Languages!

aishah · 03-11-2012, 11:01 PM

what's your native language?

what languages do you speak/read/write/understand? how/why did you learn them?

what languages would you like to learn? why? (doesn't have to be a realistic goal.)

what languages do you appreciate the most and why?

Gráinne · 03-11-2012, 11:33 PM

English is my first language.

I can kinda sorta pick my way through high-school Spanish and French. I took Mandarin Chinese lessons, but remember none of that outside of shi-shi (thank you). I'm currently studying Russian and can read much, much more than I can understand in conversation or actually speak (that's pretty common when learning a language). I started Russian just for something challenging to do.

Ciaran · 03-12-2012, 01:05 AM

My primary language is English but with a strong Northern Irish (or "Norn Iron") dialect and accent. This would be much harsher than the softer, lilting brogue associated with many parts of southern Ireland.

My accent, more than the language I speak, is an important part of my identity as "Place" is incredibly important to me and my accent identifies where I'm from and who I am.

I also speak some Irish language, although unfortunately cannot write it. It is a beautiful language that I would be able to speak better. Otherwise, some knowledge of Mandarin, French & German but have no inclination to increase my understanding or proficiency of these.

My twin brother is fluent in 14 languages, including Japanese. He never studied Japanese but picked it up when working for a Japanese company in the UK after graduating. He subsequently completed his MBA in Tokyo in Japanese and it's now essentially his first language as it is the language he uses in his home with his Japanese wife and their family. Needless to say, I never had the same talent for languages.

1QuirkyKiwi · 03-12-2012, 05:06 AM

Te Reo Maori, Norwegian and English are my first languages. Growing up, we had to talk in Te Reo Maori and Norwegian most of the time at home.

I can speak and read some French, Italian and German with an Austrian dialect. I can speak some Cantonese, Japanese and Russian, but can’t read them. The French and Italian are from my Grandfather and Italian Grandmother; the other languages are from living around the world and learning what I could of the languages. I’m getting very rusty on many of them now…

UofMfan · 03-12-2012, 08:44 AM

My native language is Spanish.

I picked up English while living in the States for many years.

I am a professional Eng/Spa-Spa/Eng translator/interpreter.

My dad used to speak 7 languages fluently, he was also a translator and worked for the UN, but only for a short time.

I love many languages, mostly those stemming from Latin, and would like to learn Italian. I signed up for a course last year, but it ended up being cancelled due to low turnout.

I will try again this year.

aishah · 03-12-2012, 12:45 PM

yay!

i love reading everyone's responses.

my native language is u.s. english - mostly southern/aave dialect. my mom pretty much beat my accent and dialect out of me as a child so it'd be easier for me in school. now i speak with a more neutral accent but it changes when i'm talking to my family or if i'm angry.

i had to study spanish in k-12 but i've forgotten most of it - i can still read and understand it pretty well but i'm hopeless at speaking. i want to learn more and become better at speaking. when i was in college i studied chinese, sanskrit, and tibetan for my degree, and a bit of biblical hebrew for giggles. i'm hopeless at hebrew now, but i can carry on a conversation in mandarin and tibetan (lhasa dialect), and i can read sanskrit with a dictionary usually. i'm a bit rusty though - i'd like to be more conversant in tibetan and better at reading classical tibetan.

i learned to read arabic script to be able to read and pronounce from the qur'an, but i don't understand grammar. i really want to learn more qur'anic and spoken arabic. i've been studying haitian creole just out of personal interest and i'm hoping to become fluent (or at least conversant).

i think i most appreciate tibetan, haitian creole, and arabic. i love the sounds of arabic and i love the tibetan script. i learned the script mostly through doing calligraphy and i find traditional tibetan art really interesting.

dixie · 03-12-2012, 05:36 PM

what's your native language?
Southern, North Carolina hillbilly twang aka English (wait til y'all hear me speak, then y'all will know what I'm talking about lol)

what languages do you speak/read/write/understand? how/why did you learn them?
Tiny bits of Spanish and French. I made the mistake in school of taking one year of Spanish followed by four years of French, so no matter which one I begin speaking, I will finish with the other.

I can still read most French with a perfect accent, even if I can't translate all the words. I can also curse in Romanian, but I don't know if that counts for anything or not lol

what languages would you like to learn? why? (doesn't have to be a realistic goal.)
Hindi, Punjabi, Mandarin Chinese, Gaelic. Those are just some of my favorite languages to hear.

what languages do you appreciate the most and why?
Most Middle-Eastern dialects, because I can't seem to get my mouth around those either. lol

03-11-2012, 11:01 PM	#1
aishah Member How Do You Identify?: queer stone femme shark baby girl Preferred Pronoun?: she, her, little one Relationship Status: dating myself. Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: dallas, tx Posts: 1,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 13,823 Thanked 6,442 Times in 1,288 Posts Rep Power: 21474851	Languages! what's your native language? what languages do you speak/read/write/understand? how/why did you learn them? what languages would you like to learn? why? (doesn't have to be a realistic goal.) what languages do you appreciate the most and why?

