Speaking of languages

[Orange_Coconut]

I was wondering what everyone here would like to learn, or is learning that they are interested in. My school only offers Spanish, French, and Latin. Though I have long since wanted to learn Italian and German.

I have an interest in languages, and I was wondering if anyone else out there does too.

[TheOneHero]

i took French 1 and it was fun at first...then got...ya...the class was total lamo... LAME - E + O = LAMO pronoucned LAME O for anyone who doesn't know http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif buti started thinkning off one thing i wanted to do *besides direct movies* is i want to join a gaming buisness or something so i thought taking japanese might help...and plus i would go to japan with my class and pick up those japanese girls...anyways...its all good:D

[Outrider]

Eh... my school offered Spanish, French, German, Italian and Latin. I took five years of Spanish (although I really didn't pay attention during that fifth year... so effectively I haven't practiced Spanish in two or three years.) I really should try and teach myself the language again, because I figure it can only be useful.

I tried learning some Japanese a few years back, and asked for a book for my birthday. Unfortunately, my mom got me a tourist book for visiting Japan... not something to learn the language. I mean, I learned some fun phrases and all that, but nothing really useful.

But if I could learn one language I don't know? Japanese, probably.

[Cannibal-Snowman]

My school offers French, German, Spanish, and Latin. As for what language I want to learn, I would say that I want to learn how to speak Russian. I don't know why...I just do.

[Arislan]

Learning Japanese still.. At a proficient level (could have passed Nikyuu easily barring the kanji knowledge) there, but still have much more to go.

The other languages I want to learn are Korean and Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese to start, and work from there). Learning the three main Asian languages is one of my life's goals.

In school we had Spanish, French, German, and Latin. Another HS in the district had Japanese, but the class was cancelled my Sophomore year due to lack of interest.

[PJ]

Yes. Being Canadian, we have to leanr French in Elementary school, and Grade 9 French is a mandatary course (And since I passed it... http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif)

I've signed up to take Spanish next year. Go Salsa socks http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Solstis]

I'm learning Spanish, still can't converse worth a wiff, but can understand most of what is said to me.

I suck at answering tho.

I wanted to learn German, but after a bit of a rude awakening at an airport terminal *shakes his fist* I may learn italian next.

Or korean, like I should have already :/.

[_Ted_]

I took three years of German and have retained almost none of what I learned. I didn't learn much during the third year, the teacher started slacking off so the whole class started slacking off. Meh.

The language that I think sounds interesting to learn would be Russian, it probably wouldn't benefit me any, but would be interesting none-the-less.

[RicoRoyal]

English is actually my second language (spanish being my native language). I speak both very well, read both very well, but actually find that I am terrible at writing my own native language, while I severely dominate english in any class.
So I am totally undecided as to what my "main" language is.

I also took two years of German in high school; probably enough to allow me to survive (for a day or two) in Germany. Due to lack of practice, I've started forgetting certain phrases here or there, but should I ever need to, I could easily just pick up my German dictionary (my German sentence structure is still very well defined) and speak till sundown.

As of late, I've tried (keyword: TRIED) to learn Japanese. Japanese = biotch to learn. Especially considering that I have tried learning straight from books (many of them) rather than from a class or family member/friend. Nonetheless, I plan on getting my Japanese down pretty well within the next 4 years. Afterwards, I'll pursue Russian. I don't neccessarily do all this for fun either. Learning these languages (especially German and Russian) will greatly aid me in my quest for a job in my field. These languages will set me apart from my competition. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_evil.gif

[Nai_Calus]

I've had some Spanish, and that's it... Remember very little of it. Not that interested, is my problem.

The language I want to learn, that oddly I know the most of, is Japanese.

I guess it's osmosis or something. XP Too much manga/anime/J-Rock. But yeah, I know more Japanese than anything else. Kind of meh on the grammar, though.

It's kind of sucky, though, no colleges anywhere near here offer it, so I can't take any classes. Just more osmosis.

