Native English speakers who speak another language

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WankelRotorHead

WankelRotorHead

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I'm pretty close to full blooded American, many generations removed from immigrant relatives with some relatives immigrating to North America as early as 1640.

Because of this I never bothered to learn another language besides English. But my mother in law is Dutch and most of her family is still in The Netherlands. They've come over here and we've gone over there so I've taken the time to learn a new language. I quite enjoy it, and I've gotten at least an elementary level of proficiency.

Just putting a little thread out there for native English speakers who know multiple languages. What other languages do you know and why did you learn it.
 
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When I was transferred to Greece with my job our whole family learned to speak the language but my youngest daughter who was 4 at the time learned Mandarin Chinese from our neighbor's kids. The father was transferred from China and brought his family, too.

My little blond haired blue eyed daughter spoke the language well I was told by the father with a perfect natural Chinese accent. The mother gave here lessons every day after school as well.

One day were were at Syntagma Square (Constitution Square in English) central Athens and there were some older Chinese people along with some young Chinese adults all in a group. The young adults were shouting at each other and my daughter turned bright red with embarrassment. One of the older Chinese adults asked in English if there was a problem. My daughter who had been speaking Chinese for just over two years at the time whispered to me what they were saying and I repeated it to the older man. He got really upset at the young adults and apologized profusely to my daughter in Chinese. An older Chinese lady approached and talked with my daughter also in Chinese and made all the young adults, six of them, approach and apologize to her, one at a time.

I think it must have been a surprise to find out that a then six year old blond, blue eyed little girl spoke and understood their language.

Some people have a natural aptitude for language and she is one of them. She has also kept in touch all these years with the older Chinese lady. They became good friends.
 
Arabic (based on where I live), Turkish and some German (through family). I've now started learning Spanish.
 
Spoke English and took Spanish all in HS and became a NHL Hockey Fan of Montreal Canadiens so its on to French now. It helps knowing Spanish verbs for trying to figure French out but I do try. Love the language, willing to take lessons, have eagerness to learn, but cant pronounce very well most words. Language is a tool that most people would say is worth having and knowing how to use it.
 
I have trouble with the languages that assign gender to everything??? what ever started that trend?
a table is masculine, etc?
and do Germans think like the language with the verb at end of sentence?
I the dog saw.
?
Too hard for me , you guys are lucky to be able to do it.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
I have trouble with the languages that assign gender to everything??? what ever started that trend?
a table is masculine, etc?
and do Germans think like the language with the verb at end of sentence?
I the dog saw.
?
Too hard for me , you guys are lucky to be able to do it.


I had the same trouble when first trying to learn a language; it simply does not match on a word for word translation, you have to go with the flow.



I can get by in Spanish, having taken it in high school and college. I had a lady laugh at me one time in Mexico, I asked her why and she said I spoke like a 5 year old. But she understood clearly what I was asking, which is the important thing.

I'm currently learning Swedish and hopefully will be functional in that by Christmas.

Chinese would be a good addition.
 
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My paternal grandparents were from Italy so growing up we learned both English and Italian. My mother was Dutch/German so we learned a bit of both. I also learned Spanish on my own.
 
I learned German and French from living in Europe. I don't think I could have become proficient in them had I tried to learn them in the U.S. You really need to speak a language daily to make progress.
 
The school system threw me into Spanish I when I was 14. It wasn't the elective I'd asked for, though I can't recall what that was. Anyway, it was brute memorization at first. ("Yo tengo catarro." "Muy lastima.") But then I began to get it, with my knowledge of Latin roots for English words helping. Spanish II was easier, III easier still, and in college I got up to the point reading basic short stories -- just as in English, some writers were clearer than others.

I never could compose sentences very well, though, either in speaking or writing. ("Habla espanol?" "Si, un poco, y muy lentamente.") But it has helped me understand the mechanics of English better, and of other languages -- I can kinda sorta read very simple French phrases, and I know a few words of Portuguese and Italian.

I tried to teach myself German when I was 15-16, and picked up a few words and phrases, and the basic pronunciation. But there were too many case endings -- which is why I've never tried to take a course in Latin, though I find the language fascinating. There's something mysterious about the sound of "In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritu Sancti" vs. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."
 
I'm continuing to work on Spanish. Mexican Spanish is somewhat different than what you would hear in Spain, but I don't expect to go to Spain, and I'm near the US-Mexico border. So my Spanish has some Mexican slang in it, and my pronunciation is more Mexican than anything else.
 
Spanish because I am Mexican and I wanted to be able to talk to my family.

I may take up Portuguese since there are many Portuguese people in the area.
 
Passable (Canadian) French; could pass for a 5-year-old in Spanish and German. Am able to give and receive basic directions and converse about weather, colours and shapes with the assistance of hand gestures and air diagrams in a few other languages. Basic grasp of ASL (American Sign Language). Learning Esperanto and Pali and have fun butchering translating Latin directly into Bob & Doug McKenzie-esque Canadian ("calix meus inebrians" become "grab me a cold one, eh?").
 
Three years of college German on top of high school classes, and a lot of attention to German short wave broadcasts didn't get "Uncle" to send me to Germany. I still enjoy the "High German" I can find on short wave.
 
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I wish I could speak several languages but unfortunately it's only English for me. I have to make a complaint about those people around me. When I was young man there was very few people in my community that were able to speak another language and I was taught it was rude for someone to speak another language in front of those that could only speak English. This makes perfect sense as it puts everyone at ease that no one is speaking about you behind your back so to speak. I am not surrounded by many people who come form foreign lands and there is no respect for those who only speak English. It's a shame but manners and common courtesy seem to have been thrown out the window

Sometimes I will out right tell people that speaking a foreign language in from of others is rude. It generally doesn't go over so well.
 
My grammar school had a short lived program where they tested in first grade and then pulled a few of us out of regular class for accelerated language and extra science 3x per week. Looking back, it was surprising given that I went to one of the worst school systems in the state.

Long story short I was pretty much fluent in French by high school, then took Portuguese in college and picked up a bit of German along the way.

While I have not used these languages extensively, I can't begin to count how many times I've used them to greet a colleague in their language, or while traveling order a meal, etc. My experience is most folks you will deal with greatly appreciate an attempt to address them in the local language...no matter how bad you may be.
 
Originally Posted By: wings&wheels
My experience is most folks you will deal with greatly appreciate an attempt to address them in the local language...no matter how bad you may be.


That's why I butcher Spanish at the drive-in.
 
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