How many languages do you speak?

Loic · How many languages do you speak?

This would sound like a topic without head nor tails, but I am curious as to the linguistic capability of people here. It seems that almost everyone here has a solid grounding in a second language, but does the extent of language acquisition stop here? Tell me about it. When did you first start to speak a second language? How did you learn it and would you rate your secondary languages to be (almost) as good as your mother tongue?

This is not about showing off, but about sharing. I hope nobody misunderstands me on this point. Since this is an exercise in statistics, I'd hereby averr that the results of the survey are empirical, anecdotal and definitely not actionable!

Loic

Since I started this thread, it'd only be fair to start the ball rolling as well. As the old-timers here are already aware, my principal second language is Chinese but it is debatable as to how often I use it nowadays. This is not due to a paucity of opportunities to speak and use the language in its living form. Far from it! I'd say that most people in my school hold casual conversations in Chinese, but since I do not hang out with such a crowd, I restrict myself to a largely monolinggual and superficially anglicised environment.

It's mandatory to learn a second language here for at least ten years and I paid my dues. I learnt French for 5 years and I think my grounding in it actually solidified after leaving formal education: I subscribe to French channel (TV5 Monde) at home and although the majority of their programmes are dreadfully dull, there are a few which make a blip on my radar: Fort Boyard, Questions pour un Champion, La Cible, etc.

As for my understanding of Malay, it's basically a bastardised creole - an offspring of long centuries of liaison between the Chinese traders and the Malay women of the region and which later blossomed as the language of the marketplace in its heyday before the arrival of the English language. Called Pasar Melayu or market Malay, it is mainly spoken by an ageing generation of Straits Chinese and I predict its extinction after the demise of the older generation.

Here's an example of the differences between the two varieties:

Pasar Melayu:
Gua suka lu (I love you)

v.

Bahasa Melayu Tinggi (Standard Malay):
Aku cinta kau.

So here's my story. What's yours?

Benjamin [inactive]

I've been learning French for over seven years now, although one could argue that the first four years of that were wasted. I was originally taught the 'communication' method, where every lesson we learnt questions which a French-speaking person might (but probably wouldn't) ask us, and then we practiced speaking and writing model answers, without really learning any grammar. I suppose that this made it more enjoyable for people who might not ordinarily have been so interested, but I believe that it probably wasn't so beneficial for me. Put it this way — I didn't know how to conjugate even avoir and être in all persons, nor did I know the possessive adjectives for nous, vous, ils and elles until after I'd been studying French for over four years, when I decided to look for myself on the internet.

Generally, I'd say that I'm reasonably fluent in French. I can read it almost as fast as I read English, and I can write about more or less anything in it (although I've no idea how natural my written French actually sounds). I find that I can often speak reasonably well about more complicated things, but often find every-day informal chatting more difficult.

I also studied Spanish for four years, although the first two of those years at school were wasted. For the following two years, I went to evening classes due to time-tabling problems at school. It's over a year now since I last studied it formally, so I tend to find that my knowledge of Spanish is largely passive. So, if someone posts something on Antimoon in Spanish, I can read it without much difficulty, but I find that posting in Spanish is slow and awkward.

I only really started learning German this year when I went to do an intensive language course in Germany for two weeks in the summer. My knowledge of German however is largely oral. I find that I can follow what people say possibly almost as well as in French, and that basic conversation feels very 'natural', but I wouldn't be able to produce anything too complicated in it myself. I'm not very confident in writing German at all, and my reading ability in it is almost non-existent (without saying it out-loud).

I've also learnt bits of Esperanto and Afrikaans, of which I can produce in basic forms when necessary.

Daniel

I really use two languages fluently and natively.

I grew up bilingually: British Sign Language and English. I express myself better in BSL even though I use English much more frequently unless I am with my Deaf friends. Obviously, BSL has no written form, I use English much more often (as I read a lot)!

Then there's French which is my third language. My French is still conversational but I'm working on becoming fluent in it!

I'm also learning Malay, Filipino, Japanese and German.

Walker

My second language would be English. We start learning English in fourth grade here and I guess I could make myself understood fairly well when I was in Junior High. But I never really got in touch with spoken English until after High School when I'd moved to Uppsala and started meeting foreign exchange students. There I realized how much harder it was, or is, to get through a real life conversation in English, than I had thought it was. Speaking English with people from many different countries was rewarding in many ways. For example, I learned new words, many of which are everyday words. I still remember...

Mark, the Canadian: Could you hand me the strainer?

Walker, the Swede: The what?