03-11-2012, 11:33 PM	#2
Gráinne Senior Member How Do You Identify?: Neither, nada, out of the box Preferred Pronoun?: My name always works Relationship Status: Happy whatever happens Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,864 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 2,117 Thanked 7,388 Times in 1,457 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	English is my first language. I can kinda sorta pick my way through high-school Spanish and French. I took Mandarin Chinese lessons, but remember none of that outside of shi-shi (thank you). I'm currently studying Russian and can read much, much more than I can understand in conversation or actually speak (that's pretty common when learning a language). I started Russian just for something challenging to do. __________________ The odds of going to the store for a loaf of bread and coming out with only a loaf of bread are three billion to one. ~Erma Bombeck

03-12-2012, 05:06 AM	#4
1QuirkyKiwi Senior Member How Do You Identify?: BBW. Unique femininity that does not encompass the western paradigm. Preferred Pronoun?: Anything Respectful! Relationship Status: Single, Happy, not Desparate or Looking, but Open to Possibilities... Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Europe and Aotearoa on a 5:2 ratio. Posts: 2,308 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 11,003 Thanked 6,035 Times in 1,617 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	Te Reo Maori, Norwegian and English are my first languages. Growing up, we had to talk in Te Reo Maori and Norwegian most of the time at home. I can speak and read some French, Italian and German with an Austrian dialect. I can speak some Cantonese, Japanese and Russian, but can’t read them. The French and Italian are from my Grandfather and Italian Grandmother; the other languages are from living around the world and learning what I could of the languages. I’m getting very rusty on many of them now… __________________ What will make the difference to me is your strength of character and what's in your heart...

03-12-2012, 01:05 AM	#3
Ciaran Member How Do You Identify?: Altocalciphilic Preferred Pronoun?: Papa Smurf Relationship Status: Curmudgeonous spinster Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: London (but from Belfast) Posts: 678 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 471 Thanked 3,654 Times in 602 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	My primary language is English but with a strong Northern Irish (or "Norn Iron") dialect and accent. This would be much harsher than the softer, lilting brogue associated with many parts of southern Ireland. My accent, more than the language I speak, is an important part of my identity as "Place" is incredibly important to me and my accent identifies where I'm from and who I am. I also speak some Irish language, although unfortunately cannot write it. It is a beautiful language that I would be able to speak better. Otherwise, some knowledge of Mandarin, French & German but have no inclination to increase my understanding or proficiency of these. My twin brother is fluent in 14 languages, including Japanese. He never studied Japanese but picked it up when working for a Japanese company in the UK after graduating. He subsequently completed his MBA in Tokyo in Japanese and it's now essentially his first language as it is the language he uses in his home with his Japanese wife and their family. Needless to say, I never had the same talent for languages.

03-12-2012, 08:44 AM	#5
UofMfan Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Butch Relationship Status: A very happy Mr. Grumpy Cat Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Neither here or there Posts: 7,987 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 27,733 Thanked 18,937 Times in 4,705 Posts Rep Power: 21474859	My native language is Spanish. I picked up English while living in the States for many years. I am a professional Eng/Spa-Spa/Eng translator/interpreter. My dad used to speak 7 languages fluently, he was also a translator and worked for the UN, but only for a short time. I love many languages, mostly those stemming from Latin, and would like to learn Italian. I signed up for a course last year, but it ended up being cancelled due to low turnout. I will try again this year.

03-12-2012, 12:45 PM	#6
aishah Member How Do You Identify?: queer stone femme shark baby girl Preferred Pronoun?: she, her, little one Relationship Status: dating myself. Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: dallas, tx Posts: 1,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 13,823 Thanked 6,442 Times in 1,288 Posts Rep Power: 21474851	yay! i love reading everyone's responses. my native language is u.s. english - mostly southern/aave dialect. my mom pretty much beat my accent and dialect out of me as a child so it'd be easier for me in school. now i speak with a more neutral accent but it changes when i'm talking to my family or if i'm angry. i had to study spanish in k-12 but i've forgotten most of it - i can still read and understand it pretty well but i'm hopeless at speaking. i want to learn more and become better at speaking. when i was in college i studied chinese, sanskrit, and tibetan for my degree, and a bit of biblical hebrew for giggles. i'm hopeless at hebrew now, but i can carry on a conversation in mandarin and tibetan (lhasa dialect), and i can read sanskrit with a dictionary usually. i'm a bit rusty though - i'd like to be more conversant in tibetan and better at reading classical tibetan. i learned to read arabic script to be able to read and pronounce from the qur'an, but i don't understand grammar. i really want to learn more qur'anic and spoken arabic. i've been studying haitian creole just out of personal interest and i'm hoping to become fluent (or at least conversant). i think i most appreciate tibetan, haitian creole, and arabic. i love the sounds of arabic and i love the tibetan script. i learned the script mostly through doing calligraphy and i find traditional tibetan art really interesting.

03-12-2012, 05:36 PM	#7
dixie Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: I usually just poke it with a stick. Preferred Pronoun?: Bitch Relationship Status: Intertwined deeply Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: We're all a little mad here. Posts: 6,627 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 10,972 Thanked 21,383 Times in 4,808 Posts Rep Power: 21474858	what's your native language? Southern, North Carolina hillbilly twang aka English (wait til y'all hear me speak, then y'all will know what I'm talking about lol) what languages do you speak/read/write/understand? how/why did you learn them? Tiny bits of Spanish and French. I made the mistake in school of taking one year of Spanish followed by four years of French, so no matter which one I begin speaking, I will finish with the other. I can still read most French with a perfect accent, even if I can't translate all the words. I can also curse in Romanian, but I don't know if that counts for anything or not lol what languages would you like to learn? why? (doesn't have to be a realistic goal.) Hindi, Punjabi, Mandarin Chinese, Gaelic. Those are just some of my favorite languages to hear. what languages do you appreciate the most and why? Most Middle-Eastern dialects, because I can't seem to get my mouth around those either. lol