Languages

[SwordsMaster]

Ok, Today I woke up in a more reflexive-philosofical mood, and seeing that the top 10 topics in the Frontroom include Rasputin´s penis and mostly flirting issues, I decided to give you something more to think about. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-inquisitive.gif

Let´s talk about languages. How many do you speak? I mean speak at a level when you could go to that country and have a life.

Which leads to: Why it is easier for someone who already speaks more than one language to learn another one even if they are not related?


Discuss, please.

[rasoforos]

Greek and English.
I can also speak some french and italian but the lack of practice means that my skills are elementary to say the least.

As to what makes it easier for one to learn a new language...I dont know if knowing one foreign language makes it easier for you to learn another when the languages are unrelated. I sure know that related languages help a lot since its easier for you to have a vague sence of what you are reading.
Something that helps is the complexity of your mother language. If it is very simple grammaticaly then you might be in deep trouble trying to understand grammar rules you never needed to use before. If the opposite is true then its easy for you. The vast difference in complexity between my native language ( greek ) and the language i use daily ( english) still amazes me and it sometimes makes it very dificult for me two translate between the two.
Another thing that helped me was the fact that i allready knew most of the complex words ( they are mostly greek if you think about it :D )

[Duke Malcolm]

English, Scots.
I can speak a relatively good amount of French, but would be consigned to mostly one-word sentences with bad grammar and pronunciation if I were to use the language for practical purposes.
I'm also learning Scots Gaelic, but I don't know as much of that as I do French.

[mercian billman]

English and Spanish

I learned (still taking spanish classes) spanish in school, Im not completely fluent but, I can read a newspaper, and understand what people say, most of what I say though would be short and simple sentences. Im not exactly fluent but Im getting there http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif

[Fragony]

I speak dutch, english, german, french and a tiny little bit of spanish

[Tricky Lady]

Dutch is my mother tongue, and I consider myself rather good in French and Spanish. My English is not good but I think I would be able to survive in an Anglosaxon society.
I've studied Swedish and Greek too, so with some practise I can certainly help myself in Sweden and Greece too.

[RisingSun]

Yeah, there's something about you Dutch- Is learning languages like a national sport over there or something? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-curtain.gif

English and Spanish for meself. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[BDC]

English and some French. I'm pretty good at understanding it, crap at speaking it. I need to spend a few weeks in France working or something, then I'd be pretty good.

But I'm a lazy bugger. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

[RisingSun]

French is the ugliest language I've ever heard. It burns my ears.

[Ronin]

Portuguese and English


also:Spanish(kinda cheating since it´s very similar to Portuguese), and French(horribly)..can understand it kinda ok, if i hear italian i can get the general idea of what´s being said also.

[BDC]

Quote[/b] (RisingSun @ June 19 2004,17:52)]French is the ugliest language I've ever heard. It burns my ears.
Depends on the accent really.

Now a drunken French guy with a Boston accent speaking in English with a mock English accent, now that's ugly.

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

[Mouzafphaerre]

-
Turkish, western dialect; my mother/father toungue. I can communicate with the speakers of the eastern dialect with ease.

Kurdish (Qrmanchi). An Iranian language vastly spoken in my land. I can read and recognise a bit and talk a couple words (still studying it).

Arabic (literary). I can get the general meaning of a written text or spoken word. Still studying irregularly.

Persian (Farsi). Can get the general meaning with the help of a dictionry. Planning to study regularly.

Greek (modern). Recently started to study on my own. I can say What is this? This is a table.

English (English dialect). Studied for seven years in proficiency level. Almost forgot in a few months, then revived thanks to online life. Sometimes I speak it in my dreams.

Deutsch. Studied for three years quite fondly and then almost completely forgot. I can still read it with the help of a dictionary. With that little knowledge, I can recognize the general meaning of a text in Dutch too.

Planning/wishing to study Latin and Hebrew in addition to the above, hopefully in this life.

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-book2.gif

Hardest one? Haven't met yet. With the correct method, you can learn any one of the abovementioned easily. One thing to keep in mind is, well, mindsets. You should not think in your own language and translate on the BG but do it all in the target language, hence speaking in dreams. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif

Speaking is a total different matter. Native speakers of the Istanbul accent of Turkish with somedecent background knowledge can easily adapt to any phonetical system. However, it aint revertable. Especially American folks have great difficulty getting past the darn rs. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
_

[A.Saturnus]

I speak German, English and Dutch fluently. I had French for four years in school but forgot most of it. I can read easy sentences.

