language question

brc64 · Jul 20, 2003, 03:52 PM

Q: What do you call a person who speaks two languages?
A: Bilingual.

Q: What do you call a person who speaks three or more languages?
A: Multilingual.

Q: What do you call a person who speaks only one language?
A: American.

It's an old joke that was told where I went to high school by people trying to get students involved in taking foreign language classes. Unfortunately, it's not all that much of a joke, since most Americans do only speak English. I understand that it isn't uncommon for people of other cultures to speak at least two different languages.

This is just a little poll to see how many people here speak more than one language. I'm American, so obviously my primary language is English, but I have also learned a fair bit of French as well. I'm not fluent in it, but I know enough to get by. How about the rest of you?

- Me

kinetic · Jul 20, 2003, 03:55 PM

I learned French, German and Russian at school but the only one I really took to was French! Ask Tragic!

Falstaff · Jul 20, 2003, 03:59 PM

Japanese - spent six years there..

Greek - live on the island of Crete.

German- lived there with my father..

english- taught to me when we lived in San Pablo spain..

N. californese....used to work in San Francisco

S. californese....used to work in Long Beach as well..

UberLord · Jul 20, 2003, 04:24 PM

Aside from native English, I can read and speak French, German and apparently Latin

French I can get by with - just
German I occasionally need a small word book for some basic stuff
Latin - well, I knew it at school and promptly forgot most of it when I left

(But I did get a GCSE grade D in it

)

digitalwanderer · Jul 20, 2003, 04:39 PM

I only speak one language....but I speak it pretty goodly!

UberLord · Jul 20, 2003, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
I only speak one language....but I speak it pretty goodly!

Shame your grammar sucks

LeanWolf · Jul 20, 2003, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Shame your grammar sucks

i think 'goodly' was meant to be a joke.. at least i hope! I have seen some pretty atrocious english, mostly written by americans who should know better. (sorry yanks! i couldn't resist the dig!)
Myself I'm fully fluent in three languages: (scottish)english and french (bilingual household), and swedish after living here for a few years. of course learning a new language just gets easier when you've already got a couple to start with, you'd be surprised how related they are, to a certain degree at least.

wertret · Jul 20, 2003, 05:00 PM

Im a spanish trying to speak english...

~~Mac Daddy~~ · Jul 20, 2003, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
I only speak one language....but I speak it pretty goodly!

Well I guess I speak American and Canadian ...
Just adding some colour to the thread ..

Now Dig in any language that is pronounced "Gooder"

A simple example:

"I tryed eleventeen times to make it gooder ... Damn it Martha I told ya .. got my Betterest suit on"

ToshiroOC · Jul 20, 2003, 05:17 PM

English, German, Spanish for me. Teaching myself Japanese right now, also working a bit on Chinese and Sanskrit/Hindi on the side... languages are the key to a whole new culture, knowing only one is a crutch

~~Mac Daddy~~ · Jul 20, 2003, 05:45 PM

Nice Tosh ..

Seriously though some French and Latin ... Not very good at it though

fornicatarachnid · Jul 20, 2003, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by digitalwanderer
I only speak one language....but I speak it pretty goodly!

Thats a classic Dig !

digerati · Jul 21, 2003, 12:22 AM

Spanish was my frist language, french my second. Moved to the states and forgot both and learned english. But thankfully because of the diversity as a youngin I've got accents done pretty well.

Rayder · Jul 21, 2003, 12:36 AM

I'm an American.

I did take some language classes in high school.

Non parlay francais.
Une jolie fille.

No habla espanol.

See?

**G.I.BRO** · Jul 21, 2003, 12:47 AM

I can speak a little bit of english and greek... Just a tad of each tho!

Stormy · Jul 21, 2003, 01:43 AM

I speak three languages: Canadian, French and Washingtonese

merry · Jul 21, 2003, 05:13 AM

English (some), French (less), I also took classes in Russian and Czech (but I don't remember much of either of them). And of course, Romanian...

~~Mac Daddy~~ · Jul 21, 2003, 05:58 AM

Merry sometimes I think you underestimate your English skills.
I have received the odd email from you

over the last year or so.
I always thought you expressed yourself very well in English.

Don't send me any in Romanian please

Logla · Jul 21, 2003, 06:37 AM

I'm an Englishman who only speaks english. I did study French and Spanish at school but was too lazy to bother learning them properly.

