What other languages do you know besides modern English?

I am recently becoming familiar with Hebrew, because I am partly Jewish. It is an old language and difficult to read. I know Spanish and a little bit of French(some phrases and words). I am also Greek and Taino but I don't know the languages.

Ok everyone, I am curious!

C'mon people, anyone! 14 views and no replies! This is an interesting topic ;D

This is an interesting topic ;D

I think it is... in fact, I know Spanish pretty well; I took it in school and did well in all the Spanish classes I took...even when I got to the more complicated levels. In addition, I have made attempts to speak in Spanish with certain native speakers I know. :)

Ich versuche, Deutsch zu lernen, aber ich bin nicht sehr gut darin.

I am trying to learn German but I am not very good at it.

Ha! I got some of you to reply didn't I! :D






I think it is... in fact, I know Spanish pretty well; I took it in school and did well in all the Spanish classes I took...even when I got to the more complicated levels. In addition, I have made attempts to speak in Spanish with certain native speakers I know. :)


Just like my French



Ich versuche, Deutsch zu lernen, aber ich bin nicht sehr gut darin.

I am trying to learn German but I am not very good at it.


Does the German word "Darin" mean "it"?

Je peux parler un petit peu de français.

I can understand it (when spoken) and read it very fluently. I watch and read the news in French everyday. I haven't got much of a chance to practice my writing/speaking skills, but I hope to start soon.

I took French 1-4 in high school, and I know some Spanish phrases (I live in Texas I could count in Spanish before English) and some German phrases my father taught me that he learned in the war. I want to learn more French and I want to learn German...to hopefully be fluent.

Irish, Gaelic, French, Spanish and Italian.

Schoolboy French and I understand Tagalog.

Well, I'm fluent in Dutch (as one might expect). ::)

I know German well enough to be able to read and understand it (when spoken). I can speak it as well, although I'm sure it isn't flawless. Now writing on the other hand...that's a different story. Still need lots of help with that!

I know just enough French to be able to read it. I don't even attempt to write in French, and thankfully I've never had to speak it (outside classroom, that is).

Well, I'm fluent in Dutch (as one might expect). ::)

I know German well enough to be able to read and understand it (when spoken). I can speak it as well, although I'm sure it isn't flawless. Now writing on the other hand...that's a different story. Still need lots of help with that!

I know just enough French to be able to read it. I don't even attempt to write in French, and thankfully I've never had to speak it (outside classroom, that is).
I can remember you in the past saying that German is a very difficult language to learn.

Je peux parler un petit peu de français.

I can understand it (when spoken) and read it very fluently. I watch and read the news in French everyday. I haven't got much of a chance to practice my writing/speaking skills, but I hope to start soon.


J e ne parle pas Francais much, haha lol 

I only know how to say Hola, basura, nino, nina, and other Spanish words.

J e ne parle pas Francais much, haha lol


;D

J e ne parle pas Francais much, haha lol 

Nor do I, but I do know some words and phrases.

I only know how to say Hola, basura, nino, nina, and other Spanish words.


same here.

I only know how to say Hola, basura, nino, nina, and other Spanish words.
In Spanish, I know Feliz Navidad.

same as Henk

I can understand, speak, and write a little bit of Spanish, but not fluently.

I can read German and can understand some spoken.

Je peux parler un petit peu de français.

I can understand it (when spoken) and read it very fluently. I watch and read the news in French everyday. I haven't got much of a chance to practice my writing/speaking skills, but I hope to start soon.


Oh this was when I was being coy and didn't feel comfortable revealing my ethnicity loll.

I can speak 5 languages English, Punjabi, Hindi, Korean and French with varying degrees of fluency.

Anyway my reason for bumping this thread is that I had job interview today and I did something I never thought I'd do and that is conduct (20-30% of) a job interview in Korean. I mentioned language learning as one of my hobbies, and the interviewee was Korean and so we talked. I hope I get an offer because he spent almost half the interview with his jaw on the floor. :P I was shocked at the words coming out of my mouth too to be honest. I didn't even know I knew words like 이력서 (iryeokseo - resume) or 졸업식 (joreopshik - graduation)

I watched way too many K-dramas.  :-[ :P I used to be more fluent about 7-10 years ago when I would talk to my Korean friends and practise everyday, but it looks like I still got some groove. It's been so long I thought I would've forgotten everything but K-Pop lyrics by now.

It's always amazing how languages can open doors.
That's why I'm so glad I learned English which is unfortunately the only foreign language I speak fluently (more or less).

It's always amazing how languages can open doors.
That's why I'm so glad I learned English which is unfortunately the only foreign language I speak fluently (more or less).


