The Captain
Junior Associate
Hugs are good...
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 16:21:23 GMT -5
Posts: 8,717
Location: State of confusion
Favorite Drink: Whinnnne
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Post by The Captain on Jan 3, 2015 13:38:41 GMT -5
Taking Latin in HS has, besides scarring me for life, actually instilled a certain curiosity about linguistics. I'm always looks for the Latin roots in words and drawing family trees between related languages. For example, on my floor at work we have the following languages spoken: English (well, in theory. Proper English is seldom used ) Chinese (Mandarin and Catonese) Russian Polish Italian Hindi Thai Spanish We have two native Russian speakers and two native Chinese speakers, who laugh at the fact they can only converse with each other in English. So 9 non native english speakers among a department of about 25 people. If you're comfortable sharing any second (or third or even fourth) languages you speak I'd love to know. We seem to have a pretty diverse group.
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vonna
Well-Known Member
Joined: Aug 11, 2012 15:58:51 GMT -5
Posts: 1,249
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Post by vonna on Jan 3, 2015 14:19:38 GMT -5
I speak drunken sailor . . .
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weltschmerz
Community Leader
Joined: Jul 25, 2011 13:37:39 GMT -5
Posts: 38,962
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Post by weltschmerz on Jan 3, 2015 14:21:45 GMT -5
I speak English, French and Russian. I can also get by in Spanish and Polish.
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The Captain
Junior Associate
Hugs are good...
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 16:21:23 GMT -5
Posts: 8,717
Location: State of confusion
Favorite Drink: Whinnnne
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Post by The Captain on Jan 3, 2015 14:30:57 GMT -5
I speak English, French and Russian. I can also get by in Spanish and Polish.
(Crap, I said 4 and now someone had to one-up me with 5 freaking languages). Feeling a little inadequate today...
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Malarky
Junior Associate
Truth and snark are equal opportunity here.
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 21:00:51 GMT -5
Posts: 5,313
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Post by Malarky on Jan 3, 2015 14:34:00 GMT -5
Semi fluent in teen speak. Seven years of spanish in school and I can order drinks and find the bathroom.
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swamp
Community Leader
Don't be a fool. Call me!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
Posts: 45,345
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Post by swamp on Jan 3, 2015 15:17:04 GMT -5
I used to be fluent in French. I can stil read it. I'm rusty.
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sarcasticgirl
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 14:39:51 GMT -5
Posts: 5,155
Location: Chicago
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Jan 3, 2015 15:22:03 GMT -5
I used to be semi fluent in Spanish and Italian... But I speak rusty spitalian.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards
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andi9899
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 6, 2011 10:22:29 GMT -5
Posts: 30,460
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Post by andi9899 on Jan 3, 2015 15:39:51 GMT -5
Fluent in English and Spanish. I can get by in Portuguese.
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dannylion
Junior Associate
Gravity is a harsh mistress
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 12:17:52 GMT -5
Posts: 5,197
Location: Miles over the madness horizon and accelerating
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Post by dannylion on Jan 3, 2015 15:52:35 GMT -5
Native speaker of English. Proficient in reading Russian, Chinese, and French. Used to be proficient speaking Russian and French, rusty now. I can still understand it pretty well but have lost most of my active vocabulary, so participating in conversations has become difficult. Never was very good at speaking Mandarin Chinese and very rusty now. Can read Italian, Spanish with heavy reliance on dictionaries and grammar texts. Studied Farsi long ago; cannot remember any of it.
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Tired Tess
Well-Known Member
I'm so ready to wrap it up.
Joined: Jan 16, 2011 8:47:41 GMT -5
Posts: 1,313
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Post by Tired Tess on Jan 3, 2015 15:57:10 GMT -5
English and I still do pretty well in American Sign Language.
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mroped
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 17, 2014 17:36:56 GMT -5
Posts: 3,453
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Post by mroped on Jan 3, 2015 16:14:23 GMT -5
Oh, crap! English is my third language ! Fluent also in Romanian and French. Can get by in Spanish, understand most of Italian and if necessary some basic russian.
