How many languages can you get by in?

Question

It would be interesting to know what languages members of SpanishDict know - and how they learnt them.

• Edited - wrong category. - ian-hill Oct 30, 2009
• Ian, you didn't give us your answer. :-) - --Mariana-- Oct 30, 2009
• OK - Marianne - English of course - Danish (Swedish and Norwegian) Spanish (more or less) A little (for holidays) French and German and even less Romanian and Italian. - ian-hill Oct 30, 2009
• Wonderful! - --Mariana-- Oct 31, 2009

Answer 1

I can speak fluent English and write fluently in English (this should be no problem because I live in London and am British!!). Recently I and a few others had a chance to go to Beijing and Chongqing in China as part of an immersion course. We took Mandarin exams there and I'm happy to say that I aced it! I also can speak spanish, I'm not fluent but on an intermediate level currently. I also speak a few other languages: Arabic & Urdu.

As for ways of picking up languages its quite simple. Look at magazine articles, newsapers in that language you wish to study and start to read slowly, and focus on pronounciation. Also another method of learning a language I'd recommend is flashcards or taking notes. This stimulates the brain to want to learn more because learning should really be fun and so, don't spend hours on end just reading through books. Your mind will just begin to wander.

---

Finally, try to talk to other people who know that language you wish to study. You begin to learn things automatically, it really helped me in China!!

Good luck!!

• "Recently me and a few others ..." should be "Recently I and a few others ...". - samdie Oct 30, 2009
• Apparently, your shift-key works (cf. "Arabic & Urdu") but (for a fluent English speaker), you often don't bother to use it (cf. "british" ,"beijing", "chongquing", "china","mandarin", "spanish". - samdie Oct 30, 2009
• Sorry, sorry- my mistake. I'll correct it immediately! - Seb79 Nov 1, 2009
• To be more correct, "Recently I and a few others..." should be "Recently, A few others and I..." - aloshek Nov 7, 2009

Answer 2

I learned Spanish originally in high school and can read it pretty well, and speak it less so. I took Italian in college and again can read it passably but have a lot of trouble speaking it. French I have a working knowledged from high school and cross-overs from Spanish and Italian. Korean and Japanese are just enough to teach my martial arts classes. Other languages I just picked up bits and pieces here and there.

Answer 3

I can hold my own in English , I can communicate understandably in Spanish, I used to be able to have simple conversations in American sign language, though it has been a while, and now I am learning Mandarin, though I wouldn't say that I could speak more than a few words... but give me a month or so, by then I will be able to "get by".

• Wonderful! I'd like to learn Mandarin someday. :-) - --Mariana-- Oct 30, 2009

Answer 4

I speak and write English fluently (I was an English major for four years and I'm a legal editor now).

When I was in Mexico last year my Spanish was good enough to communicate with everyone I met. Although I have a lot to learn, I'm pretty comfortable in a total immersion situation.

I learned Spanish grammar by taking lessons on the Internet and vocabulary by labeling everything in my house. I also carried around a vocab notebook everywhere I went. Flashcards were extremely helpful to me.

To learn conversation and more advanced grammar, I took two trips to Mexico for the total immersion programs. These trips were incredibly useful. Now, I have a tutor from Guatemala via Skype for weekly conversation.

Answer 5

I born speaking Spanish. I know also English, because we have it everywhere (in movies, advertising, computers, computer games). I know also some Italian, Portuguese and also French, that are similar to Spanish.

• If you were born speaking Spanish, I suspect that the attending doctors/nurses were very surprised. Most infants don't start speaking (any language) until after about 12 moths. - samdie Oct 30, 2009
• He's a very clever lad - that's all. - ian-hill Oct 30, 2009
• lmao, thank you samdie - elcielo Dec 12, 2009

Answer 6

Swedish and English.

Might get by in Spanish, not really sure.

Answer 7

Im German and I have been learning English and French at school for a few years. And now I'm trying to learn Spanish *g

Till now it's much more fun than it had been with the other languages at school.

• You are doing great! - --Mariana-- Oct 30, 2009

Answer 8

I like to study English, Spanish, German, Mandarin

and sometimes French, but I haven't gotten to the

point where I can get by in any of these yet

Still hopeful, though

• Nothing amiss with your English Izanoni - or didn't you mean that? - ian-hill Oct 30, 2009
• Well that's very kind of you to say, but I still see it as a work in progress - Izanoni1 Oct 30, 2009
• Nearly finished that work I would say. - ian-hill Oct 30, 2009
• I wonder what your first language is. - jeezzle Nov 7, 2009

Answer 9

English is my native language. Spanish is/will be my second. I can hold a conversation with little problem depending on their accent. Learning the grammar of Spanish has improved my English

• How did learning Spanish grammar improve your English, if that's your native language? :P - Gustav-R Oct 30, 2009
• You learn the *correct* rules of English Grammer....I am more aware now when I speak, whether it be in Spanish or English. :) - sunshinzmomm Oct 30, 2009
• Native English speakers tend not to understand grammar sructures as well as native speakers of other languages do. I have some ideas why. - ian-hill Oct 30, 2009

Answer 10

English (for obvious reasons), Spanish, French and Japanese. My favorite phrase in Spanish is "Me defiendo" (on a literal level, "I can defend myself." but (somewhat more loosely, "I get along.")

