A
Amaris
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I love languages. I can speak a healthy level of French (although I am not fluent), and I would like to learn to speak (and read) Japanese and Chinese.
Languages you'd like to learn, or brush up on
- Thread starter Nerys Ghemor
- Start date
I don't learn languages that easily. I don't have much trouble reading and writing in a language but I do have trouble understanding or speaking a language. This is due to a hearing/speech problem I have and it is why I needed 6 years of speech therapy to speak English as a child.
I studied French (for 4 years) and German (1 year) at school. I have forgotten German completely but can still read easy French.
If I was better at languages I would love to learn Icelandic so that I could read books in that language. I get annoyed that I have to wait for Arnaldur Indridasson's books to be translated into English before I ca read them. I love his Inspector Erlendur series but the first two books in the series aren't available in English.
I would mind learning Auslan (Australian Sign language). I could probably pick it up much easier than other languages.
I studied French (for 4 years) and German (1 year) at school. I have forgotten German completely but can still read easy French.
If I was better at languages I would love to learn Icelandic so that I could read books in that language. I get annoyed that I have to wait for Arnaldur Indridasson's books to be translated into English before I ca read them. I love his Inspector Erlendur series but the first two books in the series aren't available in English.
I would mind learning Auslan (Australian Sign language). I could probably pick it up much easier than other languages.
In exactly this order, I wish I knew:
1. Spanish
2. Japanese
3. Chinese
4. French
5. German
But heck, I'm still having problem with English...
1. Spanish
2. Japanese
3. Chinese
4. French
5. German
But heck, I'm still having problem with English...
My first language was ASL, but I was so young when I stopped speaking it that what I've retained is very limited -- I'd like to relearn that. I used to be near fluent in French (fluent enough to read, write, and hold coherent conversations) but I've mostly lost that too. As a teacher in NYC public schools I think learning Spanish would be very useful. I also know bits and pieces of Cantonese and Japanese, the former being more practical where I live.
Dutch is my mother tongue but I am not fluent in it. In fact I speak it with a Canadian accent and often use English grammar. I can understand the dialect of my parents' home town (Roermond, in the province of Limburg) but never learned to speak it, which I'd like to do. I'd love to brush up on my French. I had French lessons in school for 13 years but have hardly spoken it since graduating from high school 23 years ago. As a result my spoken French is appalling.
I've always wanted to learn Latin just for fun. I plan to learn at least basic British Sign Language as this could help me with my work. I learned the ASL alphabet in Canada when I was 10 but BSL is completely different, so I have to start from scratch.
I've always wanted to learn Latin just for fun. I plan to learn at least basic British Sign Language as this could help me with my work. I learned the ASL alphabet in Canada when I was 10 but BSL is completely different, so I have to start from scratch.
Factually untrue, but it is, however, very closely related to Dutch.
Interestingly enough it is also the second closest related language to English, after Scots.
In fact, there are entire sentences that when spoken aloud mean exactly the same thing in English and Frisian, even though the spelling is much different.
English: "Butter, bread, and green cheese is good English and good Fries"
Frisian: "Bûter, brea, en griene tsiis is goed Ingelsk en goed Frysk."
Believe it or not, those two sentences are pronounced more or less the same.
As for me, I'd really like to learn Polish and German.
For the record--I wasn't sure what to call Frisian...but of all the possibilities that were coming to mind, what I did NOT want to call it was "English dialect". 
Heh. Yeah, good point. "Germanic Dialect, closely related to Dutch" might have worked.
Arabic, it's a cool language and could come in handy to defuse situations in today's current climate.
Well, I've got street Spanish, a smattering of Arabic, and am in the process of learning Russian. I'd like to learn German and possibly some other, though I'm not sure which.
I'd like to learn myself some of that there English.
I'd love to learn Japanese. There's so much geeky, fun stuff in that country that goes untranslated.
Probably French, as I have some relatives who live in Paris, and my mum teaches French also.
English. lol
In my schools we sang the Canadian national anthem at the start of everyday in French and so...I only know the whole thing in French.
I learned most of Oh, Canada in French by watching Hockey Night in Canada in Montreal in the 70s, but the last bit was always sung in English, and I still don't know it in French off the top of my head.
Brush up on just a little bit: French - I speak French very well, I studied it for many years and have DELF certificates and all, but I'm not using it every day, and this leads to forgetting the vocabulary... I should try to read more French websites, go to the library to read a French magazine or paper, listen an online radio, stuff like that.
Brush up on/properly learn: German - studied it at school, and like so many other people, never became fluent, and have forgotten what I knew since I left school. But this is something I've already been doing - since last Wednesday, I'm taking a course in German.
Learn for the first time: Spanish, Italian - I like the languages and I already find Romance languages easier to understand due to my knowledge of French. Plus, Spanish is spoken in so many countries all over the world.
Of course there are many languages I'd also love to learn, but these are just the top of the list.
Brush up on/properly learn: German - studied it at school, and like so many other people, never became fluent, and have forgotten what I knew since I left school. But this is something I've already been doing - since last Wednesday, I'm taking a course in German.
Learn for the first time: Spanish, Italian - I like the languages and I already find Romance languages easier to understand due to my knowledge of French. Plus, Spanish is spoken in so many countries all over the world.
Of course there are many languages I'd also love to learn, but these are just the top of the list.
Thread revival here...sorry.
I don't know if anyone else has a fear of speaking aloud in a foreign language, but I am very worried my own fear will cost me my knowledge of Spanish. So just recently I've decided to start reading some of my Spanish literature out loud, in hopes that that will build me up towards feeling confident in actually speaking Spanish aloud again.
Anybody here had any luck with online language practice services like Livemocha? (Which has the added factor of being free. )
I don't know if anyone else has a fear of speaking aloud in a foreign language, but I am very worried my own fear will cost me my knowledge of Spanish. So just recently I've decided to start reading some of my Spanish literature out loud, in hopes that that will build me up towards feeling confident in actually speaking Spanish aloud again.
Anybody here had any luck with online language practice services like Livemocha? (Which has the added factor of being free.
)
Kryptonian.
Kera Tu Dikat!
-In the original Daxam, "I can't believe you just said that".
Think I made it up? Ask Keith Giffen.
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