How many languages do you speak?
Poll: How many languages do you speak?
Total Members Polled: 190
Discussion
I’m very interested in languages (despite managing to fail CSE German).
When I lived in Switzerland pretty much all the Swiss and non-Brit expats spoke at least three languages: English, German and French (perhaps four if you treat Swiss German and proper German as different languages). It was taken for granted. I went to seminars organised by a professional organisation I was a member of and people presented in any of the three languages and it was just assumed you would understand.
The UK has a reputation of being quite monolingual. Just wondering whether that has changed.
I see a big difference between learning a foreign language and having been brought up multilingual. My wife speaks English and Hindi but she didn’t learn Hindi or English via textbooks. Similarly my daughter used to be able to speak English, German and Swiss German without ever having studied any of them.
I would say someone can speak a language if they could survive (even if with difficulty) living in that language ie be able to hold full conversations with natives without having to resort to English or gesturing.
When I lived in Switzerland pretty much all the Swiss and non-Brit expats spoke at least three languages: English, German and French (perhaps four if you treat Swiss German and proper German as different languages). It was taken for granted. I went to seminars organised by a professional organisation I was a member of and people presented in any of the three languages and it was just assumed you would understand.
The UK has a reputation of being quite monolingual. Just wondering whether that has changed.
I see a big difference between learning a foreign language and having been brought up multilingual. My wife speaks English and Hindi but she didn’t learn Hindi or English via textbooks. Similarly my daughter used to be able to speak English, German and Swiss German without ever having studied any of them.
I would say someone can speak a language if they could survive (even if with difficulty) living in that language ie be able to hold full conversations with natives without having to resort to English or gesturing.
Just English.
I would like to learn more, but I'm just too lazy.
Did the obligatory couple of years of French at school learning about the familiy Bertillon & thats about it.
Despite working overseas a lot of the time, it's never been a problem. I started to do Arabic at one point but I find it very difficult & gave up. Russian would be useful at the moment.
When I walk back to the apartment most evening there are a few little kids 5 or 6 and they seem to love practicing their english chatting to me.
I would like to learn more, but I'm just too lazy.
Did the obligatory couple of years of French at school learning about the familiy Bertillon & thats about it.
Despite working overseas a lot of the time, it's never been a problem. I started to do Arabic at one point but I find it very difficult & gave up. Russian would be useful at the moment.
When I walk back to the apartment most evening there are a few little kids 5 or 6 and they seem to love practicing their english chatting to me.
GT03ROB said:
Just English.
I would like to learn more, but I'm just too lazy.
Did the obligatory couple of years of French at school learning about the familiy Bertillon & thats about it.
Despite working overseas a lot of the time, it's never been a problem. I started to do Arabic at one point but I find it very difficult & gave up. Russian would be useful at the moment.
When I walk back to the apartment most evening there are a few little kids 5 or 6 and they seem to love practicing their english chatting to me.
It is often surprisingly easy to live in another country and not have to speak the local language. Many (most) English speaking friends in Switzerland didn’t get around to learning more than basic German for that reason. I would like to learn more, but I'm just too lazy.
Did the obligatory couple of years of French at school learning about the familiy Bertillon & thats about it.
Despite working overseas a lot of the time, it's never been a problem. I started to do Arabic at one point but I find it very difficult & gave up. Russian would be useful at the moment.
When I walk back to the apartment most evening there are a few little kids 5 or 6 and they seem to love practicing their english chatting to me.
Arabic is one of the hardest languages to learn so not surprised you have up.
Esceptico said:
The UK has a reputation of being quite monolingual. Just wondering whether that has changed.
No and the very good reason is that any other language has limited value unless you specifically need it.For example I can pretty much guarantee that someone from Norway will speak to someone from Hungary in English. There are dozens of similar examples.
If I were to learn another language it would be Spanish because of the coverage. German would be pointless as would Japanese unless you needed it for work.