I haven't spoken English for some time now, though. I'm fully aware that I still have a long way to go to be really fluent in English and there are still lots and lots of words I need to learn. But if I'd name a second language it'd be English. Not Norwegian or Danish. That's because I don't speak those languages. I understand them in written form and also in spoken form, to a greater or lesser extent. But I can't say that I speak Norwegian or Danish. But then again, I've never really tried.

In school I also studied German, Spanish and Italian. The last two I "studied" - I never liked those classes and I didn't take them too seriously. I just made sure I passed and that was that. Actually, it was the same with German. However, German was the only of those three languages that stuck somewhat, even though I took German in Junior High School and the other two in High School. Of course, there are many similarities between German and Swedish. I don't remember much of the der, die, das, dem, den etc, though. But my friend's Austrian girlfriend constantly tells me to take up German again. Apparently my pronounciation is good. So if I do take up German again and then move to Germany, who knows, maybe in a few years time I'll have another secondary language going! :wink:

Benjamin [inactive]

Deborah

Pauline

the languages i can speak :

mother tongue : french
fluently : dutch
acceptable : german
elementary : english and spanish

KSa

I voted for English being my second language although I’m aware of how much it needs to be improved, especially in relation to speaking and understanding of spoken English. However, I’m sure English is my strongest point as regards non-native languages. I’m glad I can still practice it by meeting native and non-native English speakers fairly often, watching TV channels, reading books, movie scripts, magazines and visiting the internet. It’s useful, no, it’s necessary at work and this is what motivates me the most.

I’ve been studying French for some 7 years in total but most of this time has been wasted since I’m not fluent beyond the basic usage. I lack motivation. I like the language but have no opportunity to use it. I meet francophones occasionally but I feel too weak to practice my French and they are usually willing to practice their English so after ça va bien ? etc. we end up speaking English. Like Loic, I’ve got TV5 Monde channel but also find most of the programmes dull and discouraging. Sometimes I read books written in simple French, magazines etc. but I feel that learning just for the sake of learning is not what I really like.

I took up Russian at primary school. I had no choice - it was the only obligatory foreign language. I didn’t pay much attention to it partly because it was compulsory and partly because I was too young to properly understand the importance of foreign languages. Of course I’m able to ask basic stuff but more by the fact of similarities between Polish and Russian than my actual knowledge.

Walker

Deborah

Walker

Loic

I can't study a language for its own sake: that's like studying for the sake of studying and nothing is more off putting than that.

Benjamin: You spent the 1st four years learning French without an awareness of basic conjugaison? My experiences laid on the other end with grammar taking centre-stage in virtually all my classes. By our 4th year, we were doing the simple past and every class was filled with dreadful memories of two long hours going to the blackboard and conjugating a given verb. Really! Life is too short for that.

Walker

Benjamin [inactive]

Lol, reminds me of how German speakers say 'abgefuckt' for 'fucked up'. Unfortunately, that's too similar to the English to work. ;)

Walker

I guess not, but there's also "ficken' you know. Although it reminds me of the Swedish word for "pocket" which is ficka...

Deborah

Walker

Tiffany

Wow - I just seem to blunder on this board. I thought the poll question asked what my primary language was, so of course I voted English.

I see now that it asks for primary second language which would have to be "other": Italian.

I grew up in Miami (some of you know this so you can stop reading now) where there is a high Cuban concentration and learned some Spanish before school. At six, I started formal Spanish training which was mostly wasted for the next twelve years because while I was always good at Spanish, most of my learning was done outside of the classroom (not that a formal teacher didn't help). After graduating high school, I was still only at a conversational level in Spanish.

In college I toyed with the idea of taking French, because I've always wanted to go to France (you know, the grass is greener on the other side, rose-tinted glasses thing). My major, however, did not allow me to do this for awhile, as I simply couldn't find a French class that wasn't in direct conflict with a required course for my major.

Fate stepped in my junior year of college - I met my then boyfriend now husband who was Italian. Not only had my schedule cleared as I had diligently taken all the requrements so I could have it easier later, but with our relationship becoming more and more serious, I decided Italian was the way to go. It was still another year before I could get into an Italian class, because it was a two semester course and I tried to register late, but wasn't allowed due to the class being full. So I took my one and only Italian class as a senior in college.

My experience with Italian was much different than with Spanish. It opened my eyes to my true love of language. I had always been good at languages (Spanish), but I had been missing an important factor before: motivation. The strange part of this was that it also improved my Spanish in a passive way, I guess since Italian is so close. I have no doubt that learning French will be easier because of it, but don't plan to start French till I have more Italian under my belt. I am mostly self-taught at this stage, but still motivated so progress is made!

Deborah

I really exaggerated by calling Spanish my second language, as I don't speak any language other than English well at all. But since I intend to continue with Spanish until I can consider it a second language, I decided to jump the gun. (But mainly, I couldn't see the voting results unless I voted.)