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weltschmerz
Community Leader
Joined: Jul 25, 2011 13:37:39 GMT -5
Posts: 38,962
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Post by weltschmerz on Jan 3, 2015 16:17:26 GMT -5
I speak English, French and Russian. I can also get by in Spanish and Polish.
(Crap, I said 4 and now someone had to one-up me with 5 freaking languages). Feeling a little inadequate today... Sorry!
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mmhmm
Administrator
It's a great pity the right of free speech isn't based on the obligation to say something sensible.
Joined: Dec 25, 2010 18:13:34 GMT -5
Posts: 31,770
Today's Mood: Saddened by Events
Location: Memory Lane
Favorite Drink: Water
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Post by mmhmm on Jan 3, 2015 16:27:29 GMT -5
I'm reduced to "little bits", I'm afraid. I used to be much more fluent in Spanish, French and Italian than I am now. I can read them much better than I can speak them. I'm still pretty good in Indonesian and Malaysian but still read better than I speak. I've got a little German (less than any of the others) but my pronunciation has always been horrible. I've forgotten my Farsi completely but retain a bit of Arabic.
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ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ
Community Leader
♡ ♡ BᏋՆᎥᏋᏉᏋ ♡ ♡
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 16:12:51 GMT -5
Posts: 43,130
Location: Inside POM's Head
Favorite Drink: Chilled White Zin
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Post by ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ on Jan 3, 2015 16:46:59 GMT -5
I'm semi-fluent in French. The REAL French that is.
Canadian French spoken by the Québécois francophones has taken the original language of France and & butchered it so badly over the years with their own slang and idiomatic expressions it's an embarrassment to the original language.
It's an entirely different dialect than Parisian French.
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weltschmerz
Community Leader
Joined: Jul 25, 2011 13:37:39 GMT -5
Posts: 38,962
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Post by weltschmerz on Jan 3, 2015 16:52:47 GMT -5
I'm semi-fluent in French. The REAL French that is.
Canadian French spoken by the Québécois francophones has taken the original language of France and & butchered it so badly over the years with their own slang and idiomatic expressions it's an embarrassment to the original language.
It's an entirely different dialect than Parisian French. I was taught Parisian French in school.
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swamp
Community Leader
Don't be a fool. Call me!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
Posts: 45,345
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Post by swamp on Jan 3, 2015 16:52:57 GMT -5
I'm semi-fluent in French. The REAL French that is.
Canadian French spoken by the Québécois francophones has taken the original language of France and & butchered it so badly over the years with their own slang and idiomatic expressions it's an embarrassment to the original language.
It's an entirely different dialect than Parisian French. ETA: bite me. I'm quebecoise.
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Bonny
Junior Associate
Joined: Nov 17, 2013 10:54:37 GMT -5
Posts: 7,438
Location: No Place Like Home!
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Post by Bonny on Jan 3, 2015 17:19:26 GMT -5
Studied Farsi long ago; cannot remember any of it. I can still swear in Farsi. Shocked the heck out of myself when after 30 years I could still count to 10. I never took any classes but picked up some words from my Iranian friends. I can usually get the gist of what they're saying because about half of their words are French or English!
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Bonny
Junior Associate
Joined: Nov 17, 2013 10:54:37 GMT -5
Posts: 7,438
Location: No Place Like Home!
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Post by Bonny on Jan 3, 2015 17:25:55 GMT -5
After 5 years of Jr. High and H.S. English and 3 years for a French Literature Degree I'm reduced to only being able to read French and say some simple sentences. If I review one of my French grammar books I can get by. I was never fluent. I can make myself understood in German. It ain't pretty. I work pretty well with the Spanish speaking workman who don't speak very good English. Between growing up in San Diego and my French I can generally do some translation.