But hey, my pronunciation is great! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif Listen to native speakers all the time. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif

[astuarlen]

Eh, I've been taking French for some years now, and I think with a couple more years, I could be fairly proficient. Unfortunately, I just don't like speaking in French in front of people. Reading and writing are just fine and sometimes enjoyable, but I dunno... It would be really cool to actually be able to speak a second language well, but I guess I'm not that interested. I love english; it's so beautiful for all its ugliness. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime2.gif

If I could learn one other language other than English with no effort (lazy, lazy me!), I'd be hard-pressed to choose. Spanish would probably be the most useful, but, being not very exotic, it would be less fun. Russian would be rather interesting, although the practicality of learning it is questionable. Japanese holds little or no interest for me except for playing import games. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime1.gif

Edit: Stray comma. >_<

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: astuarlen on 2004-06-10 20:00 ]</font>

[Solstis]

On 2004-06-10 19:55, Ian-KunX wrote:
I've had some Spanish, and that's it... Remember very little of it. Not that interested, is my problem.

The language I want to learn, that oddly I know the most of, is Japanese.

I guess it's osmosis or something. XP Too much manga/anime/J-Rock. But yeah, I know more Japanese than anything else. Kind of meh on the grammar, though.

It's kind of sucky, though, no colleges anywhere near here offer it, so I can't take any classes. Just more osmosis.

But hey, my pronunciation is great! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif Listen to native speakers all the time. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif



K-Rock owns J-Rock! (gets into a fight)

Japanese wouldn't be too bad to know, but I'm getting tired of Korean people walking up to me and expecting me to understand what they're saying.

Usually, I give them the cutest smile possible and frantically wave my hands.

A perfect manuvere for almost any situation.

[Bradicus]

I continued my French training past the manditory grade 9 class... and hated it.
The french lost the war, and yet i need to learn their language just to get a good job in the government? I say: Fuck the spoiled bastards that call themselves the "Quebecois"

these past few years have put me off of learning any new languages all together >_>



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Bradicus on 2004-06-10 20:33 ]</font>

[shifter]

my school(grade school mind you) only offered french and spanish and i was forced to take spanish cause my mom thought that i would be working with a lot of spanish only speaking people(still hasnt happened). but the three languages ive alway wanted to learn, Japanesse so i wont have to read those dam subtitles in anime and so i can go with my friend chris to japan. but for some strange reason, i want German and Russian. i dont know anyone who speaks either of those languages, but i guess i want to learn them cause they sound cool when you speak em.

[KodiaX987]

I'd love to give Japanese a shot, but I also wanna try German. I dunno, it just sounds real sweet to me. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[BlackRose]

I know english and french, a little japanese... I'd like to learn Russian though.

*russian accent*

Play tetris! Drink vodka!

*/russian accent*

XP

[navci]

English is of course, my second language.

I started self-learning Japanese at the age of 13, and since have built a large vocabulary and zero grammar. Until my final year of uni I took a year of Japanese and finally managed to get the basic grammar down. I was told that grammar wise I should be able to past level 3... Kanji wise... well I will kick their asses. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

Took a year of German in my first year, believe or not during the year I actually was able to speak and read and listen without too much problem. Right now, geez, I wonder if that reality actually existed.

Er. I lived in Beijing for a year for the sole purpose (that isn't true, one of the really important purpose) to learn Mandarin. I went from not able to speak a word to babbling half asleep. So I guess that was a score. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

Being Canadian I would eventually like to learn French. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif I don't care what you people think I wanna speak some random Qubecois French and go around babbling something no one else understand http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[BlackRose]

Oh yeah, does anyone know if adjectives come before or after nouns in Russian?

[Ness]

I want to learn either Japanese or Korean.

[Dangerous55]

I can speak some German and Latin. Alot more German, if I got in a sloooow conversation I might actually be able to handle myself.

I want to learn Spanish and might minor in it in college, good to know since I want to be a cop.

[Skett]

I tried to learn Japanese when I was younger so I could just import new games from Japan before they arrive in US. I failed at that but learned some from the Japanese version of Pokemon Gold.