Loic

I suppose the poll question had been poorly phrased. The inclusion of the word 'primary' must has created some emotional markers which link it to the mother tongue.

Tiffany: Since you learnt Italian relatively late in life, is there a discernible accent when you are speaking the language?

Deborah: I suppose knowing a second language does not mean having a solid mastery of it. The definition of a second language can be as loose as having briefly studied it in school and not remembering anything about it save for a few stock expressions. But since you are clearly able to hold your own in the language of Cervantes, Spanish is definitely one of the many foreign languages under your belt.

Deborah

fab

I said Spanish, even if I had started to learn english first.

As everyone here, learning english at shool is an obligation, and most people take it at first foreign language. generally it is at the age of 11-12.
I started to learn Spanish at 14-15.

But it is very "school" languages, not a current way to speak, but a generally very boring teaching.

After I finish "Lycée"(High school I think ?), I stopped to use both English and Spanish. And forgot very much.
It is only since a few time that I get more interes to languages, and especially to Spanish.

greg in noord-frankrijk

French : native.
English : fluent.
German : basic.
Spanish : painful.
Catalan, Italian & Occitan : smattering.
Old French : rising.
Middle English : stagnating.
Latin : great illusion.
Old Greek : hopless dream.
Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Interlingua, Polish, Portuguese & Russian : futurible (possible under favourable circumstances).

Benjamin [inactive]

Greg has reminded me... Middle English! Well, I can read it (I love Chaucer) and I know the official pronunciation, but I can't produce it myself.

Tiffany

Tiffany

Benjamin [inactive]

Fair enough! I only put 'upper secondary school' because it was the best suggestion I could find on the rather vague website of the Jamaican Government Education Department.

Tiffany

My parents are Jamaican :)

Benjamin [inactive]

Tiffany

Isn't it? Do you have problems understanding it? I never did and I grew up thinking it must easily comprehended by others, but I've met a few people for whom that is not the case. It's not a completely foreign langauge now!

Benjamin [inactive]

I can kind of just about understand it, but it's quite difficult. However, they're essentially all capable of switching to a more standard variety of English, so I tend not to hear it that often.

It's like when I was in Durham a few months ago in Northeast England. I heard ordinary working-class people (i.e. not the posh university students) speaking to each-other in what may as well have been another language, but if I were to start speaking to them, I'm sure that they would have responded to me in Standard English, albeit with a regional accent.

Tiffany

Ahh, I guess it's just because I grew up with it (my father in particular talks naturally with a thick accent unless in situatuions with other Americans). I don't speak with it at all, though some people have told me it creeps into my speech at certain times (obviously I am not aware of this). However, I think I sound like quite a fraud speaking it.

Benjamin [inactive]

I know what you mean. Although I live in Birmingham, I actually speak RP, rather than with a Birmingham accent. However, some people sometimes tell me that I actually speak with Birmingham intonation, because I go up and down in a somewhat musical fashion and go very high-pitched when I get excited.

But I apparently sometimes sound vaguely South African, at least according to some. Not sure why though; perhaps it's because my mum was born in Uganda. ;)

André in Zuid-Afrika

KSa

Benjamin [inactive]

greg in noord-frankrijk

David

one. Englsh. :D I've attempted to learn other languages including Dutch, Portugeuse, Spanish, and Esperanto, slthough none of these attempts were really serious.

Akoni

As you see in my signature I can speak / am studying 10 languages.

Dutch is my native language. I can also speak a couple of Dutch dialects.

I can speak English fluently. I can also understand several English dialects because in the past I've been to the UK a lot. I've been trying to mimic them, but no success. ;)

Afrikaans looks a lot like Dutch so reading it is no problem. I'm currently practicing the somewhat different grammar and different words. I can almost speak and write it fluently.

I had some German in college a couple of years ago and with some practice I will be able to get it to the fluent level again.

Ancient Egyptian is an extinct language. The only resources to learn it are the texts in the tombs and other graves of ancient Egyptians. There are several good books about how to read it and the grammar. I have completed a coursebook so I can read most of the hieroglyphic texts and write some myself.

I had French at school. Most of it has faded, but the basics have remained. With some practice I should be able to get it back to intermediate/advanced level.

I did a beginner course (New Zealand) Te Reo Māori last year, so I know the basics.

I also did a beginner course in Japanese, which also covers the basics.

I'm currently doing a course in Latin and I'm learning Swedish from a native.

I also started on: Ancient Greek, Esperanto, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish, Portuguese and Cantonese. But I've never got to completing a course in any of them ;)

Didier69

French : native

Swedish and German : fluent

English : acceptable

Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Provençal : elementary