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How many languages can you speak?

How many languages do you know?

  • One

    Votes: 6 10.0%

  • One and a half (fully fluent in one, semi in another)

    Votes: 20 33.3%

  • Two

    Votes: 8 13.3%

  • Two and a half (fully fluent in two, semi in another)

    Votes: 14 23.3%

  • Three

    Votes: 4 6.7%

  • Three and a half (fully fluent in three, semi in another)

    Votes: 2 3.3%

  • Four or more

    Votes: 6 10.0%
  • Total voters
    60
#21
I speak English and French fluently, German (arguably) passably.

I know the Arabic alphabet fluently which I'm using to learn Arabic and understand Arameic (many similarities) and I'm trying to learn Cuneiform which I'm finding really hard.

PS I'm studying linguistics in university, which explains this crazyness. :ninja: I'd like to do this kind of thing later in life.
 
#26
French is my native language. I wouldn't say I master it, but I can make pertinent use of some words with more than three syllables. :D

I voted one and a half. Even though my written English is pretty good, I don't speak it as well. I understand pretty well, though, except if you speak with a thick Texan/British/Australian accent. :p
 
#27
Portuguese - Native tongue
English - Native tongue
German - Language spoken at home by grandparents (They were from Austria).
French - studied for two years and stayed with it.
Spanish - I can speak and understand because of my Portuguese background and i list it on my resume. Basically functional, but nowhere near the fluency I'd like.

Edit: Since moderate to little knowledge seems to count on this thread, I should add Greek too.

Want to learn: Chinese (or Japanese) and Italian.
 
#31
I speak English (I'm American)
I speak a little Spanish (took two years in HS, have had some opportunity to use it so I remember a bit)
I can also speak a very tiny bit of Chinese. I've worked with two Chinese gentlemen for 10 years - they get phone calls from people who don't speak a word of English, so I had to learn to say: "(person's name) is not here" & "(person's name) is on vacation" & "(person's name) is on the telephone" and I've also learned a few interesting vocab words in case I ever go to China - so far I could ask where to find the bathroom and ask about where to find and what is the price of Hotels, cookies, shrimp, beer and call girls. A lot of Chinese people chuckle at my accent, but for the most part, they understand me. It's good fun when somebody calls up and speaks Chinese, and I tell them that the person they are looking for is not in - so they speak a whole bunch more Chinese and I just hang up the phone. Yeah, I'm not so fluent.
 
#32
1. English (Native)
2. German (My Paternal Grandmother speaks it fluently and used to talk in it with her friends while babysitting me as an infant. My Mother got a little nervous when I started speaking German before English. I've forgotten much of it).
3. Spanish (Due to living in the Southwest US since '88 and 5 years on a Cruise ship gig. Not fluent, but can decifer much).
4. Tagalog (A New entry for this thread I believe. My Wife of nearly 8 years is from the Phillippines [met her on the Cruise gig] and I started to learn it to get her. Kept learning so we could talk secretly if needed [very handy]. Not fluent, but can converse on most things).
 
#34
PhatBasstard said:
1. English (Native)
2. German (My Paternal Grandmother speaks it fluently and used to talk in it with her friends while babysitting me as an infant. My Mother got a little nervous when I started speaking German before English. I've forgotten much of it).
3. Spanish (Due to living in the Southwest US since '88 and 5 years on a Cruise ship gig. Not fluent, but can decifer much).
4. Tagalog (A New entry for this thread I believe. My Wife of nearly 8 years is from the Phillippines [met her on the Cruise gig] and I started to learn it to get her. Kept learning so we could talk secretly if needed [very handy]. Not fluent, but can converse on most things).
Click to expand...

Mabuhi! Comme est ta ca? Mabuti?
 
#35
bmc said:
Mabuhi! Comme est ta ca? Mabuti?
Click to expand...
Tagalog from Switzerland?!?
Cool!
My reading and writing is far behind my conversational usage, however, my loose translation is:

"Hello/long life! How are you? Good?"


Let me see if I can get my written response right:

O'o'! Mabuti ako. At ikau?
(Don't hold me to those spellings or grammar :p )
 
#37
PhatBasstard said:
Tagalog from Switzerland?!?
Cool!
My reading and writing is far behind my conversational usage, however, my loose translation is:

"Hello/long life! How are you? Good?"


Let me see if I can get my written response right:

O'o'! Mabuti ako. At ikau?
(Don't hold me to those spellings or grammar :p )
Click to expand...

Mabuti Salamat po!

Ok...that's it. That's as far as I get in Tagalog. I've learned how to say the same things in Tagalog, Malagasy, Arabic, Russian, Polish, Swahili, Danish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Portugese. 3-4 words in each. People smile when you address them in their native tongue. It's fun to learn about other cultures. Wish I had more time to learn it in a more structured setting.

As I've said before, it's a pretty cool planet. I am sure glad we are all not the same. It would get real broing real fast.

Ma Asallamah!

ciao amigo

bmc
 
#38
1) English (Native language)

2) Spanish (Speak, read, and write quite well, although not my native language. I have many friends in the Monterrey, Mexico area with whom I have frequent contact. We're like family.)

3) German (Studied it in college. Can carry a basic conversation. Years ago, one of our employees returned to the States after growing up in Munich. We would frequently switch to German just for the fun of it.)

4) Mandarin Chinese (I have a basic understanding of the language, but find it difficult to carry a conversation soley in the language. I worked for a Taiwanese company some years ago. Whenever I would happen to be in the Taipei office, many of my co-workers spoke some English so we spoke a combination of English and Mandarin.)

5) Arabic (Barely. An Egyptian friend of mine started teaching me the language, but shortly after we started, he developed a terminal illness. I can recognize the script, certain words and the sound of the language.
 
#39
I love languages. Sadly, I don't know many. :crying:

English - Native Tongue
Spanish - Fairly Fluent, only if you talk slowly. Spanish is a fast language.
Russian - Picking it up fairly fast, but far from fluent. до свидания
Slovenian - A rare language, unless you happen to live near Euclid, Ohio. My mother and grandmother are Slovene natives. I have picked up a little from them.
German - I know more German than Russian, but not enough to totally get by this summer in Österreich.

I can only really say I know two, but I really enjoy studying languages.
 

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