What languages do you speak?

1. 60

   NewYorkerposted 14 years ago

   This interests me, since we're only allowed to speak English here.
   
   I, myself, speak English as a primary language. But I also speak Spanish, Icelandic, Swedish and Danish.
   
   Your turn!

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   1. 79

      classicalgeekposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Well, that requires a definition of "language," and a definition of "speak."
      
      English is now my primary tongue, French I do well enough to translate professionally in, including poetry, Italian and Czech I get around in (as in I can live in those countries w/o help), I can read Latin, Spanish and German I can read technical documents in (German only in my own field), and then there's the debate about whether music is a language: it has its own grammar, writing system, vocabulary, and can even be said to have dialects. If you count that I'm probably as fluent in that as in English.

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      1. 79

         classicalgeekposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I forgot Provencal which I read well enough to translate into English without difficulty.

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   2. 72

      LeslieAdrienneposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      English is my native language and I speak Spanish.....

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   3. 54

      de'Arabposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I speack English Creole and proper English and some Spanish

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   4. 80

      vox vocisposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      English, Italian, German, a bit of Spanish and a South European Slavic language

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   5. 61

      LaViejaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      English, Spanish, passable french, some portuguese and italian

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   6. 60

      gramaryeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Why do you say you are only allowed to speak English?

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   7. 72

      Jeff Berndtposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I speak English as a native language, and am able to understand and make myself understood in French and German, though I would quickly get lost in an intellectual discussion, or one that used a lot of slang.
      
      And, alas, since I live in the USA, I have precious few opportunities to practice my French and German, so I'm pretty rusty. I haven't used them in the real world for several years.

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   8. 72

      Jeff Berndtposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, and this thread reminds me of a joke:
      
      What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual.
      
      What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual.
      
      What do you call someone who speaks one language? American. :-)

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2. 62

   theirishobserver.posted 14 years ago

   Hublish, English and Irish....

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   1. 60

      NewYorkerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Don't you speak English in Ireland?

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3. 63

   prettydarkhorseposted 14 years ago

   English, Filipino, (three local dialects --  Ilocano, Waray and Bicol --Philippines) little bit of Spanish

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      NewYorkerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, I know a little bit of .. Tagalog, I think. You familiar with that?

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   2. 60

      tobey100posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hey, I used to know a little Waray!  Not any more though.  I do still speak Thai, Burmese, Chinese (some), Dutch, Italian, French (some), Vietnamese, English (of course) and Southern.

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4. 0

   lyricsingrayposted 14 years ago

   english and sign language

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5. 62

   theirishobserver.posted 14 years ago

   Say you love me in Filipino

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   1. 63

      prettydarkhorseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Mahal kita, thats i love you in Filipino

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      1. 60

         tobey100posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Ik hou ook van jou
         
         "I love you too" in Dutch   
         
         or
         
         "Anch'io ti amo" in Italian

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      2. 0

         china manposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         In Chinese that is   wo ai ni

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      3. 67

         tamilanhubposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         In TAMIL  naan unnai virumbugiren

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6. 0

   Home Girlposted 14 years ago

   who cares...

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   1. 60

      NewYorkerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Who cares about what?

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   2. 77

      Uninvited Writerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Obviously you do or you wouldn't have posted.

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7. 62

   theirishobserver.posted 14 years ago

   New Yorker, there are few places now in Ireland that speak Irish, but some speak English and Irish, most speak English - but we like to deny it, Hubish is the best - Hubtastic - Hublicious

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      NewYorkerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The Hubber writes a Hubtastic Hub in Hubbish.

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8. 62

   Daniel Carterposted 14 years ago

   I feel seriously stupid among all of you.
   I speak southern drawl fluently, but my uncle from Oklahoma says it's just a drawl and I "ain't from nowhere."
   I also speak pig-latin and turkey-latin.

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   1. 60

      NewYorkerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I can't speak Southern.. And I can't speak ghetto language either. All I can speak is English and Spanish (which you NEED to know if you're going to live in New York) and some scandanavian languages I'm not even sure how I learned, so don't feel stupid.
      
      And if it makes you feel any better, I don't have a clue what pig or turkey latin is.

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      1. 62

         Daniel Carterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Pig-latin:
         Ancay ouyay alktay igpay atinlay = Can you talk pig-latin
         
         Turkey-latin
         Cobban yobbou tobbalk tobburkobbey lobbatobbin = can you talk turkey-latin
         
         Well, I also publish music in about 135 languages. Translators do the work, but I have enough experience in most languages to spot syllabic problems, spellings, punctuation, etc. I don't speak the languages, but I kind of know what's going on in a lot of them.
         
