Spoken languages by MAL users

Offline

Dec 2007

663

Fluent:

Bulgarian
English
Japanese
Macedonian (too close to Bulgarian)

Studied but fluency questionable:

French (5 years)
Russian (7 years)
Czech (1 year)
German (1 term in Japan)

Next on my list to learn is Chinese 'cause I'm planning to live there for a while xD

Feb 9, 2017 10:13 AM

#222

TonhaoNoXablau

Offline

Jul 2015

As you all have to... I speak English.
Brazilian native, so... Portuguese.
Also Spanish, because it's easy for Portuguese speakers to learn, since they are so alike.

I'm learning German and Japanese, but I can't mention them as a spoken language. Not yet

"I died long ago. This is just a bad dream"

Feb 9, 2017 11:42 AM

#223

Offline

Jan 2009

15162

zeruon said:
I never thought that I can have discussions about language here...

Welcome to MAL where not everything is possible! ^^

Yes, Greenlandic is different from Danish: Unlike the Faroe/Färöer/Føroyar/Færøerne language, it is an Eskimo-language thus connected with the native american languages.

Whoop; my Bad. Thought it was a Danish Dialect. Hmm, I wonder how Intelligible they are towards each other. How did you come to wanting to learn Inuit-Languages? Are you planning to go from there to the Languages of the Inca and Maya?

My uncle learns Icelandic and it seems to be very interesting as there really are similarities and also old forms, witch vanished in many germanic languages.

Yeah, it's quite a Pity how the Germanic Languages and (Languages in General) seem to to loose their Complexity in Grammar over Time. Swedish even gets a new Accent + has made some other progressive Changes. I really hope our own Language will be spared from such Degeneracy.

zeruon said:

Noboru said:
Are you referring to irregular Verbs like with the Germanic strong Verb?

No, I am referring to roots as they are characteristic for semitic languages. But yes, the systems have similarities.

I haven't heard of "Wurzeln" ("Roots") in my German Classes. Only of "Stämme" ("Stems"). However, I know of the Term from looking up the Etymology of Words and often, there are Entries that contain a hypothetical Base-Word, from where a Group of Words is possibly derived from.
Still, I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Are you saying, that from one Root, you could build all Kinds of different Verbs? Like with adding another Prefix in German or being a phrasal Verb in English?

I mean everything articulated pharyngeal or pharyngealised, witch are namely ع,ص,ض,ط,ظ and ح. All other letters are (for me) simple and normal.

Are those Sounds you make on your Throat like with "x" (Ach-Laut)?

Vosgy said:
Just English really.
Father is German and regrets not teaching me and my brothers when we where younger.
Watched too much anime in Japaneses so I can get a jist of a slow conversations, however I can even do this with German so it's kinda just reading in to context, not really knowing the language.

While learning as a young Child or even as a Baby is far more effective, especially in Regard to learning the Pronunciation of a Language, it's still an Advantage to have a native Speaker around if you consider learning a particular Language.

Getting the Context is still something. How do you think, exotic Languages got recorded before there were any Dictionaries? Because there is something similar to every Language, that you can eventually learn what it means through Immersion. And you could get that Kind of Immersion, if your Father would only talk German to you for a While.

Anneli said:
Russian, German and Chinese - had to learn at school but I've forgotten most of it

That's the Disadvantage of Learning Foreign Languages in School. I had to learn French and Spanish as additional ones, but only English more or less stuck to me, since that's the Language that is omnipresent.
How good is your Reading Comprehension in the respective Language?

Immahnoob said:
If I ever get to a level of Japanese that I find acceptable, I might want to get into Korean, Mandarin, Russian and then maybe German? I'm not sure, but I do want to learn a lot of languages.

You can speak more Languages fluently than I would have expected :o
I somehow got that you're a fellow Romanian (Mother-Tongue for me, though my Skills are that of a little Child), who is living in Italy, but where and how did you learn French fluently?

I'd also like to learn multiple Languages, but I'll never come to it. Still, it's quite an odd Thought if you were to start rustling in German and pick out all the Flaws that the German Thinkers and Poets have made and make a Book titled "Der Überraschler" (The Over-Rustler).

@Enjyu: Ah cool, you also got quite some fluent Languages. I'm only bi-, partially tri-lingual at most when it comes to speaking. The Duration of how long you've learnt a Language in School doesn't matter much if you don't use it. I have the Advantage that I know a bit of Romanian as my Mother Tongue + that Latin-based Words are omnipresent in many Languages, so understanding French and Spanish Texts are still somewhat possible for me.

