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How many languages do you speak?

F

friskk

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Aug 20, 2000
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On Saturday I had to catch a bus from Beijing city up to the great wall party - 3 hours away. On the bus, I was surprised to hear so many different languages being spoken. People would swap languages at the drop of the hat.. People would be talking in German to one person, the next second in Chinese to another and then again in English, French and Spanish..

So curious, I stopped everyone talking and asked the bus how many people spoke only english. No one put their hands up... everyone actually just laughed. On average, everyone on the bus spoke 3 languages - fluently. About 5 people spoke 4 - 5 languages and a 2 or 3 can't 6 or more. That is fluently.. not just a few words here and there.

So, it got me thinking... Is Australia at a significant disadvantage by being so remote. I could sit on a bus in Australia and stop and I would be surprised if 1/2 the people spoke 3 or more languages.

How many people here speak multiple languages? How many people here have learnt a second language in school? How many people think language is important for their career?

Sorry.. can't think properly.. still brain dead.

F
 
I used to speak fluent Italian, when more of my Italian relatives were alive, namely my nonna. She would only rarely speak to me in English (she was fluent, but wanted to teach me Italian). I studied Italian in primary and highschool, but since i have noone to speak Italian with now, it's going, and i'm by no means fluent anymore. I know, though, that i'd pick it up really quickly again, and i plan to do so next year when we get back from O/S.

My European family (dads side) are all fluent in at least 5 languages. My uncle can speak 9 languages fluently and my late grandfather was fluent in 15 languages, including hebrew,arabic, and swahili.

Being multi-lingual is fantastic for your brain, but if you're constantly switching, it can actually cause headaches. A girlfriend of mine is an interpreter (dutch) and finds that if she's interpreting all day, her head starts pounding. Not surprising really.

To answer your question, friskk, i think that for people living in Asia/Europe, it's more of a necessity to be able to speak several languages. Most children are taught 4 languages in Euro schools.
 
2 here (spanish, english), given a week or two of revision and speaking solely in the noted language, I could maybe put that up to 4 (italian & portuguese [maybe]).
I've studied french and japanese too, but not with very much interest...
 
What I want to know from people who speak two languages fluently (and I mean seriously fluently - like equal ability in both): What language do you think in? In other words, which language do you use for your internal dialog?

And in answer to the original question, I only speak English, but I wish I could speak multiple languages. One day maybe...
 
I speak English, American, Australian and a bit of New Zealandese
 
English and a smattering of American, but its always changing, so I dont bother much.
 
I only speak English, although I studied Mandarin for 9 years and was fairly competent - I'm sure if I went and lived in China for awhile I'd pick it up again.

I wish I spoke more languages. And at that, I wish I had the capacity to teach second and third languages to my kids. It must be such a great advantage socially and intellectually to be fluent in a couple of languages.
 
I'm equally fluent in Norwegian and English.

I usually think in English, but this, I believe, is because my husband and kids speak English. When I think about something that has ONLY to do with Norwegian friends or family, then I tend to think in Norwegian. I believe it is subject based rather than ability based.
 
Pleonastic said:
What I want to know from people who speak two languages fluently (and I mean seriously fluently - like equal ability in both): What language do you think in? In other words, which language do you use for your internal dialog?
Click to expand...


It kind of depends which language I'm going to be communicating in, but I often shift from one language to another various times during my thoughts. Depends which seems easier :)

If I'm in an english speaking environment, I'll 'think' in english - its easier than having to 'translate' my thoughts if I wish to say something. Uni, for example. If I'm introspective or with the folks or other Spanish speaking people, It'll be in Spanish.
At home I'll normally think in Spanish unless I'm communicating to people.

edit: I'll add that a brief conversation with mum yielded the same answer.
She also told me that I was coming out of general anesthetic for some recent surgery, that I answered the nurses' questions in Spanish 8( maybe because she was there speaking to me and I was too doped up on pethidine to realise what was happening.
 