         But even with that, I have a hard enough time with English, most days.
         

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            tobey100posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Danny boy, you speak southern, that's all ya need to get by in this world.

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   2. 72

      LeslieAdrienneposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I know pig-latin, but not turkey-latin....in fact this is the first I've heard of it....would you give us an example of turkey-latin, please

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      1. 60

         NewYorkerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Cobban yobbou tobbalk tobburkobbey lobbatobbin = can you talk turkey-latin

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9. 0

   EmpressFelicityposted 14 years ago

   English native speaker. Good working knowledge of German (i.e. I can read it and have basic conversations in it but you couldn't call me fluent by any stretch of the imagination).  One of the things I regret about my childhood is the fact that my mother didn't insist on speaking German at home (she was German).  She made one or two half-hearted attempts to make me learn it, but I didn't have the sense to pay attention.

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   1. 60

      NewYorkerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      It was actually different with my mother. My mom is half Icelandic, and when I was 10 years old, I had no choice but to learn that goddamn language, which I have never had to use.

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10. 60

    Mamelodyposted 14 years ago

    Since I'm a mixture of four nationalities ( mum is Brazillian, Dad is Mexican, Grandad is Egyptian, Grandmother is Portuguese) I happen to be multi lingual and I can speak 11 languages fluently. I learnt how to speak and write English when I was 19. Other languages I speak include:
    
    Portuguese
    Spanish
    French
    Italian
    Greek
    Latin
    Arabic
    Japanese
    Swahili
    Afikaans
    Dutch
    
    I used to work as a translator for World Vision International so it was imperative to learn as many languages as possible.

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    1. 72

       LeslieAdrienneposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Fabulous....Do you translate for any other services?

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11. 69

    torimariposted 14 years ago

    I tend to see a trend that people tell me they speak all these languages only to find they are do not at all fluently. So admire those who are honest about it whether they speak fluently or not.
    
    I speak Italian on an intermediate level, but read and write it better.
    I read German ok, but am a beginner at speaking it
    I know very basic Japan and some Slovakian since I visited often.
    
    
    Oh, and thanks to my random love for Russian music...I know minimal Russian but can pronounce it quite well in song~

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    1. 72

       LeslieAdrienneposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Don't be so hard on the people...
       
       fluency is relative to the situation....English is my native language, but I am not fluent in the language of specialized industries......
       
       plus, the question wasn't how many languages are you fluent in.....it just asks how many languages do you speak

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       1. 69

          torimariposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Just making a point and it does have relevance to the topic. Knowing a few words in a language and actually speaking it in order to hold a conversation are two different things.
          
          I'm not being hard on anyone and expanding on the topic.
          
          Meow.

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12. 0

    L. Andrew Marrposted 14 years ago

    English (real English - not American english )
    
    On a school level I also know:
    
    Spanish
    French (which I am currently trying to improve)
    Latin
    Old English
    Ancient Greek

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    1. 60

       NewYorkerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Latin?
       Ancient Greek?
       
       Oh my God, that just sounds amazing!

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    2. 72

       LeslieAdrienneposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       The real English that spells organization with an "s" instead of a "z"?

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13. 70

    Cagsilposted 14 years ago

    English

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14. 59

    artycraftypartyposted 14 years ago

    Italian native speaker, married to english woman, living in England. Our three kids find difficult to adapt to the two languages, given I am with them only 25% of the time.
    Not giving up talking to them in Italian is the motto.

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15. 71

    earnestshubposted 14 years ago

    English is my only fluent language. I understand Mandarin if spoken slowly and only if it is basic, and do have a pretty broad understanding of several specialist words used in such disciplines as mechanical engineering and psychology which sometimes uses German.
    I can understand a little Latin, French, Italian and Dutch.
    Some of you here leave me awestruck with your talent for language!

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16. 88

    IzzyMposted 14 years ago

    I speak English with a Scottish accent, so loads of people don't understand me. I was up in court a few months ago (as a witness, I might add) and the Canadian interpretor couldn't understand hardly a word I said, so I ended up speaking Spanish just so he could understand me!!
    Oh, I speak Spanish too, but not confidently enough to speak in court, that's why they gave me an interpretor!
    I also learned French at school (mostly forgotten) but it's handy when trying to understand Valenciano, which is a mixture of Spanish and French which is spoken locally here.