How did you come to learning German in Japan?

♗

image source Z28.310

Feb 9, 2017 12:57 PM

#224

Immahnoob

Offline

Apr 2012

19564

@Noboru
I've learned French because I needed it at school.
I don't know, does anyone want to see a 30-40 year old Immahnoob rustle German thinkers and poets?
I might just engage in all types of politics and rustle everyone over there.

Play League of Legends here!

My interview on MAL.

~ AFTER THE LOCK ~

Autocrat said:
Hitler was good, objectively.

Feb 9, 2017 1:15 PM

#225

Offline

Jan 2009

15162

Immahnoob said:
@Noboru
I've learned French because I needed it at school.
I don't know, does anyone want to see a 30-40 year old Immahnoob rustle German thinkers and poets?
I might just engage in all types of politics and rustle everyone over there.

Well, I also had French (even B1 Diploma) and I've forgotten lots of it.

Yes please, I'd really like to see you going through the Challenge of whether or not you could rustle the highly intelligent and sophisticated Thinkers. :D

Rustling our current Goody-two-Shoes Politicians and their Supporters would make also for a fun Imagination.

♗

image source Z28.310

Feb 9, 2017 1:20 PM

#226

EmiliaHoarfrost

Émilia Hoarfrost

Offline

Dec 2015

4314

French - Native language
English - B2 Level
Spanish - A little bit
Japanese - Learning alone

And as of tips for Japanese only, if you play Osu! a bit or are well-versed in opening/ending or Jpop, look for romaji lyrics and use this awesome translating tool : RomajiDesu which is my favorite translater from English to Japanese.

Feb 9, 2017 1:26 PM

#227

TobiOrNotTobi

Offline

Apr 2014

2585

English (first language)
Greek (I can have a very basic conversation and my dad used to teach my sisters and I random Greek words when we were younger so I can say random words and have a basic conversation)
Italian (I'm in my second year of learning, and I know some stuff, but the teacher I have is so awful. I can understand what I'm reading more than when someone speaks to me and when I'm trying to speak).

Feb 9, 2017 1:28 PM

#228

RIP CE, thank you and fuck you for bringing Rule 7 that ultimately killed you and this shithole

Offline

Dec 2007

663

@Noboru

You're absolutely right, because I haven't practiced any Russian and French I can understand when spoken to but can barely construct a proper sentence to express a thought that is not basic level. I studied those languages 7 years ago, can you blame me haha

About the German, I worked and studied in Japan and I thought instead of wasting time in classes I have no interest in and use of why not learn something useful. I would've originally signed up for Russian but it was clashing with my schedule so the next best choice was German, I got great marks but that's probably because I was the only foreigner in the class and my pronunciation was good, I'm pretty sure my tests results must've been pathetic :D

Feb 9, 2017 1:32 PM

#229

_Ako_

Offline

Feb 2015

13861

Is it just me or why most ppl have like 3-4 languages?

Knowing English and Filipino is good enough, I can live peacefully on that.

Feb 9, 2017 1:36 PM

#230

JAW7

Offline

Dec 2013

2226

OP just wanted to flex a little lol, English is native and I'm pretty decent Spanish but not amazing. Getting there though.

Immahnoob said:
They say Jesus walked on water.
People are made out of 79% water.
I can walk on people.
So I am 79% Jesus.

Sourire said:
I once fucked an apple pie.

Feb 9, 2017 2:38 PM

#231

Offline

Jan 2009

15162

@Enjyu: When you learn Foreign Languages in School, you also learn how to learn Languages in General. So it will have its Merits, regardless of whether or not you have "forgotten" a Language or not. Besides, you can pick them up easier when you want to re-learn them.

Proper Pronunciation is a good Skill to have when it comes Languages. I have my Strengths more with Reading Comprehension, since that's the one Thing that I've been using my Foreign Language Skills the most. Other People like to converse more and have a better Pronunciation and Hearing. But having a better Pronounciation than Japanese People in Foreign Language shouldn't be too hard :D
(On that Topic, there were some good Points raised by @Momono in that Topic)

_Ako_ said:
Is it just me or why most ppl have like 3-4 languages?

Knowing English and Filipino is good enough, I can live peacefully on that.

Some People have bilingual Families, where neither Parent speaks English as a Mother Tongue. So the Children have to Potential to get at least 2 Languages from Home + English as the global Language fluent, depending on whether or not they use them.

To me, knowing my own native Language and English is good enough as well for me, but it would be still good to know different Languages to be able to read foreign Literature in their Original Language as well or to possibly see another Perspective through your Thinking.

