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How many foreign languages can you speak?

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    How many foreign languages can you speak?

    Speak and when I mean speak I mean foreign languages.

    I can do a little French, Indonesian used to be quite good and I can get by in Thai.

    Anyone putting a gag about 'speaking Fortran' or any other computer language gets repped.

    Poll to follow
    27
    0 - Just English
    18.52%
    5
    1
    3.70%
    1
    2
    33.33%
    9
    3
    18.52%
    5
    4
    7.41%
    2
    5
    7.41%
    2
    6
    3.70%
    1
    7
    0.00%
    0
    8
    3.70%
    1
    9+
    3.70%
    1
    What happens in General, stays in General.
    You know what they say about assumptions!

    #2
    Dutch; mother tongue standard
    French; good enough
    German; OK after a few days practice
    Italian; OK after a few days practice
    And what exactly is wrong with an "ad hominem" argument? Dodgy Agent, 16-5-2014

    Comment


      #3
      English, errrrrr, bit of French, errrrrrrrr little bit of German, aaaaaaaand, oh yes, I am 100% fluent in Slur.

      Edit : I was also told the Spanish word for c*** in a bar once.

      Edit : I was also told the Italian for go and f*** yourself in a bar once.
      Come back suity!

      Comment


        #4
        Fluently? Reading Newspaper level? Writing?

        I can get by in German, especially in understanding others, but Germans seem better equipped to understand my English than they do my German.

        French, just common words and phrases.

        According to this, admittedly amateurish source, the guy there reckons:
        the 75 most common words make up 40% of language occurrences
        the 200 most common words make up 50% of language occurrences
        the 524 most common words make up 60% of language occurrences
        the 1257 most common words make up 70% of language occurrences
        the 2925 most common words make up 80% of language occurrences
        the 7444 most common words make up 90% of language occurrences
        the 13374 most common words make up 95% of language occurrences
        the 25508 most common words make up 99% of language occurrences
        which if true means you could get by with a bit of bluffing, muttering and shouting with just 75 words.

        The most commonly used words are, I suspect, usually short and easy to say too. Boomed.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by RowleyBirkinQC View Post
          Edit : I was also told the Spanish word for c*** in a bar once.

          Edit : I was also told the Italian for go and f*** yourself in a bar once.
          I've no doubt that both of those have been directed at you on multiple occasions in many languages.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by TimberWolf View Post
            which if true means you could get by with a bit of bluffing, muttering and shouting with just 75 words.
            Sounds about right; at some stage you reach a point where instead of looking up or asking for a word in your own language, you get people to explain it to you or tell you in the language you are learning; that way you'll remember it AND it'll be implanted in your brain in that language, so don't have to think, for example, 'what's the Dutch for a bin?', you just use the word.

            This is actually very important; once you've got some basics, don't be embarassed to point at something and ask people what it's called; 95% of people in the world will not laugh at you and will be quite pleased to help. As for the other 5%, they probably don't have any mates anyway.
            And what exactly is wrong with an "ad hominem" argument? Dodgy Agent, 16-5-2014

            Comment


              #7
              English
              Irish
              A Level French (Conversational-ish)
              O Level Italian (Very basic)

              Holiday Spanish & Holiday Thai
              Bazza gets caught
              Socrates - "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

              CUK University Challenge Champions 2010

              Comment


                #8
                Doesn't English count as a foreign language these days ?
                Doing the needful since 1827

                Comment


                  #9
                  English: Fluent

                  American: Fluent

                  Canadian: Fluent

                  Scottish: Fluent

                  Italian: Piss Poor (though I once got a snog off an Italian girl buy saying the only Italian phrase I know, something like "Bella Stella...Bella Minutzi" translates to "Beautiful Stars ..... Beautiful breasts")

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Mich the Tester View Post
                    Sounds about right; at some stage you reach a point where instead of looking up or asking for a word in your own language, you get people to explain it to you or tell you in the language you are learning; that way you'll remember it AND it'll be implanted in your brain in that language, so don't have to think, for example, 'what's the Dutch for a bin?', you just use the word.

                    This is actually very important; once you've got some basics, don't be embarassed to point at something and ask people what it's called; 95% of people in the world will not laugh at you and will be quite pleased to help. As for the other 5%, they probably don't have any mates anyway.
                    All true. And it does come back. I can't speak Dutch any more so didn't count it for the poll, but given some solid Dutch exposure I'm sure it would come back. I can still read it, and at a technical level too.
                    Behold the warranty -- the bold print giveth and the fine print taketh away.

                    Comment

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