Question of the day - Thursday 2 March

Hi everyone



Another easy question for you today




Can you speak any other languages apart from English ?






I did have a couple of years learning German, when I was at school. But, I can only remember a few words now. So, I guess my answer is no I can't speak any other languages except English. :lol3:

Not fluently.  I know enough French to understand Poirot and still remember a few Hindi words from my childhood but that's it.  I really wish I spoke fluently in several languages.  It must stretch the brain enormously to learn new words and concepts that English doesn't cover.

No and I wish I did.  I just don't have a knack for it.  I tried learning French and Spanish in the classroom and remember none of it.  I was stationed in Germany for 5 years and lived on the economy for 2 years, I only remember a few words.  

I took French in highschool. I can't speak it but I could read it. I could read a bit of Spanish too. But my hearing is bad so I get frustrated with different languages that I can't say the words but I could understand some of it.

Not to speak of.  I took French for two years, Latin for two years, Swahili for one year and Italian for one year, and have picked up bits and pieces of Spanish here and there.  I don't actually speak any of them.

What I would really like to do is to learn to speak a few key phrases/words in several languages.  The list would be:

Please

Thank you

You're welcome

Yes

No

Hello 

Goodbye

Hospital

Those would take care of the most basics needs.  And one thing I do know...no matter where you are in the world, if you need to find someone who speaks English, head for the airport.  English is the international language of flight.

I can barely speak English!!   never mind a foreign language!!  

Seriously, I took 3 years of High School French; can only remember a few words. 

I can speak a few words in Polish, but only the things my parent's, especially my dad would say..

Sarcasm?    Ok not really. 

I took 4 years of Latin in high school but I wouldn't say I'm fluent; especially since I haven't used it since.  I found memorizing vocabulary tedious and boring.  I really didn't enjoy the actual language part of Latin class.  I enjoyed the history and culture much more. Especially the architecture!

I used to be able to understand sign language but I couldn't sign back. I did know some signs and things as a kid and I even had a deaf babysitter; but I never knew enough to really hold a conversation.  I think my "understanding" just came from exposure over the years.    

My step-dad and his entire family are bilingual; so I joke that my way of rebelling as a teenager was to NOT take Spanish.    My friends would try to talk to him and he'd correct their pronunciation.    I wasn't having that.  My stepbrother on the other hand has a knack for languages and was on his 5th last I knew.  

I am fluent in gibberish 

I took Spanish in junior high and high school yet do not speak it. I do a fairly decent job of reading it though. I also took Italian in HS but do not speak it.

I bought Rosetta Stone to learn French but the box has yet to be opened. Sophie naps on the box from time to time so she might be halfway to fluency!

A small amount of Spanish and French, leftover from High School.

I can read menus, get my point across in Spanish, understand it better written than spoken.

When I was in Barcelona I managed to get along pretty ok w/out using too much English.

EDIT: Some words/expressions in Yiddish too LOL

Hmm. Is everybody here from the states? 

I can speak norwegian, as that is my native tongue. I can understand swedish and danish, and guess I can talk those languages as well. Well, not danish, it sounds gibberish I can also speak german, but very little. And I know a few spanish phrases. 

I'm fluent in German and used to be able to speak Spanish (7 years in high school and at university), but now I've lost most of it and can basically just get the gist of a conversation or newspaper article. I know enough Hungarian to read a menu, go grocery shopping, and find a rest room or get gas.

I used to be able to cuss a blue streak in German, but lost it quite a while ago. (Not only can I cuss like a sailor, but I used to be able to do it in German!   )

Took French in third grade for about six weeks.

Other than that, nada.

One of my son's ex-girlfriends was fluent in five languages, six if you counted her native Japanese. I was always so impressed by that.

not really. just words and some phrases in a few languages -- french, spanish, and german.

however, i do very well understanding people speaking languages other than english, and toddler-speak.

Mamanyt1953 said:

What I would really like to do is to learn to speak a few key phrases/words in several languages.  The list would be:

Click to expand...

Please. In French, s'il vous plâit.
Thank you. Merci
You're welcome. De rien
Yes. Oui
No. Non
Hello  Bonjour
Goodbye. Au revoir
Hospital. Hôpital

Chint said:

Hmm. Is everybody here from the states? 

Click to expand...

Far from it. There are people here from all over the world. I can think of at least one other person here who lives in Norway.

Why, thank you, @Primula!  French was, indeed, one of those languages.  MOST days I know MOST of those words and phrases, although "de rien" tends to escape me frequently! 

Mamanyt1953 said:

Why, thank you, @Primula
!  French was, indeed, one of those languages.  MOST days I know MOST of those words and phrases, although "de rien" tends to escape me frequently! 

Click to expand...

De rien.

I can speak, read and write Japanese. Not as fluently as I would like to, but enough to be able to chat to people and get through my day.

Thanks to the time spent travelling I can say Hello and Thank You in Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, Urdu, Hindi, Spanish and French.

I know some very bad words in Hindi and French too.

Norachan said:

 
I can speak, read and write Japanese. Not as fluently as I would like to, but enough to be able to chat to people and get through my day.

Thanks to the time spent travelling I can say Hello and Thank You in Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, Urdu, Hindi, Spanish and French.

I know some very bad words in Hindi and French too.

Click to expand...

MERDE!  Tell me not!  And  you now have the totality of my bad words in French!

Mamanyt1953 said:

 
MERDE!  Tell me not!  And  you now have the totality of my bad words in French!

Click to expand...

Well never you mind. I can tell you the rest of the bad French words I know and teach you how to swear in Japanese too.

My favourite Japanese insult is;

O mai no ka chan de be sou.

Which means "Your mother's belly button sticks out." Serious fighting talk! Use with care.

(I've made your day now, haven't I?)

I know some basic words in french and spanish. I need to learn more Spanish since it's all my mother in law speaks. She lives in El Salvador, so we mostly talk to her on the phone.