♗

image source Z28.310

Feb 9, 2017 2:58 PM

#232

Offline

Dec 2007

663

@Noboru

While it's true most Japanese don't have a satisfying pronunciation, it's not like all of them speak Engrish. There were a lot of students whose German pronunciation was amazing, I also know Japanese who speak perfect French and/or English, even Russian. It's all about how they're taught. Now my teacher's idea of teaching German was a far cry from good, but many schools and uni have foreign teachers and if they can explain how pronunciation works, they've pretty much completed their duty as a teacher since the students would cram everything else in their heads. xD

Feb 9, 2017 3:02 PM

#233

YaoiMaster

Offline

Mar 2016

28725

My main language is English. I know some French, as well.

WORK IN PROGRESS
~The frog leapt forth to my lilypad memory.~
I was indoctrinated by an inamorata rabbit,
Adenomata affronted.
It was the verecund, dismissed creatures
That I jubilated in most.
This rabbit I would nurture,
At the aiguille of esse,
The anneal of noblesse.
❤️ Birdie ❤️

Feb 9, 2017 7:41 PM

#234

Malkshake

Offline

Jun 2014

1831

English is my native tongue, but I know enough Spanish to get by in a Hispanic country. I am also studying Japanese.

Feb 9, 2017 7:50 PM

#235

LegendBonjet

Offline

Mar 2016

109

Filipino - Native.
English - Alternate, still not good at all.
Japanese - Still practice.

..............

Feb 9, 2017 9:36 PM

#236

Offline

Jan 2009

15162

@Enjyu: I do consider it possible that Japanese People can properly pronounce Foreign Languages as well, I just don't find it that probable. But yeah, the Teacher can play a big Role as well.

♗

image source Z28.310

Feb 10, 2017 12:34 AM

#237

chumbeer

Offline

Sep 2015

Only fluent in English. I was born in Thailand though, so I know enough to get my by.

Feb 10, 2017 1:39 AM

#238

Offline

Dec 2007

663

@Noboru

We owe that suspicion to how foreign languages are taught. I did teach English to Japanese as a side job and after a while I figured I just need to explain to them simply where to put their tongue to pronounce different sounds and I have to say the results were astonishing. The other thing is, especially younger kids, sure they know how to tell the alphabet but no one teaches them phonics. One of my students knew how to recite letters but when I give him "apple" he would spell rather than read it "a-p-p-l-e" , so we had to start from square 1. So in that respect you're right it's not too probable if the teacher is Japanese or simply can't be bothered to do their job earnestly

Feb 10, 2017 11:49 AM

#239

Offline

Jan 2009

15162

@Enjyu: If you taught them the Positions and how to do the actual Sounds, then it's no Wonder they'd improve compared to having them taught how to pronounce English based on Japanese Phonology. That's why it's always best to have a native Person teach the Language.

One of my students knew how to recite letters but when I give him "apple" he would spell rather than read it "a-p-p-l-e" , so we had to start from square 1.

I don't understand what you're getting at here. If you wanted it to have been read as "a-p-p-l-e", isn't that already called "spelling"? Or did you mean something else like slowly saying the Syllables "app" + "el" /ăpʹ(ə)l/ or "a" + "ppel" /ˈæ.pəl/?

♗

image source Z28.310

Feb 10, 2017 12:48 PM

#240

Offline

Dec 2007

663

@Noboru

Just for the record I'm not native xD

My bad, English gone wrong :D What I was trying to say is that he knows the names of the letters in the alphabet, his previous teachers had crammed it in his head without using it in words to teach him phonics as well. So when I wrote down "apple" and asked him to read it he could only spell it and couldn't figure out the meaning although he knows the word if spoken to him. The problem was some sub-categories were taught and some not, so before I took over he had studied the alphabet, simple conversation and few grammar points. For me learning a language is to train all sub-categories reading, writing, listening and speaking together. One can excel in any of these and that's perfectly fine, but I don't think it does any good if they are separated (especially for beginners).

Feb 10, 2017 1:28 PM

#241

Offline

Jan 2009

15162

Enjyu said:
Just for the record I'm not native xD

Whoops, my Bad xD
But your native Tongue is at least distantly related to English :D

The English Language was already raped in the Past

Ah, so he just didn't know how to read in English, even though he could tell what each Letter is. Well, knowing how to pronounce certain absolutely arbitrary Forms like "rough", "through", "anger", and so on and so forth, is something that lots of People may struggle with.

