Do you speak another language?

[ComaChameleon]

So, the title already asks the question

Do you speak another language?

What language?

Why did you learn it? Was it in school, or because of friends, just for fun?

How fluent are you?

Do you maybe have another mothertongue? (Just like some from the team here do too)

What language would you love to learn and why?

So for me it's:

-German (mothertongue)

-English in school starting in grade 5 (everyone has to, there is no choice)

-French (rudimental, was forced in school, never wanted it and I don't have any feeling for the language... Had it 6 years)

-Dutch as I started university in the Netherlands (studied in English), I began to learn the language by scratch to be able to speak with my fellow students during break as -most of them- were dutch. As we live just on the border, it's very helpfull. But I was able to understand them before as they're both very common to each other. In shops the sellers don't change to german anymore, so I'm fluent enough, I guess.

I would love to learn Norwegian as a friend is from Oslo and it would be nice to talk to her in another language as English (as it's not our both mothertongue)

Japanese is interesting too (idk why, it just feels like it would be)

And a bit of Russian/Polish/Turkish would be helpfull in job. But as I think the people living here have to learn my language instead we learning theirs, I wouldn't do. Just for being able to understand what they're talking to each other when we are in the same room [it's not very polite to do so... But they do. And you're standing there and you don't know if they're talking about nice flowers or planning to kill you the next 5 minutes].

[Anonymous]

When I was still in the RAF, I was stationed in Germany for a few years, and I used to visit the Volkshochschule in Mönchengladbach, just to improve what little German I had at the time.

It was a fascinating way of learning, because there were around twelve different nationalities in the classroom, but most couldn't speak English, so German was the only language that was ever used. It was a slow process at times, but it's how children learn a new language, so maybe it's the best way of doing it.

Since leaving the military, I've tried to keep up the study, but I've never really achieved the kind of fluency that my time in Germany should have given me. Most of my German friends speak very good English, and when you want to have a meaningful conversation, it always seems to be the easy option. But I do understand quite a lot, particularly the written word, it's just that I lack the confidence (and indeed spontaneity) when it comes to actually speaking it.

Ich bin zu gehemmt 

Mind you, a few beers normally helps in that situation

[Cleoriff]

I am one of those people who can get by in the local language when I am in that country.

France and Spain being the only two I can bring to mind.

Even though we had our apartment in Spain for 30+ years we were lazy as most of the Spaniards spoke English. Always intended to learn as we intended to retire out there.....Things changed and we kept coming up with reasons why we couldn't retire there...in actual fact they were excuses not reasons.

[EmilieT]

@ComaChameleon I'd love to learn Norwegian as well, or any nordic language, but they seem to be quite tough ... one of my German friends told me German and Norwegian had some similarities so it might be easier for you to pick-up 

@Anonymous Being in a country is definitely the best way to learn the language, I agree! That's how I improved my English 

@Cleoriff Getting by in the local language is more than a lot of people can do, even if it's just a few words or sentences it helps. And Spanish is one of these languages that's very lively and between a few words, intonations and gestures you can communicate pretty effectively 

As for myself French is my mother tongue, I of course speak English fluently enough, used to be fluent in Spanish back in high school as we did an exchange program and I became really close friends with my Spanish counterpart, and I was also fluent in Arabic when I was younger while my family lived in Morocco for a few years. 

I'd say I can mainly speak French and English these days though, the other 2 are a thing of the past  

[sheepdog]

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@ComaChameleon wrote:
....

So for me it's:

-German (mothertongue)

-English in school starting in grade 5 (everyone has to, there is no choice)

-French (rudimental, was forced in school, never wanted it and I don't have any feeling for the language... Had it 6 years)

-Dutch as I started university in the Netherlands (studied in English), I began to learn the language by scratch to be able to speak with my fellow students during break as -most of them- were dutch. As we live just on the border, it's very helpfull. But I was able to understand them before as they're both very common to each other. In shops the sellers don't change to german anymore, so I'm fluent enough, I guess.

....

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Depends on which border you mean. I have friends around the Sittard area and the dialect is a mix between Dutch/German and something else and is dominant. Whereas I used to live in Germany near the Dutch Border (Roermond so @Anonymousyou may know the place I mean....) where is was all Dutch spoken. Though never quite got German as a language* but can understand Dutch reasonably well if its slow enough and it helped living there as well a few years later.  Picked up a lot from the Radio and subtitling on television rather than lessons. Oddly, I've been able to read it quite well for some reason especially the demands from the Belastingdienst! 

