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How many languages do you speak?

J_Dee

Junior
Mar 21, 2008
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Just curious, because my brother's kids are starting to learn Spanish.

I speak English and Spanish. I had two Japanese classes as an undergrad but I've long since forgotten it all aside from some basics and hiragana.
 
English. Zero plans to learn a second language. At some point, computers are going to make learning a 2nd language completely useless. It will be like buying CDs or DVD.

And were not talking 100 years from now.. were talking 10 to 15.
 
I speak American because I am free and I love eagles and our great flag.

American. God's language. Take that, commies.
 
English and fluent Spanish. I take bite size lessons every day on Memrise and Duolingo for 16 different languages. Not fluent in any of them yey, been doing it for about a year. Might as well do something productive and learn!
 
English, Spanish and German. Spanish was my second language and German the third. I've had the Federal Government Foreign Service Institute courses in both and they were pretty intense as you're forced to learn the grammar in each. I have to say that German was by far way more difficult to learn than Spanish.
 
English, Spanish and German. Spanish was my second language and German the third. I've had the Federal Government Foreign Service Institute courses in both and they were pretty intense as you're forced to learn the grammar in each. I have to say that German was by far way more difficult to learn than Spanish.
Yes, German grammar ist sehr schwer. Der, Die, Das.
 
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Yes, German grammar ist sehr schwer. Der, Die, Das.
Then there's a lot of phrases that don't translate into anything which must be memorized. However, I can now say that I can understand what the Germans are talking about in the WWII movies, lol.
 
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English, Spanish and German. Spanish was my second language and German the third. I've had the Federal Government Foreign Service Institute courses in both and they were pretty intense as you're forced to learn the grammar in each. I have to say that German was by far way more difficult to learn than Spanish.
For English speakers, German is considered level 2, I believe, while Spanish is level 1. Arabic, Chinese an Russian are level 3.

Personally speaking, I took a crazy route to German certifications and degrees. My paternal grandmother (maiden last name: Lientz) still spoke some German at home. I picked up a few phrases from her. Had a year course in high school, and earned mostly Bs and Cs. Was stationed in Germany for 11 years total. Took Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) after 2.5 years in country and attained 2/2 level. Tested again after 4 years in country + 2 years married to a German. We communicated in German during our entire relationship Scored 3/3. Honestly, attaining this level involved tremendous work and cultural immersion. What also helped is that I combined hobbies (scuba diving, side-hustling, cars) with improving my knowledge.

I CLEP-tested German twice during my first stint over there. Got a perfect score so testing center mandated a retest. Missed one on follow-up exam. For the hell of it, I converted the results, transfer classes and 5 other classes in residence into an Associate of Arts from Austin Community College in 2001. Took Goethe Institute proficiency exams 3 times (1987, 1994, 2010). Finally earned C level at GI-Frankfurt in 2010 after surviving 2 strokes 19 months earlier. I stayed with German friends for 5 weeks preceding the exam, which helped tremendously.

Turkish is another story. I dated a Kurdish gal for nearly 3 years. We communicated primarily in German, but also English and Turkish. It's a very interesting language related to Mongolian, Korean, Hungarian and Finnish, believe it or not. I'm acquainted (read: occasional Thursday night drinking buddy during non-COVID times) with a University of Texas Spanish language professor who also has been learning Turkish. She tested out Turkish conversational fluency a few months ago. Good for her.
 
For English speakers, German is considered level 2, I believe, while Spanish is level 1. Arabic, Chinese an Russian are level 3.

Personally speaking, I took a crazy route to German certifications and degrees. My paternal grandmother (maiden last name: Lientz) still spoke some German at home. I picked up a few phrases from her. Had a year course in high school, and earned mostly Bs and Cs. Was stationed in Germany for 11 years total. Took Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT) after 2.5 years in country and attained 2/2 level. Tested again after 4 years in country + 2 years married to a German. We communicated in German during our entire relationship Scored 3/3. Honestly, attaining this level involved tremendous work and cultural immersion. What also helped is that I combined hobbies (scuba diving, side-hustling, cars) with improving my knowledge.