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17. 73

    AEvansposted 14 years ago

    English first language, Spanish second tried to learn Chinese but just could not catch on. lololo

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18. 0

    Crazdwriterposted 14 years ago

    I speak English, tiny bit of spanish and American Sign Language. ASL being my second language

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19. 60

    pddm67posted 14 years ago

    English (well more like NY truck driver English)
    
    Spoke fluent Italian when I was a child but lost it as I got older. Can still understand some of it.
    
    I do regret that I no longer speak it

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20. 56

    yenajeonposted 14 years ago

    English (of course), Korean, German and Conversational Spanish

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    1. 61

       calpol25posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Fluent English, Basic Greek, Fluent Dutch, Fluent German, Fluent French and British Sign Language , Good Croation, and Basic Slovakian.
       
       My Goodness I have been busy lol

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          calpol25posted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Forgot to mention Scotts Gaelic since childhood

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             Alya roseposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             English is my first,spanish,French,German,,Egyptian Arabic,sign language,Korean,Italian,and am now studying Latin.

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21. 80

    camloposted 14 years ago

    Having lived in Germany for 22 years, I almost only ever speak German. Thank God for the Internet, or I'd never have the opportunity of using my English (with native speakers).

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22. 61

    Jersey Jessposted 14 years ago

    I speak English! I studied Spanish for 11 years but I can barely speak any of it now.

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23. 38

    World Marketingposted 14 years ago

    English but sometimes a little bit of spanish

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24. 60

    Alya roseposted 14 years ago

    wow...I think I had way too much time on my hands.

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25. 77

    Uninvited Writerposted 14 years ago

    I speak English and a bit of French. I have such a hard time learning languages. I've tried to teach myself to be fluent in French but it just won't come. I failed French in high school

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    1. 61

       calpol25posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I had hell too learning french, but i spoke it from an early age however what my friend did was learn canadian french first as its easier than european french and worked on from there.  Hope this helps .

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26. 62

    megs78posted 14 years ago

    English and french.
    
    @Uninvited Writer:  I had a hell of a time learning french too.  It took me quite some time to be completely fluent, but I finally got it.  I think its hard for us because the soft, lilting accent goes against our hard and stacatto accent in english.  I had to convince myself that I didn't sound like an idiot speaking it before I finally got the hang of it. 
    
    and whats kind of weird is that I once overheard a German conversation at my language school and I was completely captivated by it and felt as if I identified with it.  strange huh?  I have never felt that way about the french language, although I have grown to love it.

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27. 90

    thooghunposted 14 years ago

    My English and Italian are both fluent without traces of an accent. My French is communicable though my written skills are rusty. Ironically, despite its similarity with Italian, my Spanish is obscene.

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28. 60

    west40posted 14 years ago

    WOW - This is awesome!!
    
    With much regret, English is my only language - I had 3 years of french back in the mid-70's but that has all but vanished from my brain. 
    
    It is never too late, right?  I would like to learn Italian at some point in this lifetime - maybe when I retire.

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29. 78

    knell63posted 14 years ago

    If I have to show off I can speak English, Welsh, Italian and Afrikaans. When drunk I am also fluent in nonsense.

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30. 82

    Rafiniposted 14 years ago

    I speak English & Spanglish  (lol) & I can speak & read a little Spanish.  Just can't remember too much of the Spanish I learned in school.

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31. 86

    Marisa Wrightposted 14 years ago

    My native language is English.  I used to speak French and Spanish fluently - I trained as a secretary in both languages, and of course studying flamenco meant using Spanish a lot. I worked in France for a while and was frequently mistaken for a native.
    
    Unfortunately if you don't regularly use a language, it gets rusty very quickly.  I can still read French as easily as English but speaking it is another story!  And my Spanish is worse.
    
    I also learned Russian at school - I can barely remember a word but I can still sing several Russian folk songs.
    
    Расцветали яблони и груши
    Поплыли туманы над рекой...

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32. 57

    zzronposted 14 years ago

    I speak English only but because I'm from Houston, TX. people from the north say I sound like Larry the cable guy.

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33. 49

    Purple Perlposted 14 years ago

    Being Indian,English was the medium of instruction in all my educational institutions upto graduation,so I am excellent in English.
    Hindi was my second language,for which I earned a scholarship at college,so I know this pretty well-it is also the national language in India. Kannada is my mother tongue and the official language in the state of Karnataka where I have resided all my life-it also was my third language in school.
    I also know a smattering of Telugu,and Tamil.

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34. 60

    Obscurely Diverseposted 14 years ago

    ...English, slang, and fluent profanity!

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