Do you study languages?

2

Replies

  • lausa22
    lausa22 Posts: 467 Member
    I speak fluent English and Spanish.
    I've studied German, and know enough to get me by. And a bit of Japanese and Chinese.
  • Prahasaurus
    Prahasaurus Posts: 1,381 Member
    I speak English and Czech. But thanks to the Czech, I can understand Slovak quite well. And order a meal (or at least understand most of the menu) in other Slavic languages (Polish, Russian, Serbian, etc.).

    I also studied German a bit, but can't speak the language (other than counting, asking directions, etc. - very basic). I definitely want to improve my German over the next few years. I'm about a 15 min. drive to the German border, so it would be a shame to waste that opportunity to learn more of the language.

    --P
  • dward2011
    dward2011 Posts: 416 Member
    I'm studying Italian now. I spent 5 years learning Spanish, but at this point can barely remember it.
  • AmericanExpat
    AmericanExpat Posts: 158 Member
    Getting ready to start taking French classes as I now live an a French speaking area. Would also love to learn Italian, but one step at a time.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    English
    German
    Swedish
    Spanish
    And some Norwegian
    Some Japanese!

    If anyone would like a buddy who loves languages, send a request. :)
  • RenVan
    RenVan Posts: 121 Member
    I was raised bilingual (Canadian, French/English). I have a Communication Diploma in French Sign Language (LSQ) and I am now taking ASL (American Sign Language, they don't use LSQ in Alberta) My kids are both bilingual (French and English) and also studying Spanish in elementary/jr high schools.
  • sapienti
    sapienti Posts: 17
    I lived in Thailand for 4 years. I speak Thai alright, & for the portion that I know, I don't even have a terrible accent. I've never studied it formally, so my reading and writing is crap.

    Currently, I'm listening to the Mandarin tapes from the FSI website. (an excellent & cheap way to learn imho)

    http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php

    My thinking is similar to the Pimsleur method, where I plan to listen only to the audio portion for several weeks, before I try to pick up any written materials. My goal: watch Kung Fu movies without subtitles.
  • kaymadeira
    kaymadeira Posts: 1
    i am learning arabic. it is fun to write the alphabet. very artsy, which i love...my husband and i take lessons together with our teacher sitting in the middle of us twice a week....
  • BeSophisticate
    BeSophisticate Posts: 132
    My degree is in English (native) and I've studied some French.

    I love the study of languages, in general, but my favorite is the study of linguistics. I'm especially fascinated by linguistic anthropology.

    I guess that's a little off topic. :laugh:
  • losermomof3
    losermomof3 Posts: 386 Member
    First language is Sign Language and my second is English.
  • pavlosky88
    pavlosky88 Posts: 3
    i speak greek, english and italian...maybe in the future i learn some spanish or russian
  • heathercicle
    heathercicle Posts: 91 Member
    I'm studying Spanish as part of my teaching degree. After I get my license with an endorsement in science, I plan to get one in TESOL for Spanish!
  • Rusjo
    Rusjo Posts: 31 Member
    I'm studying Italian, also hoping to include French later
  • jazziesaj11
    jazziesaj11 Posts: 351 Member
    I LOVE studying languages and cultures, I actually want to be an interpreter/translator once I get my degree. I'm thinking of majoring in either Asian Studies or International Relations with a minor/minors in Japanese/ Korean. I'm studying Japanese and Korean now and plan to learn Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese, and possible Thai, Vietnamese and Bahasa Indonesia simply for the fun of it. xD haha, possible ancient languages as well, Ancient Greek and Egyptian, for the fun of it. ;D
  • Rinkermann
    Rinkermann Posts: 108 Member
    i've been learning german for quite a while now, so fairly advanced with that one. after that, i hope to finally get down to learning my own language: Welsh.

    I'd like to take on Japanese or Chinese Mandarin one day, but i believe those languages are 'tonal', ie it's not just about the words but the tone of your voice. i guess we have that too, in the way we change the tone of our voice when asking a question, but it would seem the chinese use tone a lot more. frankly, my hearing isn't too clever so that may be a step too far for me.

    and on the point of my hearing loss, british sign language is something im already starting to look at. im hoping sign language will be much easier than other languages, simply because the brain remembers physical movements much better than non-physical memorising, hence the saying about never forgetting how to ride a bike. physical movements require the use of more parts of the brain, and thus the memory is more deeply embedded. at least that's what i read on the BBC!
  • RoxyLDN
    RoxyLDN Posts: 96 Member
    I'm from Barcelona, so I'm bilingual Catalan & Spanish
    I studied French & Latin, in school and during my first degree
    I live in the UK, so I'm fluent in English
    I lived in Italy for a short while. But I've not practiced my Italian for ages!
    I studied a bit of German, but I forgot almost everything!
    I also learned some music and maths -nice languages too ;-)
  • papillon_xx
    papillon_xx Posts: 1
    I'm currently studying for an undergrad MA with French and Spanish. Leave for my year abroad at the end of August.. 5 months in Madrid and Angers.

    Learnt Welsh in school since it was compulsory. Would love to get back to it but don't have the time any more.

    I did a bit of German this year as an elective and will be starting Portuguese and Italian during my year abroad.
  • cloud2011
    cloud2011 Posts: 898 Member
    French from junior high through college...minored in it, wish I had studied a little harder.

