How Many Languages Do You Speak?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the number of languages participants speak, including their proficiency levels and experiences with different languages. The scope includes personal anecdotes, language learning experiences, and humorous takes on language use.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants mention speaking multiple languages fluently, such as Dutch, French, and English, while others claim to only speak English or variations of it.
  • Several participants express varying degrees of understanding in languages like Spanish, French, German, and Italian, but do not consider themselves conversationally fluent.
  • Humor is present in the discussion, with participants joking about their language skills, such as speaking "Gibberish" or "Jive."
  • Some participants share their family members' language abilities, highlighting contrasts in linguistic skills within families.
  • Questions arise about the origins and locations of certain languages, such as Amharic, prompting further discussion.
  • There are mentions of wanting to learn additional languages, including Hindi, Russian, and Japanese, indicating ongoing interest in language acquisition.
  • Some participants note the challenges of maintaining language skills over time, particularly for languages not regularly used.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a wide range of language abilities, with no clear consensus on the number of languages spoken or the level of proficiency. The discussion remains largely unresolved regarding the complexities of language learning and usage.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include varying definitions of fluency, personal anecdotes that may not reflect broader experiences, and the informal nature of the discussion which may affect the reliability of claims.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in language learning, cultural exchange, or those curious about the diverse linguistic backgrounds of forum members may find this discussion engaging.

Imparcticle
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How many languages do you speak?

I speak 2 and 1/4

1.) English (g, what a surpise! :eek: )
2.) Amharic
3.) ~1/4 of spanish (you're lookin' at a first year spanish student)
 
Science news on Phys.org
1) English
2) English
3) Hm... English?

What happened to the mall? Thought you were going to the mall!

cookiemonster
 
English and slurred english that's about it
 
English and my native language. And I understand Womanese though I don't speak it

EDIT - yay
 
Last edited:
English and I can understand enough Spanish, French, German & Italian to get by in those countries. Not conversational though, I find it's harder to answer than to understand.
 
cookiemonster said:
1) English
2) English
3) Hm... English?

What happened to the mall? Thought you were going to the mall!

cookiemonster

ah, I said I'd go to the mall at 6:55 pm but I posted this thread at 6:51 pm.

:biggrin: the time speaks for itself. :cool: :wink:
 
Well 1) english
2) hindi
3)german
4)french
5)american

By the way where is Amharic spoken??
 
Ik spreek nederlands, I speak english, ich spreche deutch et je parle français :smile:

εγώ να μην μιλήσουν τα ελληνικά, io non parlare italiano, 私日本語を話さないため, 나 한국어를 말하지 않는 위하여, mim para não falar portugese, я не поговорить русского, yo no hablar español, 我不讲简单的汉语, 並且我不講繁體中文 :eek: :biggrin:
 
My mother can speak seven languages fluently - French, English, German, Arabic, what used to be Czechoslovakian, Spanish, Italian. I obviously did not inherit her linguistic skills. :frown: I can't even keep track of how many languages my brother speaks, but the company he owns has offices in France, Norway (he just married a girl he met there), Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, and a few other countries I can't remember, and he can speak all the languages.

Monique, you are a riot! :biggrin:
 
  • #10
English and 3 variaties of Gibberish
 
  • #11
Five fluently

1) Dutch
2) French
3) English
4) Math
5) Physics

Working on German. I understand Italian and some Spanish.

My father speaks six languages (all of the above, barring math & physics), and so did my mother. So I can't do less now can I? I'd like to learn Russian as well one day, with the influx of Eastern-European scientists and engineers it could come in handy.
 
  • #12
I speak english, norwegian (swedish is essentially the same, so i can easily speak that as well), and a good bit german.
 
  • #13
Iay eakspay igpay atin-lay uentlyflay.
 
