Foreign Languages

[Hmm]

I'm not sure if this topic has already been posted, but I don't think it has been.

Can you speak any foreign languages? How did you learn them? And, which language do you think sounds the best when spoken?

I can speak French pretty well (no thanks to my high school's curriculum)... and I chose to learn it only because it sounds very mellifluous if spoken correctly.

What about you?

[Yasa]

I can speak french, have been in French Immersion since kindergarten. I have a horrible anglophonic accent but can do a good impression of a true frenchman. I think Japanese sounds the coolest based on anime shows I've watched, hahaha.

[phoenix_fire]

I took Spanish in high school because it seems to be one of the more useful languages to know. I have just started teaching myself Japanese. I watch so much anime that I was beginning to pick up bits by immersion so I figured, why not formalize the process?

I agree. Japanese sounds beautiful. I love speaking it. It is so elegant.

[Kamehameha34]

Je parle francais, mais ne parle bien pas. J'etudie francais un.

Et toi? Donne-moi un example de* ton francais.



*Comment dit-on "of" en francais?

[Yasa]

Quote by: Kamehameha34 Je parle francais, mais ne parle bien pas. J'etudie francais un. Et toi? Donne-moi un example de* ton francais. *Comment dit-on "of" en francais?

Ca devrait etre "pas bien" au lieu de "bien pas". "Ton francais" semble correcte, mais si francais etait feminin, ca serai "ta francais". A part de ca, je ne suis pas tres bien a l'ecrit, ni l'orale... mais je peut le comprendre tres bien (si l'accent n'est pas si grave). Haahaha french pun!

[Yasa]

Quote by: Yasa je peut

je peux *

[fushigi]

Chinese and some Japanese

[The Bacon Guy]

I wouldn't starve in Germany, and I also speak a little Japanese. I know the basics of quite a few languages, since I always learn a few phrases of the native language before I visit a country. All in all, I know a few words of Swedish, Finnish, Latvian, Estonian and Russian.

There was already a thread on this by the way, but no matter.

[G. Adams]

I'm English, it's a matter of national pride that I don't know anyone elses language. If you don't understand me at first, I'll just speak louder:)

Although more honestly, I speak a fair bit of French, and a little German, Spanish and Japanese.

[Mozart1220]

I'm learnin g to sign, because my son is deaf, but I refuse to learn anyone elses language until they learn mine. I live in America and we speak ENGLISH here. Learn my language or go the hell home.

[Hmm]

Quote by: Mozart1220 I'm learnin g to sign, because my son is deaf, but I refuse to learn anyone elses language until they learn mine. I live in America and we speak ENGLISH here. Learn my language or go the hell home.

What if you are visiting another country? Would you follow the same logic?

[phoenix_fire]

Quote by: Yasa Ca devrait etre "pas bien" au lieu de "bien pas". "Ton francais" semble correcte, mais si francais etait feminin, ca serai "ta francais". A part de ca, je ne suis pas tres bien a l'ecrit, ni l'orale... mais je peut le comprendre tres bien (si l'accent n'est pas si grave). Haahaha french pun!

Pues, es interesante porque no puedo usar accentos...pero... Yo se' que ustedes san hablando como. Puedo leer la lingue un poquito, pero no puedo hablarla. Tristemente, no puedo formar frases totales en japones ahora. Esta mi semana primero.

[Nono]

Quote by: Hmm I'm not sure if this topic has already been posted, but I don't think it has been.

It was once, quite a while ago.

Which language do you think sounds the best when spoken?

Any language can sound good, depending on who is speaking -- some people just have a way. And any can sound awful. I gather you mean languages one actually understands (as opposed to "Hey, Lao sounds kinda cool.")

I'd vote for Italian. Certainly sounds good when sung.

[StrongHeartsWin]

Saisho ni, nihongo wa kirei da to omotta. Keredo, ima moo akita. Yappari, zen kuni no kotoba ga futsu. Doredemo no hoo ga ii de wa nai. Hajimete kiku dake no ga omoshirokute kikiyasui. Boku no iken da.

Tokoro de, zen doubutsu ni yasashikunishite.

Kono kotoba kikiyasui to omou?

[RickSp]

Quote by: Hmm Can you speak any foreign languages? How did you learn them?

Without using a language I quickly forget much of what I know. I took German in school, learned some French on business, picked up some Spanish in my neighborhood, and accumulated a working vocabulary of a dozen words or so in Korean and Chinese, also traveling on business.

I did learn, to my chagrin, that my pronounciation of what I thought was "excuse me" in Korean as far closer to "I love you."

[The Bacon Guy]

Quote by: Nono I'd vote for Italian. Certainly sounds good when sung.

And when yelling at someone.

[Nono]

Quote by: Bakin And when yelling at someone.

As I can attest, being married to an Italian. In fact, a normal telephone conversation between my wife and her mother makes one wonder why they bother using a phone at all.

[Nono]

Hey, Bakin, now what about Glaswegian? (asks he, waiving for a moment the comprehensibility criterion LOL)

My forebears were mostly Highland Scots, some of whom were reportedly not so great at English before they emigrated. But a nice, soft-spoken Scots accent (even one from Glasgow) can be a soothing, even hypnotic thing in my view.

[pahl]

Can you speak any foreign languages?

Yea, i can speak english pretty well.

And just a little bit german.

[fushigi]

Quote by: Nono As I can attest, being married to an Italian. In fact, a normal telephone conversation between my wife and her mother makes one wonder why they bother using a phone at all.

I know just what you mean. My girlfriend's Brazilian; hearing her speak Portuguese with her friends over Skype I get the same feeling. It always sounds like she's having an angry shouting match, then I hear a sudden burst of laughter and realize volume and panache are just part of the language.