The reason why learning a language becomes easier the more languages you speak is that the methods to learn a language become better trained. A lot of language associated cognitive abilities increase as well. Learning a language is generally good for your brain.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

English, and passable French.

[hrvojej]

The only languages I can use to communicate without problems are Croatian, English and, well, Serbian. There are several others I understand quite well when they are spoken or especially written, but I'm not able to speak them myself.

[DemonArchangel]

Chinese, english, german, a little bit of russian and lating (but latin's dead)

[shakaka36]

fluent in: norwegian, english, spanish, Greek, almost fluent in dutch, i can get by on my french, and even though its of no use to me in my current geographical location, im working on my Maori.

i can also speak easily with danish and swedish people, coz all norse lanugauges are so alike

[Beirut]

English and french, fluently.

Rising Sun,

Until you have made love to a French girl in her own language, you have not lived. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-toff.gif

[SwordsMaster]

Ok, I agree with what somebody said about thinking in the target language. But I dont think you learn all languages in the same way, so there cant be any methods that you could develop with practice.IMO of course.

As of myself (and nobody asked what do I speak,but I´ll tell you anyway) I speak Spanish, Russian and English (with accent which isnt Spanish nor Russian, dunno why... tho) at good level, all but english as mother tongue.
I understand French and can communicate in an outstandingly non-french french. I understand Portuguese as well, but have never been able to imitate the accent. (I cant help it its just so similar to spanish that you pronounce it like spanish).

The bes is my dad. He speaks russian with french accent, english with german accent, spanish with cuban accent and french with russian accent. I dont know how is that possible, but he does it. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-dizzy2.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-juggle.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-confused.gif

[Haethurn]

Riguhtf n-ow I am lekarning Arabic, Cuhineksek, Japaneksek, uhekbrekw, and uhindi. In a yekar -or s-o I will pr-obably bek pr-otficiekntf witfhu Arabic and huindi

I'm aiming tfo- bek a dekcalinguhal by tfuhek tfimek I'm tfhuirtfy] yekars -old.

s-orry ab-ohutf tfuhek awtfuhl tfyping. My ekekyb-oard is mekssekd uhp] bek,cauhsek I spiltf]ekd c-otftfekek -on itf. B-oy, y-ouh w-ohuldn'tf guhkess tfuhatf I was lekarning Arabic and uhindi by l-o-oeking atf my tfyping, w-ojhuld y-ohu? I ekn-ow I s-ohund liek a m-or-on buhtf itf my ekekyba-ord wasn'tf mekssekd uhp I w-ohuld bek speklling ekvekrytfuhing pekrtfekctfly.

[shakaka36]

in the past ive had dreams where their have been 4 of me and each one is speaking in one of my fluent languages

[Snowhobbit]

Swedish and English, fluent with both.
I probably would survive in a anglosaxon society as well, my only problem would be the food http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Cazbol]

Icelandic, Danish and English, with my Danish enabling me to read Norwegian and Swedish and my Icelandic enabling me to read Faeroese. Whether or not I can understand spoken Norwegian and Swedish depends on where the speaker is from, and I have no hope of understanding spoken Faroese. I also learned some German but it never amounted to anything.

[rasoforos]

I m a bit surprised that a bunch of you people can speak or are learning greek. Considering that the language is spoken only by about 15 million people i have to wonder why...Is it just for the fun of learning an extremely complicated language or does it have a business application for you?

[Sjakihata]

I speak danish, english fluently. German and french I can survive with, but Im not fluent with these. But I can write well and also speak them well.

[hrvojej]

Quote[/b] (rasoforos @ June 21 2004,05:38)]I m a bit surprised that a bunch of you people can speak or are learning greek. Considering that the language is spoken only by about 15 million people i have to wonder why...Is it just for the fun of learning an extremely complicated language or does it have a business application for you?
Which brings me to the question:
Can native Greek speakers today speak fluently in ancient Greek, or is the difference too large? I guess the scholars can, but would an average person on the street understand someone who is speaking ancient Greek? For the sake of simplicity with regard to dialects, let's say that the ancient Greek in question is the one Xenophon used.

