Do You Speak Any Foreign Languages?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

...and list any additional languages, including specific dialects.

Edited August 17, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[Fandango 1,439]

I studied Spanish in HS and College for about 5 years.

Haven't really used it in ages, but I'm studying it again on my own to brush up. Being bilingual in Spanish in FL is definitely a business advantage.

[Fandango 1,439]

Oh, and one of my closest friends is Mexican...I see her daily, and she teaches me something new everyday. We're starting to converse in Spanish...bless her cotton socks, she's so patient! LOL

[Jenn! 918]

Does the third question mean what languages do we speak with each other? Or just all the languages we speak in general?

[Marilyn. 340]

I took German from Grade 2 to Grade 9... I tried to take German by correspondence in Grade 10 but I didn't get very far because it is kind of hard to learn a language without a teacher....

my grandparents all spoke German, one set spoke Low German and the other set spoke High German (they all knew and spoke English too though)...

my parents spoke German too but they only spoke German at home when they were trying to hide their conversation from us, like when they were discussing Christmas Presents etc... they stopped that though when they realized that I could basically understand what they were saying ...

when my grandparents or whomever spoke German I could make out a word here and there but I couldn't hold a conversation in German even if my life depended on it

oops didn't read the 3rd question carefully....

my hubby can speak some Spanish and he understands a lot of it but he is not fluent in Spanish....

Edited August 17, 2007 by MarilynP

[Marilyn. 340]

Does the third question mean what languages do we speak with each other? Or just all the languages we speak in general?

I think it means all the languages you speak in general

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Does the third question mean what languages do we speak with each other? Or just all the languages we speak in general?

In general. I know a little Spanish so I checked that one.

[MissStacey 1]

We moved from Quebec to Alberta when I was 8. I regret that we couldn't have stayed long enough for me to be fluent in French. We went to English school and took French classes- but you picked it up easily living there.

I know lots of words in French- but I suck at putting sentences together- past tense, future tense- I struggle there.

I took a Spanish class a few years ago- it was fun. I learned some basics that come in handy for travelling- how to order food, ask how much things are, etc.

Edited August 17, 2007 by Stacey33

[Jenn! 918]

I studied Italian throughout college, was just one class short of a minor. Then lived in Italy for 3 years, so I think I'm pretty fluent, although sometimes I find it difficult to watch the news.

Wadi's native language is Arabic, then he also speaks Italian, some Spanish, he used to speak French fluently, but he's lost it mostly, and now is learning English.

[keltic 1]

i took German all 4 yrs of high school & thru 210 in college...i know bits of Spanish also... but i am certainly not fluent in either...

my hubby speaks 4 languages: Dutch, German, French, & English

[one...two...tree 2,762]

i took German all 4 yrs of high school & thru 210 in college...i know bits of Spanish also... but i am certainly not fluent in either...

my hubby speaks 4 languages: Dutch, German, French, & English

Jinky's cousin from the Netherlands visited us last weekend along with her boyfriend. Even though the cousin is half Filipina, her parents chose to speak Dutch and English at home and not her mother's native tongue. She and her boyfriend both speak several languages as well - they said it's taught in school. That's awesome.

[Nessa 23]

Hubby lived in Germany so he speaks german and english. I had 1 semester I think or maybe 2 in college of spanish, but I really can't speak much. I know how to pronounce words if I read them out loud and I can understand most of it, but I can't really talk or compose sentences, besides the basic, of course, like muchas gracias amigo .

[wherezdabearz 0]

I studied French and German at school and university, then studied Italian and lived in Italy for 8 years so am near mother tongue level. Taught myself Spanish and have practised it often when travelling in Spain and Latin America.

Hubby speaks Spanish and is learning Italian. We've both started learning Vietnamese (which is HARD!) in preparation for adopting a baby from Vietnam. This will happen in 18 to 24 months so we have plenty of time to learn the basics. The idea is to be able to communicate with her right from the start so that the adjustment will be less scary for her. We are also making a commitment to keep a connection with her culture so we intend to travel with her back to Vietnam throughout her childhood and it would be very helpful to speak at least a little of the language.

Of course we couldn't possibly expect to speak Vietnamese well enough to teach it to her ourselves, although we will have some songs and maybe stories on CD for her to listen to so she remains familiar with the sounds if not the meanings of words.

Actually planning on bringing her up bilingual English/Italian.

[sandy cheeks 0]

...and list any additional languages, including specific dialects.

I had english and latin in school (don't really know much latin anymore). Because I grew up in germany I had to learn that language just to get around and my actual mother language is polish. I use that to talk to my family.

[peejay 327]

My mom's parents immigrated from Byelorussia and were Russian/English speakers. My mom and aunts were primarily English speakers here in the USA, but spoke passable Russian even though they never had formal instruction. After my grandparents died they never really had any reason to speak Russian to each other as they were all married to WASPs. They never spoke Russian except with my grandparents, so they kind of forgot it as the years went by.

I have learned a lot of Russian words (mostly nouns) from my grandparents, my wife, and on visits to see my mom's relatives in Belarus. I also know some short phrases, but I'm not even close to being fluent in Russian. I do know the Cyrillic alphabet well and can read Russian words.

Growing up in Texas I took basic Spanish intermittently from grade school through high school, but never took it seriously. I'm not fluent at all, but know a lot of words and short phrases.

The bottom line is that I live in the English world 99% of the time and haven't had any incentive to learn another language to the point of fluency. My Russian wife was an English teacher and speaks perfect English, so there is no pressing incentive for me to further my limited Russian.

I would like to speak Russian fluently, but at my age it is not easy to teach an old dog new tricks.