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  • #14
I speak:

English
English - Southern y'all
English - Southern Bell y'all darlins
English - Ozark Mtn. y'all feriners
English - Texas style, BIG AND BOLD
English - Western slouchy & free, howdy

And of course Scooby. Rav Ra Rice Ray :biggrin:
 
  • #15
I was pretty good at French, but then again I only spent 5 years learning it and 7 years not using it, so it's not so good now. :frown:
 
  • #16
Monique said:
Ik spreek nederlands, I speak english, ich spreche deutch et je parle français :smile:

εγώ να μην μιλήσουν τα ελληνικά, io non parlare italiano, 私日本語を話さないため, 나 한국어를 말하지 않는 위하여, mim para não falar portugese, я не поговорить русского, yo no hablar español, 我不讲简单的汉语, 並且我不講繁體中文 :eek: :biggrin:
:eek: Don't tell me you typed the above the message. :eek:
Heehee, I think you copied it from somewhere on the internet, right ? :wink:

I speak
- English
- Cantonese
- Some Manderin

My grandmather speaks a dialect that none of my friends can understand fully. My friends have to guess what she means when they come to my home. My friends sometimes ask me if I can really understand every word she says and my answer is yes. It is because I've been living with her for 18 years and 8 months. :biggrin:

I want to learn French, Latin and Japanese in the future.
 
  • #17
French and a little bit of English as foreign languages, and then "doitsh" as my mother language. Uh, oh, I forgot Arabic:

? ?? ? ? ?? ? ? ??.

Hmm - that was "I'd like to order a camel steak", but the Arabian signs are not displayed correctly as it seems. Sorry.
 
  • #18
English and bad English fluently.

Enough french and spanish to survive in either country.
 
  • #19
why you would want to is beyond me...
 
  • #20
Just long enough to blow them all up!

Just a joke, just incase anyone from the CIA OR NSA is reading this, Trust me i am not a terrorist!
 
  • #21
p_branes said:
Well 1) english
2) hindi
3)german
4)french
5)american

By the way where is Amharic spoken??

Ethiopia.

I want to learn hindi. Is it difficult? Is it similar to punjabi?
 
  • #22
Monique said:
我不讲简单的汉语, 並且我不講繁體中文 :eek: :biggrin:

Monique you are amazing!
 
  • #23
Thanks :biggrin: little trivia: how many tongues does a fish from Babel have? :-p
 
  • #24
Monique said:
Ik spreek nederlands, I speak english, ich spreche deutch et je parle français :smile:

εγώ να μην μιλήσουν τα ελληνικά, io non parlare italiano, 私日本語を話さないため, 나 한국어를 말하지 않는 위하여, mim para não falar portugese, я не поговорить русского, yo no hablar español, 我不讲简单的汉语, 並且我不講繁體中文 :eek: :biggrin:
Hey! Watch your mouth, young lady! Am I going to have to come over there and wash your mouth out with SOAP?? :eek:

I speak English and Spanish.
 
  • #25
Rut Roh said:
I speak:

English
English - Southern y'all
English - Southern Bell y'all darlins
English - Ozark Mtn. y'all feriners
English - Texas style, BIG AND BOLD
English - Western slouchy & free, howdy

And of course Scooby. Rav Ra Rice Ray :biggrin:

And when you go to move next time, are you going to rent and load your furniture in one of those Y'all Hauls?? :biggrin:
 
  • #26
Quote from Tsunami : And when you go to move next time, are you going to rent and load your furniture in one of those Y'all Hauls??

ROFL. Yeppers. Reckon so, especially if the truck's full of fishin' gear.

minor edit: removed jibberish UBB code I typed in that didn't work.
 
  • #27
I speak English and Murrican. I used to be able to speak Jive, but I haven't used it in a while. It is also a very fluid language, changing over time. Why, I bet kids today would not even recognize the Jive from "Airplane".

Njorl
 
  • #28
I speak English, Mandarin and Malay. I learned Japanese and Latin for a while, but didn't have enough time to continue my linguistic studies. My father speaks Cantonese and my mother can speak Hainanese. Coming from a country near Singapore, I don't normally speak but can imitate the Singlish (singapore english) accent which is similar to the Hong Kong accent, although I prefer not to.

I speak in a weird (to foreigners) mixture of English, Malay, Mandarin and Cantonese while with my friends, because we all do where I'm from. An example of a common line in Malay and English: I kena marah oleh teacher.
 
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  • #29
Njorl said:
I speak English and Murrican. I used to be able to speak Jive, but I haven't used it in a while. It is also a very fluid language, changing over time. Why, I bet kids today would not even recognize the Jive from "Airplane".

Njorl

That is such a quality film!
 
  • #30
So Jimmy... Do you like to watch gladiator movies?

Njorl
 

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