[rasoforos]

Ok ,

Firstly it depends on what you mean by the average joe on the street, because of the turmoil of the first ,second world war and the civil war afterwards very few of the old people were fully educated. So if the average Joe is my grandmother then the answer is no. However a highschool graduate who could be arsed to attend class will be able to understand a fair amount of an ancient dialect. I followed the 'scientific' route at highschool so i didnt study ancient greek as much as some others did but i can understand quite a lot of stuff and read and make a meaning of classic greek (aristophanes era lets say) without a dictionary and fully understand with the help of a dictionary.
A point one should know is that Ancient and modern greek are not different languages like Latin and Italian are today. Most words are the same or variations of the same , so a lot depends on your vocabulary and your knowledge of ancient grammar.
Another point has to do with the timeframe we are interested in. If we talk about homer's language then i an only pick up words , this was ancient greek for ancient greeks http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif . I can make a meaning and read classical greek with the help of a dictionary. Finally its easy for me to read Hellenistic greek since the differences are small. The greek the new testament was written does not cause me any trouble ( too bad that the old people who actually get to go to church cannot understand a word of it...) and i believe most people who bothered to study at school understand it as well.

[hrvojej]

Thanks for the reply. So, what I gather is that a lot can be understood, but speaking would be another matter.

I used Xenophon as an example since in my experience his Anabasis is the first text that is taught in ancient Greek classes, because of its pure Attican dialect IIRC. I know that Homer would be another matter completely. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

In other words, my Menin aeide Thea knowledge wouldn't be of much help when trying to order a meal. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Cheers,

[rasoforos]

Yep , people can understand but its a whole other deal to speak. I believe this to be caused by the way ancient greek is taught in greek schools ( i.e we just take ancient greek texts and translate them , noone bothers to teach you to say ' hello my name is... this is a ball , this is a table) , so after six years you end up being able to understand but not speak.

Concerning the phrase you quoted it would be understood by the average Joe i think( even though its Homer). The word 'menin' still exists more or less as is or as its evolution 'manita', its meaning 'a form of anger at a person' is still more or less the same. 'aeide' also exists as it is today , its meaning has shifted a bit and it now translated as 'singer' which is not the exact Homeric meaning. The word 'thea' is the same today as it was back then. ...now i dont know if the waiter will bring you a meal if he is asked to chant the wrath of Achilles but well. you can give it a try http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif


EDIT: i tried to write in greek the words in quotes but it didnt work...strange because it usually does.

[hrvojej]

Quote[/b] (rasoforos @ June 21 2004,06:36)]I believe this to be caused by the way ancient greek is taught in greek schools ( i.e we just take ancient greek texts and translate them , noone bothers to teach you to say ' hello my name is... this is a ball , this is a table) , so after six years you end up being able to understand but not speak.
It's the same thing when I was studying it. After 8 years I can translate quite well with a dictionary, but I can only say the quotes learned by heart, I cannot actually formulate a spoken sentence.

And yes, I think it would be more prudent to go with a big fish or something like that when in a restaurant. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[the Count of Flanders]

Quote[/b] (RisingSun @ June 19 2004,10:45)]Yeah, there's something about you Dutch- Is learning languages like a national sport over there or something? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-curtain.gif

English and Spanish for meself. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Yeah but the dutch have that rediculous accent in any language they speak (even chinese). And the flemish on average know more languages than the dutch, same goes for the scandinavians I think.
The reason why most flemish people speak 3-4 languages is because we are surrounded by the very big languages/countries (english, german, french) and they can't be arsed to learn our language so we have to learn theirs.

[thrashaholic]

English fluently, and with a proper, slightly posher than BBC accent (amazing considering I go to a state school really http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif )

French GCSE A/A* standard; if I could be bothered I could become fluent.

I can work out Latin with the help of a dictionary

Smatterings of German, Spanish and Welsh. I wish I knew more Welsh, it's such a beautiful language, I'll probably take some lessons when I'm older.

Unfortunately my family are not terribly linguistically inclined, we're better at mathematics, so I have to approach foreign languages in a mathematical way and work them out, which isn't the best way to do it at all.

[Kaiser of Arabia]

English (with the North Jersian Italian american accent), with a bit of Italian, Spanish, a few words of German.
-Capo

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Quote[/b] ]English fluently, and with a proper, slightly posher than BBC accent (amazing considering I go to a state school really )


I know what you mean. I've had to work bloody hard to maintain my accent.

[Lord Ovaat]

I speak English and whatever it is that those people on that damp little island next to France speak. It sometimes sounds a bit like English. Might be from same root language. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[thrashaholic]

Quote[/b] (Lord Ovaat @ June 21 2004,19:36)]I speak English and whatever it is that those people on that damp little island next to France speak. It sometimes sounds a bit like English. Might be from same root language. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
What, Corsica? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

I always thought it was pretty hot there?

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Sternness]

English and French (enough to get by in Quebec). I took a year of Spanish and placed near the top in my city's annual academic Spanish speaking contest. Unfortunately, without taking another course, it's pretty hard to keep my Spanish up around here.