I speak English and I also sign Auslan (Sign Language) which is now a recognised language.

I use Auslan mainly when im around Deaf ppl.... (DURRR) My Folks.. and I also use Auslan when trying to talk about something a little more complex which they cant understand me speaking... Witch Doctor and I use Auslan when we are trying to hide something ;) Myself and Witch Doctor use some signs that ive taught him but we mostly finger spell things to each other ;)

I dont know anyone else I can sign with other than my folks and their close friends (Perth) as I dont really know any deaf people in Melbourne personally.
 
mmm, my English is pretty good. I can also speak Hebrew, French & Thai.

Lately I've caught myself thinking in Thai. The language is much less complex than English, so it makes thinking a bit quicker.

Complex thoughts I'll do in English. I find Thai to have more ways to express how I'm feeling emotionally. And if I get hurt, French curse words roll out surprisingly loud & easy.

I highly recommend learning other languages. Native English speakers believe that English is the be all/end all of languages, but it can be quite limited & tedious!
 
I have all but lost all my Japanese speaking ability. When I was 12 I had an equal interest in French and Japanese (the two languages on offer at high school), but I stuck with Japanese because I thought it may prove useful in career. Boy was I dead wrong with that one. I really regret not learning French because seriously if there is a better sounding language in the world, I have yet to hear it.
 
i speak serbian and english fluently. i was born in the former yugoslavia and migrated over to australia when i was four so serbian was the first language i ever learnt to speak. i'm glad too that both my parents made concentrated efforts to always speak to me in serbian at home, cos it's nice to now not only be able to speak two languages, but also to be able to communicate effectively with my relatives when i go over there to visit.

still, i wish i could speak more languages... primarily french, even though i did "technically" learn it for a few years back when i was in highschool, i unfortunately didn't take my studies very seriously at all which i've been regretting ever since. then after french i'd probably like to learn how to speak italian, japanese, and russian too. there's a few words that are the same in both russian and serbian so it should a language that i'd be able to pick up relatively quickly.

languages are cool, and although these days it's almost not necessary to know any language other than english to be able to get by, i still think it's nice, and also good exercise for the brain like samandi said.
 
Originally posted by Pleonastic
What I want to know from people who speak two languages fluently (and I mean seriously fluently - like equal ability in both): What language do you think in? In other words, which language do you use for your internal dialog?


people have asked me this question a few of times, and i guess i'd say that i think in english *primarily* but it's not like when i'm talking to my mum or someone i think in english and then have to mentally translate everything back into serbian. it's more a natural processes of switching between the two.

funny thing though, and this doesn't happen to me very often at all but it has happened a couple of times, that i'll be talking to someone in english and a serbian word will slip out of my mouth completely unintentionally. usually the other person doesn't get the chance to even register what's happened but i guess it just goes to show how deeply routed that language is in my subconscious??

so, i don't know... not an easy question to answer.
 
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Two languages. English and Greek.

Internal dialogue is English....because it's the one I use most and which I hear most. If I was in a Greek environment, I wouldn't be surprised if it switched. I do occasionally catch myself talking to myself in Greek.

I asked a friend that same question years ago....when she had been in Australia for about 4 years.....having come from Croatia. She said it was changing from Croatian to English.....more so English.


I would love to learn to speak another language fluently....Italian, Spanish, German, Chinese, Dutch. I've been known to borrow out language tapes from the local library and play them repetitively in the car =D Can anybody else admit to this? I can't decide on what language to focus on though!
 
i feel so unlucky...

my parents are chinese and sri lankan... i experienced a lot of racism growing up... so my parents refused to teach me a second/third language - they wanted me to be as 'white' as possible...

I really regret that i went to a school and suburb (upper white) that didn't accept non white people. Oh well!

Children can be so mean...
 
now's ur chance....

"Ya'll gonna learn Chinese
Ya'll gonna learn Chinese
Ya'll gonna learn Chinese
When the pumps come out, ya'll gon' speak Chinese"
-Jin
 
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