Can You Speak Your Foreign SO's Native Language?

[veronicavonn 7]

I am the USC.

1. I understand my foreign SO's native language, but can't have a long conversation in it.

2. I am not the foreign SO.

3. I will make sure our children/future children speak my foreign SO's native language fluently.

I have been learning German INformally, meaning, I have NOT had schooling. This is definitely the hardest part about it. Germans learn English in school for 10+ years, so to them, they say "Just don't speak German anymore and you'll remember your English." Rather, they tell my husband "Just don't speak English anymore. Speak German all the time." But that's not the same for someone who has never learned any of it. It's not just going to CLICK one day. It needs time. Lots of it. And when someone/people are pushing, pushing, pushing you to learn, you won't. You need to be able to learn at your own pace as an adult.

1.5 years into living in Germany, I have managed to learn basic German. I still say things "backwards" because I say them word-for-word in the same sentence structure I would in English, but everyone usually understands me. I understand a lot more than I speak, which means my husband and stepchildren can't really make too many jokes about me anymore without me catching on.

We definitely want to teach our children both languages. While we plan on living in the states (when we get there), I think it would be our children's decision where they would like to live. And if they wanted to see where their father is from and come here and visited their extended family, the German language would be to their advantage.

[Ladylethal 12]

Luis is from Puerto Rico, so he speaks English and Spanish.

Being fom Brasil I knew Portuguese and English but I learned Spanish to live here.

He understands Portuguese perfectly but he's shy so he doesn't speak it well. I am positive he can survive in Portuguese if he must.

I plan to teach all 3 languages to my kids.

[bora bora 1]

I really don't want Dave to learn Swedish, then I couldn't call home and talk about him in front of him. It's so funny to watch him cringe every time I look at him and laugh while I am talking to someone back home. He has been threatening to learn Swedish secretly so he can listen in to all my conversations while pretending he doesn't understand. It would be nice if he and my mom could talk to each other without me having to translate all the time though.

The only word Dave really knows is "Tack", Swedish for "Thank you". He gets so used to saying it that he keeps on doing it even once we're back in the U.S. Last time he said "Tack" was to say thanks to the Mexican waiter at our local Mexican joint.

I remember those days!

My husband didn't know English when we met and then didn't learn until until he moved here. When he first arrived, and for a few months, I used to be able to have conversations with my family and friends with him in the same room and he had no clue what was going on. Then little by little he started to learn English and he began to understand the bascis of what I was talking about - especially if it were about him. Now, I'm proud (of him), to say that I can no longer have phone conversations around him without him understanding everything.

[Susita 175]

I'm the USC and I speak Spanish & English fluently. Luis is from Peru and he's learning English now, but he speaks basic English. We communicate mostly in Spanish at home, but since he has to practice we have been speaking English. The kids understand Spanish but respond in English. Weird.

[bora bora 1]

I speak Portuguese fluently and that's what we speak mostly at home - even though my husband has learned English since his arrival 3 years ago.

He speaks English all day at work and the gym and so maybe that's why he speaks Portuguese with me, though I think it's also because that's the language we started speaking years ago when we met in Brazil and because I'm an English teacher ....

It is very important to me for our children, when we have them, to be bilingual in both languages. I want them to be able to read and write both languages as well.

IF they could speak Spanish in addition that'd be great. I am fluent in Spanish and my husband can understand and read it.

[Leafgal 3]

We joke around that one of us doesn't speak english, and doesn't write it proper either lol

[K and L 27]

It is very important to me for our children, when we have them, to be bilingual in both languages. I want them to be able to read and write both languages as well.

Us, too! I think it'd be tragic if our (future) kids couldn't communicate with his family at all (or mine if we're denied and I move to Brazil). It's bad enough that they won't live nearby, but for them to not understand their family the times we do visit is just not conceivable to me.

