Languages!

[Geordie]

I also studied Latin, but I don't keep it into consideration since it's a dead language.

I speak Spanish (born in Puerto Rico) and English fluently. Learned Latin and German in school. I learned some Arabic in the middle east. Learned French and Italian on my own. I know a little bit of Japanese and Chinese; polite things in Russian, Bosnian, and Malayalam. I would like to learn Swahili (just know Mojambo and Sijambo), Korean, and Greek.

Hey Dara and Angelus -

That's great - I think you two know a lot of languages.

Languages must be fun, when we understand and use them to really broaden our mind, and to connect with others better

 

[Angelus]

Hey Dara and Angelus -

That's great - I think you two know a lot of languages.

Languages must be fun, when we understand and use them to really broaden our mind, and to connect with others better

Languages are fun. I find that people are more comfortable and relaxed with you when they find out you can speak their language, even if it's your own language but another accent or dialect. They feel that you know where they are coming from.

 

[Geordie]

I wish I have more time to learn a useful language that warms others' hearts - I'm doing my best to learn Hindi.

Namaste.

That's hello in Hindi, I think.

 

[NoxNocturne]

I can speak a little bit of French, but I'd really like to learn Russian and German. Spanish...not so much. I don't know. Spanish has never been of any interest to me.

 

[balder]

I can speak a little bit of French, but I'd really like to learn Russian and German. Spanish...not so much. I don't know. Spanish has never been of any interest to me.

Well, at least think that if you learn spanish, you'll be able to talk in any place of Latin America

Who knows if you'll be lost around here someday, lol

 

[hojita]

I'm fluent in English and Spanish. I'd say intermediate level Portuguese, basic Russian, basic ASL. I know a few things in Danish, German, and Arabic.

I'm hoping to continue learning ASL as well as starting German soon. I've also toyed with the idea of teaching myself some Swedish again. I started to in fourth grade but obviously stopped lol

 

[Iskios]

Persian as native language + English, German, and a dead language (learned them through internet)
I'd like to start learning Greek but don't have the time

 

[Pusteblume]

I speak fluent swedish since I am swedish and we learn english here from second grade, so I'm kinda good with english too.
At school I was forced to learn spanish for three years and french for three years, but now I have forgotten most of it.
I know some basic japanese and now I'm trying to learn german.

 

[Laura]

Just wondering:

Who is the Daniel Tammet in our little group?

I tend to see words people say to me and that I hear written in front of me. As a result, my spelling in any language is almost 100% perfect. So, yeah, could be me, except with words instead of numbers, 'cause I'm almost completely innumerate.

 

[wyverary]

I used to speak very fluent French, but since I've not done so in several years my vocabulary has suffered greatly. I'm thinking about calling up my old French teacher, who now tutors students, if she can send me some resources and maybe hire herself out to help me brush up.

I also want to learn German and Dutch, but I won't be able to get any teachers. I wonder if any of y'all know where I could go to get cheap/free learning materials...?

 

[Ylva]

I am fluent in Norwegian and English. I understand Swedish and Danish, and could probably speak them if I had to, but since Swedes and Danes usually understand Norwegian too I've never had to.

I have some mastery of Icelandic, French, Spanish Latin, and German, but not enough to say "I speak that language". Which is okay, I mostly read.

I have other language learning projects still in their early beginnings, mainly Chinese Mandarin, Classic Arabic and Swahili, chosen because they seem like good introductions to their respective language families.

What other languages would I like to learn? All of them. The ones I'm closest to getting started on, however, in terms of having resources available and in no particular order, are: Russian, Finnish, North-Sami, Greek, Croatian, Polish, Italian, Portugese. And by "available resources" I mean anything at all, from a pocket dictionary to textbooks and grammars (always books, though).

I'm just terribly geeky when it comes to languages. The problem is that I can't commit to one until mastery is attained, and so I end up learning a little of one before moving on to the next. I sometimes worry that I'll get them mixed up, but this has repeatedly turned out to be completely groundless. Whatever else I do, I don't mix up categories.

I, too, see words as printed when I hear them. My aural memory may be completely worthless – the digital edition, anyway, I rmember voices and melodies and stuff like that – but I remember what has been said because I've seen it. (Granted, with my inner eye, but still.) I sometimes wonder whether I understand sound-words at all before imagining them thus, but it is impossible to find out since the moment I ask myself "what is the meaning—" my mind answers by flashing letters before my eyes.

 

[Geordie]

Indeed, Mandarin Chinese belong to another language family together. The differences between Mandarin and English are even larger than those of English and Italian, in my opinion.

Perhaps it would be helpful to learn to speak Mandarin first, for beginners that are not really exposed to Chinese. We try to get used to the intonations of Chinese characters. In Mandarin, there are four different tones for any 'vowel', from my understanding to the Chinese language.

 

[Ylva]

I figured if I learn the pinyin first, I'll have access to the vocabulary despite not knowing Chinese script. Then I can start learning the real word-pictures when I have a better grasp.

The internet is a great place to learn languages. Forget about the courses offered: there are entire wikis in each language, as well as online libraries.

 

[Geordie]

Yep, Ylva, it's a good strategy to know pinyin first.

Also, I look forward to learn new languages online

 

[Jacki Cucinotta]

The languages I speak are English and Spanish. English I'm fluent in because it's my native language, but my fluency in Spanish is one I would call so-so as there is still much more I need to know. Languages I would love to know are Italian since my father's side is Italian and Hebrew because my mother's side is Jewish.

 

[Geordie]

Maybe instead of learning French, the most romantic language that comes into my mind due to Celine Dion and the likes, I should say Hola instead

There is a large market in Latin America, even ex-Brazil, as they're the few of the economies around the world that grow since 2007.

 

[ColorfulDreams]

I speak English. Theoretically,id love to learn another language,like German or Italian,but I am not good with stuff like that. Especially starting it.

 

[balder]

Does anyone have a "formula" that works well for us to learn fast a language we don't use daily? My knowledge in English comes from the fact that I study Computer Science, so my whole world is written in English. Even Spanish, that is very alike to Portuguese, doesn't interest me very much. I tried to learn German, but after a while I lost interest for not using it. Lately I have been interested in French, but I don't know what to do to keep my mind interested...

 

[King_Oni]

Does anyone have a "formula" that works well for us to learn fast a language we don't use daily? My knowledge in English comes from the fact that I study Computer Science, so my whole world is written in English. Even Spanish, that is very alike to Portuguese, doesn't interest me very much. I tried to learn German, but after a while I lost interest for not using it. Lately I have been interested in French, but I don't know what to do to keep my mind interested...

I found that reading newspapers in foreign languages sometimes helps. Especially if it's stuff you know about (like news about your own country).

I'm somewhat in the same boat as you though. There's a lot of languages I have a basic understanding of, but not enough to really read full books in said language. And I don't really have use to speak russian (for example) daily. I'm already dealing with 4 languages on pretty much a daily basis... any more and I would actively need to find native speakers (as well as go out more and probably add more time to my days)

 

[balder]

(as well as go out more and probably add more time to my days)

Add more time to my days would be really a good stuff. I noticed that if I control my time counting Pomodoros, for example, I have the illusion that time passes more slowly and I don't get too distracted to one single activity.