Let’s face it plenty of native speakers are only more or less fluent in English!

It's always amazing how languages can open doors.
That's why I'm so glad I learned English which is unfortunately the only foreign language I speak fluently (more or less).


You should be proud of that. If you didn't mention that English was your second language I never would have guessed.

If English wasn't a language I got "for free", I'm not sure I could have learnt it to the fluency you did. The only non-English message board I posted in were some troll comments on a French gaming forum.

Oh this was when I was being coy and didn't feel comfortable revealing my ethnicity loll.

I can speak 5 languages English, Punjabi, Hindi, Korean and French with varying degrees of fluency.

Anyway my reason for bumping this thread is that I had job interview today and I did something I never thought I'd do and that is conduct (20-30% of) a job interview in Korean. I mentioned language learning as one of my hobbies, and the interviewee was Korean and so we talked. I hope I get an offer because he spent almost half the interview with his jaw on the floor. :P I was shocked at the words coming out of my mouth too to be honest. I didn't even know I knew words like 이력서 (iryeokseo - resume) or 졸업식 (joreopshik - graduation)

I watched way too many K-dramas.  :-[ :P I used to be more fluent about 7-10 years ago when I would talk to my Korean friends and practise everyday, but it looks like I still got some groove. It's been so long I thought I would've forgotten everything but K-Pop lyrics by now.


Bing bi- or multi-lingual is an incredible asset!  A person who knows two or more languages in VERY marketable in this day and age. Don't hide it for heaven's sake. And be SURE to put it on your resume! It will open many doors. Even for jobs that don't require a person to be multi-lingual, they will still be impressed by the skill.

Studied French in high school & college but by no means fluent. But, for the most part I can understand it written. I also know a few songs.

Then I married a Puerto Rican who brings me to Puerto Rico almost every year-and I only know a few words of Spanish. I know how to say: Dónde está el baño? But I can't understand what the answer is.  :-\\  I usually don't have to worry because I have two interpreters with me-Carlos & his sister. In fact, many times we are sitting around with a bunch of cousins and they are all talking in Spanish and I am just sitting there wondering what they are talking about. Once in a while, they will say one or two words in English so I know. But, my WONDERFUL SIL will often turn to me and say, "We are talking about ___" without me even having to ask.

When we bought the house in Puerto Rico, I was reading the deed in Spanish and pretty much understood most of it. There may have been one or two words that I didn't know.


I do know a few words of Hebrew & Yiddish-along with a few songs.


Cat

Bing bi- or multi-lingual is an incredible asset!  A person who knows two or more languages in VERY marketable in this day and age. Don't hide it for heaven's sake. And be SURE to put it on your resume! It will open many doors. Even for jobs that don't require a person to be multi-lingual, they will still be impressed by the skill.


I've read horror stories about people putting "speaks Spanish" on their résumé and then being tasked with communicating with Spanish clients and business partners on the job. I'm conversant in a few languages but the only language I feel comfortable working in a professional capacity is English.

I do have things in my resume that allude to my language learning hobby (made an app that retrieves dictionary definitions and generates example sentence flashcards), so during the interview is usually when it gets brought up. I could try adding a tiny microscopic font bullet point and see how it goes  ;D

I've read horror stories about people putting "speaks Spanish" on their résumé and then being tasked with communicating with Spanish clients and business partners on the job. I'm conversant in a few languages but the only language I feel comfortable working in a professional capacity is English.

I do have things in my resume that allude to my language learning hobby (made an app that retrieves dictionary definitions and generates example sentence flashcards), so during the interview is usually when it gets brought up. I could try adding a tiny microscopic font bullet point and see how it goes  ;D



My SIL used to work for a company that made diagnostic health machines. Since she could speak Spanish fluently, they sent her all over the world-even to places where Spanish wasn't the main language-like China, Japan, Thailand & probably several other places.


Cat

My SIL used to work for a company that made diagnostic health machines. Since she could speak Spanish fluently, they sent her all over the world-even to places where Spanish wasn't the main language-like China, Japan, Thailand & probably several other places.


Cat


When I was in high school (and also in grammar school) back in the prehistoric times, I was taught French (none of which I retain, by the way). Spanish wasn't even an option. This was manifestly foolish.  What were they expecting? A massive influx of French speaking immigrants into the country? Anybody could have seen, even that far back, that if a  wave of immigration came (which it later did), it would consist largely of Spanish speaking peoples. Learning Spanish would have ben a practical skill.  So what do the dumbheads in the school system in those ancient times do? Teach us French. I think they thought this was an "elegant" thing to do or something. Nice if I want to impress someone at a French restaurant.  ::)

Studied French in high school & college but by no means fluent. But, for the most part I can understand it written. I also know a few songs.