I CLEP-tested German twice during my first stint over there. Got a perfect score so testing center mandated a retest. Missed one on follow-up exam. For the hell of it, I converted the results, transfer classes and 5 other classes in residence into an Associate of Arts from Austin Community College in 2001. Took Goethe Institute proficiency exams 3 times (1987, 1994, 2010). Finally earned C level at GI-Frankfurt in 2010 after surviving 2 strokes 19 months earlier. I stayed with German friends for 5 weeks preceding the exam, which helped tremendously.

Turkish is another story. I dated a Kurdish gal for nearly 3 years. We communicated primarily in German, but also English and Turkish. It's a very interesting language related to Mongolian, Korean, Hungarian and Finnish, believe it or not. I'm acquainted (read: occasional Thursday night drinking buddy during non-COVID times) with a University of Texas Spanish language professor who also has been learning Turkish. She tested out Turkish conversational fluency a few months ago. Good for her.
You're right about the cultural aspects of learning a language. For that reason, Spanish was much easier as I was married to a Latina at the time and my in-laws spoke very little English. Lived with my ex MIL for about 6 months after we moved back to Fort Worth and it helped quite a bit. I've always heard that actually "living" a language is the best way to learn. Only Germans I know were at work and they were high tech professionals working on all of our machinery. Interesting that you dated a Kurdish girl. I wouldn't even attempt to learn an Eastern language at this age but I'm guessing you have some pretty good stories about that culture.
 
You're right about the cultural aspects of learning a language. For that reason, Spanish was much easier as I was married to a Latina at the time and my in-laws spoke very little English. Lived with my ex MIL for about 6 months after we moved back to Fort Worth and it helped quite a bit. I've always heard that actually "living" a language is the best way to learn. Only Germans I know were at work and they were high tech professionals working on all of our machinery. Interesting that you dated a Kurdish girl. I wouldn't even attempt to learn an Eastern language at this age but I'm guessing you have some pretty good stories about that culture.
Nowadays, learning is just so much more convenient. Apps, websites and YouTube videos make a huge difference. Back during the 80s, I usually carried 3-4 books around, one of which was a pocket dictionary and the other a thick grammar book.

Yeah, I had fun and learned quite a bit during my Kurdish GF era. Kurds and Turks are typically very hardworking, honorable, somewhat traditional folks. Many Turks I've met here in the states prefer greater assimilation with Americans than anything else. It's all about $ + opportunity.
 
Nowadays, learning is just so much more convenient. Apps, websites and YouTube videos make a huge difference. Back during the 80s, I usually carried 3-4 books around, one of which was a pocket dictionary and the other a thick grammar book.

Yeah, I had fun and learned quite a bit during my Kurdish GF era. Kurds and Turks are typically very hardworking, honorable, somewhat traditional folks. Many Turks I've met here in the states prefer greater assimilation with Americans than anything else. It's all about $ + opportunity.
Still have a couple of pocket dictionaries for German. In fact, while digging through some old boxes I came across some books I was learning from while stationed there along with the pocket dictionaries. Not fluent but proficient in German. Never tested out though. learned my German from girlfriends and the Kontact Club.
 
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I learned a little bit of Spanish in high school. Basically enough that I can recognize a word here or there when someone is speaking it.

My wife has a bunch of patients from The Congo and has learned a little bit of Lingala.
 
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Nowadays, learning is just so much more convenient. Apps, websites and YouTube videos make a huge difference. Back during the 80s, I usually carried 3-4 books around, one of which was a pocket dictionary and the other a thick grammar book.

Yeah, I had fun and learned quite a bit during my Kurdish GF era. Kurds and Turks are typically very hardworking, honorable, somewhat traditional folks. Many Turks I've met here in the states prefer greater assimilation with Americans than anything else. It's all about $ + opportunity.
Yes, it is much easier now. Ever watch "Die Deutsche Wochenschau" on Utube? Those old combat videos are great.
 
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