*Except Knight Rider in German. That, weirdly, is easy to follow 

[liggerz87]

I speak English as my first and only language and I can speak bit of Welsh which I just wish was my first language I remember going on holiday with my dad think was Cuba and we were trying to learn the local language and to speak to them and I remember them saying they wanted to learn English more as most people that went there spoke English and wanted to learn that more than to speak there own language lol was pretty funny

[ComaChameleon]

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@sheepdog wrote:

Depends on which border you mean. I have friends around the Sittard area and the dialect is a mix between Dutch/German and something else and is dominant. Whereas I used to live in Germany near the Dutch Border (Roermond so @Anonymousyou may know the place I mean....) where is was all Dutch spoken. Though never quite got German as a language* but can understand Dutch reasonably well if its slow enough and it helped living there as well a few years later.  Picked up a lot from the Radio and subtitling on television rather than lessons. Oddly, I've been able to read it quite well for some reason especially the demands from the Belastingdienst! 

*Except Knight Rider in German. That, weirdly, is easy to follow 

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@sheepdog

Where did you live? Brunssum? Or NATO airbase GK?

Sittard-Geleen and Roermond is kinda my hood. I'm from Heinsberg.

That's right, the Limburgs dutch is very easy to understand as it's close to our "Platt"/Kölsch.

Some of the Limburgs people even have trouble to understand the actual Holländer as they have an weird accent.

The Belastingdienst is always very pleased to help (and put someone in place speaking your language).

The Dutch are smart, they watch English films in English with subtitles. We Germans always have everything dubbed. So the other countries can learn english easier.

@Anonymous

What different nationalities were there? Volkshochschule is a nice invention, my dutch courses were there too.

And yes... Being too gehemmt is bad... Sometimes you just have to do it.

And if you do people are always happy that you at least tried to.

@Cleoriff

Why did you both change your mind?

@EmilieT

Yes, it's easier. But somtimes you have false friends ^^

Arabic must be really hard as it has nothing in common with our languages.

[Glory1]

When I was very, very much younger and still lived in New York, I was fluent in French and Spanish and could get by in Italian. Sadly, moving to England and not using those languages, I lost my fluency. Then my fluency in French came back for a couple of years through a job. I had a lot of contact with our Paris office and my counterpart in Paris made me speak French when calling to help my fluency, and it helped tremendously.

Now I can get by in French and Spanish, still have a little Italian but I'm not fluent in any language apart from English, sadly. That's the problem, if you don't continue to speak a language you lose it.

I should add I can understand French and Spanish, if spoken slowly, much better than I can speak either. Trouble is neither language is spoken slowly 😂

[jonsie]

I had A levels in French, Spanish and Latin (yeah, I know!) so was fairly fluent. But like everything in life ( same as O2), use it or lose it. I get by in both French and Spanish, Latin I generally understand all the quotes etc., but my language I have been learning for the last few years (how to order in bars, how to understand road signs etc) is Thai. I've been more inclined to learn it since I got married a couple of years ago though, rather than the continual holidays. I can speak and understand Thai but no way on earth will I ever be able to read it. When mail comes I ask my wife what it means. I tell her to speak what it says in Thai. Ha! No, she says, I don't want you to know Thai. She says she can't understand me when I speak Thai. I said, I don't understand you when you speak English!!
Anyway, we get by. I think the real reason is so that when she talks to her friends or she is on the phone, it's so I don't know what they are saying.....but I do

I enjoy going in a bar listening to the girls who think you are just a numpty ferang.....

[Cleoriff]

@ComaChameleonYou ask why we changed our mind about retiring to Spain?

When we bought the apartment in 1985, Spain seemed offer a lot more than England. It had the sun, it had late night shopping, Late night restaurants and bars and generally a more relaxed lifestyle.

Over the years, they became less important...as we also had all night shopping (even later than Spain)

We also had online shopping, something yet to reach Spain (particularly with supermarkets)

I got a little fed up of the 'manana' mentality i.e. when I want something done, I want it done asap....not the next day or when they can be bothered.

I got totally fed up with the Spanish bureaucracy, which has to be one of the worst in the world.

Then 19 years ago, we had a grandson. We played a massive part in bringing him up. We didn't want to lose that sort of bond (even though we are only a 3 hr flight away) We now also have a 7 year old granddaughter. 

So, when I retired it became a bolt hole for me to escape to on my own. My husband went off it about 15 years ago

Finally, a change in circumstances meant we needed to sell it. We put it on the market last July and it sold within a month. I still miss it but we had 32 great years owning it and some glorious memories

.