[Teutonic Knight]

English, Latin, some Spanish, and a little bit of horrible basic German... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[A.Saturnus]

Quote[/b] ]The reason why most flemish people speak 3-4 languages is because we are surrounded by the very big languages/countries (english, german, french) and they can't be arsed to learn our language so we have to learn theirs.

Well, not all of them. But of course, Belgium is the only country I know of where languages have their own government http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-dizzy2.gif

[shakaka36]

i think there is omethign up with the dutch my dutch grandmother speaks (fluently): Dutch, German, French, Norwegian, English, Cantonese, Maori, Greek, Italian, and spanish

[makkyo]

well... I speak a little spanish (and english obviously)
It was the easy to learn spanish, but you need the right mind set going into the learning process. If you think yu suck and you're going to fail, guess what? You're going to fail You need the right attitude to learn a lnguage.
I guess it would also be easier to learn a romance language if you already speak one. Going from a romance language like english to lets say japaneese would be much more difficult, as there is no alphabet (characters) and the sound made are different as well.

[mfberg]

I speak English, and a tiny bit of French, German, and Spanish. I read English, German, French, Spanish, Latin, Greek and I can try to get by in Russian.

mfberg

[Lord Ovaat]

Quote[/b] ]What, Corsica?

I always thought it was pretty hot there?



OK. I grudgingly admit that was a good come-back. How could I have forgotten Corsica? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-wall.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-wall.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/barrel.gif

[Ser Clegane]

German, English, Latin and a tiny little bit of Spanish (took it for one semester when I have been at school in the US)

[Sigurd]

I can read and write in at least 17 languages including Norwegian.

[Haethurn]

Quote[/b] (Sigurd Fafnesbane @ June 22 2004,15:44)]I can read and write in at least 17 languages including Norwegian.
you are my hero.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Quote[/b] (Sigurd Fafnesbane @ June 22 2004,21:44)]I can read and write in at least 17 languages including Norwegian.
Fluently?

If so, http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/medievalcheers.gif

[Rufus]

English and Spanish - the latter not quite fluently. I could probably get by in Spain or Latin America OK if they spoke very despacio to me ...

Also a little bit of Italian, what little I remember from my high school exchange trip, and I took a couple of semesters of German in college. When visiting Zurich I was disappointed (sort of) how everyone spoke English and I didn't get to try out my rudimentary German. When finally I found a cafe where the staff said they didn't speak English, I was happy, but all I could say was Wo ist die Toilette?


Quote[/b] ]A point one should know is that Ancient and modern greek are not different languages like Latin and Italian are today

That's interesting because Old English (Anglo-Saxon) and modern English are completely different, yet closer in time. Wonder why Greek changed less than English did. I guess there was more cultural and linguistic mixing in England with the Norman invasion, etc. You Greeks protected your language from Ottoman infiltration pretty well, then

I've always been interested in the historical development of English. I guess Chaucer's time is the first time written English becomes intelligible to a modern English reader, but we wouldn't be able to understand his speech. Then by the 15th/16th century the pronunciation starts to approximate modern English.

Can the Brits here clarify something: when and how did the modern British accent start? Based on the former colonies' accents, I'd guess sometime after colonization of America and Canada but before Australia?

[TheSilverKnight]

Quote[/b] (RisingSun @ June 19 2004,10:45)]Yeah, there's something about you Dutch- Is learning languages like a national sport over there or something? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-curtain.gif

English and Spanish for meself. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Isn't Spanish one of the Official languages of Illinois, what with all the Mexican people there?? (I went there to see my cousin and every other person I saw was hispanic http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-dizzy2.gif, not being racist or anything btw )

[Lord Ovaat]

Quote[/b] ]Isn't Spanish one of the Official languages of Illinois, what with all the Mexican people there?? (I went there to see my cousin and every other person I saw was hispanic , not being racist or anything btw )

My guess would be only around the Chicago area. Been to IL a lot of times, and never noticed that.

[Tachikaze]

I am apparently one of the most language-poor members of the Org. I am only fluent in English (but quite fluent, since I teach it as a second language).

My next best is Spanish (I can just about see Mexico from my window). I can get around a nation where they speak it slowly (i.e. not Mexico) fairly well.

I'm working on Japanese, but realize whenever I try to speak it how little I've learned.

Linguistics is perhaps my favorite subject. Why is it easier to learn a third language than the second?

1) You learn the rules of language--not a language, but languages in general. You understand, after learning the first foreign language, how language conveys ideas and how structure, not just vocabulary, determines meaning.

