maybe You should be learning a second language!

[viranimus]

Snipped for spaaaaaaace.

My apologies. My statement was not intended to be directed at you or your post.

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.

This was more to where my issue was directed. Toward... yanno, that place.....over there. You know the one, the one where they have country piled on top of country on top of country. Obviously its not some sort of law written in stone but there do seem to be an abundance of people who behave with that smug sense of superiority as they look down their noses at you because they know 4 different languages and you know one.

But honestly language isnt the only way it plays out either. Many times you see people start getting smug any time they know something you dont. People can be amazingly close minded and short sighted that way.

 

[mParadox]

1) Yes. English, Urdu and Punjabi.

2 & 3) 2. Urdu and English.

 

[Irriduccibilli]

This is why I hate grammar Nazi's. They expect everyone to know perfect english and sometimes forget that not everyones native language is english.

But to answer your three questions:
I guess you could say that I live in an area where we use more than one language. I live in a small town in Denmark, pretty close to the German border (about 20-30km from the border), so it sometimes happen that I have to resort to speak german, but thats really rare.
Danish is my native language. I can speak english, a bit swedish and norwegian and some german, but not grammaticly correct.

 

[scorptatious]

1. Well considering I live in California, both English and Spanish are used frequently here.

2. I know little tidbits of some languages, but not enough to actually speak a sentence in a different language.

3. Same as 2.

 

[Fayathon]

1) Spanish is the second most common language here, next to English.

2) Not to any degree of real fluency, but I am working towards knowing more languages.

3) I'm planning on knowing French, German, Spanish and Japanese on top of my native English. Dunno if that'll pan out properly though, so it might just be one or two of those.

This is why I hate grammar Nazi's. They expect everyone to know perfect english and sometimes forget that not everyones native language is english.

I'm a grammar Nazi in the sense of 'if you should know better.' I'm willing to overlook some grammatical problems and chock it up to it just being human error, but when I know someone is typing in the most lazy and half-assed way possible it makes my blood boil. To be fair, any language I pick up I'm gonna be a grammar Nazi in because if you can't be arsed to speak/write in a language properly then I'm of the opinion you should shut your mouth.

Not directing that at anyone in this thread, just wanted to air it out.

 

[Scarim Coral]

1. English is the main language over here although a few people speak in Welsh (I lived in Wales).

2. Half yes (Cantonese Chinese however I never went to this Chinese speaking school so I can't speak it proerly. At most a few sentences.

Before you ask me that I should try to speak Chinese properly, I refuse. Now don't get me wrong I would like to speak it some day but I don't view it to be necessary in my life (yes I have a great interest in my heritage but the language is not one of them and the only time I would need to speak it is when I'm in China).

 

[Andalusa]

1. Mostly English. During the summer we get the occasional tourist from some country or other.
2. Kind of.
3. French, mandatory school subject, I'm better at reading/listening than writing/speaking. German, Italian, Spanish, Latin.. just random phrases I've picked up.

 

[Aetera]

The only languages that I'm interested in learning are all dead languages. I've studied Latin for years now. My former roommate is like me; she is actually fluent in Sumerian and has worked as a translator for museums.

Yay for impractical interests?

 

[Coller]

1. Do you live in an area where more then one language is commonly used?
2. Do you know more then one language?
3. If yes, what other language do you speak


1. Kinda. (some people speak Russian)
2. Yes.
3. Lithuanian(native), English, Russian, French, German, and a little bit of japanese and spanish.

 

[Boba Frag]

I live in Ireland so it's English for pretty much everything.

Sadly, Irish people should be by rights bi-lingual; the Irish language is spoken by very few people in the periphery of Ireland, despite the fact that every child born of Irish citizens in the country must learn the language when they start attending school.

It's forced down people's throats and I absolutely hated it until I went to an Irish speaking area for a three week course in the oral aspect of it (the major school leaving exam awards 25% for spoken Irish) and I fell in love with it.

I loved communicating, however poorly at first, in my own native tongue.

I'm one of those people who also did French but my teacher was atrocious and it bored the shit out of me, so, je suis tré désole, mais mon Francais est trés faible.

I probably just gave you a hernia the spelling and grammar is so bad

A second language is sort of superfluous in Ireland when we're an island part of the Atlantic Atlantic English speaking community of the the UK and the US to either side of us. It is not, however, a bad thing to be multilingual.

Sorry, Europe, but the way we've been treated by Sarkozy and Merkel over the last year has turned me against the idea that my country's future lies exclusively inside the European project.

Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against the EU, or our French, German, Spanish, Italian etc friends, I just think that in Ireland's case, European languages have never been to the fore as regards education policy for the simple reason that the English speaking culture is more embedded here.

