Languages!

[UofMfan]

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]

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.

[pajama]

what's your native language?

I would say Spanish, since I spoke it first and know it equally to English.

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

English, Spanish, and Southern. The Spanish I learned from my Mom and because she made me go to a tutor when I was in elementary and living in rural TN and refused to speak it with her 'cause I didn't want to be different.
The southern I learned because of where I live. I don't just mean the southern accent, or the y'all or ya'wont'to. I mean the hidden meanings, like when you say someone's baby is "precious". Everybody knows you mean they ain't cute, but you can't call a baby unfortunate looking.

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

Italian - 'cause I'm gonna go there some day. And sign language 'cause it's pretty to watch and I don't have to train my vocal chords to make different sounds.

what languages do you appreciate the most and why?

Any of the Asian or slavic languages because my mouth can not make those sounds.

[Corkey]

Je parle' Francis un petit per.
And can't spell worth a daymn.
I understand Spanish because I understand French, the romance languages are quite similar. I can speak some German and Latin because these are the languages of science.
I learned French in high school and it served me well in the AF.
Now I'm afraid I have lost most of my French and all of my German, old age is the great equalizer.

[LaneyDoll]

Originally Posted by pajara2

what's your native language?

I would say Spanish, since I spoke it first and know it equally to English.

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

English, Spanish, and Southern. The Spanish I learned from my Mom and because she made me go to a tutor when I was in elementary and living in rural TN and refused to speak it with her 'cause I didn't want to be different.
The southern I learned because of where I live. I don't just mean the southern accent, or the y'all or ya'wont'to. I mean the hidden meanings, like when you say someone's baby is "precious". Everybody knows you mean they ain't cute, but you can't call a baby unfortunate looking.

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

Italian - 'cause I'm gonna go there some day. And sign language 'cause it's pretty to watch and I don't have to train my vocal chords to make different sounds.

what languages do you appreciate the most and why?

Any of the Asian or slavic languages because my mouth can not make those sounds.

I speak Southern too; it goes hand in hand with the ability to speak "sarcasm."

I only speak English but know tiny bits of French (high school) and ASL (my sister learned to sign at a previous job). If someone is signing slowly I can probably understand most of what they are saying.

I wish I could speak fluent French, Italian, Latin & ASL. But, I think that all language is beautiful.