Languages (other than English) you speak & how you learnt them

Dec 23, 2011
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Can read, write & speak Indonesian fairly well. Worked there for 18 years & had to pick it up to be able to speak to employees & clients.
Imo would have to be one of the easiest languages to learn coming from an English speaking background, same alphabet & many similar words.
Many words with the ion / tion suffix are the the same in Indonesian but ending in asi / kasi or a variance of that.
 
Similar things with Spanish and Italian. Makes sense as they're Romance languages. I also think Romanian and Italian share some similarities too.

Amigo / amico (friend)
Pescado / pesce (fish, noun)
Sol / sole (sun)
Portuguese and Catalán are in that family too.
 
Aug 16, 2011
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I learnt Italian through high school and have retained a fair bit of it. I can still have a basic conversation.

I taught myself some German by reading a German phrase book. Taught myself all the numbers, though don't really know enough phrases etc to get by.

I know a little Serbian from my friends. Just the basics though.

And very basic French.

I am fluent in bullshit though.
 
Jan 29, 2007
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My dad never taught me any Indian languages which is a shame, I can't even recall hearing him speak them.

I had been learning German while I was with my ex, was getting some confidence in forming sentences etc. and exceeded a 500 day streak on Duolingo. After we broke up I kept it up for a couple of months, then I couldn't be bothered anymore. It's amazing how quickly you forget things when you're not practicing.
 
Has anyone else ever made up words as part of a secret language ?
My boyfriend and I first started doing this years ago despite having 3 languages other than English to pick from because his dad understands every language we can both speak :p . His mum, my parents and many of our friends understand at least 1 of them too . We have had to use them more sparingly in recent times because others have started to understand us and tease us XD .
 
My dad never taught me any Indian languages which is a shame, I can't even recall hearing him speak them.

I had been learning German while I was with my ex, was getting some confidence in forming sentences etc. and exceeded a 500 day streak on Duolingo. After we broke up I kept it up for a couple of months, then I couldn't be bothered anymore. It's amazing how quickly you forget things when you're not practicing.
Ditto to that last point. I studied German in Year 8 and then switched high schools for Year 9 and never continued it. Mum was disappointed 'cause she said I was good at it (I even have German heritage, so it was a way of connecting to that). I barely remember much apart from the very basics now!

If I really want to learn Italian I'm going to have to set some goals and study at least a few hours a week.
 
Has anyone else ever made up words as part of a secret language ?
My boyfriend and I first started doing this years ago despite having 3 languages other than English to pick from because his dad understands every language we can both speak :p . His mum, my parents and many of our friends understand at least 1 of them too . We have had to use them more sparingly in recent times because others have started to understand us and tease us XD .
My mum and her best friend Julie (they've known each other since primary school) sometimes speak the 'Up' language haha. It's not one they made up though. You say the word 'up' before every vowel. So my Uncle's name would be 'Tuponupy' (Tony - the letter y counts as a vowel). My name would be Jupessupicupa :p Pretty easy to get your head around once you know though lol so not very secret XD
 
Due to motivation from this thread por_please_ya , I’ve just logged onto my local library catalogue and reserved the French versions of the first and second Harry Potter books :)
I have read them in French before , but not since high school. Will be more challenging now that I’m rustier but I’m looking forward to it :)
 
My mum and her best friend Julie (they've known each other since primary school) sometimes speak the 'Up' language haha. It's not one they made up though. You say the word 'up' before every vowel. So my Uncle's name would be 'Tuponupy' (Tony - the letter y counts as a vowel). My name would be Jupessupicupa :p Pretty easy to get your head around once you know though lol so not very secret XD
Haha love it . Our “language” if you can call it that isn’t much more sophisticated than that but is much less logical (it involves things like merging words from different languages we know , abbreviating phrases into a word , adding vowel sounds in the middle or end etc ). The illogical nature keeps people guessing , but it has been 10 years since we started doing it so unsurprisingly our friends have started cottoning onto the meaning of some of the more frequently used words. We are in the process of trying to come up with new ones :D
 
Due to motivation from this thread por_please_ya , I’ve just logged onto my local library catalogue and reserved the French versions of the first and second Harry Potter books :)
I have read them in French before , but not since high school. Will be more challenging now that I’m rustier but I’m looking forward to it :)
Aww that's awesome!! Buona fortuna hehe.
I think that's right haha!!
 
