I am just wondering. I can speak English and Arabic and I am learning some Spanish and Japanese now. Arabic was my first tongue as a little boy upuntil 5 yrs old, and then school rooted that out of me. I started to re-learn it about 10 years ago.
On a good day I can speak proper English. I understand Chinese of my family's village dialect, but can't speak except for a few words. I took two years of spanish in high school and a quarter in college but only know the basics on a really good day.
you know, I'm just like you in that Chinese was my first language but since there were no chinese students at school much less of my dialect that I "forgot" how to speak. I never re-learned though unfortunately.
Dos. (two not disk operating system). English and a decent bit of German here. English (American) is my native tongue. I completed a couple of years of German in college and did a year of study at a University in the "German" speaking part of Switzerland.
I guess I can't count Fortran & Pascal, eh? Never mind, I've forgotten them anyhow.
Interesting quesion. The topic came up when my wife and I met a Dutch couple on a game drive in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
I speak English and enough French to get basic services.
The Dutch couple both spoke three languages, Dutch, English and one spoke French and the other German.
My wife who was born in Holland, brought up in South Africa and Rhodesia and worked in Germany before coming to Canada speaks English, Dutch, Africaans and German.
Then the African guide joined the conversation. He spoke English, Africaans, Portugese (he worked in Mozambique for a while), German (he guided some German students on a research project) and five distinct African languages. He didn't claim to speak Dutch, but it was obvious he could follow conversations well enough to answer questions, although he answered in English.
Dutch is my native tongue, but I lost most of it going to school here where we absolutely HAD to learn English immediately. I relearned some of the when I went back to Holland in the late 1990s for couple visits.
Estonian (native), English, some basic Russian, tidbits of French. I ought to learn some more... I think in most places of the world, English is as close as it gets to a universal language and in some fields (academic science for example) you can`t get past it at all.
Plus - as photographers we all express ourselves with our images - another well-proven universal language.
Sadly, only English. Took a year of Russian in college and now can remember only about 10 words. "medical Spanish" as I practiced medicine in California for many years. I still try to learn more Spanish by watching Latino TV channels, but my ability to learn new language is VERY limited. I understand much more Spanish than I can speak!
This is interesting....can't believe so many of you speak so many languages. I speak English (some of that in the southern redneck Bill referred to) and used to speak Spanish fluently. Unfortunately I have lost most of that. Need to take some refresher courses.
I speak relatively decent American English and I used to speak decent French that I learned in the Army, but I don't use it enough and I've lost a lot of it. I can read and write French better than I can speak and understand it when spoken. I try to watch French TV and movies when I can, but it isn't the same as using it everyday, that's for sure! I feel pretty inadequate when I visit Canada and they see my name and assume I am a local!
Hi,
my first language is french, I almost speak english...but don't understand it...
I still have remnants of a south american spanish from another life, while travelling Mexico and Argentina.
At the moment I'm in a really funny situation language wise. I've done international projects for the last 15 years. Currently I'm working in a very international environment with English being the main business language. Sometimes we have meetings held in English because 1 person is from Spain (or France, or Greece, or UK ...) and the other 19 are Germans. It makes me still laugh if I have to talk to a German person in English. The colleagues in my group I work closely with are from Sweden, France and Mauritius (yes and Germany).
Then there are (naturally) different levels of language skills that make conversation not easier. And a French persons English is completely different to a Spanish person speaking (or better singing) English. A lovely mixture that we call “Euroenglish”
I did 10 years of Russian lessons in school and later at university. Currently I’m thinking of taking lessons to improve my (rudimentary) French. It never ends (and it is fun too). BUT: it is my experience that neither the daily work with people from other countries nor taking language lessons brings you near to what they call the “soul” of a language. For this one has to live in a country where the desired language is native, which I haven’t done yet. But who knows what the future brings.
Discussion
21 repliesyou know, I'm just like you in that Chinese was my first language but since there were no chinese students at school much less of my dialect that I "forgot" how to speak. I never re-learned though unfortunately.
Guy
I guess I can't count Fortran & Pascal, eh? Never mind, I've forgotten them anyhow.
Pete D.
-PB
I speak English and enough French to get basic services.
The Dutch couple both spoke three languages, Dutch, English and one spoke French and the other German.
My wife who was born in Holland, brought up in South Africa and Rhodesia and worked in Germany before coming to Canada speaks English, Dutch, Africaans and German.
Then the African guide joined the conversation. He spoke English, Africaans, Portugese (he worked in Mozambique for a while), German (he guided some German students on a research project) and five distinct African languages. He didn't claim to speak Dutch, but it was obvious he could follow conversations well enough to answer questions, although he answered in English.
Regards
Basil
Plus - as photographers we all express ourselves with our images - another well-proven universal language.
That's not all bad, Michelle!
my first language is french, I almost speak english...but don't understand it...
I still have remnants of a south american spanish from another life, while travelling Mexico and Argentina.
Au revoir
Then there are (naturally) different levels of language skills that make conversation not easier. And a French persons English is completely different to a Spanish person speaking (or better singing) English. A lovely mixture that we call “Euroenglish”
I did 10 years of Russian lessons in school and later at university. Currently I’m thinking of taking lessons to improve my (rudimentary) French. It never ends (and it is fun too). BUT: it is my experience that neither the daily work with people from other countries nor taking language lessons brings you near to what they call the “soul” of a language. For this one has to live in a country where the desired language is native, which I haven’t done yet. But who knows what the future brings.
Sven