speak English. Nearly the whole world now learns English as a second language (even Russia who tried to implement Russian as the lingua franca across the USSR and Eastern Bloc).

As English speakers what do we learn as a second language?

French - most common but frankly rarely used as even anecdotal evidence will demonstrate how in France they'll speak English back to you with a rather tired expression. Unless you're planning on going to Haiti or West Africa it's not very helpful either and even then unless you have an ear for a creole you'll struggle.

Spanish - possibly the most helpful 2nd language, but has a very "American" focus with obviously lots of Latin America. In the hubs of international tourism of Spain and Mexico, English is more widely used. 

German - Great in Germany and Austria, pretty naff all use anywhere else. Likewise Italian in Italy or Greek in Greece or Polish in Poland. They can help with learning other Germanic, Romance, or Slavic languages but again they are other languages not just different flavours. That's before we get onto Hungarian or Latvian!

Arabic, Persian/Farsi, the various Indian subcontinent Languages, even Japanese and most insanely Mandarin - all have lots of potentially enormous uses. A knowledge of many help you not get scammed in some countries for sure!

However this brings us back to the original point, English, in all sorts of accents and levels of broken speech, is the lingua franca of the world. Between anyone of different nationalities, save some historically multi linguistic regions, it's almost expected to be the common language of communication. Being a native English speaker just means everyone wants to communicate how you already do.

(Outside of France) I've always found people do genuinely appreciate it when you try with their language, so we should never stop trying or use our ability in English as an excuse to not learn anything else. 

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3 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Duolingo is how I have learnt German to a competent level. I've been doing it for years, probably about 8 years now, only 15 minutes or so each morning but it's enough to get to a decent level of understanding. Doing it on a screen as opposed to actually speaking it is maybe why I'm much better at reading it than actually listening to someone speak it. Of course one of the main problems with listening to natives speak a language is how fast they speak it and how many local dialect words, and abbreviations and other little tweaks they make that a foreigner wouldn't understand.

I wish you'd never told me this lol. I think I did 5-600 days and realised how far away I still was from even being able to hold a simple conversation, and came to the conclusion I'd have to go to classes or do much more immersive stuff.

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2 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

I don't think it is shameful, I just think it's a unique position native English speakers are in.

Let's be real here to speak any language other than English, for most native English speakers, means you have to speak a foreign language better than the person you are communicating with can speak English. Nearly the whole world now learns English as a second language (even Russia who tried to implement Russian as the lingua franca across the USSR and Eastern Bloc).

As English speakers what do we learn as a second language?

French - most common but frankly rarely used as even anecdotal evidence will demonstrate how in France they'll speak English back to you with a rather tired expression. Unless you're planning on going to Haiti or West Africa it's not very helpful either and even then unless you have an ear for a creole you'll struggle.

Spanish - possibly the most helpful 2nd language, but has a very "American" focus with obviously lots of Latin America. In the hubs of international tourism of Spain and Mexico, English is more widely used. 

German - Great in Germany and Austria, pretty naff all use anywhere else. Likewise Italian in Italy or Greek in Greece or Polish in Poland. They can help with learning other Germanic, Romance, or Slavic languages but again they are other languages not just different flavours. That's before we get onto Hungarian or Latvian!

Arabic, Persian/Farsi, the various Indian subcontinent Languages, even Japanese and most insanely Mandarin - all have lots of potentially enormous uses. A knowledge of many help you not get scammed in some countries for sure!

However this brings us back to the original point, English, in all sorts of accents and levels of broken speech, is the lingua franca of the world. Between anyone of different nationalities, save some historically multi linguistic regions, it's almost expected to be the common language of communication. Being a native English speaker just means everyone wants to communicate how you already do.

(Outside of France) I've always found people do genuinely appreciate it when you try with their language, so we should never stop trying or use our ability in English as an excuse to not learn anything else. 

This is very much my opinion. As somebody who has tried quite a few times to learn French, it is incredibly hard and requires a great deal of time and effort. Without the necessity of needing to, most people won't. Some people get a cheat code, like a foreign partner or the opportunity to work abroad and learn that way but for most it's nothing more than a hobby.

The reality is that most of the world wouldn't learn it either if they didn't have to or have far more opportunity to do so.

As a teacher, I don't really believe in teaching MFL other than as a bit of fun. We do it as a half an hour a week thing, which is pointless, but there is no justification in doing it for any longer like they do on the continent.

I was introduced to an AI music app the other day, and my first thought was that in time this will see a dramatic decline in the numbers of people learning instruments. If you eliminate the need to learn an instrument to create a decent song, people won't bother. It'll become a niche activity for purists.