Something I regret.

merry · Jul 21, 2003, 06:38 AM

Thanks, Mac... but I know what I'm saying

As for Romanian, it's sort of a cross between French and Italian, spiced with a bit of Russian (and sounding like Portuguese

)

~~craig588~~ · Jul 21, 2003, 07:04 AM

I can't speak anything other than english, but I can read german and japanese. I can't write them though.

Davidgt · Jul 21, 2003, 07:23 AM

English and some spanish here and a tiny biy of german ( so little it doesnt count lol)

No_Style · Jul 21, 2003, 07:49 AM

English, I know a bit of French, but not fluent enough. 2 Chinese dialects. I also know how to speak l337 language. j00 r0x0rz my b0x0rz.

Falstaff · Jul 21, 2003, 08:22 AM

I know that Australian, English and German actors struggle with american dialects and must become proficient enough in motion pictures, except Arnold of course..

Spanglish - corruption of english and spanish, often used by high school kids and tourists in border towns....i.e. "kay bummer" or that's a drag..Spoken more often by Americans that have not grasped the languages of Spain, mexico, cuba, etc....often tolerated but not used widely.

San Franderin - Chinese, mandarin in origin, used in San Francsico and Monterey, to order food from resturants, impress dates, etc. Mixed with english or any other language makes no difference the waiter or shop keeper just nods their head approvingly..and walk away politely.

Ebonics - What can I say, with the advent of rap and hip hop and popular comedy, it has replaced common english phrases and words with it's own cliche. Interchangable with basic english and flexible enough to adapt to new trends in the music and sports industry.

Yiddican- Now that popular entertainment is embracing many cultures, variations of yiddish and hebrew are injected into conversations to express frustration and humour, very popular with comedians and politicians, it can replace normal english phrases and create confusion.

Redneckese - Regardless of where a person comes from, humorous versions of their colloquial language(s) emerge to reinforce perhaps the stereotype that rural or bucalic peoples are ignorant. this language is based on english and often has pregnant pauses and mono sybillic phrases.

Texan - Can be a mixture of spanish and english to the extent that even the wrong words and phrases are used to describe very complicated terms and ideas. i.e. George Bush answering questions from the press...

San Fernando dialect- Another unique and complicated vernacular, composed of words from many languages and cultures to describe ideas and concepts among teenagers, receptionists and even super models and sports figures. Also known as "mall language" or the language of shoppers..

New York dialect- Also composed of words from many languages including english and spoken with a distinct East Coast style reminiscent of early black and white ganster movies etc.. Almost intelligible and must be listened to over and over again to understand and spoken proficiently..Avoid using this dialect if at all possible, the tendancy for the listener to try to determine which nieghborhood you grew up in Philiadephia or New York or even Chicago can shift the focus away from your message.

Mid westernese - Often misunderstood type of english based on cultural mixtures of english from the mid western united states and corn belt, not complicated and difficult to understand, but requires patience because even though it is composed of single words, the content is very complex and simple words like "yep" and "nope" have a totally new meaning..again, patience is required.

Loud and Slow or Touristese- This is a unique variation of english, regardless of dialect that emerges during attempts to speak other languages. the tendency to speak it loudly and slowly accentuating the "o" and the "a"...difficult to understand, even for linguists.

Canadian - communities bordering Canada often mis pronouce words with "o" and "a", it is a version of perhaps the queens english of the mother country, not difficult to understand but requiring patience as many people often begin laughing when they hear it.

Rez english- Again, native american language mixed with english to produce a workable and unique vernaculer peculiar to the region or reservation. i.e. "smoke from a distant fire" an excellent movie with phrases composed of indian and english language.

Minnesotan- It is not know whether Norwegian, Swedish, or German provides the strange inflection heard in this english dialect, but also requires patience and understand, as often it provokes laughs and smiles among listeners, be cautious and avoid adapting it, the possibility of insulting native Minnestotans is great.

toddsmack2k · Jul 21, 2003, 08:56 AM

I can speak english and B.S.!

tek · Jul 21, 2003, 09:39 AM

French people... *cough* DIE NOW *cough*

I speak Bosnian, Croatian, German (lost a little), English, and now learning Spanish.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Jul 21, 2003, 10:02 AM

1. english
2. gibberish - (well thats what my girlfriend says)

3. bits/ pices/words of all kinds of stuff but not much at all of ther like greman, french, piglatin etc