 

[runnernda]

It's pretty much just English here, but I live close to Philadelphia, where you get tourists and immigrants from all over. I speak both English and French fluently. I know a little bit of Spanish and a little bit of German. I want to get proficient in both of those, and..any other language, really. I think language is fascinating.

I also know the Ancient Greek alphabet and binary, if those count for anything.

 

[HK_01]

1. Nope, German is always used in Germany in everyday life.

2. I have learned English (to the extent that I could be considered a native speaker since I've gone to an English speaking school for five years) and I am learning French and trying to learn Russian (only just begun though and it's really hard).

3. See above.

 

[Brutal Peanut]

1. Do you live in an area where more then one language is commonly used?
I live in Southern California, U.S. Spanish. Luckily, there is also a lot of Spanglish. Spanglish makes life a bit easier for people who aren't bilingual.

2. Do you know more then one language?
My Mother and her friends tried when I was younger. My Mother's side of the family are Yaqui Natives and Mexican, and spoke Spanish quite frequently and I just seemed to refuse to pick any of it up. I didn't like the sound of it (still do not), and I never really wanted to learn it. I took two years in school (if you didn't take at least two years of a different language AND pass, you didn't graduate). I had signed up for French but apparently the classes in my year were 'full', so they placed me in Spanish, as a default. I should have chosen German, since my Father speaks German fluently from having lived their as a child on his summer breaks, with family.

I've always wanted to learn French and that is what I plan on doing.

3. If yes, what other language do you speak.
I know some Spanish - I wouldn't say fluently. Just enough to get by. Though I probably know more then I think I do, or that I am admitting.

 

[Boba Frag]

I'm a grammar Nazi in the sense of 'if you should know better.' I'm willing to overlook some grammatical problems and chock it up to it just being human error, but when I know someone is typing in the most lazy and half-assed way possible it makes my blood boil. To be fair, any language I pick up I'm gonna be a grammar Nazi in because if you can't be arsed to speak/write in a language properly then I'm of the opinion you should shut your mouth.

Not directing that at anyone in this thread, just wanted to air it out.

I agree with you completely, but I did find it amusing that you used 'chock' instead of 'chalk'
As in, 'chalk it down' etc.

But like you very fairly said, human error. It happens!

Lazy text speak on forums pisses me off no end. It's like reading something written in dodgy crayon...

 

[Rawne1980]

Nope, the town I live in is English speaking .... it's the UK what did you expect?

During my Army years, we learned to order a beer and swear in the language of whichever country we were in at the time.

Forgotten most of it, my memory is shockingly bad.

 

[BaronUberstein]

Tried to learn French, hated it, all those years of French classes have turned into a physical hatred for the language.

Learning German in college, it's a much more logical language, must more pleasant to learn, at least for me.

Nothing against the French themselves (Well, a few things here and there, but every country has it's flaws).

 

[platinawolf]

1. Do you live in an area where more then one language is commonly used? Not really. In my area Swedish is basically whats used. Unless of-course you are speaking to a foreigner where almost anyone can help by switching to English
2. Do you know more then one language? Yes
3. If yes, what other language do you speak? Swedish and English. Did try to learn French once, didn't agree with me. Tried to learn Japanese but a major depression stopped those plans ^^*

But yes, its very double standard. You should be able to understand the native language in the area enough to at-least point them to another person. And of-course you should strive to learn the language spoken natively. I'd never hire you if you didn't speak English and at-least basic Swedish unless its a very basic job with minimal contact with costumers.

 

[Fayathon]

I agree with you completely, but I did find it amusing that you used 'chock' instead of 'chalk'
As in, 'chalk it down' etc.

But like you very fairly said, human error. It happens!

Lazy text speak on forums pisses me off no end. It's like reading something written in dodgy crayon...

Well, shit...

Hell, and I pride myself on damn near flawless grammar. Oh well.

 

[Major_Tom]

1. No, mostly just Croatian.
2. Yes.
3. English, I studied some French and Hungarian in high school. Also, when you speak Croatian you also know Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin. I know some Slovenian from watching their television and some Macedonian my friend taught me.

 

[Blow_Pop]

we have a bunch of spanish speakers around here because ya know they live in America and refuse to learn the language. I refuse to learn spanish since everyone expects me to automatically know it. I know a bit of French here and there. My pronunciation sucks but I can read it and mostly understand it and hear it and mostly understand it. Might not be able to respond but I'm slowly working on it. Like I keep learning it and then because I have no one to talk to in the language i forget it. I eventually also plan on learning...oh dear long list. Lets just say there is a few dead languages on that list and a bunch of other languages mostly from the European area. I do know a few words here and there in a few other languages (Japanese, Deutsch, French-which i know the most of, greek, and italian).


I know the way I worded it about refusing to learn Spanish makes it look like I am unsympathetic and think everyone should speak English. I would like to say this is not true. I think if you are going to live in a country you should learn the damn language they speak.