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  1. ugu

    ugu New Member

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    Languages (Survey)

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by ugu, Jun 6, 2008.

    1. Is English your native language?

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?


    I'm curious. I've been taking Spanish courses since I was in high school and I still can't communicate in Spanish if my life depended on it. I may be able to read a book in Spanish provided there's a Spanish-English dictionary nearby, but that's about it.
     
  2. Klee

    Klee New Member

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    Location:
    Mexico, you got a problem with that?
    1. Is English your native language?
    No

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    Read, write, speak Spanish
    Read, write, speak English
    Read hiragana and some katakana
    Understand a little portuguese and japanese

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    Japanese, Italian

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Japanese

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    I'm taking a course, and I'll probably take many many more
     
  3. blueroses

    blueroses New Member

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    Location:
    Georgia
    1. Yes
    2. English and Spanish
    3. German, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Finnish
    4. German and Russian
    5. College...Perhaps some private tutoring.
     
  4. RomanticRose

    RomanticRose Active Member

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    New Mexico
    English is my native language. I know just about enough Spanish to get me into lots of trouble in bars across the border.
     
  5. Titania

    Titania New Member

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    Location:
    Boston, MA
    1. Is English your native language?
    Yes

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?

    • English (obviously)
    • Spanish - used to be pretty much fluent, though I haven't gotten to speak it as much recently, so I'm a little rusty. I speak Castilian Spanish which means I have a lisp, use vosotros, etc.
    • Arabic - Modern Standard. While I can speak it, that's not really useful, since MSA is not spoken very often. I know a few phrases of colloquial Lebanese Arabic.
    • Latin - read & write mostly. 3 years of high school Latin. I suppose I could speak it... but it wouldn't really be useful.
    • Ancient (Attic) Greek - again, read & write. The equivalent of a semester of college, so I don't know too much (the most impressive thing I can do is recite the first 10 lines of the Odyssey in Greek. It's kind of fun; if you do it in the right tone of voice, people think you're trying to cast some kind of spell on them).
    • Japanese - I can read hiragana (sort of) and mostly know random words or phrases.

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    I really want to take Farsi, though my parents aren't going to be too thrilled (Farsi=Persian=what they speak in Iran). I'd also love to learn Russian, which was suggested to me by a teacher. I really want to learn Italian (it's so pretty!). If I keep taking Arabic I will probably be forced to learn some German and French, and I definitely want to take colloquial Arabic, hopefully Lebanese.

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    I don't think Italian would be too hard, since I know Latin and Spanish.

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    I think I could do Italian on my own, but Farsi and the others would be through college classes, probably.
     
  6. ValianceInEnd

    ValianceInEnd Active Member

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    Location:
    Phoenix, Arizona.
    1. Is English your native language?
    Yes

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    English, a bit of Spanish

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    Japanese, German, French

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Japanese

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    Visit my friend in Japan, perhaps live their in the future.
     
  7. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Massachusetts, USA
    1. Yes

    2. English fluently
    some Spanish
    some German
    some Latin

    3. I wish to become more fluent in Spanish and German, and pick up some Italian and perhaps Portugese

    4. Realistically, I stand a good chance of becoming more fluent in Spanish. There are a number of Hispanics around work, and I attempt to converse with them more and more in Spanish. I also have German colleagues, but at remote sites, so I will only have limited opportunity to practice with them.

    5. Reading, writing, speaking, and getting corrected by patient friends and acquaintances; supplemented with tutorial texts and software. Also, the company I work at is in the translation business, so I may be able to take language courses as part of my training budget.
     
  8. Gannon

    Gannon Contributor Contributor

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    Location:
    Manchester, England
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. Is English your native language? Yes

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in? English & French near fluently for the latter. I have previously learnt German, Spanish, Italian and Latin if that counts though I'd struggle to communicate in any of those now.

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    I'm quite keen on Dutch at the moment as I work for an Anglo-Dutch company

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Probably no more in reality though it would be nice to maintain fluency in French

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)? Employment in the country is my goal
     
  9. Torana

    Torana Contributor Contributor

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    1. Is English your native language?

    Yes, it is.

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?

    English, French and Macedonian.

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?

    Italian and a little more Macadonian.

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?

    Niether.

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?

    I won't be...
     
  10. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

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    Location:
    Northeast England
    1. Is English your native language?
    Yes

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    Able to write and speak a little of Russian, I'm coming along quite well.
    A little Italian

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    More Russian.

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Spanish, Russian.

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    Yes.
     
  11. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    1. Is English your native language?

    No

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?

    English, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Czech, French, German

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?

    Portuguese, Japanese, American Sign Language

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?

    I'm still a baby, I'm sure I'll squeeze in a few more.

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?

    Using the methods I learned at the Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey. Most languages have their own vocabulary of grammatical concepts unique to each. At the Presidio we learned to break languages down into idea structures which more-or-less relate to the conservative grammatical paradigms of case sensitive languages like Latin and Russian. Even when languages move away from case structure, as they often do, there are always remnants of this structure which can be followed and make for easier apprehension of the basic set up of the language. For example:

    In Latin, the genitive case relates to possession and belonging to something. In English we usually refer to this as the possessive, but this leaves out much of the rest of the function of the genitive which includes the partative.

    This is Mark’s book. Possession.
    This is the book of Mark. Possession.
    This is a piece of pie. Part of whole.
    I will take twenty of the red ones. Part of a group or number.

    And even:

    That belongs to Maria

    Which is actually in the dative case, but sometimes the dative and genitive forms switch places in Modern English, and this was true back when English was a completely case sensitive language. Not only the rule remains, but also the exceptions, within the modern tongue.