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mroped
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 17, 2014 17:36:56 GMT -5
Posts: 3,453
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Post by mroped on Jan 3, 2015 18:35:53 GMT -5
Hold it right there about the quebecoise! The Canadian French is in fact old and as a matter of fact "truer"(if there is such a word?) than the French french. It is in fact the old French spoken in or around Marseille. Granted, it mixed many English words in time but not as many as the French spoken in France. Et voila! Vous ete bien venue! (missing the litle caps on "e"s ! )
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weltschmerz
Community Leader
Joined: Jul 25, 2011 13:37:39 GMT -5
Posts: 38,962
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Post by weltschmerz on Jan 3, 2015 18:45:23 GMT -5
Lunch at l'office québécois de la langue française
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tootsieroll
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 26, 2013 8:45:53 GMT -5
Posts: 222
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Post by tootsieroll on Jan 3, 2015 19:16:31 GMT -5
I started studying Spanish in sixth grade. I took four years in high school, studied for a summer in Spain and got a BA in Spanish. I taught 7 years of high school Spanish, and now I tutor a retiree and a few high school students in Spanish while staying home with my kids. I can speak, read and write, though I do feel a bit rusty in some areas. I have translated in school meetings and random situations. I feel like I can understand Portuguese, but I have no idea how to formulate a response
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imanangel
Well-Known Member
Joined: Jun 8, 2014 12:18:00 GMT -5
Posts: 1,042
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Post by imanangel on Jan 4, 2015 3:47:24 GMT -5
I speak fluent English, redneck, teen, and drunk Italian. I am also fluent in Italian sign language.
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mroped
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 17, 2014 17:36:56 GMT -5
Posts: 3,453
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Post by mroped on Jan 4, 2015 7:57:07 GMT -5
So for "redneck" do you use chewing tobacco or beef jerky?
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imanangel
Well-Known Member
Joined: Jun 8, 2014 12:18:00 GMT -5
Posts: 1,042
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Post by imanangel on Jan 4, 2015 10:34:32 GMT -5
So for "redneck" do you use chewing tobacco or beef jerky? Neither. It was my native language, but I moved out of that area many moons ago. I am way more city girl now.
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MarleyKeezy78
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 22, 2011 13:20:34 GMT -5
Posts: 3,226
Location: Sittin in the mitten
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Post by MarleyKeezy78 on Jan 4, 2015 16:45:37 GMT -5
Sarcasm
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Artemis Windsong
Senior Associate
The love in me salutes the love in you. M. Williamson
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 19:32:12 GMT -5
Posts: 12,326
Today's Mood: Twinkling
Location: Wishing Star
Favorite Drink: Fresh, clean cold bottled water.
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Post by Artemis Windsong on Jan 4, 2015 17:49:55 GMT -5
Inadequate, here. No foreign language. I used to be proficient in shorthand. A nonspoken language.
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Anne_in_VA
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:09:35 GMT -5
Posts: 5,511
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Jan 5, 2015 9:25:19 GMT -5
I used to speak and read French, but have become rusty although I can pick out words and can sometimes get the gist of what is being said. I used to speak some Swedish as my dad was a first generation Swede, but only remember a few words now. Took shorthand in HS, but never became very proficient in it.
I used to study ASL but have forgotten most of that now since I don't use it in daily life.
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chiver78
Administrator
Current Events Admin
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 13:04:45 GMT -5
Posts: 38,649
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Post by chiver78 on Jan 5, 2015 9:45:48 GMT -5
if you want to talk about butchering the French language, take a look at the dialect I speak - Chiac I grew up speaking this dialect of French with my family, and then made the mistake of taking French in school - thinking I'd earn an easy A. I got that A, but managed to frustrate myself in the process when taking tests that covered subject matter where Parisian differs from Chiac. when I was younger, I was proficient in Brazilian Portuguese and Italian. I've lost both w/o regular use, but want to reacquaint myself with Italian. I'm thinking about picking up some learn-to-speak CDs for my upcoming long commutes.
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wyouser
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 16:35:20 GMT -5
Posts: 12,126
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Post by wyouser on Jan 5, 2015 12:15:00 GMT -5
I speak, read, and write German. Beyond that, I can order beer or wine in Spanish or French, complete with a please or thank you. But ...asking directions to the nearest bathroom? Hopeless!!
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NastyWoman
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 20:50:37 GMT -5
Posts: 14,420
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Post by NastyWoman on Jan 5, 2015 16:08:33 GMT -5
Native language: Dutch Foreign Languages (fluent) English and German (get by) French (survival level) Thai
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