Next year, I am taking the year-long German class. Since I am part British, part German, I want to learn the languages of my ancestores.

I at first wanted to learn French in the class that taught it but it was not on the computers when we were creating our next years classes. I wanted to go to Paris someday but I am allergic to something there and am not allowed to.

[LadyRedComet]

I speak English as my native language (well, I try...but I constantly find myself inserting "thingie" into sentences when I can't come up with the word I want to use), and I took five years of Spanish in school (can't speak to native speakers at all. My reaction time is too slow and I don't know very much slang).

I really want to learn Russian (I've got two textbooks and "Learn Russian!" software, and I can only say a few things, and that's only when the software shouts them at me, since I can't read Cyrillic yet). After Russian I would like to learn Arabic, Japanese, and German. And possibly Italian and Portuguese, since they're so similar to Spanish.

[Daikarin]

English's my second language, (Heck, I was 3 or 4 when I was seeing all those "MUZZY" videotapes, and my mother happened to be an english teacher as well) since I had a lot of english channels when I was 6 years old and took interest on finding out what the hell they were saying.

French's my third language. I have a set of manga fully in french, so it was a fun way of improving what I knew on that language.

Every portuguese guy knows how to speak spanish. Nuestros hermanos share a few roots, altough our accent has nothing in common. If a portuguese and a spanish guy talk to each other in their native language, a dialogue easily exists.

I'd like to learn chinese and/or japanese but I don't have the schedule for that.

[Evil_Althena8]

*pouts* I can only speak english. The only languages that really appear to me are Latin, and maybe japanese. Chinese is cool to, but, of course, I can speak nothing but english.

[kevlar_pso]

Eskimo. I can speak a little Eskimo. Then again there are several different Eskimo groups(generally we don't like to refer to these as tribes, it has somethin to do w/bein associated w/Indians, cause we don't fall under American Indian but under Alaska Native[might also have somethin to do w/not gettin the raw deal of havin our land taken away from us and bein pushed onto reservations{cause we had our own "Indigenous" lawyers to fight for us so we didn't lose out to the "white man" lol}]). Phew that was a mouthful. I happen to speak Inupiaq Eskimo. As opposed to Yupik Eskimo, Siberian Yupik Eskimo, or Inuit Eskimo.

I promise not to hijack this thread and make it the Eskimo thread. lol

[ssephiroth_da_hunter]

I took Japanese about a year ago and I havent practiced speaking it so most of wut I learned is probably forgotten. Korean is something I wouldnt mind learning.

[opaopajr]

i'm so glad to see such interest in other languages! http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

born and raised with english mostly, even though my mom's native tongue is spanish. this means that i can understand quite a bit of spanish, can't reply in depth much, but can curse up a storm in spanish http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif that and a lot of colloquialisms (aka. 'Ay, Dios mio'). studied spanish for 3 years and left with the ability to grade someone's grammar, but not be able to write a coherent essay, let alone survive an animated conversation. very upset with high school language teaching.

from there i attempted to learn japanese, it's my major right now, but i still need lots of practice. i decided to learn french on my own and have realized that it isn't as hard as i thought it was. most of the rules are familiar to spanish. it's just the spelling and pronunciation that catches you off guard. but i'm far from being proficient i tell you.

what i would like to learn again is arabic. i took 2 years of it as a child in saudi arabia and would like to try my hand at it again.

i also want to learn chinese (mandarin). there's a whole swath of literature that i want to read, and i finally want to understand the chinese period dramas i've been watching all these years.

and i'd love to learn latin more. i mean we all know a bit of latin in knowing english, but it's such a fun, intense language. i just love the idea of expositing in latin for no apparent reason to others. it just seems so... needlessly epic. then i'd go learn a few latin hymnals and start singing at awkwardly appropriate times - kind of making everyday life as... needlessly epic as it is shown in the movies. having fun in the idea of ascending the stairs to the background of "Gloria, in excelsis Deo."