Apr 6, 2005
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Aww that's awesome!! Buona fortuna hehe.
I think that's right haha!!
That sounds more spanish.. Bonne chance is what you're looking for in French.

Lived in France for 6 years now and still struggle to get past basic conversational, but I do understand 90% of what's being said. Ive tried 2 different teachers and done a few different courses. Michel Thomas is excellent for beginning. I live in a very english speaking region and my work is mostly English so I'm not forced to learn more unfortunately. My wife and her family may disagree though.
 
The Dice Man , pretty sure por_please_ya was going for Italian as per her OP :)

It’s lucky that’s your work is mostly English!
Are your wife and her family French ? :)
 
That sounds more spanish.. Bonne chance is what you're looking for in French.

Lived in France for 6 years now and still struggle to get past basic conversational, but I do understand 90% of what's being said. Ive tried 2 different teachers and done a few different courses. Michel Thomas is excellent for beginning. I live in a very english speaking region and my work is mostly English so I'm not forced to learn more unfortunately. My wife and her family may disagree though.
I was going for Italian hehe :)

Wow at living in France! Yeah, it's hard when you don't necessarily need to use the language. If you lived in a rural area it might be different I'm sure. Maybe you need to challenge yourself ;) haha
 

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Due to motivation from this thread por_please_ya , I’ve just logged onto my local library catalogue and reserved the French versions of the first and second Harry Potter books :)
I have read them in French before , but not since high school. Will be more challenging now that I’m rustier but I’m looking forward to it :)

I read Crime and Punishment in Russian while I was living in Moscow. Even the locals were surprised, as not even many Russians read it, bit like not many English speakers read Shakespeare.
 
I mean body language should rate . Even if you speak multiple languages.


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I love watching the body language of Italians, in real life or in Italian TV shows. The use of the hands makes me laugh but it can really get the point across! I wonder if it came about because of so many unintelligible dialects? So if all else fails, use your hands :p
 
Apr 6, 2005
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The Dice Man , pretty sure por_please_ya was going for Italian as per her OP :)

It’s lucky that’s your work is mostly English!
Are your wife and her family French ? :)

Ah Gotchya. Yes she's French as is her family

I was going for Italian hehe :)

Wow at living in France! Yeah, it's hard when you don't necessarily need to use the language. If you lived in a rural area it might be different I'm sure. Maybe you need to challenge yourself ;) haha[/QUOTE]

Ive got enough challenges at the moment... See above ;)
 

MiPiG

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Dec 31, 2018
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I speak passable German. I can understand way more than I can speak. I cant read for the life of me. Lived in Germany for 8 years. Use it every day (obviously), best way to learn. Watching DVD'S with subtitles is a good way to learn on your own.
 
Apr 21, 2018
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I love watching the body language of Italians, in real life or in Italian TV shows. The use of the hands makes me laugh but it can really get the point across! I wonder if it came about because of so many unintelligible dialects? So if all else fails, use your hands :p

I enjoy watching people and their movements. It’s an observation catching a slice of life .


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utility

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I know a bit of Russian but not as well as I'd like. Started off by buying some Pimsleur CDs then took some lessons, also spent a bit of time in Russian-speaking countries but not for as long as I would have liked. Now I practice daily using Duolingo which is absolutely fabulous!

I know a little Japanese but have forgotten most of it. I picked it up from Pimsleur CDs. Pretty much all the French and Italian I ever learned has disappeared.
 
I think the easiest way to learn new language is to practice it with the native speakers. I studied abroad in college and English was my second language. At first it wasn't easy to cope with all exams and writings in the foreign language. Sometimes I had to use some help of college essay writer service for grammar and spelling check. But with the time my English has got better.
I hear that a lot too, that speaking with native speakers is a great way to see how you are going and get advice, particularly on pronunciation etc. I'm glad I have my boyfriend's family I can practice Italian with :)

Which language is your first, if you don't mind me asking?
 
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