Being born with English as a first language is like this in many ways.

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English native speaker.

French, Spanish to the level where I can read newspapers, books, get most but not all of film, tv programmes, conversation with one person.

Welsh to a point where I can read BBC website and children's books but only simple conversations.

German GCSE but only tourist level really.

Few other languages where I can do hello, yes, no, thank you, Bill please type stuff - Finnish and Japanese for example.

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18 hours ago, Bedford Roughyed said:

We did a survey in the office of languages, and the only people with only one language were English.  

We did a count up once and between the 9 of us, there were 20 languages spoken with the average being nearly 4. Helped by one lad who spoke 10 or 11 though. 

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1 hour ago, Tommygilf said:

To add to my other point, are English speakers some of the best at understanding accents and dialects (and frankly broken speech versions) of a language? 

I think the fact that English is so flexible helps with that. I also love the fact that English's flexibility annoys exactly the right kind of people who, if their first language was a different one, would be active letter writer's to that language's academy demanding nothing ever change, ever.

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Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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11 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

I don't think it is shameful, I just think it's a unique position native English speakers are in.

Let's be real here to speak any language other than English, for most native English speakers, means you have to speak a foreign language better than the person you are communicating with can speak English. Nearly the whole world now learns English as a second language (even Russia who tried to implement Russian as the lingua franca across the USSR and Eastern Bloc).

As English speakers what do we learn as a second language?

French - most common but frankly rarely used as even anecdotal evidence will demonstrate how in France they'll speak English back to you with a rather tired expression. Unless you're planning on going to Haiti or West Africa it's not very helpful either and even then unless you have an ear for a creole you'll struggle.

Spanish - possibly the most helpful 2nd language, but has a very "American" focus with obviously lots of Latin America. In the hubs of international tourism of Spain and Mexico, English is more widely used. 

German - Great in Germany and Austria, pretty naff all use anywhere else. Likewise Italian in Italy or Greek in Greece or Polish in Poland. They can help with learning other Germanic, Romance, or Slavic languages but again they are other languages not just different flavours. That's before we get onto Hungarian or Latvian!

Arabic, Persian/Farsi, the various Indian subcontinent Languages, even Japanese and most insanely Mandarin - all have lots of potentially enormous uses. A knowledge of many help you not get scammed in some countries for sure!

However this brings us back to the original point, English, in all sorts of accents and levels of broken speech, is the lingua franca of the world. Between anyone of different nationalities, save some historically multi linguistic regions, it's almost expected to be the common language of communication. Being a native English speaker just means everyone wants to communicate how you already do.

(Outside of France) I've always found people do genuinely appreciate it when you try with their language, so we should never stop trying or use our ability in English as an excuse to not learn anything else. 

I think this is a very good point. With languages it tends to be 'use it or lose it'. Everyone I know learned at least one language, some two or more, during school but if you're not in a position to use them regularly you're going to lose fluency pretty quickly.

I've also felt a bit ashamed at not being able to speak another language but I'd only ever learned French previously. That's the one I felt like I should have stuck with but the reality is I'd almost certainly never have had any practical use for it. To be fluent would also probably involve taking classes so would come at a cost.

It's only recently that I've decided to spend time learning another language and that's because I became friends with a Ukrainian refugee. Their English has developed really quickly but there's still gaps so I felt knowing some Ukrainian might help. The reality is that it will be really hard to reach any level of fluency because I'm not immersed in the language.

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On 22/06/2024 at 21:33, Maximus Decimus said:

I'd love to have learned a language, and have tried to learn French a few times.

I went travelling when I was 22 and did a bit then. I was demoralised when I plucked up the courage to speak French and the guy responded in English.

During lockdown, I did Duolingo for ages and came to the conclusion that to learn it in any way I'd have to go to totally different lengths. I naively hoped if I used an app long enough, I'd get to a point where I could read it or watch stuff.

That's my personality sadly. There are quite a number of things I can do better than your average Joe (piano, guitar, darts), but none I am expert in. I just haven't got the discipline required.

Quite a while back I was checking in at CdG and spoke to the lady at the desk in my best French. She responded in English so I spoke next in English to which she responded in French! I concluded that my English was worse than my French....

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Does shouting in English count? 😉

Conversational German but some of the basics in Italian, French, Egyptian Arabic and Spanish.

Have always found that at least trying to open the conversation in the native language of wherever you are goes down well, even if you have to be corrected.
 

 

Edited by Gerrumonside ref
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