    We don’t use the vocabulary of case structure in Modern English, because, for the most part, it exists only in word choice and order, not in phonemic changes of the words. Only the pronouns change in a phonemic manner for case:

    I like candy. Nominative Case.
    I see her. Accusative Case.
    Give that to him. Dative Case.
    That is mine. Genitive Case.
    Come with me. Instrumental or Ablative Case.

    There are many other cases, but those are the ones that are easiest to describe with the pronouns.

    And that’s how I go about learning new languages. Thanks for listening!
     
  12. Charisma

    Charisma Transposon Contributor

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    Location:
    Lahore, Pakistan
    1. Is English your native language?
    No.

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    English - Read, write, speak
    Urdu - Read, write, speak
    Arabic - Read, write, speak (fairly little)
    Punjabi - Read, write, speak a little
    Fragments of French and Chinese

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    Arabic - As fluently as English and Urdu
    Hindi - Read and write
    French, Spanish, Persian, Chinese and Japanese

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Why not all and beyond?

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    Courses, books, talking with natives and internet resources.
     
  13. lessa

    lessa New Member

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    Location:
    Fantasy land
    English

    other languages does mother speak count?

    I have no aptitude with languages. Can't even get a sentence in French and I took 3 years of it in school.
     
  14. Lucy E.

    Lucy E. Active Member

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    1. Is English your native language?
    One of them: I learned English and Welsh at the same time.

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    Fluently: English and Welsh. Fairly well: French.

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    German.

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    German.

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    My friend is teaching me.
     
  15. Sugar N. Spice

    Sugar N. Spice New Member

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    Location:
    New York
    1. Is English your native language?
    Yes

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?

    Read: Spanish

    Write: Spanish

    Speak: Spanish

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?

    Japanese, Tagalog

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?

    Japanese

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?

    Taking Japanese language lessons at my dojo
     
  16. KP Williams

    KP Williams Active Member

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    Location:
    My place
    1. Is English your native language?
    Yep.

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    Well, English, obviously. And some Spanish. In Spanish, I can speak basic sentences on a whim, and I can read relatively complex sentences without much difficulty.

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    Arabic would be interesting. And plenty of languages that exist only in sci-fi. :p

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    In all probability, the only language I'll ever be proficient in is English. I don't have much actual drive to learn another language.

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?

    If I ever do... I know one or two people who speak Arabic. Maybe if I smile pretty and ask real nice... :D And as for the sci-fi languages, I'll never seriously try to master them. Only memorize certain interesting phrases to befuddle people.
     
  17. Onfhadh

    Onfhadh New Member

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    Location:
    North East England
    1. Is English your native language?
    Yes.
    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    English and a bit of Scots Gaelic
    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    Once I've got a better grip on Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Norwegian.
    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Scottish Gaelic and Welsh, Norwegian would be nice but i have other things to do...
    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    Practice
     
  18. Lucy E.

    Lucy E. Active Member

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    Good choice. :D
    I'll teach you Welsh if you ever feel like learning. PM me.
     
  19. Vertz

    Vertz New Member

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    Location:
    Albuquerque, NM/ Greensboro, NC
    1. Is English your native language?
    Yup.

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    Read/write/speak English and French.
    Read a little Spanish and can speak enough to ask for help from the (several) non-English speakers who work in New Mexico....

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    Chinese, plenty more Spanish

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Spanish for sure, Chinese maybe.

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    I'm still in college, so I've got a good chance to take classes :p
     
  20. Scribe Rewan

    Scribe Rewan New Member

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    1. Is English your native language?
    Yes.

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    English.I am so uncultured it's unbelieveable.... Although I used to have a vague knowledge of Korean thanks to tae kwon do...

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    Japanese

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Hopefuly Japanese.

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    I have no idea. Maybe just go and live there and pick it up.
     
  21. Kratos

    Kratos New Member

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    Location:
    Maryland, United States
    1. Is English your native language?
    Yes

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    English

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    Spanish
    Japanese

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Spanish

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    I'm taking Spanish in High School starting 10th grade, (next year)
     
  22. Kit

    Kit Contributor Contributor

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    Location:
    Nottinghamshire
    1. Is English your native language?
    Yes

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    English, Spanish, French

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    German, Latin, Italian, Greek, Russian

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    German and russian maybe

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    Classes and practice :D
     
  23. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Coquille, Oregon
    1. Is English your native language?

    yes...

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?

    besides english, only french... can do a bit of those in italian and spanish, know enough words of deutsch, ελληνικόσ [greek], português to get along in the respective countries...

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?

    chamorro [the local tongue] and tagalog [most non-natives here are philippinos]...

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?

    no more, probably... getting too old and am too busy to bother with serious lingo learning...

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?

    just by hearing and asking, probably... will no doubt pick up some words of the local lingos here and there, as i started to do when i lived among the hopi and have always done when traipsing all over the world...
     
  24. Anliya

    Anliya New Member

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    Location:
    Sometimes in NYC, sometimes in MA
    1. Is English your native language?
    It's one of them.

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    English, Chinese

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    Spanish, Russian

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    Both of the above! I live in New York City and they're both extremely useful.

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    College courses, reading in my own time, study abroad, and talking to friends.
     
  25. Eoz Eanj

    Eoz Eanj Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
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    1. Is English your native language?
    Yerr

    2. What language(s) are you able to read/write/speak in?
    indonesian and german
    bits and pieces of sebian and aboriginie (northwest namely, it varies considerably according to demography)

    3. What are some languages you want to learn?
    more german and latin

    4. Which ones do you think you're actually going to learn in this lifetime?
    germannn

    5. How do you plan on mastering said language(s)?
    i plan on it but my current level of half-assedness precludes me from doing so.
     
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