2) You are better able to see your own language more objectively, and not merely as automatic utterances made on reflex. You understand more about why you put your thoughts into written or spoken form the way you do.

[shakaka36]

as for the ancient greek question, ive read Xenophons work in its original language, it wasnt that hard

[Sasaki Kojiro]

English only http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif

I use to be able to read a little latin, struggled through parts of the aeneid, it is the only language they require at my school.

[Sigurd]

Quote[/b] (Big King Sanctaphrax @ June 23 2004,01:43)]
Quote[/b] (Sigurd Fafnesbane @ June 22 2004,21:44)]I can read and write in at least 17 languages including Norwegian.
Fluently?

If so, http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/medievalcheers.gif
Well it is a joke, as I am amongst other things a programmer. Hence I know programming languages.
I can’t actually speak them hence the reference to reading and writing.
Funny huh? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/medievalcheers.gif

[Haethurn]

Quote[/b] (Sigurd Fafnesbane @ June 24 2004,00:48)]
Quote[/b] (Big King Sanctaphrax @ June 23 2004,01:43)]
Quote[/b] (Sigurd Fafnesbane @ June 22 2004,21:44)]I can read and write in at least 17 languages including Norwegian.
Fluently?

If so, http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/medievalcheers.gif
Well it is a joke, as I am amongst other things a programmer. Hence I know programming languages.
I can’t actually speak them hence the reference to reading and writing.
Funny huh? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/rolleyes.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/medievalcheers.gif
Bah You're not my hero anymore...you're nothing more than a fake Programming languages...

[Mouzafphaerre]

-
Famous american joke on languages:

Q: What do you call a person who can speak more than two languages?
A: Polyglot.

Q: What do you call a person who can speak two languages?
A: Bilingual.

Q: What do you call a person who can speak only one language?
A: American.

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif
_

[Sjakihata]

joke:

There exists 10 people, those who understand binary and those who don't

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-clown.gif

[RisingSun]

Nice one Sjakihata. How many people do you think get that one?

Anyways, I live in Chicago, and I've never noticed a great concentration of Hispanics, though admittedly I don't have much to compare it to. There are a lot in the inner city, though.

I don't think it's an official language... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wacko.gif

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

English and some Gaelic,

[shakaka36]

dont lots of american speak spanish? a better joke ( although less funny) would have been

What do you call someone who only speaks one language:
Someone of Anglo-saxon Descent

[Sun Tzui]

Well, I speak a very decent English (going on excellent if i do say so myself http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif ), reasonable french, basic spanish due to Spains proximity, and understand some italian.

Have tried to understand some basic japanese, and found it fascinating

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/medievalcheers.gif

[Vincenzo]

I speak spanish and english, also understand portuguese and italian.
People from Spain usually have a low level of other languages (mainly we learn english), because we only can study other languages in school (not for a long time) or in private academies.
I think that in Portugal the american movies in TV are in english, while in Spain all the movies are in spanish, and it could help so much for learning english and practice everyday.

[rasoforos]

Quote[/b] (Vincenzo @ June 29 2004,06:47)]I think that in Portugal the american movies in TV are in english, while in Spain all the movies are in spanish, and it could help so much for learning english and practice everyday.
Thats a good point. Subtitled movies are a good source of practice ( and i wont mention that it saves you from the mntal anguish of having to listen to Robin Williams speak german). A couple of hours of english-speaking TV per day and you can maintain and imrpove your language skills ( in addition , if you are 12, you learn a whole bunch of interesting swearwords). I noticed how important this aspect is when i saw my Italian language skills fade away due to lack of practice. On the other hand , although i havent studied any English since i was 12 , i never had a problem communicated when i came in England ( of course i went to Yorkshire and they dont exactly speak English there but thats another story http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif ...)

[King Edward]

am i the only person who speaks 1 language in this place? ?? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/eek.gif English only for me and i struggle with that http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-jester.gif

I spent 2 months in China and i think all i lernt was Hello, China, England, how much? and can you go cheeper?

My girlfriend is going to teach me french, she can speak English, French, German, Italian, lots of Mandarin, Some Russian and some Serbo-croat.

[Imperial Buffoon]

Spanish is my mother tongue, although I'm very fluent (I've learned and taught in) French and English. I can get by in a Portuguese-speaking country better than most of my countrymen (spaniards that is) and have survival Arabic.

[BDC]

I am fluent in English (obviously), however the Anglo-Saxon thing is a problem, so my French sucks.

However over these super-long summer holidays I now have, I have decided to teach myself some German and Tibetan (going on a trip to Tibet next year). Will fail, but it will be fun.

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif