Poll: Language

[Beldaros]

Hello Escapist's,

it's been a really long time since I posted on here, most of you prbably don't even know who I am or remember me at least.

So, topic.

I'm an English teacher living in the Czech Republic, I can speak at least token amounts of ten languages.

Recently I gave a lecture on Kenneth Hale, the most famous hyperpolygot (a person who can speak 6 or more languages fluently) to have lived. He was reported to be able to converse in 50 or more langugaes when he died.

so, here's what I'm interested to know. How many of you speak a second language, third, etc. Is there a Polygot (4 or more languages) or Hyperpolygot here on the Escapist? What langugaes do you speak?

There are many dying langugaes in this world and I hope that in the future I can try and keep at least one lesser known language survive a little longer.

The languages I can speak.

Fluently- English and French
Enough to hold a conversation - Spanish, Japanese, Czech.
Enough to talk about myself and ask questions - Mandarin, German, Latvian, Italian, Russian, Welsh.

Your turn.

I realise this may make me appear arrogant but really I am a great fan of langugae, it is a hobby of mine and I like to meet people who also think other languages are important.

Also, it would be strange to have a topic like this and not have a poll.

 

[Chemical Alia]

Well, I used to be a Chinese (Mandarin) linguist in the army, and I can also speak German and understand Pennsylvania Dutch (a German dialect). I can understand and read Spanish, studied it for years but never had many opportunities to speak it so I'm comfortable speaking unless I have to.

In fact, I almost never have a reason to use languages other than English where I currently live and don't have anyone to practice with if even if I wanted to. I would love to improve, but it's such useless aspect of my life that it seems almost wasteful to spend time on studying when I'm so busy with my job and everything else.

That's the downside to living in an English-speaking place, there's really no need to speak another language.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Technically I should be able to speak two (I'm Chinese) but sadly I can speak English only. Well ok I can speak Chinese abit but it's mostly simple sentences so it's nowhere near fluently.

 

[Black Arrow Officer]

English (Native)
Spanish (Fluent)
Italian (Proficient)
Russian (Proficient)

Yeah that's pretty much it... I haven't used Russian or Italian in a while but all of the words still stick.

Spanish I learned when I was in middle school. I live in California and travel to Mexico often, so knowing Spanish really comes in handy. It also helps in job searches here.

I learned Russian just for the hell of it in High School. I love the language and enjoy communicating with my Russian relatives, but I'm far from mastering it.

I have Italian blood so I figured I should pick up the vocabulary. I took some classes and now I can communicate with my Italian grandfather who doesn't speak much English.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

I'm fluent in English, my native language, and know a little Japanese from some manga, anime and Japanese video games.

 

[Hazy992]

Only English unfortunately. I wish I could speak something else, like French or a Scandinavian language.

 

[Shock and Awe]

I speak English as a first and know bit of French as well. Thats it for me. :/

 

[Mayhaps]

I speak English and Swedish, I'm not sure which one I find more natural.
I do most of my writing in English, most of my study material is in English, all the TV-series I watch are in English. Much of the advertisement I'm blasted with when I'm outside in Sweden is in English as well. I even think in English.

I still talk to my friends and family in Swedish though.

 

[Total LOLige]

I can only speak english fluently but I took german at highschool so I know a little german, I've been thinking about carrying on my learning of german. I wish I could speak another language fluently but I can't it could help with the ladies.

 

[Stoic raptor]

I know two languages, English and Arabic. I know spanish and french too, but I wouldn't count them because I am not proficient in either.

 

[Da Orky Man]

English as a first language, know a bit of Welsh and French. That's about it.

 

[Kolby Jack]

I answered none, because it's silly.

But really I speak English. I took 2 years of French in high school and 2 years of Japanese after that, so by now for those languages all I really know is how to count to ten and basic greetings.

I also was enrolled in a Farsi language class as part of my military training, but it turns out Farsi is almost as stupidly constructed a language as English. Should've went with Arabic. I know the Farsi alphabet but the rest was gone from my mind about 2 weeks after I left the course, which was 28 weeks long, 8 hours a day.

Japanese was the only language I ever enjoyed learning and could pick up with relative ease, so I may attempt to learn it again if I ever am so inclined.

 

[C F]

I picked up a bit of Spanish from classes I took for my degree's token foreign language requirements. Aside from that, English is the only language I know.

 

[Radoh]

I've got two-ish, English being my first and most fluent, and I can hold my own in a conversation in Italian, but just barely.

Oh, and I know the Spanish word for Colors!

 

[shrimpcel]

I can speak fluent French, English and Romanian, with some occasional funny errors in the latter because I rarely get the chance to speak it with other people than my parents. I also have basic proficiency in Spanish, enough to ask questions or answer them, along with a certain amount of vocabulary. I would certainly like to learn more, but I doubt I'll ever have the time to truly focus on it as I should.

 

[dvd_72]

I'm actually kind of a funny case. The first language I learnt to speak was Flemish. I grew up in Belgium, so that was the language people around me spoke. Apart from my father, he speaks Hebrew and English. So, seeing as I couldn't communicate with him, I was sent to an international school where I learnt English.

Now I speak English better than I do Flemish. Studying in England means I'm becoming rusty, and my stuttering is worse in Flemish, which doesn't help with my confidence, which makes the stuttering worst etc.

Still, I'm proficient in Flemish as my mothers side of the family speaks primarily that, so I guess that means I speak 2!

 

[viranimus]

Im a typical stupid amerikan. I can only speak English fluently. I can hold a strained conversation in German and French. I know a handful of phrases in Spanish and I only know rudimentary Chinese and Japanese words.

I should know more, I know I should, its just not a high priority in the education system in the US.

Wait, does C++, HTML, and the like count? Cause that would up my total.