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ABC KID
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
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 Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:53 pm Post subject: What languages do you speak? |
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Apart from English and perhaps Korean, which other languages can you speak? Which is the easiest language you have ever attempted to learn/mastered? Which is the most difficult?
I have had it suggested to me that Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn but whether that is true or not, I would not have the slightest idea. Any thoughts?
Last edited by ABC KID on Tue Aug 04, 2009 12:24 am; edited 1 time in total |
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heddydivvydee
Joined: 02 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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-English (native)
-Japanese (almost JLPT Level 2)
-Korean (learning)
-Spanish (elementary)
-German (elementary)
-Russian (Cyrillic and a few phrases)
-Greek (alphabet and a few phrases)
-Hindi (fragments)
-Arabic (fragments)
Last edited by heddydivvydee on Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:47 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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PatrickBateman
Joined: 08 Jun 2009
Location: American Gardens Building, West 81st Street
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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| heddydivvydee wrote: |
-English (native)
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This. |
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shapeshifter
Joined: 29 Nov 2005
Location: Paris
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:07 pm Post subject: |
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| heddydivvydee wrote: |
-English (native)
-Japanese (almost JLPT Level 2)
-Korean (elementary)
-Spanish (elementary)
-German (elementary)
-Russian (Cyrillic and a few phrases)
-Greek (alphabet and a few phrases)
-Hindi (fragments)
-Arabic (fragments) |
So what you're telling us is that you speak English and have mastered a series of party tricks. |
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alphakennyone
Joined: 01 Aug 2005
Location: city heights
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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| My Spanish at one time was approaching upper-intermediate. I'd say I'm lower-intermediate now. I can hold a conversation on my own if I run into a native speaker, but I sometimes forget frighteningly simple vocabulary. I've just been out of practice so long. |
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Koveras
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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| French. As languages go it was quite easy. |
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heddydivvydee
Joined: 02 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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| shapeshifter wrote: |
| heddydivvydee wrote: |
-English (native)
-Japanese (almost JLPT Level 2)
-Korean (elementary)
-Spanish (elementary)
-German (elementary)
-Russian (Cyrillic and a few phrases)
-Greek (alphabet and a few phrases)
-Hindi (fragments)
-Arabic (fragments) |
So what you're telling us is that you speak English and have mastered a series of party tricks. |
Pretty much.  |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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| shapeshifter wrote: |
| heddydivvydee wrote: |
-English (native)
-Japanese (almost JLPT Level 2)
-Korean (elementary)
-Spanish (elementary)
-German (elementary)
-Russian (Cyrillic and a few phrases)
-Greek (alphabet and a few phrases)
-Hindi (fragments)
-Arabic (fragments) |
So what you're telling us is that you speak English and have mastered a series of party tricks. |
Comment + avatar earns you the Mises thumbs up for the year. |
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lohengrin
Joined: 16 Mar 2008
Location: Loompaland
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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German, Flemish and Dutch.
I lived in the Netherlands for quite some time, and at that time it was relatively easy for me to pick up the lingos.
Really struggling to learn Korean at the moment |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:41 pm Post subject: |
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| alphakennyone wrote: |
| My Spanish at one time was approaching upper-intermediate. I'd say I'm lower-intermediate now. I can hold a conversation on my own if I run into a native speaker, but I sometimes forget frighteningly simple vocabulary. I've just been out of practice so long. |
You might as well be describing my Korean.
I've pushed all my chips into Mandarin and its coming along. I find speaking and particularly listening a lot easier than Korean. Reading and writing not so much. |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 12:39 am Post subject: |
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English - native
Cantonese - native
Mandarin - native
German - conversational / intermediate
Korean - conversational / intermediate
Italian - conversational / beginner
French - very basic |
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Epicurus
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 12:55 am Post subject: |
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| tzechuk wrote: |
English - native
Cantonese - native
Mandarin - native
German - conversational / intermediate
Korean - conversational / intermediate
Italian - conversational / beginner
French - very basic |
out of curiosity, how can you be "native" in both Cantonese AND Mandarin?
did you speak Cantonese to your Dad and Mandarin to your Mom, etc?
that's about the only way I can envisage it. |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:16 am Post subject: |
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| Epicurus wrote: |
| tzechuk wrote: |
English - native
Cantonese - native
Mandarin - native
German - conversational / intermediate
Korean - conversational / intermediate
Italian - conversational / beginner
French - very basic |
out of curiosity, how can you be "native" in both Cantonese AND Mandarin?
did you speak Cantonese to your Dad and Mandarin to your Mom, etc?
that's about the only way I can envisage it. |
Yes, exactly that.
Born in HK. Father speaks English and Cantonese, mother speaks mandarin and cantonese. English nanny spoke only English. Paternal grandparents spoke Hakka, and I still speak it, but not very often. Maternal grandparents spoke only mandarin, so we spoke only mandarin to them. |
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Epicurus
Joined: 18 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:20 am Post subject: |
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| tzechuk wrote: |
| Epicurus wrote: |
| tzechuk wrote: |
English - native
Cantonese - native
Mandarin - native
German - conversational / intermediate
Korean - conversational / intermediate
Italian - conversational / beginner
French - very basic |
out of curiosity, how can you be "native" in both Cantonese AND Mandarin?
did you speak Cantonese to your Dad and Mandarin to your Mom, etc?
that's about the only way I can envisage it. |
Yes, exactly that.
Born in HK. Father speaks English and Cantonese, mother speaks mandarin and cantonese. English nanny spoke only English. Paternal grandparents spoke Hakka, and I still speak it, but not very often. Maternal grandparents spoke only mandarin, so we spoke only mandarin to them. |
impressive. You're a lucky gal.
When he was a little kid I knew of a situation where a young boy spoke Russian to his mother, German to his father (they would only address him in those languages), then he went to kindergarden and learned English.
He was fully fluent in three languages by six.
Then they put him in some Spanish intensive special program by 1st grade
I wish that were me. |
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tzechuk
Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:23 am Post subject: |
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| Yeah, my daughter is 4.5 and she is now almost fully trilingual. She is fluently bilingual in Korean and English and now that she's been in HK for 5 weeks, she's picking Cantonese up pretty quickly. She and I had a conversation half in English, half in Cantonese just last night! |
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