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20 years old & fluent in 11 languages, I'm jealous.
- Thread starter Gowans
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It's not hard work alone, my friend.
Leona Lewis
Banned
Damn. I've been learning Chinese for five years and I still can't comprehend your average radio broadcast. I guess I'm just dumb :-(
I just stick to the hello's,please can i have the bill ect.
depending on the country i'm in.
me toooo
I've been thinking about picking it up but, to be honest, I'm just not into the government over there. Maybe too much Red Corner, but if I'd be afraid that if I went over there they wouldn't let me come home.
I've heard the intonation is a real pain in the ass from a western standpoint. Is that true?
Nope
Nice!
I also have somewhat conversational Japanese...
And know a bit of French. Not enough to actually be meaningful...
Leona Lewis
Banned
I actually find the tones pretty easy - after some time, your ears just train themselves to discern them. The hard part for me (listening-wise) is that most words are compounds of smaller monosyllabic words, and even if you know all these smaller units individually, people speak so quickly that it's hard to guess the compounds quickly enough to actually keep up with them.
At least English words are long and distinct enough that learners can break things down easier - you hear "imagi-" and your brain limits its range of possibility to "-nation" or "-nary" for instance. But with Chinese, once you miss that first syllable, you're basically fucked for the rest of the sentence. Which is why I much prefer reading characters to listening to speech. So frustrating, anyone have some tips?
Blackace
if you see me in a fight with a bear, don't help me fool, help the bear!
only 8 more to go
Rosetta stone?
Dating the person who speaks the language fluently is pretty convenient too...
Tesseract
Banned
well, i speak one... one zero one zero zero. with that i could steal your money, your secrets, your sexual fantasies, your whole life. any country, any place, any time i want. we multitask like you breathe. i couldn't think as slow as you if i tried.
*blows air into gum wrapper*
*blows air into gum wrapper*
Lord Ghirahim
Member
Competent is very vague. Then again, so is fluent.
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ItAintEasyBeinCheesy
it's 4th of July in my asshole
25 and have enough trouble with the one language I speak. Shit yeah.
I do as well. I am taking Spanish currently, and I am confused to all hell. They either talk too fast for me to understand or my vocabulary isn't large enough to comprehend what is being said. I definitely have a lot of respect toward people who can speak more than one language.
I thought about Korean as well, but it just seems like the popular culture is at such a clash with how things really are over there. The extreme emphasis on plastic surgery is also a bit of a turn-off. Good luck with your efforts though;D
dreamcastmaster
Banned
Yes the four tones is the most difficult.
If you went over there, the most likely thing you need to worry about is doing stuff to make them kick you out and not let you back in.
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I learned only learn some basic german myself. Should get back to it.That's mighty impressive, although if you know Dutch, you pretty much know Afrikaans. That said, I wish I spoke that many languages. Hell, even just being fluent in German would be awesome.
Alex Connolly
Member
That's mighty impressive, although if you know Dutch, you pretty much know Afrikaans. That said, I wish I spoke that many languages
Would the difference between Dutch and Afrikaans be similar to the differences between old world French and that spoken in, say, Montreal? I've always been curious about the distinctions and similarities. What say you, Kab?
Me three!
I want to say three, but I'm below competent on Spanish. I'd also want to say four, but I'm even worse on my French.
Trent Strong
Banned
Meh. Eventually everyone will speak English anyway.
Lord Ghirahim
Member
I read a piece by a Japanese author a few days ago, he wished death on a hypothetical fully anglophonised mankind.
Trent Strong
Banned
He sounds like a racist.
Trent Strong
Banned
If you live in America, learn Spanish.
10 languages, listing both afrikaans and dutch is cheating!
Why not cheat and say you speak norwegian, and possibly danish, too?
Dice
Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Chinese
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