Then I married a Puerto Rican who brings me to Puerto Rico almost every year-and I only know a few words of Spanish. I know how to say: Dónde está el baño? But I can't understand what the answer is.  :-\\  I usually don't have to worry because I have two interpreters with me-Carlos & his sister. In fact, many times we are sitting around with a bunch of cousins and they are all talking in Spanish and I am just sitting there wondering what they are talking about. Once in a while, they will say one or two words in English so I know. But, my WONDERFUL SIL will often turn to me and say, "We are talking about ___" without me even having to ask.

When we bought the house in Puerto Rico, I was reading the deed in Spanish and pretty much understood most of it. There may have been one or two words that I didn't know.


I do know a few words of Hebrew & Yiddish-along with a few songs.


Cat


You said you have an Amazon Fire tablet, right? Have you tried the app Duolingo? It has a website too (https://www.duolingo.com/). It's where I learnt French up to an intermediate level. I didn't even intend on learning French, it was just an app my friend recommended, but then I got addicted. It's THAT good.

If enough people are interested, maybe we can all follow each other on that website and compete with/encourage each other for points.

When I was in high school (and also in grammar school) back in the prehistoric times, I was taught French (none of which I retain, by the way). Spanish wasn't even an option. This was manifestly foolish.  What were they expecting? A massive influx of French speaking immigrants into the country? Anybody could have seen, even that far back, that if a  wave of immigration came (which it later did), it would consist largely of Spanish speaking peoples. Learning Spanish would have ben a practical skill.  So what do the dumbheads in the school system in those ancient times do? Teach us French. I think they thought this was an "elegant" thing to do or something. Nice if I want to impress someone at a French restaurant.  ::)


Going to school in upstate New York, Canada wasn't too far so French was the option.

I was taught a little French in first & second grade. I went to a private school and EVERYONE took French. At my grade level, we were only taught songs and such. I wish that I stayed at that school throughout my elementary years because I probably would be able to speak French.

I believe THAT is the time to teach another language-not when someone gets to high school. It is much easier to learn at the younger age than by the time you are almost an adult. I am pretty sure that schools across the globe teach younger kids other languages. It is just in this country that things are not done the correct way.



You said you have an Amazon Fire tablet, right? Have you tried the app Duolingo? It has a website too (https://www.duolingo.com/). It's where I learnt French up to an intermediate level. I didn't even intend on learning French, it was just an app my friend recommended, but then I got addicted. It's THAT good.

If enough people are interested, maybe we can all follow each other on that website and compete with/encourage each other for points.


Interesting. I will look into it.


Cat

When I was in high school (and also in grammar school) back in the prehistoric times, I was taught French (none of which I retain, by the way). Spanish wasn't even an option. This was manifestly foolish.  What were they expecting? A massive influx of French speaking immigrants into the country? Anybody could have seen, even that far back, that if a  wave of immigration came (which it later did), it would consist largely of Spanish speaking peoples. Learning Spanish would have ben a practical skill.  So what do the dumbheads in the school system in those ancient times do? Teach us French. I think they thought this was an "elegant" thing to do or something. Nice if I want to impress someone at a French restaurant.  ::)


To be fair, a large quantity of the more complicated English vocabulary is inherited from Latin via French. Studying French could thus ameliorate one's English vocabulary and equip them with a more profound comprehension  of their own language.

Although, with Spanish also being a Latin language I guess the same thing could be accomplished with that.  :-X

I enjoy learning other languages as well. I can usually understand written French and Spanish (I took French and Spanish classes in school), and I have also learned a little bit of Swedish and Arabic. I find it much harder to understand spoken French and Spanish, though I was happy that I was able to have short conversations with people in French on trips to Québec. The accent in Québec is different from the French accent I learned in school, which I think also made understanding some things harder.
Since Spanish and French have some similarities, sometimes I accidentally mix them together! Sometimes I'll do this if I am trying to speak French and don't know a word but know the same word in Spanish, or vice versa.  ;D

I enjoy learning other languages as well. I can usually understand written French and Spanish (I took French and Spanish classes in school), and I have also learned a little bit of Swedish and Arabic. I find it much harder to understand spoken French and Spanish, though I was happy that I was able to have short conversations with people in French on trips to Québec. The accent in Québec is different from the French accent I learned in school, which I think also made understanding some things harder.
Since Spanish and French have some similarities, sometimes I accidentally mix them together! Sometimes I'll do this if I am trying to speak French and don't know a word but know the same word in Spanish, or vice versa.  ;D


I LIVE in Canada and the Canadian/Québécois accent trips me up too.

How much of this can you understand? ;D

-f--aioexOE

In recent years I have improved on my conversational Spanish.

I could only understand a small number of words in that video...  ;D

Since Spanish and French have some similarities, sometimes I accidentally mix them together! Sometimes I'll do this if I am trying to speak French and don't know a word but know the same word in Spanish, or vice versa.  ;D


My daughter learnt some French at primary school in England, then we moved to the US where she learnt some Spanish. When we moved back to England she started French again. She would apparently sometimes answer the teacher in very good Spanish, but not realise she had done so. In the end she took exams in both languages.

My daughter learnt some French at primary school in England, then we moved to the US where she learnt some Spanish. When we moved back to England she started French again. She would apparently sometimes answer the teacher in very good Spanish, but not realise she had done so. In the end she took exams in both languages.


During my first Spanish test my teacher asked me a question and I replied in French!  :o ;D
It seems like the words I most commonly mix up are the small words that link bigger words together, like avec/con, où/dónde, etc.

Studied French in high school & college but by no means fluent. But, for the most part I can understand it written. I also know a few songs.

Then I married a Puerto Rican who brings me to Puerto Rico almost every year-and I only know a few words of Spanish. I know how to say: Dónde está el baño? But I can't understand what the answer is.  :-\\  I usually don't have to worry because I have two interpreters with me-Carlos & his sister. In fact, many times we are sitting around with a bunch of cousins and they are all talking in Spanish and I am just sitting there wondering what they are talking about. Once in a while, they will say one or two words in English so I know. But, my WONDERFUL SIL will often turn to me and say, "We are talking about ___" without me even having to ask.

When we bought the house in Puerto Rico, I was reading the deed in Spanish and pretty much understood most of it. There may have been one or two words that I didn't know.


I do know a few words of Hebrew & Yiddish-along with a few songs.


Cat


My Father does too as well.

I read and understand some Swedish due to my obsession with a certain musician from that nation.

I LIVE in Canada and the Canadian/Québécois accent trips me up too.
I have been told that the francophone part of Canada is the place where French tourists start to speak English. ;D

Regarding Duolingo I tried to learn Japanese with it but found the Hiragana (one of the Japanese writing systems for those who don't know) lessons to not be very helpful. It was like getting tested without being properly taught before.... Ah well, don't have time for it now anyway but my brother in law is using it as one of his toosl to learn Japanese and he's making good progress.

I couldn’t do another language. I have a hard enough time understanding people who speak English in different accents. Why I work in engineering and not customer service. That and I’m not great dealing with customers to begin with.

I agree it is a valuable skill as we become more of a global economy, and deal with various cultures.

I have been told that the francophone part of Canada is the place where French tourists start to speak English. ;D

Regarding Duolingo I tried to learn Japanese with it but found the Hiragana (one of the Japanese writing systems for those who don't know) lessons to not be very helpful. It was like getting tested without being properly taught before.... Ah well, don't have time for it now anyway but my brother in law is using it as one of his toosl to learn Japanese and he's making good progress.


I learnt Japanese kana (Hiragana + Katakana) in the most unconventional way possible, hear me out. I was 13 years old and wanted to keep a diary of sorts, but I was afraid of the prying eyes of my family, they're real snoops. I decided that I needed to encrypt what I wrote somehow, and instead of doing something logical like replacing letters with other letters, numbers or symbols I already knew, I decided I needed to pick the most  indecipherable writing system possible, to really scare people away. I settled on Japanese.

I shared a bedroom with my then 12 year old brother and we shared the one computer, so he saw what I was up to with Japanese. I wrote down an insult like "you are a fatso" in Japanese. He managed to decipher it, and then wrote his own insult like "you are stupid". We went back on forth like this over the next couple of days, and I wrote a lot of other English words down too in my head. Over a week or so we were pretty good at it and would look at the old insults we wrote down and laugh at our mistakes.

My initial plan to write an indecipherable diary was foiled now that my brother could read Japanese  >:( (Japanese has a terrible writing system for transcribing English or any non-Japanese language anyway)

ANYWAY if you want my tipz on learning new writing systems, my advice is to use mnemonics. Just create a silly picture or image surrounding the letter, it will make it stick a lot easier. For example あ "a" to me looks like a sword or crucifix being shoved down a hole. You could imagine a dentist telling his patient to say "ahhh" and then stabbing a sword down his mouth. It's a ridiculous image, but you probably won't forget it now. ;D

And then you link it to the next letter. い (i) to me looks like a pair of chopsticks. You could imagine the patient getting out chopsticks and eating the sword in his mouth with the chopsticks. If you can't remember it, it means your mnemonic wasn't ridiculous or memorable enough, you need to try again and make it your own. After a few days you won't need the mnemonic anymore since your brain will know how to skip the steps.  :P

I know a conversational level of Russian, and maybe the same with Spanish. Some Spanish speaker I know says my Spanish is good, but I know she's most likely being nice.

I was 13 or so when I went to a Russian market and could pick out a guy saying to his friend, 《И он сказил...》("And he said...") .

I believe THAT is the time to teach another language-not when someone gets to high school. It is much easier to learn at the younger age than by the time you are almost an adult. I am pretty sure that schools across the globe teach younger kids other languages. It is just in this country that things are not done the correct way.

When I went to school we started learning English in 5th grade. I believe they already start in elementary school now.

I just made my 7,000th flashcard in French this morning. Each flashcard is a sentence containing 1 or 2 new words in it. That must mean I know around 10,000 words.  :D


When I went to school we started learning English in 5th grade. I believe they already start in elementary school now.


Over here we start learning French in Grade 4 (I was 8 going on 9). I only studied it to Grade 10 though. My French teacher was disappointed I didn't continue because she thought I could learn French all the way. Hopefully she ends up being right in the end. :P

We also have immersion schools which start off with French instruction but eventually become English/French bilingual. They're very difficult to get into though, like, get ready as a parent to claim your spot in line a week before registrations begin. Don't have enough qualified French speaking teachers to enrol everyone. I heard a Chinese version opened up near me but I'm not sure that one is a public school.

Anyone know what "Haneen" means? It was the name of an old chat room I use to participate in. It was another language  and English. They were super friendly. Maybe I'll just look it up.

Anyone know what "Haneen" means? It was the name of an old chat room I use to participate in. It was another language  and English. They were super friendly. Maybe I'll just look it up.


Haneen is an indirect Quranic (Classical Arabic) name for girls meaning strong love, longing, desire, nostalgia. https://quranicnames.com/haneen/

Haneen is an indirect Quranic (Classical Arabic) name for girls meaning strong love, longing, desire, nostalgia. https://quranicnames.com/haneen/


Ok thank you! I was close. I was thinking it meant friendship.

Klingon anyone?

Klingon anyone?


I have a friend who can speak Klingon.


Cat

I have a friend who can speak Klingon.


Cat

I want to learn 👾

I learnt the language of music, and still remember some of it today.

I took the practice beginner-level TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean - 韓國語能力試驗) and got 100%!

I tried the practice advanced-level test and got ~50%, but that was with a lot of multiple choice and guessing... I swear it went from "I drink water" to "I quench my polydypsia with dihydrogen oxide". I had never seen that vocabulary in my manhwas (comics) that's for sure.

I would need to get 50% on the advanced test to reach 4급, level 4, described as "being able to live functionally in Korea and socialize". 5급 needs 63% and is described as working fluency, and 6급 needs 76% and described as native fluency.

I hope I can at least get 5급 but if I reach 4급 I will be happy. I think I am already at or close to 3급 which needs 40% and is described as "being able to live in Korea without daily difficulty"  Time to watch more K Dramas hit the books!

I restarted using Duolingo. I have a 77 day streak so far. I'm doing both Korean and Japanese. I don't really need the Korean but the app is pretty addictive.

I got 4.2/5 on their Korean progress test

https://i.imgur.com/D5SVRkl.png

As for Japanese, my results were also quite stellar....

https://i.imgur.com/FGn64KN.png

もっと勉強します…  :\'(

Lately my parents have been using the Duolingo app to learn Italian. They practice several times a day, every day, so that they can learn it well.

Lately my parents have been using the Duolingo app to learn Italian. They practice several times a day, every day, so that they can learn it well.

Update.. they are also using it for Spanish and German. They’re trying to get me to use the app too, but I haven’t felt ready to do so just yet.

I am now committed to learning sign language, I do not trust my hearing at the moment.

I am now committed to learning sign language, I do not trust my hearing at the moment.



I know a little. I can do the alphabet and a few words.


Cat

I know a little. I can do the alphabet and a few words.


Cat
I know the basics, I know necessary words for brief conversations.

I know the basics, I know necessary words for brief conversations.

That's good. I think I might struggle to learn it (from a personal standpoint).

I am now committed to learning sign language, I do not trust my hearing at the moment.
I now have an app on my phone to help with sign language, but the only problem is the right definition for the word concerned.

I know a few Anglo-Saxon words.