English, schoolboy French (which improves very quickly when I'm in France), and just about passable Spanish (ok for restaurants and getting about, not so good proper conversations). I'm still continuing to work on learning Spanish.
My best friend speaks who is English speaks fluent French and German, very good Polish and Russian, and good Spanish, Italian and Greek. All self taught. I'm in total awe.
My best friend speaks who is English speaks fluent French and German, very good Polish and Russian, and good Spanish, Italian and Greek. All self taught. I'm in total awe.
trickywoo said:
No and the very good reason is that any other language has limited value unless you specifically need it.
For example I can pretty much guarantee that someone from Norway will speak to someone from Hungary in English. There are dozens of similar examples.
If I were to learn another language it would be Spanish because of the coverage. German would be pointless as would Japanese unless you needed it for work.
English is currently the world language. Even in Switzerland when German speaking Swiss met with French speakers they would generally speak English (at least in my experience). For example I can pretty much guarantee that someone from Norway will speak to someone from Hungary in English. There are dozens of similar examples.
If I were to learn another language it would be Spanish because of the coverage. German would be pointless as would Japanese unless you needed it for work.
However I think unless your work involved central or South America then Mandarin probably more useful. Learning the characters is a pain but other than that the grammar is actually much easier than European languages and the tones are not too hard (and you can be understood even if you screw up).
I'm not sure you need to be able to have a "full conversation with a native" to survive in a foreign country. Having a full conversation to me would mean being able to shoot the breeze down the pub with a stranger - listening to and understanding a foreign language speaker talking at normal speed is very difficult, but you could still communicate sufficiently to survive. I might struggle to have a natural conversation in France, but would certainly get by with my A-Level French and improve quickly if immersed in it.
Similarly, my recent rudimentary learning of basic Portuguese I could (to a much lesser extent) survive with and no doubt improve on if in a Portuguese speaking region, but understanding native speakers I really struggle with. My attempts to speak it to hospitality staff usually result in exasperation and responses in English from them
Having a basic grasp of grammar, lots of vocabulary, and knowing how to pronounce things can get you quite far IME.
At school I hated having to learn 30 odd different words of French a week for a test on Monday morning, but it still proves useful today. I never thought I would actually have to use in real life the French for "hot water boiler" and "turning off the ignition" if I was not a permanent resident.
Similarly, my recent rudimentary learning of basic Portuguese I could (to a much lesser extent) survive with and no doubt improve on if in a Portuguese speaking region, but understanding native speakers I really struggle with. My attempts to speak it to hospitality staff usually result in exasperation and responses in English from them
Having a basic grasp of grammar, lots of vocabulary, and knowing how to pronounce things can get you quite far IME.
At school I hated having to learn 30 odd different words of French a week for a test on Monday morning, but it still proves useful today. I never thought I would actually have to use in real life the French for "hot water boiler" and "turning off the ignition" if I was not a permanent resident.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I grew up in France in the early 80s - I think by then the French had taken steps to limit the amount of English that their children were exposed to! We used to have ToTP shipped to us on VHS! In the Netherlands, whenever I ask how they learned English, the answer is from British TV. I think the BBC is available across most of the NL from TV signals aimed at Kent.
Last night I paid my Tax Foncière for our French cottage on the standard government mobile phone app - completely in English. Times are definitely changing again in France.
I can order a meal or book a hotel in French and Dutch, but not hold in depth conversations. I know loads of people who work in thier second or even third language and it still amazes me.
I find Dutch really hard to learn as there's probably more English speakers than Dutch speakers in the Netherlands, so it's easy to be lazy. TV and cinemas show everything in the original language with subtitles, and as soon as someone realises you're English they'll switch English. An hour and a half a week of lessons doesn't really get you that far without practicing it more. If I'd moved to France I reckon I'd be fluent by now as I'd have to be
I'm going to Paris this weekend, and will be getting the train home. What's the chances of me seeing a monkey in a tree while I'm trying to find out where the station is?
