Everyone knows that there is a fair amount of German spoken in RotLA, LC, and especially the game ET. FoA even suggests that Indy speaks German somewhat fluently.
There are also many other foreign languages spoken in the films, games, books, etc., such as Russian, Turkish, and Chinese (not sure which dialect). My point is, how many of you Raveners speak (at least) more than one language, and how well do you speak it? What is your opinion on learning foreign languages, which ones do prefer to learn, and why? If you had enough spare time, would you learn a new language?
Myself, I speak -- other than English -- Spanish (as much as I've learned last year in Spanish I), and some very basic German (hallo, guten tag, ja, nein, was ist das, etc.). This doesn't count the one or two words I know in other languages.
I feel a certain thrill when learning another language, especially when I know it is one my ancestors spoke, and from knowing that I'm able to converse with someone from another country or write something that they can understand well. As I previously inferred, I prefer to learn languages that were spoken by my ancestors, such as Slovak, German, Dutch, French, Polish, and several more.
I would definitely like to (in the near future) finish learning Spanish in my three remaining high school years, to improve my German greatly, and to learn Slovak.
While writing this, I am reminded of a joke my uncle told me:
-If you speak three languages, what are you?
-Trilingual
-If you speak two languages, what are you?
-Bilingual
-If you speak one language, what are you?
-An American
-If you speak three languages, what are you?
-Trilingual
-If you speak two languages, what are you?
-Bilingual
-If you speak one language, what are you?
-An American
Sad but true. And funny at the same time. Correct me if I am wrong, but many of the European languages are similar aren't they? I took French for a while and can pick out words in Italian and Spanish as a result. I can't speak any of them, but I can pick out words. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not saying it is easy to learn multiple languages. I cannot even be fluent in English and I have been trying for years.
Originally posted by Rick5150 -If you speak three languages, what are you?
-Trilingual
-If you speak two languages, what are you?
-Bilingual
-If you speak one language, what are you?
-An American
Sad but true. And funny at the same time. Correct me if I am wrong, but many of the European languages are similar aren't they? I took French for a while and can pick out words in Italian and Spanish as a result. I can't speak any of them, but I can pick out words. Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not saying it is easy to learn multiple languages. I cannot even be fluent in English and I have been trying for years.
Well, Spanish, Italian, and French are derived from Latin. English is derived from German -- U-boat actually is short for "untersee boot (did I spell that right?), which means undersea boat, or submarine.
There is a great line. A guard comes over an begins talking to Nick and Hillary in German and they both look puzzled. Nick indicates he does not understand what the man is saying.
Then Hillary says, "I know a little German ...he's right over there!" She then points to the German midget at the other end of the room. Great movie.
I speak French and English. Well my French is better then my English because it is my native language.
I've been taking Spanish for eight years now so i can get around pretty well but I'm no way near from fluent (for me being fluent means being able to think and dream in a language). The good thing about Spanish is that it's pretty similar to French. Sometimes all you have to do is add an 'o' or an 'a' at the end of a French word and it becomes Spanish.
I never took Italien but I can understand some of it. It's kind of like a mix between French and Spanish.
As for German, I never took German. But people say that most Germans speak English so...
EDIT: I forgot, I was forced to take one year of Latin at school. But I'm not really into dead languages.
First of all, naturally Finnish - my native language. Hard to learn, they say. I read a prediction somewhere that when listing the most difficult languages to learn on this Earth, Finnish is in the top five, and seemingly the most difficult of those using western alphabet.
Then of course, English, with what I'm fluent, both literally and orally. Back at school, when speaking, my teachers told me I could pass as a native.
There is quite notably Swedish-speaking minority living in this country, so they're actually trying to teach us that one too. Picked it up, it's not perfect and I surely would not pass as a native, but I can carry a conversation.
Then German. It's been about five years from now when I last time studied that, and I think I've got a little rusty, p'haps I should try to polish it. I'd say it's passable, most of the time I can make myself clear.
Finally Latin, studied that for three years recently, and found it pretty fascinating. Actually took it as a voluntary subject when going through my final exams. I didn't get superior results, but passed very clearly nevertheless. Even though it would take me some time to get into word-to-word translation, I'm still able to make out the general idea out of nearly any given text just by looking at it.
I know a bit of German (enough to get a B in my Higher exam), but it's been a while since I've tried. I think the last time I did was at a party when I was drunk and met a German guy who I proceeded to swear at all night auf Deutsch...
I can speak very basic French (hello, goodbye, please, thank you, 1-10...), and can read a little, but don't ask me to write anything!!! The same goes for Italian and Slovene. Best way to learn is to go abroad and talk to people - even if you get things wrong, people appreciate you making the effort.
Foudroyer d’un tel mot le tonnerre qui vous tue, c’est vaincre!
Quote:
Originally posted by VP Not "prove it", Prove it.
I have studied French for eight years. I would prove it, but the rules allow me to only speak English and Bad English .
M€rd€.
Sure...I wouldn't want to get you banned. But I'm glad you at least know one of the most important words of the French language. There's a whole story behind this word. It was first used by Cambronne replying to an English general in Waterloo (Napoleon wars). This 'misconduct' was revealed to the French in 1862 when Victor Hugo published "Les misérables".It then became very popular. Many French don't know it but each time you say "merde", it refers to when the French lost in Waterloo.
Finnois, Finlandais, you can say both. Finlandais is more common though (in France). Morsoth, you speak French; I guess I'll have to stop putting those French titles to my posts thinking nobody understands.
No European languages for me, sad to report. But I can write music, and I am learning sign language. That and English and Spanish make up my language selection to this point. Japanese will come after sign.
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