Foreign Languages

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Jasper said:
I appreciate one or two on here have struggled with basic English but does anybody on here speak another language? If so what? How fluently and how did you learn?
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Ich bin aus England war ich in South Shields geboren Arbeit in Blyth sein . Ich lebte in Deutschland für ein Jahr , als ich 18 war
 


Dutch and Tagalog or Filipino


Was at school in Holland when I was a kid


And did aid work in the Philippines for a few years and learned Tagalog
 
I learned a bit of Greek to impress a waitress on holiday in Rhodes.

Was really proud of myself babbling away until she said she was Romanian and hadn't understood a word I'd said.

Got a couple of Romanian phrases for the next day and she gave me some free plum liqueur her uncle had made.

It was rank like
 
zwartekat said:
You can books translating Swiss German to German. Fair point about dialects but if people can't mutually understand the written word it should probably be a different language.
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I'm not denying this but this is also the case for many variations within one language, including the English language.

TartanMackem said:
It's not officially classified as a separate language, none of us said it was, but it is sufficiently different for someone to list them individually. You're the only one pedantic enough to kick up such a fuss about it.

I haven't attacked you personally. Evidently you're insecure about something.
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According to whom is it sufficient enough to be listed individually? I thought we were speaking in "reality" terms so surely being objective you wouldn't classify them as separate?

You have often attacked me personally and not the content.

forzamilansafc said:
Going to give it a go, can't be bothered with doing lessons and stuff
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Aye mate, just stay there for a bit or with people who speak the language and you will pick it up if you have the ability to. Of course have a translation book too and some audios pronouncing words won't do any harm as well. You don't need lessons really.
 
Micky89 said:
I'm not denying this but this is also the case for many variations within one language, including the English language.



According to whom is it sufficient enough to be listed individually? I thought we were speaking in "reality" terms so surely being objective you wouldn't classify them as separate?

You have often attacked me personally and not the content.



Aye mate, just stay there for a bit or with people who speak the language and you will pick it up if you have the ability to. Of course have a translation book too and some audios pronouncing words won't do any harm as well. You don't need lessons really.
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I've already been through all this. I'm not going through it again. A fairly harmless thread has become exceptionally tedious now as a result.

You keep repeating that I've attacked you personally yet not once actually shown an example.
 
TartanMackem said:
I've already been through all this. I'm not going through it again. A fairly harmless thread has become exceptionally tedious now as a result.

You keep repeating that I've attacked you personally yet not once actually shown an example.
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Dodging the question now.

Calling me stubborn and so forth...
 
I learnt Spanish but rarely got the chance to use it so forgot most. Years later in Ibiza I decided to calm the hotel receptionist down by talking in his native tongue. I was mortal at the time, he was an old war horse ranting on at me and a mate for using the pool at 3am fully clothed. Balcony lights were going on all over the place; he was causing quite a scene.

I climbed out of the water, walked over and said’ hello my friend I would like to ask you a question’? He cooled his jets immediately and replied ‘yes’? So I asked him if there was a bank nearby? I was stood in soaking wet gear with my money floating in the pool at the time but it was all I could think of. He went on to explain where the nearest bank was. I did not have a clue what he was saying but understood enough to hoy the odd yes in when he mentioned turn left or right. All the time I was thinking what the fuck do I say next? When he finished I had moment of inspiration and asked ‘esta lejos‘ (is it far)? He then went through the whole thing again whilst I fought to remember something else.

Having firmly established where this bank was he stood looking at me expectantly. There was a long uncomfortable silence then I said the only thing I could remember. ‘The trees are tall’ ! FFS. I thought I was sussed but he looked up at the trees then back at me. He then smiled, patted me on the shoulder and said, ‘yes, yes they are’ then he walked back to reception a happy man.
My mate was astounded at my stunning vocabulary.
 
Japanese
Chinese
Learnt them both at university, eager to keep them as sharp as possible.
Learnt German at school, largely forgotten a lot of it now.
 
TartanMackem said:
So that will be a no then. Pointing out when someone is being stubborn is not a personal attack. If you are taking it personally then evidently it must be something you are insecure about.
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It's attacking the person not the content. Google "ad hominem".
 
I'm very fluent in spoken Mandarin Chinese and can read and write to a decent level with a phone, or a computer or something, but I'm f***ing hopeless with pen and paper.

EDIT: Learned most of that by living in bum-fuck nowhere northeast China for three years.
 
Been learning Portuguese since I came back from the World Cup.

Duolingo is useless. Tried it for a couple of months but apart from memorising a few words I learned nothing.

Nothing beats lessons or a group class if you can find one.
 
German enough to buy beers and ask for directions.

Italian, enough to have a basic conversation.

Spanish not 100% fluent, but can discuss politics, sports and argue that independence for Catalonia is bad for Spain as a whole.
 
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