What languages do you speak beside English?

[TU Curmudgeon]

Then those that speak English as a first language hold and advantage, cool.

Yes, I'm sure that you think that (being a uni-lingual Anglophone).

Not only that, but that is the attitude that the multi-lingual want you to have.

 

[TU Curmudgeon]

I expect there are loads.
English and French evolved from similar origins with both countries being constantly at war with each other for generations with the 100 years war being a good example.

There are, indeed, many "loan words" (some of them even being lent to more than one language).

There are also many words that do NOT have the same meaning in similar versions of the same language. "Lift", "flat", "first floor", "liberal", and "conservative" spring instantly to mind.

One of the reasons why so many "French" words got into the English language is because the "French" conquered the "English" and made the "French" language the official language of "England" (as far as government and the law were concerned).

The Hundred Years War was fought between different factions of a FRENCH dynasty.

 

[TU Curmudgeon]

Cockney?

"Cockney" is a dialect - but you are getting warm.

 

[TU Curmudgeon]

German, my parent's mother tongue, and still fluent in it.

French, but just enough to get by, because I love going to Quebec, c'est pa.

I understand that, as far as the French are concerned, they do NOT "speak French" in Quebec (but rather speak a bastardized "joual").

 

[TU Curmudgeon]

I do not speak German but I’ve been informed that both languages, English and German, sound a lot alike.

What do you think about that?

If you speak English down a stovepipe (and boy does that date me), it DOES sound a lot like German.

 

[TU Curmudgeon]

That's right! Do what Jesus did! Speak English!

"You cannot understand the "French Psyche" until you realize that - while the French will admit that although Jesus was Jewish and spoke Aramaic - God is Catholic and speaks French."

-- Agent X89A
- Cultural Differences - a Jaundiced View

 

[HIP56948]

Decent Spanish. A little bit of Latin. I was an Alter Boy in Catholic school. (They threw me out eventually for asking too many questions...didn't buy the Virgin Mary thing.)

 

[Fearandloathing]

FYI, there is no "Chinese" Language, there are however about 200 dialects, the two main ones being Mandarin (for 'official' business, law etc.) and Cantonese, which is the main tongue of Hong Kong.
I am conversant in Cantonese, and can struggle through some Mandarin after living among the languages for 35 years

 

[TU Curmudgeon]

FYI, there is no "Chinese" Language, there are however about 200 dialects, the two main ones being Mandarin (for 'official' business, law etc.) and Cantonese, which is the main tongue of Hong Kong.
I am conversant in Cantonese, and can struggle through some Mandarin after living among the languages for 35 years

Please do not confuse the poor posters.

Everyone knows that

everyone who lived is England speaks English​

everyone who lives in Sint Maartin speaks Sint Maartianese​

everyone who lives in China speaks Chinese​

everyone who lives in Formosa speaks Formosan​

everyone who lives in the DPRK speaks Dprkian​

everyone who lives in Canada speaks Canajan-eh​

everyone who lives in New Zealand speaks Newzealander​

everyone who lives in America speaks Americun​

and​

everyone who lives in Australia speaks Strine.​

 

[Ginger Ale]

Nihongo sukoshi dake (Japanese)

나 한국어 조금밖에 몰라 (Korean)

I can have a convo in both, but I couldn't write a book.
I'm hoping after Covid I can go to both for a year and have some immersion.

 

[Rumpelstil]

German grammar is quite simple

Then I doubt that you really know it.

 

[Rumpelstil]

FYI, there is no "Chinese" Language, there are however about 200 dialects,

Sorry, but that is nonsense.
Nearly every language have lots of dialects and varieties.
Then there is no German language either.
Only High German in the South and Low German in the North.
And then of course there is no "Spanish" either.
What you tell us here as "news" is an old hat.
FYI .....

 

[Juks]

If English was good enough for the bible, it's good enough for me.

??? I have to assume you are joking, but in case you are not. The original languages of the Bible are Hebrew and Latin. Someone/a few who knows those languages as well as english had to translate it...

 

[Rumpelstil]

??? I have to assume you are joking, but in case you are not. The original languages of the Bible are Hebrew and Latin. Someone/a few who knows those languages as well as english had to translate it...

Verily, verily, I say unto thee: "Thou speakest words of wisdom!"

And don't forget Greek.

 

[Waddy]

I often lived with my grandparents who spoke only German around the house, and my grandfather subscribed to a German newspaper. He never did really learn English. And then there was Latin through most of my schooling.

 

[Rumpelstil]

Please do not confuse the poor posters.

The poor posters may not be quite so poor as you think ...

 

[Rumpelstil]

If English was good enough for the bible, it's good enough for me.

???????????????

 

[Sagittarius83]

I like to stick to the Germanic languages. There is a certain rigorosity to them and speaking them regularly actually helps me to think more logically.

 

[Sagittarius83]

I

???????????????

I believe Jesus spoke Aramaic so I wish that “His words” were translated from that. But then the gospels were written decades after him so everything becomes speculative.

In any case there is this from Wikipedia;

Jesus and his disciples are believed to have spoken Aramaic,[1][2] the common language of Judea in the first century AD, most likely a Galilean dialectdistinguishable from that of Jerusalem.[3] This is generally agreed upon by historians. The villages of Nazareth and Capernaum in Galilee, where Jesus spent most of his time, were Aramaic-speaking communities.[4] It is also likely that Jesus knew enough Koine Greek to converse with those not native to Judea, and it is reasonable to assume that Jesus was well versed in Hebrew for religious purposes

 

[Rumpelstil]

Who knows this type of English?

I do

 

[Rumpelstil]

And now: Address to a Haggis!

 

[Port & Starboard]

Spanish......basic enough to make a point or ask questions, but there are too many nuances that I haven't taken the time to pick up on.

Tagalog......I understand a little more than I can articulate. My 1/2 Filipino and 1/2 comedian grandson is always teasing me in Tagalog to see what he can get away with.

 

[SMTA]

What languages do you speak beside English?

I will now list 9 - plus "others".

Japanese.

 

[SNOWFLAKE]

I understand that, as far as the French are concerned, they do NOT "speak French" in Quebec (but rather speak a bastardized "joual").

yeesh, whatever you want to call it, it is still French, just like those in the south still speak English even if it ain't the Queen's English.

 

[calamity]

What languages do you speak beside English?

I will now list 9 - plus "others".

I understand the German, French and some Polish. But I haven’t spoken any of them much in almost 50 years.

It’s frustrating, because when in Quebec I could understand every French word spoken but found it nearly impossible to answer. I couldn’t hit the pronunciation. Polish is the opposite. I can pronounce the words but can rarely string more than two together.

My German is a little better. In that language, I can at least order a bier and tell a madchen sie ist hübsch.