How many (what) Languages do you speak? Has it helped your life in a Major way?

1. 62

   Lady_Eposted 10 years ago

   How many (what) Languages do you speak? Has it helped your life in a Major way?

   replyreport
2. 88

   Benjimesterposted 10 years ago

   Cambodian.  Spent a year there believe it or not.  Studied language 2 hours a day.  Helped me out for sure.  Everyone should spend some time interacting in a radically different culture.  Breaks you out of the box.

   replyreport
   1. 62

      Lady_Eposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That's lovely Ben. Thanks.

      replyreport
3. 61

   TheRaptorClawposted 10 years ago

   I speak 3. English, of course, because I am American. Spanish, because I took 2 years of it in high school. And Vietnamese because my girlfriend is Vietnamese and I am in Vietnam right now.

   replyreport
   1. 62

      Lady_Eposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That's so lovely. Her family and ofcourse your girlfriend would love you even more for that.

      replyreport
   2. 46

      Ericdierkerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Good for you, I took 2 semesters in school, lived there half time for three years, married a gal from there, and I still can't speak Vietnamese with any talent.

      replyreport
4. 45

   DDEposted 10 years ago

   I speak four languages  and all have helped me in some ways, English, Afrikaans(Dutch) the African language Zulu and now the Croatian language.

   replyreport
   1. 62

      Lady_Eposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Bravo DDE.  So cool. :-)

      replyreport
5. 79

   Say Yes To Lifeposted 10 years ago

   I'm fluent in only one language - English. I used to be able to converse in French, but fell out of practice.  I speak a smattering of 4 other languages; Spanish, German, Japanese, and Hawaiian. 
   It's been a lifelong fantasy of mine to be able to speak in multiple languages.  I have not worked on it because in the cruel corporate world with which I'm forced to support myself, many people can barely speak one.  But time is slipping by, so I need to get going on that and not let myself be ruled by my environment.  Maybe I can retire soon, and then I can learn and have all the fun I want!
   Has it helped me?  Yes, when I toured Europe.  Other than that, not really.  But I still want to learn them.

   replyreport
   1. 62

      Lady_Eposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Lovely. I'm glad it helped with your tour of Europe. I remember I had to use a Pocket Dictionary to order a Pizza when on holiday in Paris. Thanks.

      replyreport
6. 84

   liesl5858posted 10 years ago

   I speak Kuwaiti Arabic(learnt spoken Arabic), Tagalog(my own Language and I speak English(learnt in school). Aside from these main three languages, I speak 3 of our own dialects in the Philippines. Believe me, it had enriched my life a lot especially working and going abroad. Learning English at school is the best thing I ever did, without English I will be lost and won't be able to communicate to other people in the world(different nationalities). Because I believe the English language connects us all.

   replyreport
   1. 62

      Lady_Eposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Beautiful. English does connect us all but I feel Britain / America / Australia are particularly lucky that English is the main Langauage. There are so many people who come to UK just to Learn English and there is a big market to teach it  in Japan.

      replyreport
7. 96

   chef-de-jourposted 10 years ago

   My wife is Dutch so I know a little Nederlandish, studied German and French at school so know a bit of each, plus I lived and worked in Spain and picked up a small amount there. Looking back, each language definitely helps you engage and get on with the natives, plus when travelling having an extra string to your bow enhances your chances of getting into more interesting situations shall I say?
   
   My two sons have Dutch and Spanish in their heads as well as English which is fun and helps them enormously when they're in Europe.
   
   I haven't quite mastered Yorkshire yet, and Scottish is a very strange language!!

   replyreport
   1. 62

      Lady_Eposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That's awesome. The Scottish have a very strong Accent, even when they speak English, Thanks.

      replyreport
8. 61

   Amber Vynposted 10 years ago

   I'm a native speaker of English, and I can get by in French, German, and Spanish. Knowing how to say basic things in another language was tremendously helpful when I was traveling in Europe. In Hungary, everyone my age and younger spoke English. Everyone older spoke German. I didn't know a word of Hungarian, but I was able to communicate with every person I met.   
   
   However, I can't say that knowing a foreign language has had a major impact on my life. In fact, most of the time that I start trying to speak to someone in their native language, they speak English to me! No one wants to hear me butcher German, French or Spanish. They want to practice their English skills on me. Cool! Even in the smallest village in Mexico, as soon as I walked into a restaurant, there would always be a handful of kids who would wave to me and say, "Hi!"

   replyreport
   1. 79

      Say Yes To Lifeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I went to Hungary in 1982, and came across very few people who spoke English; none spoke German, as far as I knew.  Yet I was able to communicate with them easily.  I think they're experts at body language!

      replyreport
9. 85

   TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years ago

   I speak two languages, and because I was a teacher, both contributed to my financial well being because I taught both languages as well as English as a second language.

   replyreport
10. 46

    Ericdierkerposted 10 years ago

    I just love this question. Most Americans are monolingua,,, and after that word some would say I am sans lingua. Lived in Paris, learned French, lived in Puebla MX, learned Spanish, lived in Hanover NH learned that crazy language (ya can't get thayar from hereah) Lived in Ho Chi Minh City, previously Saigon and married a Vietnamese lady --- and still can't speak a word. Italian only took a few weeks. Grew up with Navajo and Hopi and could go a day or so on those. My dad was old school so I had to take Latin.
    I do not so much an linguistic skills. But I have a degree in linguistic philosophy. And I practice current anthropological research on any given culture to help Internet companies expand. The language is to a culture what the eyes are to an individual, windows to the soul.
    Did you know that about half the world still speaks as though --- when a rock is dropped it is the Earth coming up to the rock not the rock falling to earth. Almost all cultures use a masculine form for Sun and a feminine for moon? And of course I have yet to see a culture that uses the masculine for boat or ship.
    Language is fabric. I want to be one patch in that quilt.

    replyreport
    1. 67

       theluckywriterposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       The French words for boat and ship - un bateau, un navire - are both masculine!

       replyreport
    2. 46

       Ericdierkerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       And I walked into a store ten times and order meat in French, right off the Champs Elysee's, and the bastard owner always corrected my french, sneered and laughed at my American butt, but took my money and gave me my meat. France has no real Navy.

       replyreport
11. 90

    IslandBitesposted 10 years ago

    Spanish, english and italian ...and a little portuguese.

    replyreport
12. 67

    theluckywriterposted 10 years ago

    I'm fluent in French and English (grew up speaking both languages), and am currently working (very hard!) on leaving the beginner stage and moving towards fluency in Spanish.
    
    I've worked in both French and English, so those languages have definitely given me a major boost in life. Of course, I'm Canadian, and we have two official languages here. I'm not sure that French would be such a big deal South of the border.
    
    I'm learning Spanish so that I can have conversations when travelling. I'm heading to Spain next year and would love to visit Latin America in the future. French has helped me enormously in learning Spanish. I find it much easier to learn Spanish using French as my default language rather than English.
    
    Silly fact: I dream in all three languages - although my Spanish dreams are usually about trying to remember words. Ha!

    replyreport
13. 86

    Hezekiahposted 10 years ago

    I speak Japan and English (mother tongue). Japanese is not so useful for most westerners however my home, family and job are here, and life is much easier if you can speak the local language.

    replyreport
14. 59

    nextstopjupiterposted 10 years ago

    I speak German (native), Low German, English, and some basic Hungarian. When you are a traveler, it always helps.

    replyreport
15. 64

    Tricia1000posted 10 years ago

    I can speak four languages: English, Afrikaans, French and German. I do not speak but can also understand Dutch and am learning Zulu .

    replyreport
16. 59

    Saimima isposted 10 years ago

    i have 2 languages to speak. Indonesian and English..
    and i wanna learn about French and Spanish..

    replyreport
17. 56

    truparad0xposted 10 years ago

    I speak English and Cantonese (a dialect of Chinese). Definitely helps me. I'm recognizable as an American Chinese, so it's nice to have people think that I don't speak Chinese.
    
    It's also very nice to help older Chinese people that don't know a lot of English when I run into them in stores. It's nice to help them when they are struggling with a problem.
    
    I took some Mandarin in college, but I'd like to know more. It would be nice to learn Spanish too.

    replyreport
18. 89

    Thief12posted 10 years ago

    Just Spanish and English. I think I can understand a little Italian, but I don't speak it.

    replyreport