Are you Bilingual/Trilingual/Etc.?
Who is bilingual or trilingual or more here? How/where do you use it? Which would you learn if you could learn any language(s)?
I speak English and French. In northern Indiana schools, we were required to pink either French or Spanish in grades 7 & 8. I chose French. My first husband was French-Canadian and spoke pretty good English (albeit with an accent.) I became immersed in French when we moved to his hometown in Ontario. His mother spoke no English. I understood almost everything but could speak only pretty good. If I were to learn another language, I would pick Spanish. Another beautiful language.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I speak English, Spanish, and Romanian fluently. I also understand Portuguese and some French. I don’t speak them fluently.
Mannym
Level 5
Jan 23, 2018
4
I have a lot of respect for you. It's really nice that you speak so many languages.
Salut! Ce mai faci? Am învatat limba româna acum 8 ani. A fost mai usor sa învat limba româna pentru ca deja stiam limba spaniola. Sunt medic si am mers în România de 3 ori pentru misiuni medicale si vreau sa ma întorc într-o zi. Crap! Diacritics don't work on this site!
Wow. Sunt placut impersionat. Eu sunt nascut in Romania si locuiesc in Statele Unite de la varsta de 10 ani. Am reusit sa invat spaniola impreuma cu engleza odata ce am ajuns aici.
I learned Spanish in high school and college, and had Puerto Rican friends in college who helped me a lot. I still use Spanish in my work at least once a week, so it keeps me from getting rusty. In 2009, I heard a song on the radio and it was in Romanian, and it was the most beautiful language I'd ever heard and I decided to learn it. Found an excellent teacher online who teaches via Skype, and we're still good friends. I've been to Romania 3 times for medical missions, and I want to go just for a pleasure trip sometime. I'd also love to go to Spain (I landed in Madrid when going to Tenerife a few years ago) some day. I also want to learn a total of 5 languages in my lifetime. Maybe French next?
Amy0825
Level 6
Jan 24, 2018
3
Wow you are ambitious. I'm impressed!
I grew up speaking East Tennessee hillbilly. Over the years I've learned to speak fairly good English. I would love to be able to speak Spanish.
Eazyduzzit
Level 7
Jan 23, 2018
3
When I was studying language, we learned many British settlers stayed in the Appalachian Mountains. We were shown how Appalachian accents are the closest thing to the British accent. Really cool how close sounding they are.
@Eazuduzzit. See above
@EllenDale I actually watched a YouTube video a while back that spoke of what you're talking about. I thought it was pretty interesting. It was made by a woman who studied dialects.
@Eazyduzzit it's very interesting.
I speak a handful of words in Spanish, Japanese, French, and German. I used to be able to speak a good deal more German and Spanish, but use it or lose it. I swear in German from time to time. And then there are days where I'm not sure I'm still in command of my English. If I were to learn another language it would be Spanish. With the numbers of Spanish speakers in the US, speaking Spanish could only be helpful.
HippieChick58
Level 9
Jan 23, 2018
2
"HippieChick58 How do you keep them all straight?
@EllenDale Ya know, I have no idea. I just know which language is needed. When I was cursing in German I was in a slide on ice, didn't realize what I'd been saying til I stopped. I'm told small children that grow up with more than one language have no trouble keeping the languages separate. My cousins grew up bilingual with Japanese and used to talk to their mom with dad nearby speaking in Japanese so dad couldn't understand.
@HippieChick58 I was the first Anglophone in my husband's family. They couldn't get over the fact that I could understand all the chatter at the dinner table but still couldn't form my own sentences. I've learned many many people learn that way when immersed.
Oui, je parle le francais. Mi piace tanto anche parlare in italiano. Ich Kann auch ein bisschen Deutsch sprechen. And I can wing it in Spanish coz it's so similar to Italian. And I know all the best swear words in Russian ya Bani rot.
GoldenDoll
Level 7
Jan 25, 2018
2
@GoldenDoll oh, yes. It's funny but except for body parts, every French swear word centered on the church--chalice, tabernacle Jesus' hair, Mary's blue dress, sacrament. I used them with gusto in the States since so few people understood the significance. Five total! Wow.
The swear words are essential to learning a language. I learned my Romanian swear words from someone trolling my YouTube channel, accusing me of being a Romanian peasant woman posing as an American. I have a troll to thank for that!
@GoldenDoll -- Ty chertovski prav, ublyudok.
@evidentialist blat suiker!
@GoldenDoll -- lol ... und nom nom....
I am fortunate enough to have lived and worked in France ( my grandad was French , so that helped ) , so,I speak French very well . I lived in Italy for 15 years , so,I,m fluent in Italian too.
MarcIveson
Level 6
Jan 24, 2018
2
@MarcIveson Italian is a beautiful language too. I would have loved to work there.
Fluent in English and Haitian Creole, can get along in, and read Spanish, French, and now some Thai. For a while I was semi-fluent in Japanese, but it was interfering with my Thai language recall, so dropped it. Also, became semi-fluent in American Sign Language.
birdingnut
Level 8
Jan 24, 2018
2
@birdingnut Wow! So multilingual! Should we all be so lucky and talented.