[segadrm10]

i took spanish 1 this year and next year im gonna take spanish 2 and then spanish 3 & 4 cause is easy. Ill all ready know spanish so it will be an easy A.

[Kent]

I 0wn English, and I am learning Japanese.

...Playing FFXI with Japanese people helps with that.

[Tenchi_Yuka]

English is my primary language and I learn French, German and Latin at school. Also, I have learned a little Japanese and Cantonese.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Tenchi_Yuka on 2004-06-13 02:22 ]</font>

[Madzozs]

I speak English as my primary. I learned Polish around the same time I learned to speak English, but due to lack of use, have long forgotten most of it. I did 5 years of Spanish in Middle/High School and haven't used it since so it is mostly gone. I am currently teaching myself sign language to use along with English as my primary. I work with a deaf child and within a few months I have gone from not being able to spell my name, to understanding and conversing with deaf people. Since I have started learning, I have come across many new hearing impaired folks to practice with. It is odd considering I never knew anyone who was born-deaf.

[Cinnamon]

I took something like six years of Spanish, but due to having a horrible teacher in elementary school, and having no interest in high school, you're lucky to get one sentence out of me. I've had two years of Latin, which did me no good as well since I only took it since I preferred it to Spanish or French. I would've gladly taken German, but our HS sucked..XP
So far in college I've had two semesters of Japanese, which is basic sentence structure and hiragana/katakana proficiency. Basically I can read most Japanese perfectly but have no idea what most of it says. XD
This fall I'll be in Japanese 203 which is, from what I hear, much harder than the previous two courses. >_<

[Alighieri]

On 2004-06-14 05:51, Madzozs wrote:
I speak English as my primary. I learned Polish around the same time I learned to speak English, but due to lack of use, have long forgotten most of it.



You learned Polish? That`s a nice thing to hear! What do you think of the language?

[darthsaber9x9]

yeah im english go me http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

i just finished my GCSE german exam(5years) and my GCSE for Latin(3 years) and whoever said german is a nice language, IT BLOODY ISNT! (no offence to germans of course)

and latin is alright. we had a small class so we could piss around alot. its pretty boring sometimes though.

and the guy who is half english half german....thats just unlucky

[Alighieri]

On 2004-06-16 04:44, darthsaber9x9 wrote:

i just finished my GCSE german exam(5years) and my GCSE for Latin(3 years) and whoever said german is a nice language, IT BLOODY ISNT! (no offence to germans of course)



I`ll agree on that - German is not so easy to learn in spite of being a little less complex than English. I`ve been learning English since I was about 7 years old - that`s a lot of time but you`ll never get a good grip on the language if you do not have a constant contact with it - I have little personal contact with English native speakers so I usually need a while to "switch" to English talking mode. Situation is a little different with German - I had to learn it in high school for 4 years. To be frank I don`t really like the languge and can`t really speak it well (I understand the speech but can`t really talk back on the spot) but I can write in it quite well. And as for my native language - Polish - it`s a hard language to learn but I just love it (singing especialy!).

[Rainbowlemon]

On 2004-06-16 05:12, Alighieri wrote:


On 2004-06-16 04:44, darthsaber9x9 wrote:

i just finished my GCSE german exam(5years) and my GCSE for Latin(3 years) and whoever said german is a nice language, IT BLOODY ISNT! (no offence to germans of course)



I`ll agree on that - German is not so easy to learn in spite of being a little less complex than English.


http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif I took both French and German for 5 years for GCSE, and found them both incredibly easy http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif The grammar for German is so basic, it really could all be learnt in about half a year. As for vocabulary and pronunciation, I'd also say it's nice - you can look at a word, and know exactly how it's said before you've heard it, if you apply the principles...unlike English...

