maybe You should be learning a second language!

[viranimus]

1. Somewhat, If you consider white trash hillbilly a different language, which IS a valid thing to do as it is deviated from English more than the differences between English spoken in Europe and spoken in North America.

2. Jes

3. I am fluent in Geek. However I am in the process of learning German, French, Spanish and Chinese none of which have I earned a great deal of proficiency with. With the exception of German I am barely beyond the picking up on words and phrases phase of the language.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Other thought: It really bothers me. Why is it that certain people from a certain geographical location equate multilingualism as a sign of intelligence when they originate in a place where it is infinitely easier to be multilingual due to having more natural exposure to other languages from a much younger age?

For example, Go to certain parts of Florida, Texas, California with higher populations of Latinos and it will be infinitely more common to see non Latinos with at least a rudimentary understanding of Spanish than it would be in many parts of rural heartland America. If you simply are not exposed to other languages directly, then its not exactly as relevant skill for you to learn. It is no gauge on ones intellect. But for some reason it doesnt stop those who are nestled in a land where they are surrounded by dozens of other languages from viewing it as a sign of intellectual superiority.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

1) No. English is the predominant language where I live.

2) Yes. Kind of. I shall explain in:

3) I was fluent in German and passable in French when I left school. But that was fifteen years ago, so I suppose now I could only be considered rusty at best.

 

[JanatUrlich]

It annoys me so much when people who speak English as a first language are too lazy to learn another one. I especially hate when their argument is "Well everyone speaks English now anyway." It's so lazy! I can understand not being interested in learning languages, that's fine, but being ignorant about the need for learning languages is just plain wrong. We're so lazy with language learning nowadays that the easiest way to get a job in England is to simply speak another language.

1. Do you live in an area where more then one language is commonly used?
My hometown is Manchester but I currently live in Preston. Both have a large Asian population and I hear many Asian languages floating around.

2. Do you know more then one language?
Yes

3. If yes, what other language do you speak?
I speak crappy German, good Chinese (mandarin) and basic Arabic. I've also learned a bit of Japanese but I suck at it haha

 

[Vakz]

1. Not really. I speak English very well (Swedish being my mother tongue), and so do most others around here as well, but you're not really forced to deal with it on a daily basis.

2. Yes. How many depends on how you look at it, but three to five. See below.

3. Obviously, I speak English and Swedish on a daily basis, and I know enough German to understand written text. If you wish to count it, Norwegian and Danish are similar enough to Swedish that I can understand it without any problems, and I can have a conversation with someone from Norway or Denmark with the speaking their language, and me speaking Swedish.

There's also a ton of languages I'd like to learn, foremost being Dutch and Russian. Dutch, I can't tell why. The language has just always intrigued me. Russian, because a lot of people speak it, I like how it sounds, and because I think it might actually be relevant to my future profession (IT Sec.).

 

[Puddleknock]

1. Do you live in an area where more then one language is commonly used?

Not currently (in England), but have lived in both China and the Netherlands more recently and other languages besides English are spoken in both places.

2. Do you know more then one language?

Well besides English I can speak a some Chinese (mandarin) from my time in China but that has largely faded in time. I lived in the Netherlands for 9 months and was routinely told not to learn Dutch....by the Dutch. So I actually don't speak any Dutch beyond the basics.

 

[Aerosmith250]

1. No but I travel to bilingual areas a lot for work, Gaeltachts really, so Irish and English
2. Yes
3.(In descending order of ability) English, Irish, French, Mandarin (Just starting the Mandarin)

 

[flyhawk]

same problem

 

[NotSoLoneWanderer]

It really would be easier if everyone learned English...I wouldn't mind being forced to take a language if it started in kindergarten instead of highschool. I'd be in honors for all my classes but because of scheduling conflicts they made my schedule fit remedial spanish.

 

[Deus mortuus est]

1: No
2: Yes
3: Swedish (Native), English (Fluently), Norwegian (Fluently, but with heavy accent), German (I get by, barely)

And yes, I think everyone should learn at least two languages, if not only to increase their cultural experiences. Reading a book or watching a movie in its original language and, in the case of movies, not having to read the subtitles really increase the depth of the medium.

 

[Nickolai77]

1. Do you live in an area where more then one language is commonly used?
My hometown is Manchester but I currently live in Preston. Both have a large Asian population and I hear many Asian languages floating around.

Are you a UCLAN student out of interest?

I'm a Lancaster Uni student, know a few people who go to UCLAN.

***

On topic, live in England, so the only foreign speakers i usually typically hear are East Asian tourists. Also my home is near Wales, so sometimes i stumble across welsh-language television. Personally there isn't really much need for me to learn a second language given my circumstances, but if you can learn a second language then hats off to you.