@EllenDale Thanks! But I can't take credit..I was born and grew up in Haiti where the American missionaries spoke English, the Haitians spoke Creole and (bad) French, and across the border in the Dominican Republic, people spoke Spanish, and I picked up Thai from living in Thailand since 2010. I learned Japanese on a lark, as something to do while commuting for hours each way to a school where I was teaching, down by the border of Malaysia. I learned American Sign Language because a friend of mine used to sign for deaf children, signed for songs in church (back when I still attended one) and signed everything she said, so the kids and I picked it up, using it as a way to communicate over long distances in noisy places. I tend to teach at least some ASL to all my students, even in Thailand. I keep seeing photos of my Thai students giving me the "I love you very much!" ASL sign!
@birdingnut That's how I used ASL, too! Now the grandkids are learning signs that I still use with my girls, especially I love you.
I speak, read and write Spanish fluently, as it is my first language. A for which one I'd like to learn...French! (It's on my list.)
Nena
Level 6
Jan 23, 2018
2
I've heard English can be difficult/confusing to learn. Did you find that?
English, German, Passable French, Russian, Hebrew, Spanish (northern Chihuahua dialect), Smattering of Yiddish.
A few phrases in Vietnamese (wartime slang), Mandarin, Korean, and Japanese.
Also fluent in CW.
evidentialist
Level 8
Feb 8, 2018
1
CW?
@EllenDale -- Morse code.
.-.. .. -.- . | - .... .. ... (like this)
@evidentialist Oh! Cool. I do know ASL (American Sign Language), which is considered a language, just not verbal.
Bilingual here. I believe a country should be required to learn the language of their neighbor countries. Good in case of war and good in case of peace. Part of the European education.
GipsyOfNewSpain
Level 9
Feb 2, 2018
1
I agree that a foreign l anguage should be taught and the language of our neighbors would be perfect. And start at kindergarten. That is when humans learn a second, third, fourth...language the easiest and fastest. But, alas, America is too busy teaching ethnocentricity and demanding everybody speak English. SMDH
@EllenDale That is the way european do it. In Greece, Spain, Germany never met a woman that spoke only one language.
It's great to communicate with others in their language ...you gain a lot of respect . However , for succint description and beauty ... The English language .!
That,ll wind a few of you up,?
L,Italiano e molto , molto bello , romantico , e musicale .
MarcIveson
Level 6
Jan 24, 2018
1
@MarcIveson see below.
It's great to communicate with others in their language ...you gain a lot of respect . However , for succint description and beauty ... The English language .!
That,ll wind a few of you up,?
L,Italiano e molto , molto bello , romantico , e musicale .
MarcIveson
Level 6
Jan 24, 2018
1
@@MarcIveson I agree, but we Americans always want a new word to catch every nuance of meaning. Makes us wordy and confusing--alone vs. solitude (altjough I'm guilty of this because I cherish solitude many times.
I am quasi-bilingual. Born speaking English, I have a degree in French and have spent enough time doing so that I'm OK at it (or would be again with a few day's practice). Would love to speak Spanish, as it would be useful much closer to home. Might still get to that someday.
chicagojcb
Level 7
Jan 24, 2018
1
I agree!
I’m fluent in chihuahua but also speak a little German Shepard.
PinkPassion
Level 5
Jan 23, 2018
1
@PinkPassion. I just know pitbull
I been train by 3 female chihuahuas but each have a different dialect.
I only speak English. Not sure if I just didn’t get the language gene, or if I never had a chance because I got the first semester of French in a 1-week review.
I have been thinking about learning ASL (sign language) but I broke my wrist so I am in a hand cast for 3 months!
A2Jennifer
Level 8
Jan 23, 2018
1
I also took ASL. Such a beautiful language to watch. Learned it so I could sign, "Quit poking your sister!" from across the room.
As an American, my first language is English. I spent 2 and 1/2 years in West Berlin, Germany over 55 years ago and learned to speak and read German fluently. My first wife was from Berlin. After returning to the U.S. my main use of German was in was in speaking with my wife. Still, though rusty in vocabulary, still speak and understand German after 50 years.
wordywalt
Level 9
Jan 23, 2018
1
Lucky you that your spouse is bilingual!
No, but i really wish I was...
My brother learned how to learn languages, and he has friends all over the world..
I can't understand why that isn't a goal of our educational system..
Buddha
Level 8
Jan 23, 2018
1
It has lost its place in school systems because funding has been chipped away from it.(I wondered where Congress was getting money to pay off previous victims of sexual assault/harassment! Lol)
I speak English, of course. I have studied Spanish and some Latin throughout school. I keep going back to Spanish, though. I have never really had a chance to use it though, which saddens me. I am told my understanding and pronunciation were excellent. I believe I was capable of thinking in Spanish during a period of study. I really only studied Latin to assist with my vocabulary and to complement Spanish.
ItsOkay
Level 4
Jan 23, 2018
1
You could always use it by vacationing in a Spanish-speaking place.
I am not polyglot...yet ..only bilingual (Spanish and English). My command of the Italian and French is not fluent but I am planning to take classes to improve my knowledge of both languages.
DUCHESSA
Level 8
Jan 23, 2018
1
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