What Language(s) Do You Know?

[Claire]

I realize we have had an increasing number of members who live in countries other than the United States. Because of this, I figured we could have a thread about language(s). Obviously everyone here can either speak, write, or comprehend English. We can also discuss languages we are interested in knowing.

I, for one, aim to be multilingual. But currently, I can only speak tidbits of other languages - nothing snazzy. I took French I and plan to take Spanish I & Spanish II. I have taken the time to try and learn Irish Gaelic, but I would prefer to learn a language which is more commonly used before I learn more uncommon languages (although I really want to be able to speak Irish Gaelic someday fluently). I basically would love to know some more rarer languages, but quite a few of the more widely spoken languages (i.e. Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, etc).

What language(s) do you know how to speak, read, or write?
What language(s) do you intend to learn?

 

[Smitie]

I can speak/read and write Dutch and English. I had French and German classes, but I completely forgot about everything (so I can't read/speak or write it). I also had Latin classes for 5 years, but I only learned how to translate Latin texts to Dutch. If you give me a dictionary, grammar book and a Latin text, I can translate it for you . I don't want to learn a new language now, I only want to improve my English a bit more.

 

[Konota]

I know 3, English, Japanese And Dutch, i can pronounce, spell and understand em, i just cant read Japanese and Dutch>_<.

 

[Akiranon]

Only English and Dutch, really. I can also read and understand German and had two years of French, but I forgot most of it >_>

Learning Japanese would be an interesting experience, however. Seeing how there's so many symbols and dialects in it I think I'll refrain from learning another language for now. Two is good enough.

 

[Josh]

I know English. How awesome am I. Although I would learn Dutch if it was an important enough language to be taught anywhere.

 

[lonely_moon]

I am learning Japanese at the moment, but I can only speak a little of it so far.

This year, we're starting to learn kanji, and boy, is it hard. Hiragana and katakana are fairly easy, but there are heaps of kanji. What's worse is that the kanji can have completely different meanings and pronunciations depending on what context you're using it in. AND it is so hard to write small with them, due to the insane number of strokes in some of them.

Anyway, it's good to learn a language, and I hope to visit Japan someday. I like a lot of Japanese stuff, too.

 

[Master Link]

Yes I am awesome because I know English! I'm fairly good at it too.
I know some tidbits of Japanese, but I don't know any Kanji.

I am taking Chinese in high school and I only know how to say one think so far. Ni Hao! (hello)

I am also planning to learn Japanese sometime in my life. Whether it be a college course, private tutor, or a computer course.

 

[Y2K3]

I can understand English too. Go me!
I can also read/write/speak some French and German.
I know random words in a few other lanuages (eg, Spanish), but not enough to get me along anywhere.

If I had to learn another language, it would be Russian (@Smitie: and Dutch ).

 

[UsayEldaZay]

I lived in Spain for like 3 years, so I know a little Spanish. I was 3 when I moved, that's why I know so little. English, of course . I'm hoping to learn Latin and German soon..

 

[Dabombster]

I can speak English and... bad English. I can understand some Japanese, since my grandparents speak it all the time. I can't read, write, or speak it though. I can also understand some signs from American Sign Language. Other than that, I'm lost when people speak/type in other languages.

 

[Amelie]

I speak German and English. I can write English better then I can speak it and I seem to speak German much better then I can spell it sometimes. I have a bad memory for things like that so the only tongue I am going to concentrate on right now is just my English ^^

 

[DisappearingMist]

English obviously. I took 2 high school years of Spanish and a year in college, which is about 2 high school years, again. I also went to Mexico and used the language a bit there, talking to locals. Good experience for me. I'd like to learn some more Spanish, to keep it up.

Japanese would be fantastic, but very hard. I have watched a lot of animes in Japanese, and can pick out a lot of words.

 

[bellum]

well the only language I currently know is English, next year I am considiring to learna new language, french possibly, I dont think I'm gonna learn spanish.Well I may just stick with English all my life who knows.I think Japanese would be cool to learn beacause then I could speak with Shigeru Miyamoto and Learn everything about Loz.

 

[Bob Majinki]

I grew up learning a mix of Arabic and English. It ended up that I exceeded in English, and am not too great in Arabic, however it is my native tongue and I am learning the language once more and it is pretty easy for me to grasp since I've been exposed to it my entire life.

As a child, my school thought I was Chinese, and grouped me with the actual Chinese kids who spoke no English, so I was exposed to that. Then they decided I wasn't Chinese and put me with the Mexicans, and I was exposed to Spanish. Then they finally just gave up and put me with all the other Americans.

In 5th grade I was put into French class. I stopped taking French last year, but I still remember a good deal of what I was taught. I'm not fluent but I can go around France or Canada and communicate with the people. In 7th or 8th grade I began independent Japanese studies. Native Japanese people say my accent when speaking their language is pretty much spot-on, so this is good.

In college I want to pursue a double minor in Arabic and Japanese. If possible, I'd also like to take Korean classes. The Korean exchange students in my school say I have a good Korean accent as well, so yeah I think I'd be good at it.

 

[zeldafreak]

English is the only one that I can understand fully.
I can understand Cantonese and Mandarin when it comes to listening, but I can't write or speak them.
I want to learn Spanish. It's a lot more fun IMHO.