Languages you speak/read/understand

[blessOTMA]

oh my lord,  Sunny can you read French too?!

[Sunny]

oh my lord,  Sunny can you read French too?!

Don't take it as an insult ur french is much easier to me... you know, rench and italian are so similar!

BTW i can read in Italian (of course), english, french, russian and a bit German. I mean a bit because i indeed studied German 6 years, but they weren't able toi teach me so much. I know german grammar but i lack in vocabulary, so i'm like a 5 - year -old child in german LOL

[blessOTMA]

.....BTW i can read in Italian (of course), english, french, russian and a bit German. I mean a bit because i indeed studied German 6 years, but they weren't able toi teach me so much. I know german grammar but i lack in vocabulary, so i'm like a 5 - year -old child in german LOL

I'm amazed you can read in so many languages , as I can barely function in English lol!  With that list you could fit in nicely in the Russian court! =) Thanks for looking that info up!

[aleksandr pavlovich]

Specifically as a side-bar comment on Reply # 33 :    It is not unusual at all for many, many educated European socially-mobile families and children to speak, read and write in multiple languages. It is amazing to watch the cultural interplay !  A son of  good friends in southern France at fifteen could converse effortlessly in his native French, as well as Spanish (in which he often corrected his father), English and was learning more than passable Portuguese and Italian on his own. (In fact he nows lives in Portugal) Whenever his parents and I wanted to exclude him from conversations, we spoke in German.  My own son, who spent considerable time of his formative years in Europe, is fluent in Russian, English and passable Spanish (refuses to deal with French).  The going joke in Europe which I encounter/ed often is:  What do you call a person who speaks more that one language?  The answer of course is: bi, tri or multilingual.  Then what do you call a person who speaks only ONE language?  Answer:  an American !     AP.

[Sunny]

What do you call a person who speaks more that one language?  The answer of course is: bi, tri or multilingual.  Then what do you call a person who speaks only ONE language?  Answer:  an American !     AP.

Personally i can say: that's why most of european language are not useful for tourism or so, and that's way we know at least one more language. Don't think it's only an american habit. I've lived in England for some months, and well, most of english people only know English. It's true they ale compelled to have some german classes when little children, but i've not met, so far, an english man whose German was good. I think it's simply because they already know english - the most important intercultural language in the world - so they don't need another.

But it's not so common to know 4 languages as i do, not in Italy. I think every italian knows at least a bit of english. But the way of studies i chose at the college was "Foreign languages and literatures", that's why i know 4 languages. i simply wanted to become a multilingual.
I studied english because one needs it; i chose french because france is only 3 hours by car from my home; i chose german because i like it. And i chose russian.... well, YOU know why!

[Alixz]

Not so many years ago the only language that Americans needed was English.  We are not close to other countries as they are in Europe and as Sunny points out, it can be a short drive in Europe to another country.

Canadians, until Quebec made French its official language in the late 1950s, spoke English.  The influx of Spanish speaking North Americans into the USA has only recently become a large issue.  This is, of course, do to illegal immigration from Mexico and a more mobile affluent population in Puerto Rico.  After the Spanish American War in the late 1890s the US took protector-ship of the Philippines where Spanish is also the first language.

North America is a very large continent and unlike Europe has a large English speaking population.  Until North Americans became more mobile and affluent, travelling to Europe was not common and so the ability to speak many languages was not a necessity.  There was also, for a while, the Melting Pot theory that claimed that anyone coming to the US should "blend" into the existing society and become as American as possible, thus leaving their mother tongue behind.

I personally believe that every American school should now teach Spanish as a requirement as so many in the US now speak Spanish as a first language.  Those who speak English as a first language should learn Spanish and those who speak Spanish as a first language should learn English.  No exceptions.

While it would be nice to be multilingual and speak French and German (and in my husband's family Italian) these are languages that most North Americans don't need unless they plan to be in another country for an extended period of time.  Then learning the language should be important and respectful of another county's citizens.

In the Western Hemisphere the main languages are English, Spanish and Portuguese and of course in Quebec - French.  But the French spoken in Quebec is not the same French spoken in France.

The division of lands in South America can be attributed to Pope Alexander VI who decided to divide the lands there between Spain and Portugal.

[Sarushka]

I'm sorry -- I intended to move this topic to Having Fun! I'm not a mod on this board -- can someone please redirect the topic for me?

[Carolath Habsburg]

thanks to google chrome browser i undertand any language :-D

[Sunny]

Thanks to whom shifted the posts here ^^

[Olga Bernice]

Wow, Sunny! No matter how usual / unusual it is to have knowledge of multi-languages in Europe, it's still amazing to me! FOUR lanuages . . . good grief!!!

[TimM]

Aside from English, I know a smattering of Klingon

[Romanov_History_Buff]

A little bit of Spanish, French, German and of course Russian! And I have a mighty fine Irish (Hiberian as they called it) accent if i do say so myself! 

[amartin71718]

Besides English, I have a rudimentary understanding of German and a very basic knowledge of Russian.

[blessOTMA]

I think what I said to Sunny would more  likely be seen as the compliment  I was trying to pay her in the US... But it appears in Europe it's not seen as  big deal to know a good number of languages... That makes sense, with so many diffrent places near each other..but believe me  where I come from  ,  it's an unusal skill.... and I certainly I meant  the remark as a compliment . =)

[Olga Bernice]

A little bit of Spanish, French, German and of course Russian! And I have a mighty fine Irish (Hiberian as they called it) accent if i do say so myself! 

Besides English, I have a rudimentary understanding of German and a very basic knowledge of Russian.

Wow, RHB and Marty - you all are better than I am!! I hope to someday manage to learn French and Russian, but I am a long way from that. May I repeat, LONG. 

I think what I said to Sunny would more  likely be seen as the compliment  I was trying to pay her in the US... But it appears in Europe it's not seen as  big deal to know a good number of languages... That makes sense, with so many diffrent places near each other..but believe me  where I come from  ,  it's an unusal skill.... and I certainly I meant  the remark as a compliment . =)

Don't worry, blessOTMA, I think we know it was supposed to be a compliment, or at least I do, because I think it is quite an accomplishment, also.