    A little Russian in college (can remember a few phrases) and tried to learn Irish on my own but sadly, did not follow through.
  • ahigg396
    ahigg396 Posts: 100 Member
    Yes! I love languages--especially Romance languages! I'm a high school Spanish teacher. :)
  • chatipati1
    chatipati1 Posts: 211 Member
    Mom was German, so know that pretty well, and learned the old German script stuff in college. Took 5 yrs of Spanish in HS, cannot remember Jack...
  • aristel
    aristel Posts: 110
    english, spanish and learning mandarin
  • elcieloesazul
    elcieloesazul Posts: 448 Member
    Mostly Spanish--working to become fluent like I am in sarcasm. I can translate German, but have a hard time speaking it. I know basics in Italian, Japanese, ASL, and French.
  • vfnmoody
    vfnmoody Posts: 271 Member
    latin and greek only because i had to for school, french, spanish, italian, russian, japanese. i also studied a bit of german back when i was a in a french MA program and was considering going for a doctorate in medieval lit.

    i'll soon be starting brazilian portuguese and mandarin.

    i currently work in the language industry :smile:

    i currently work in the language industry :smile:

    does that mean Rosetta?

    Mandarin and Russian in University. German in high school. French for travel and being Canadian. Thai for fun when traveling. Currently trying Rosetta Stone for German. Not fluent in any but I know a bit about them all
  • marj972
    marj972 Posts: 30 Member
    Was born in France and moved to England 6years ago so that is two, I also speak French Carribean. I did Spanish in school so I remember the basics. I did Mandarin in University but don't remember much of that
  • AmberFaith90
    AmberFaith90 Posts: 904 Member
    I took two years of honors German in high school. I also took a semester of French, which I hated. I'm constantly studying sign language, as I'm teaching my daughter how to sign.
  • losermomof3
    losermomof3 Posts: 386 Member
    i've been learning german for quite a while now, so fairly advanced with that one. after that, i hope to finally get down to learning my own language: Welsh.

    I'd like to take on Japanese or Chinese Mandarin one day, but i believe those languages are 'tonal', ie it's not just about the words but the tone of your voice. i guess we have that too, in the way we change the tone of our voice when asking a question, but it would seem the chinese use tone a lot more. frankly, my hearing isn't too clever so that may be a step too far for me.

    and on the point of my hearing loss, british sign language is something im already starting to look at. im hoping sign language will be much easier than other languages, simply because the brain remembers physical movements much better than non-physical memorising, hence the saying about never forgetting how to ride a bike. physical movements require the use of more parts of the brain, and thus the memory is more deeply embedded. at least that's what i read on the BBC!

    I don't know how bsl is but I know asl is harder to learn the more you get older and the less you use it. Also, with asl the sentence structure is different then English. When you get going on it be patient. In asl one sign can be 4 different words too.
  • losermomof3
    losermomof3 Posts: 386 Member
    i've been learning german for quite a while now, so fairly advanced with that one. after that, i hope to finally get down to learning my own language: Welsh.

    I'd like to take on Japanese or Chinese Mandarin one day, but i believe those languages are 'tonal', ie it's not just about the words but the tone of your voice. i guess we have that too, in the way we change the tone of our voice when asking a question, but it would seem the chinese use tone a lot more. frankly, my hearing isn't too clever so that may be a step too far for me.

    and on the point of my hearing loss, british sign language is something im already starting to look at. im hoping sign language will be much easier than other languages, simply because the brain remembers physical movements much better than non-physical memorising, hence the saying about never forgetting how to ride a bike. physical movements require the use of more parts of the brain, and thus the memory is more deeply embedded. at least that's what i read on the BBC!

    I don't know how bsl is but I know asl is harder to learn the more you get older and the less you use it. Also, with asl the sentence structure is different then English. When you get going on it be patient. In asl one sign can be 4 different words too.

    One more thing....watching YouTube will increase your receptive skills.
  • Rinkermann
    Rinkermann Posts: 108 Member
    i've been learning german for quite a while now, so fairly advanced with that one. after that, i hope to finally get down to learning my own language: Welsh.

    I'd like to take on Japanese or Chinese Mandarin one day, but i believe those languages are 'tonal', ie it's not just about the words but the tone of your voice. i guess we have that too, in the way we change the tone of our voice when asking a question, but it would seem the chinese use tone a lot more. frankly, my hearing isn't too clever so that may be a step too far for me.

    and on the point of my hearing loss, british sign language is something im already starting to look at. im hoping sign language will be much easier than other languages, simply because the brain remembers physical movements much better than non-physical memorising, hence the saying about never forgetting how to ride a bike. physical movements require the use of more parts of the brain, and thus the memory is more deeply embedded. at least that's what i read on the BBC!

    I don't know how bsl is but I know asl is harder to learn the more you get older and the less you use it. Also, with asl the sentence structure is different then English. When you get going on it be patient. In asl one sign can be 4 different words too.

    One more thing....watching YouTube will increase your receptive skills.

    Hi, thanks. I guess I'll have no choice but to be patient with sign language. I'm starting to learn now, so that in a couple of years when conversations become impossible, i'll have some way of communicating. well, at least communicating with other people who speak sign language.

    when you say Youtube will increase my receptive skills, do you mean watching sign language videos or just any videos?
  • ajohn252
    ajohn252 Posts: 158
    Learning Spanish as we speak and I love it!
  • questionablemethods
    questionablemethods Posts: 2,174 Member
    I have a PhD in linguistics. So... I guess you could say I study languages. :happy:

    I don't study specific languages as much as how languages (in general) function as systems.

    I am decently proficient in French and I have some structural knowledge of Amharic, Hmong, and Nepali, though it has been awhile since I've looked at any of those last three.
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