Which Languages do you speak & Which is your favourite?

[douseiai]

I speak english fluently and well... generally better then most...
i speak a bit of chinese (enough to say hi and a couple things)
i speak enough spanish (well enough to help a customer... and to understand when they call me a fucking gringo )
my truest second language is japanese... i have taken 1 and most of 2 (long story) and im in conversational japanese now (i miss the cute guy)
i wantto learn russian at some point and would like to get better at spanish (not cause i'm in southern california but because of subfer )

 

[unclaimedblessing]

In order of proficiency:
1. English
2. Spanish
3. Italian
I enjoy all three but feel Italian is the most melodic and passionate.
I know a smattering of Yiddish, which I enjoy because it's such a humorous language.
I can rough it through French & German menus, street signs etc.

 

[frankfrank]

Only English, con un poco espanol.

Spanish was my language-of-choice in school. At the end of a Spanish college course, I had just started "THINKING IN SPANISH" during about the last week, and I very seriously wanted to continue in that direction. That told me that I was one mere step away from becoming fluent; once you start to think in a language it will tend to build upon itself.

The only next course offered was a course in Spanish literature, complete with the typical teachings about symbolism and literature appreciation...OOPS!!...that was always my worst course when taught in *ENGLISH* as I was never able to get the hang of symbolism, the meanings in poetry, and such things. There was no question I would have ended up failing the course. So I had to move on, and I fell off that moving train. If any other kind of Spanish course had ben available to me, I would probably be fluent to this day. That was many years ago, but still one of my biggest regrets (though I didn't know how to remedy it at the time, as there was no Internet or Spanish-language media around me).

As I understand, English is the most cosmopolitan of all languages (though I suspect French is close behind), as so many words are borrowed from so many other languages, and I certainly appreciate and love the near-endless wordplay that is possible in this language. I don't think I'd want to try to learn English as a second language, though, as I suspect that it also has the most inconsistencies and exceptions-to-rules of any language as well.

 

[dynk]

French was my first language, then English, and now I am learning Spanish, not too easy at my age. I like French the best, it is and sounds more romantic.

 

[luminum]

English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish. Right now, my Mandarin speech is kicking the crap out of my conversational cantonese, but my Cantonese comprehension is better. Spanish is average. I guess I like speaking mandarin the most right now.

 

[mexamor]

did you know that native spanish speakers learn mandarin and other chinese languages easier than native english speakers, just a little tidbit

 

[jwest]

i speak english and arabic, i like arabic more..

it is sooo subjective that speaking it is like thinking in poetic verse.

its so true, every word has so much power and feeling..
proper arabic is beautiful, and vernacular is heavy, strong

 

[Sforzando]

I used to claim to be a native Esperanto speaker and was never once challenged!

As best I can tell, you're joking about this, but native Esperanto speakers exist. Often, people whose only shared language is Esperanto will meet at Esperanto meetings (like the Universala Kongreso), fall in love, and have a kid. Since Esperanto is spoken in the home, they are native speakers. I belive my teacher said that the lead singer of Esperanto Desperado is a native speaker.

By the way, I speak and love Esperanto =)

 

[Franion]

but native Esperanto speakers exist.

Indeed they do - between 200 and 2000 people, including George Soros, have Esperanto as their first language. [see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Esperanto_speakers ]. By comparison, 700,00 have Basque as their first language.

Not quite ready for world domination just yet (although Soros gave it a try a few years ago).

 

[Nonimus]

Eu Vorbesc Romaneste, si putin limba Gallez. Am uitat mult Roman pentruca fosta multi ani am invitat, dar connosti sufficient s'am convorbiri cu cineva Roman! Mi umi place boiati Roman - sint foarte draguti!!!

 

[blackbeltninja]

English as a first language and Afrikaans as a second. Both are compulsory in .za schools.

I am slowly teaching myself Spanish as well, but lack anyone to practice on in real time, alas.

-d-

 

[frankfrank]

i speak english and arabic, i like arabic more..

Arabic is totally unintelligible to me, other than al- being equivalent to THE. I like the way that it sounds, though - and the written alphabet most certainly is pleasing to the eyes.

 

[Big Danny]

English, German, Croatian fluently.

I'm learning French for 6 years. And the next college year I'm going to try Spanish.

 

[ashqelon]

In my home at the same moment we talk each other in two languages-mom talk to me in hebrew I reply to her in bulgarian.

 

[bi-one]

I so glad to see so many ppl speaking different languages...

Internet and TV has made it easier for us to learn!

I can speak Spanish (mt), French is my second, and english my third. I'd love to speak Italian tho I understand it, and Portuguese

 

[mojoe54]

English is my native language. I studied French for 5 years,but have forgotten much of it. I know a bit of Spanish, and the past few years I have been (slowly) teaching myself Italian. Italian is my favorite, because I love the country and the people, and I would like to spend more time there.

 

[Ensenada]

I'm a passionate of minorized romance languages: heirs of latin and most of them opressed by the great national languages as french, italian and spanish. There are millions of speakers in the romance Europe lacking any linguistic right. Only Spain (where three "minorized" languages have a status of officiality) seems to have a different behavior. France (a country where more than a dozen of native languages are spoken) simply lets die his linguistic heritage by starvation and lack of official recognition, for example.
So, i study so many romance languages as i could: i can already spoke galician (my mother language), provençal, franco-provençal, gascon, lombard, wallon, monegasque, ligur, sard, corsican, lucan, and a few catalan... All of them are beautiful (and alike, hehehe), all of them claim for their rights.

 

[Nonimus]

Niemen vorbesc Romaneste?

 

[i-am-hot]

Re: Which Languages do you speak & Which is your f

Gaeilge (Irish).

A beautiful language with a beautiful history that is being abandoned by its own people.

Tréigthe ag a cuid daoine féin? I think not, more like beaten out of its people by the sasanaigh (english)

 

[Fucker29]

Re: Which Languages do you speak & Which is your f

I speak perfect English, Spanish.

I am pretty good with Portuguese and so so Italian.

By far my favorite is Spanish.

I think I like you.