Languages. How good are we?

turtlecat

turtlecat

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my languages out of the womb were Croatian and German, some Turkish *laughs* I got confused eventually and stopped speaking when I was 2. When I started back up about 6 months later, it was in full sentences, in all three languages, lol! (and I mean all three at once) I've never really recovered from it though, and still have trouble sticking to one language. Also I have noticed that my English idioms have suffered and people look at me funny sometimes when I say "you can slide my back down!" to someone (well it's a really awful thing to say in german, apparently, lol!)
 
wellingtoncats

wellingtoncats

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Originally Posted by joecool

It looks a little like french, a little like italian, an a little like spanish.

No you didn't butcher it badly, because that is how italian is supposed to look.



Here is a good question. How many people on here speak a native language other than english?

Other question: Who is considered by others to have a cool accent(like Australian, Scottish, Irish, etc.)? I am especially fond of the Australia/New Zealand accents myself. I wish i had an accent.
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Just don't get them confused - they don't sound ANYTHING alike!!

Phew -we got that straight. I love our Kiwi accents too!
 
R

ryn

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Originally Posted by joecool

Here is a good question. How many people on here speak a native language other than english?
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As I wrote before, My native language is Finnish. The Finno-Ugric language group includes for example Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian and Saami (sort of our Native Americans, a reindeer hearding people). Finnish is pronounced pretty much like Italian or Japanese, it's usually very easy for the three of us to learn to speak each others languages.

Here's an example (What I wrote above, in Finnish):

Kuten aiemmin kirjoitin, äidinkieleni on suomi. Suomalais-ugrilainen kieliperhe koostuu muun muassa suomesta, unkarista, eestistä ja saamesta (tavallaan meidän intiaanimme, poropaimentolaiskansa). Suomi ääntyy aika samanlailla kuin italia tai japani, meille kolmelle on yleensä hyvin helppoa oppia puhumaan toistemme kieliä.
 
ollyextra05

ollyextra05

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I am fluent in English (duh), near-fluent in Spanish, and know a little bit of Italian. There's also some Latin buried somewhere in my brain.
 
jcat

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My native language is English, but I've been speaking German at home and in everyday life for over a quarter of a century, so I'd say I'm pretty fluent. I had ten or eleven years of it in high school and college. My Spanish was somewhat fluent 30 years ago, but I haven't used if for so long that I can't claim to speak it, though I still get the gist when I hear/read it. I have a smattering of Hungarian, meaning I can read menus and signs.
 
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zak&rocky

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Can I just say.. It's pretty funny what you get used too. I used to think Massachusetts accents were the funniest thing ever! BTW the accent varies by where you live! After living there almost 10 years and working with people from Mass, I don't even hear it anymore! My friend from home (western CT) makes fun of me sometimes when she hears me doing it! I think southern accents are cute! California seems to have a this kind of slow way of talking to me. New York sounds like Mass sometimes but there is a slight difference.
I love irish accents. I used to have a few elderly irish clients, and I loved it when they would use the expression "the wee ones".
 
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joecool

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Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

Just don't get them confused - they don't sound ANYTHING alike!!

Phew -we got that straight. I love our Kiwi accents too!
Click to expand...
I wasn't saying that they were the same, i was pointing out that they were my favorite accents. I just didn't want to use an "and", so i just put a /,
.( what is a kiwi accent?
)

There are a lot of different cultures on this site. Really neat!
 
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mikenealis

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I love Eastern European accents.

And all other accents.

I guess I speak Italian with an English (not American) accent though, because a lot of Italians asked me if I was from London.
 
purity

purity

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Originally Posted by joecool

I wasn't saying that they were the same, i was pointing out that they were my favorite accents. I just didn't want to use an "and", so i just put a /,
.( what is a kiwi accent?
)

There are a lot of different cultures on this site. Really neat!
Click to expand...
Kiwi is New Zealand
 
A

amitya

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Southern English is my first language "yall"
i also know
ASL
and Japanese although it is suffering due to non usage here in the south.

I NEED to learn spanish as there are more and more spanish speakingpeople moving into our area, but i dont see that happening anytime soon.
 
russian blue

russian blue

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English/Finnish/French/Czech

As a child, I grew up in an English/Finnish household. My mother's side was Finnish (terve Ryn!
)and my father's side was English/Scottish. My dad spoke bits of Gaelic when his side of the family came to visit, but I don't remember any of it!


Right now, I have lost much of my comprehension of the Finnish language because I'm not surrounded by it on a daily basis. My husband Rob speaks Czech which I'm slowly learning and I can get by on using French if I really needed to (but barely use on a day to day basis).

 
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breakaway

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I really want to learn Russian. I have worked on cyrillic, but am just starting. If anyone is intereted in helping teach me, PM me.
 
slitty_kittay

slitty_kittay

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Originally Posted by Ryn

As I wrote before, My native language is Finnish. The Finno-Ugric language group includes for example Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian and Saami (sort of our Native Americans, a reindeer hearding people). Finnish is pronounced pretty much like Italian or Japanese, it's usually very easy for the three of us to learn to speak each others languages.

Here's an example (What I wrote above, in Finnish):

Kuten aiemmin kirjoitin, äidinkieleni on suomi. Suomalais-ugrilainen kieliperhe koostuu muun muassa suomesta, unkarista, eestistä ja saamesta (tavallaan meidän intiaanimme, poropaimentolaiskansa). Suomi ääntyy aika samanlailla kuin italia tai japani, meille kolmelle on yleensä hyvin helppoa oppia puhumaan toistemme kieliä.
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Yay, a neighbor! Pratar ni svenska?

I don't speak any Finnish, but since Norwegian and Danish are related to Swedish I can usually undertsand those languages too - The conversation isn't pretty though.
 
R

ryn

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Russian Blue: Terve! Hauska tavata! Suomenkielen taitoisia on maailmassa tosi vähän, aika jännä yhteensattuma, että törmättiin täällä. Jos haluat, voit treenata kieltä minun kanssani privana, juttelen mielelläni kanssasi.


slitty_kittay: Jag pratar ju svenska, den är ett oblikatorisk ämne i skolan: 6% om finländarna är svenskspråkiga, här i Åbo mer än det. Jag har lärt mig svenska för 6 år. Jag förstår nästan allt, men med grammatik är jag inte väldigt bra. Egentligen är jag inte säkert det här är helt rätt.


 
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