I remember some basic German from high school, and i like learning about foreign languages but i don't have much of a talent for them, i only got a C mark in my GCSE German.

 

[Lost In The Void]

I live in a small Albertan city so English is the predominant language
I know some basic french, basically enough to get by as a tourist, but it'll be broken as hell
Learning Spanish as part of my B of A in psychology

 

[JanatUrlich]

1. Do you live in an area where more then one language is commonly used?
My hometown is Manchester but I currently live in Preston. Both have a large Asian population and I hear many Asian languages floating around.

Are you a UCLAN student out of interest?

I'm a Lancaster Uni student, know a few people who go to UCLAN.

***

On topic, live in England, so the only foreign speakers i usually typically hear are East Asian tourists. Also my home is near Wales, so sometimes i stumble across welsh-language television. Personally there isn't really much need for me to learn a second language given my circumstances, but if you can learn a second language then hats off to you.

I remember some basic German from high school, and i like learning about foreign languages but i don't have much of a talent for them, i only got a C mark in my GCSE German.

Yeah I'm a UCLAN student.

Come on guy! There's always a need to learn a second language!

 

[Nickolai77]

1. Do you live in an area where more then one language is commonly used?
My hometown is Manchester but I currently live in Preston. Both have a large Asian population and I hear many Asian languages floating around.

Are you a UCLAN student out of interest?

I'm a Lancaster Uni student, know a few people who go to UCLAN.

***

On topic, live in England, so the only foreign speakers i usually typically hear are East Asian tourists. Also my home is near Wales, so sometimes i stumble across welsh-language television. Personally there isn't really much need for me to learn a second language given my circumstances, but if you can learn a second language then hats off to you.

I remember some basic German from high school, and i like learning about foreign languages but i don't have much of a talent for them, i only got a C mark in my GCSE German.

Yeah I'm a UCLAN student.

Come on guy! There's always a need to learn a second language!

I wouldn't say there is a "need", but it's good if you do know a second language. Besides, languages are bloody difficult as they are! If you live on the continent and share borders with countries which speak a different language then yes it is a good idea to know their languages- but it's not necessary if you live on the island of Britain.

How on earth did you come to come to be good at Mandarin by the way?

 

[JanatUrlich]

1. Do you live in an area where more then one language is commonly used?
My hometown is Manchester but I currently live in Preston. Both have a large Asian population and I hear many Asian languages floating around.

Are you a UCLAN student out of interest?

I'm a Lancaster Uni student, know a few people who go to UCLAN.

***

On topic, live in England, so the only foreign speakers i usually typically hear are East Asian tourists. Also my home is near Wales, so sometimes i stumble across welsh-language television. Personally there isn't really much need for me to learn a second language given my circumstances, but if you can learn a second language then hats off to you.

I remember some basic German from high school, and i like learning about foreign languages but i don't have much of a talent for them, i only got a C mark in my GCSE German.

Yeah I'm a UCLAN student.

Come on guy! There's always a need to learn a second language!

I wouldn't say there is a "need", but it's good if you do know a second language. Besides, languages are bloody difficult as they are! If you live on the continent and share borders with countries which speak a different language then yes it is a good idea to know their languages- but it's not necessary if you live on the island of Britain.

How on earth did you come to come to be good at Mandarin by the way?

Living and working in Beijing, having a Chinese best friend and studying the language at uni haha.

But we English people have a reputation for being uppity bastards because we refuse to learn other languages! It's definitely necessary in a world thats globalising. I will never have a problem getting a job because of my language skills.

 

[Sectan]

1. Mostly just English
2. Basic knowledge of Spanish. I got into second year, but forgot most of it.

I have no experience with living in a bilingual community, but if I ever even considered it I would learn me some talking and such! In the type of town you live in it should be a given that someone who works in any type of customer service would be bilingual.

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

Norwegian, Swedish and English is pretty much common knowledge here.

So i do know a few languages. I only took one year of french in high school and then switched to spanish for the last two.

I like to think i have an advanced knowledge of english. An ability to understand french and basic ability to communicate in spanish.

 

[SpaceBat]

1. Well, not really. Everyone here speaks the primary language, unless a tourist is involved. Only then will you hear someone speak in English.
2. I know about 3.5 languages. Three mastered fully, one I can just barely get by with.
3. Dutch, English, German and my native language.

 

[holy_secret]

1: Yeah English is common here. Pretty much everyone here speaks English as well as Swedish.
2: Yes.
3: Swedish, English, Spanish and German. I am currently learning French. It sucks.

 

[Renegade-pizza]

1. I live in South Africa(11 official languages and a few more) so,yeah.
2. Yebo! (Zulu:yes)
3. I speak Afrikaans, but I'm completely fulent in English. Its what you use when someone can't speak Afrikaans. I can also speak a few phrases from languages in and outside SA.