I have also trying to teach myself Japanese for a while now, but as of yet haven't really got far due to other matters...I'm also one of those people who prefer to learn how to speak before I write/read, so technically I'm not sure whether you could say I'm actually learning it or not http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

I would also love to learn Russian - my school offered the course, but instead I took German, and I wish that I had chosen otherwise - one of my oldest friends is Russian, and we're almost part of each other's family now, so speaking the language would have being really nice. I pick up little bits here and there, but perhaps maybe I should put a bit of dedication in and try to pick up Russian as well http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[Madzozs]

Alighiei, the reason I learned Polish was because my grandparents are from there. It was spoken all the time in my house when I lived with them so I just kinda picked it up. The little I remember wasn't too difficult, but it is still cool to be able to speak a bit in my 87 year old grandfathers native language. he appreciates it.

[dude3282]

I've only taken a little bit of spanish, and I like it. My dad speaks a little of it, since he spent a year and a half on a mission in a spanish-speaking area. So I get to practice with him. And other than that, it's good ol' english - or a close as you can get here in the southern USA.

For crazy language stories, I know a guy who grew up in Florida, speaking spanish and english all the time from when he was really young. Then, he moved to California, where the only language his high school offered was french, so he took that. Technically, he was trilingual, but he says french messed up his spanish a little. Then, in college, he was inspired to take modern hebrew. That's four different languages (although he's not completely fluent). How cool is that?

[Alighieri]

On 2004-06-16 05:50, Madzozs wrote:
Alighiei, the reason I learned Polish was because my grandparents are from there. It was spoken all the time in my house when I lived with them so I just kinda picked it up. The little I remember wasn't too difficult, but it is still cool to be able to speak a bit in my 87 year old grandfathers native language. he appreciates it.



W takim razie plynie w tobie nieco polskiej krwi. I`m pleased to hear that^^.

[K-ne]

I've been fascinated with other languages since I was a kid; it's been one of my goals for a long time to become fluent in a language besides English. Given that, I really like topics like these. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Unfortunately, since I'm happy with pretty much any language I study, I haven't really sat down and concentrated on one in particular. I took Spanish in high school, then French and Italian as an undergraduate. Throughout college, though, I studied Japanese on the side, and I'm thinking that it's the language I want to really buckle down and learn. I'm not progressing as fast as I would in a class (and I know, because I did take an intensive course one summer - man, was THAT insane), but I'm retaining a lot more than I expect, since I have some degree of contact with it on a frequent basis. It's a beautiful language in any case, so even if I never achieve fluency, I'll enjoy studying it regardless.

[Cinnamon]

On 2004-06-16 05:50, Madzozs wrote:
Alighiei, the reason I learned Polish was because my grandparents are from there. It was spoken all the time in my house when I lived with them so I just kinda picked it up. The little I remember wasn't too difficult, but it is still cool to be able to speak a bit in my 87 year old grandfathers native language. he appreciates it.



My grandparents are from there too, but don't speak it that well. At least my grandma doesn't, I don't think. My granddad is fluent and he's always going around spouting off some phrase that makes me go "Ehh?". I really can't bring myself to enjoy Polish for some reason. I don't mind how it sounds, it's just that I like words to be at least somewhat written how they sound. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime2.gif;

[Blitzkommando]

I am fairly good at Spanish, but... I hate romance languages... I hate how song-like they sound... Give me a good slavic/germanic language. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif So... Yeah, I want to learn German, I know some, it comes to me pretty easy... well, most languages do. I studied Russian on my own and found that it... well, has some very, very strange language laws.. Such as, there is no "to be" verb... Which creates some confusion, hehe. As for others, well, I am finding Japanese as a breeze, and... possibly Norwegian. Russian I will probably continue though, just knowing it adds to your pay in the military. ;p As does Arabic and some other 'important' languages, not French, Spanish, or German due to, well, look at how many people in the US know them. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif I may go into business of some kind, so... the more the merrier.

[uchiha_itachi]

I speak English, Cantonese and Italian. I'm hoping to start an Economics degree with Japanese this year. Should be fun spending the whole of the second year in Japan. After that, I want to learn French or German as well. I did a bit of French in secondary school but never did it for my GCSEs. My dad also taught me Mandarin for about a year but after that, he was too busy and I forgot most of it.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: uchiha_itachi on 2004-06-18 18:46 ]</font>