Of course, this does involve me getting significantly better at spoken Portuguese... my written's good enough that his family and I write emails, though I'm sure half the time my grammar is too English-influenced

[Y&E 12]

Hey, what about if your USC speaks another language as their mothertounge? You didn't give an option for that

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I speak Australian english.

He speaks American english.

Neither is exactly the same but they're similar enough that we only have the occasional misunderstanding.

You'd think "english" would be good enough but it's not. My husband often "translates" for me. People have a few issues with words that are uniquely Australian, and also because they pronounce words "wrong" here.

Edited March 11, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[TheBears 9]

Yep.

For the first 2 months, he spoke in English and I spoke in Thai. I'm the USC. We met while trying to learn languages. He eventually gave in and from there on out (almost 5 years now) we've spoken almost exclusively in Thai.

That's not to say that he doesn't speak English. But! He learned in Thailand and spent a year in Australia. His accent (so cute!!) and a few unfamiliar Australian terms can throw me for a loop sometimes.

My favorite: Shellfish inevitably comes out as "selfish."

His favorite: If I'm speaking fast, the Thai word for "picture" can come out sounding like the word for "child." So I'll be asking him "Did you get the picture yet?" and he'll hear "Did you pick up your child yet?" Go figure. Five tones is no problem. Instead it's a final consonant that causes problems.

[christeen 966]

Yep.

For the first 2 months, he spoke in English and I spoke in Thai. I'm the USC. We met while trying to learn languages. He eventually gave in and from there on out (almost 5 years now) we've spoken almost exclusively in Thai.

That's not to say that he doesn't speak English. But! He learned in Thailand and spent a year in Australia. His accent (so cute!!) and a few unfamiliar Australian terms can throw me for a loop sometimes.

My favorite: Shellfish inevitably comes out as "selfish."

His favorite: If I'm speaking fast, the Thai word for "picture" can come out sounding like the word for "child." So I'll be asking him "Did you get the picture yet?" and he'll hear "Did you pick up your child yet?" Go figure. Five tones is no problem. Instead it's a final consonant that causes problems.

My favorite pronunciation error that my husband does that I think is soooo "cute" is that he cannot pronounce the "th" sound... So everytime he says he's "firsty" instead of "thirsty" so I always respond "I'm secondy"... Or when he says its "free" instead of "three"...

My southern accent gets a lot of laughs when I am in Italy and speaking Italian... Like the redneck Mafia

[TheBears 9]

Isn't it just the best?

Because of the whole shellfish=selfish thing, I can't help but giggle when we have our little tiffs. That's when the English comes out. Me, being the meanie I am, switch to English if I see he's digging his heels in on an issue. So he calls me selfish for using English when I should stick to expressing my view in Thai. It's true. But I start giggling because this picture of a giant shrimp pops in my head. Love it!

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

I know pieces of Arabic and can understand it better than I can say it correctly.

Adam is fantastic with english, every now and then I'll throw out a word that he never heard before and he will get this huge smile of his face and say Wow! a new word!

Yes we will teach our future children (one day, I hope) to speak arabic and I will be aiming for german and spanish. I have some family in Germany and with the Spanish, its really comes in handy when at work.

[Dave and Helena 0]

You'd think "english" would be good enough but it's not.

We have a British friend whom even Dave with his American English have a problem understanding.

"America and Britain are two nations divided by a common language"

[Ladylethal 12]

My favorite pronunciation error that my husband does that I think is soooo "cute" is that he cannot pronounce the "th" sound... So everytime he says he's "firsty" instead of "thirsty" so I always respond "I'm secondy"... Or when he says its "free" instead of "three"...

My southern accent gets a lot of laughs when I am in Italy and speaking Italian... Like the redneck Mafia

Luis's puerto rican English can be cute that way too, like when he asks me where is his jello shirt when in fact he's asking for his yellow shirt. Of course that was before I learned Spanish so I can't laugh at his accent anymore. He laughs at my Spanish one now.