There was a time when I could handle basic/simple conversations in Vietnamese and (even more basic) conversations in Arabic but for lack of practice that is no longer true.

• Four languages is quite impressive! - --Mariana-- Oct 30, 2009
• I understand the use it or lose it. I haven't spoken German in 20 years and now can hardly remember any. - Seitheach Oct 30, 2009

Answer 11

I am fluent in English. I know enough French to "get by". I am in the process of learning Spanish. I also know a strange combination of Italian, which involves all the musical terms plus the "colorful" not so nice words learned from my Italian mother-in-law and her family. So I can read music and curse in Italian, but choose not to curse!

• Whatever. I bet you cursed the Phillies tonight. :) - Seitheach Oct 30, 2009

Answer 12

Chinese is my native language while English is my second. I had some Japanese lessons when I was in uni but now, a couple of years after, I could only read simple texts and have some "survival" conversations. And I'm now learning Spanish! I hope it can become my second language someday, just as English!

Answer 13

Serbian: my native language.

Hungarian: I learned it from my nanny when I was about 3. They say that I used to be fluent, but now I remember only a few words.

Russian: Grade 4 - 10. Since I had to learn it I did my best in forgetting all of it (still can read cyrillic, though).

English: Fluent. Started learning it when I was ten by translating "Yellow Submarine" with the help of my parents' mini travel dictionary.

French: Took classes while at University. Was pretty good at it but didn't use it and... It's still all there in one of the drawers on my brain, I just forgot which one.

Punjabi: my husband's language. Learned most of food words by dining at the in-laws (my mother in-law doesn't speak English). Favorite word: "mirchi", meaning "spicy hot".

and of course...

Español: mi amor nuevo. Started learning it at work about 2 years ago. Classes are twice a week during lunch hour and are sooo much fun. Right now I'm on mat leave and can't practice Spanish with my group but then I found Spanishaddict.com

Did I mention that I find learning languages FUN??

Answer 14

• English is my first language and I am fluent in it. I have taken enough courses in high school to prove to my college that I am not in need of anymore English classes.

• Spanish - I started learning it in 7th grade and I am currently taking college courses for spanish in my high school... Yes, I know... people think I'm a nerd because I'm too smart. I am very comfortable with vocabulary and writing. Reading comes pretty naturally for me, but I struggle to piece together conversations on the spot in Spanish. I still have more to learn. I have lived in Monterrey, Mexico every summer for the last 3 years, I have learned alot about Spanish culture and I am more able to understand conversations, because I was immersed in the Spanish language.

• Italian - I started learning it in 8th grade when I became very interested in music. Alot of my contest solos are in italian, so I find italian to be important. I can read italian very well, and if I think for a while, I can understand most conversations in Italian, but I cannot speak a fluent conversation. I can pronounce words correctly, but I cannot speak to another person well at all, because I have never needed to converse in Italian.

• German - I began learning German in 8th grade, for the purpose of understanding music I was singing. I do not like singing songs in a language in which I cannot understand, but most contest pieces are in Italian, German, Latin, French, and several African languages. Also, I was intrigued by the German accent, and I wanted to learn German. So, similar to Italian, I can read it, slowly spoken words are easy for me to understand, but I can not hold a conversation in German.

• Latin - I began learning Latin when I was 5 years old at my christian school. They taught us bits and pieces of Latin and Arabic, so that we could understand reading the Bible in its original text. Then, when I became interested in music, I started pursuing latin more for the purpose of singing in Latin. I can read latin fairly well and I can pronounce words correctly, but I can't understand it when I hear it, and I can't have a conversation in Latin.

• Like I said before, I don't like singing pieces that I can't understand because they are in a foreign language, so whenever I get a new piece, I spend some time learning simple vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar for the new language. Through this, I have learned bits of French, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and some other languages.

• I hope to learn Dutch someday, because that is what my grandparent's native language is.

• As you can tell, I absolutely love music, first and foremost. And because I love music, I must enjoy foreign languages as well.

Answer 15

I speak a universal language that I have used in the backs of taxis all over the world. In Moscow once, I was "in conversation" with the driver for at least 20 minutes. The same thing has happened in Germany, Italy, and even England. A lot of people just talk "at you" and if they hear some sound of response, like Mmm, or ahah they just keep on talking. The problem comes when they ask you a question and you reply by saying Mmm, or ahah.!

Even when you think that you speak a language quite well, has anyone noticed that when you are paying for something in a shop, instead of just taking the money you are holding out, they always seem to ask you a question that you don't understand?

• Yes I have noticed that too. - ian-hill Oct 30, 2009