Also, what you say may hold truth for languages still in modern use, but what if you just want to learn Japanese to read sth. like the newest Manga or an untranslated VN in the original Language or Old Greek, Old Hebraic, Sanskrit, Old Norse, Old High German, Old English, Ancient Latin, Classical Arabic, Traditional Chinese, etc. to read some old Texts? You're less likely to meet anyone actually speaking any of those Languages, so knowing how it sounds and how to pronounce it seems a bit pointless when you can understand how the Words are formed and when you can comprehend what is being written.

♗

image source Z28.310

Feb 10, 2017 2:22 PM

#242

Offline

Dec 2007

663

@Noboru

My native tongue is Bulgarian, not in the slightest bit related to English, it actually looks like that: Здравей Нобору, това е Български :D

Of course you're right. This will be adequate way to learn/teach a modern language, however, even if you want to learn a language only for the sole purpose of reading something you would still want to know vocab, grammar, sentence structure, more or less pronunciation and writing (i.e there is stroke order to kanji). In such case of course speaking and listening are of no use, especially considering that you will never use it for anything else beside reading, but I reckon some things just go hand in hand.

Feb 10, 2017 3:24 PM

#243

Offline

Jan 2009

15162

@Enjyu: Bulgarian is also an Indo-European Language, so that's why I wrote "distantly related".

Too bad that I can't type it directly + I had to look up different Fonts that use the different "s" + hopefully I got the Rules for using the right "s" right, lol

Anyway: you have a Point as well that some Basics are helpful. If you know how to write, it's easier to memorize written Characters after all. But then again, I've learnt how to read first by asking my Parents about what each "Sign" would mean and eventually being able to read the Comics and other Kinds of Books for Children in Kindergarten through "Decoding the Code". ^^

♗

image source Z28.310

Feb 10, 2017 3:59 PM

#244

Offline

Dec 2007

663

@Noboru

For the love of humanity, no wonder you were interested in my 1 term German :D
It took me a while to decipher those S's (btw I'm not sure what you mean by "Too bad that I can't type it directly + I had to look up different Fonts that use the different "s" + hopefully I got the Rules for using the right "s" right")

But yeah, suppose we all start by asking/learning basic signs, how to write or pronounce A, B etc...

As far as Indo-European languages are concerned I wouldn't call all languages under that umbrella "more or less" or "relatively" or "distinctly" or even "at all" related ^^ As we can see from this chart (courtesy from Wikipedia) there is literally 0 connection with Germanic languages

Feb 10, 2017 4:43 PM

#245

Offline

Jan 2009

15162

@Enjyu: Well, I'm just interested in how Foreigners perceive and fare with my native Language^^

It means that I can't type it directly on the Browser so that it'll get displayed as such for others as well.

I've found the Rules for the Long S vs the Round S here, though I think they got a Typo with the "ſsh". Can't imagine it having been written to mean "ssh" instead of "sch" for the "sh"-Sound.

The Connection is through Indo-European being the hypothetical Ancestor of the different Languages. Just consider вода and "water". They both have the same suspected Source *wódr̥.

♗

image source Z28.310

Feb 10, 2017 5:58 PM

#246

Offline

Dec 2007

663

@Noboru

Yeah, I didn't realise your previous post that you're German (although I should have figured it out sooner, if I paid more attention to your writing style xD )
About the language itself, I like the sound of it and would have loved to learn more but I'd need a proper teacher (it also didn't help I had to translate from German to English and Bulgarian at the same time :D )

No doubt there is relation (as a matter of fact between all languages), however in modern language (if we take Slavic languages as an example) it can be connected only to the roots of some words and how they changed over time in different places. And while many have developed similarly (due to whatever circumstances) others have changed significantly, regardless of many factors. It's pretty interesting, languages ^^

Feb 10, 2017 6:25 PM

#247

ashisland

Offline

Jun 2015

3733

i speak three languages; macedonian, serbian & english

i was studying spanish but i failed it lol.
personally i'd like to learn either korean or danish but we'll see ^_^

Feb 11, 2017 3:49 AM

#248

Offline

Jan 2009

15162

@Enjyu: Wait, I thought that was already obvious by this Point, though I could have also been a Luxembourgian xD

The Sound of German Standard German or Austrian/Swiss German or a particular Dialect?
Also aren't Books for Language-Learning monolingual or at best bilingual?

There is something in common for every Language, but that does not make them related.
Languages are related to each other when there are similar Words in each Languages that couldn't have been borrowed - like the Word for "Water". Thus, you can speculate on a common Ancestor with a People with their own ancestral Homelands or "Urheimat" and the "Sky Father" as common Mythology in various Indo-European Cultures.

♗