I find Dutch really hard to learn as there's probably more English speakers than Dutch speakers in the Netherlands, so it's easy to be lazy. TV and cinemas show everything in the original language with subtitles, and as soon as someone realises you're English they'll switch English. An hour and a half a week of lessons doesn't really get you that far without practicing it more. If I'd moved to France I reckon I'd be fluent by now as I'd have to be
I'm going to Paris this weekend, and will be getting the train home. What's the chances of me seeing a monkey in a tree while I'm trying to find out where the station is?
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Wednesday 22 September 08:33
Esceptico said:
English is currently the world language. Even in Switzerland when German speaking Swiss met with French speakers they would generally speak English (at least in my experience).
Similar when I did a French immersion course, for the non-Brits French was their 3rd language so the lingua franca in the evening was English. I did A level French so get by fairly well, but it was more about French literature and being able to discuss French existential literature in French is beyond pointless. And apparently French women go weak at the knees for an Englishman speaking French with an English accent, so my half decent French accent is also pointless/a hindrance.I also did a Spanish course before going travelling in South America and can have a basic chat on a bus.
Plus German O level which I have barely used, and Russian which has come in handy for road signs in Bulgaria and Greece!
Is there a term for having difficulty with non-default languages, as dyslexia or dyscalculia are to 'riting n' 'rithmatic?
I had to do four different languages over school years -
Primary, french, I vaguely recall by rote counting.
Secondary, spanish & latin 5 years to O-level, failed both, latin most spectacularly despite quite enjoying it, having a good teacher and taking it twice with 9 & 8 scores!
Secondary, german, 2 years to O-level, failed 8.
The one positive thing was retaking Spanish during the lower sixth after a move when I passed with a 5.
I can get some of the technical aspects of the language, german verb at the end, latin declensions sort of thing but to know the word for x is y no chance. Some of that is down to a crap memory but being good at reasoning I suspect.
I had to do four different languages over school years -
Primary, french, I vaguely recall by rote counting.
Secondary, spanish & latin 5 years to O-level, failed both, latin most spectacularly despite quite enjoying it, having a good teacher and taking it twice with 9 & 8 scores!
Secondary, german, 2 years to O-level, failed 8.
The one positive thing was retaking Spanish during the lower sixth after a move when I passed with a 5.
I can get some of the technical aspects of the language, german verb at the end, latin declensions sort of thing but to know the word for x is y no chance. Some of that is down to a crap memory but being good at reasoning I suspect.
French and English.
I always planned to learn German as work for a DAX30 company - where a lot of HQ communication is in German. Work even offer lessons.
The problem I've found it tech makes it so easy not to have to bother. Whilst we've had Google translate for some time, the quality of translation instead of just historic word for word, has greatly improved and diminished the need to know it.
Whilst such tools are ultra handy, is a shame as should make the effort so I can communicate verbally instead of just over email.
I always planned to learn German as work for a DAX30 company - where a lot of HQ communication is in German. Work even offer lessons.
The problem I've found it tech makes it so easy not to have to bother. Whilst we've had Google translate for some time, the quality of translation instead of just historic word for word, has greatly improved and diminished the need to know it.
Whilst such tools are ultra handy, is a shame as should make the effort so I can communicate verbally instead of just over email.
I'm born and bred English but moved to Germany 8 years ago after marrying a German girl. I took an intensive language course when I arrived here and I would say I'm pretty much fluent now. I hesitant to say native speaker level but I would and communicate in German everyday.
The interesting part is our children. They obviously get total German immersion but I only speak English with them. My very nearly 5 year old son can switch from German to English (and vice versa) instantly and has an incredible vocabulary in both languages. My 18 month old daughter is obviously much more limited with her speech but she seems to understand English and German as well. The ability of young kids to learn is amazing.
The interesting part is our children. They obviously get total German immersion but I only speak English with them. My very nearly 5 year old son can switch from German to English (and vice versa) instantly and has an incredible vocabulary in both languages. My 18 month old daughter is obviously much more limited with her speech but she seems to understand English and German as well. The ability of young kids to learn is amazing.
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