What other languages do you speak?

rinty said:

Ik spreek ook Hollans (but my spelling isn't always too good).

Rinty

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That was pretty good!! Just add a d in Hollands and it be perfect!!
There aren't many foreign people who speak it and the reason is that it is a very tough language to learn. Many of the American friends we had in Holland actually tried to learn it, but the Dutch speak English well and foreigners have a tough time getting the Dutch to speak Dutch with them. Pronunciation is the worst to learn and during WWII, German spies were always caught if asked to pronounce places like Scheveningen. Their accents fell through right away. After 25 years away though things have changed for me too. Reading the papers affirms this, as spelling has changed in a few words and new ones have been added leaving me stumped at times.

i had to vote "other"...those languages are "trash" and "foul".

riderR1150GSAdv said:

That was pretty good!! Just add a d in Hollands and it be perfect!!
There aren't many foreign people who speak it and the reason is that it is a very tough language to learn. Many of the American friends we had in Holland actually tried to learn it, but the Dutch speak English well and foreigners have a tough time getting the Dutch to speak Dutch with them. Pronunciation is the worst to learn and during WWII, German spies were always caught if asked to pronounce places like Scheveningen. Their accents fell through right away. After 25 years away though things have changed for me too. Reading the papers affirms this, as spelling has changed in a few words and new ones have been added leaving me stumped at times.

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It's funny how tihngs work. In another thread (about misused English), Mandypants complained about the use of "hopefully". I looked that up, which led me to a word I didn't know, "shibboleth". Shibboleth is defined as any language usage indicative of one's social or regional origin, or more broadly, any practice that identifies members of a group. They have a lot of examples, one being the use of "Scheveningen" during the war. Now here you are mentioning it less than 24 hours later! Back on topic, when I was trying to learn, pronunciation was beaten in to me. The one I had problems with was the "ui" combination in words like "huis". I can still do THAT one correctly, now. I also had issues with using a more "German" pronunciation (mus be hereditary), so "Scheveningen" would have been a problem, initially. Of course, I know the important stuff; "Pils, Alstublieft". I'm thinking "pils" might have been a regional thing (Southwest Netherlands/Northeastern Belgium), maybe "bier" is more universal.

jdmetzger said:

It's funny how tihngs work. In another thread (about misused English), Mandypants complained about the use of "hopefully". I looked that up, which led me to a word I didn't know, "shibboleth". Shibboleth is defined as any language usage indicative of one's social or regional origin, or more broadly, any practice that identifies members of a group. They have a lot of examples, one being the use of "Scheveningen" during the war. Now here you are mentioning it less than 24 hours later! Back on topic, when I was trying to learn, pronunciation was beaten in to me. The one I had problems with was the "ui" combination in words like "huis". I can still do THAT one correctly, now. I also had issues with using a more "German" pronunciation (mus be hereditary), so "Scheveningen" would have been a problem, initially. Of course, I know the important stuff; "Pils, Alstublieft". I'm thinking "pils" might have been a regional thing (Southwest Netherlands/Northeastern Belgium), maybe "bier" is more universal.

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You never know what you're going to learn on this channel.

"Writers who use hopefully as a sentence adverb, as in Hopefully the measures will be adopted, should be aware that the usage is unacceptable to many critics, including a large majority of the Usage Panel. It is not easy to explain why critics dislike this use of hopefully. The use is justified by analogy to similar uses of many other adverbs, as in Mercifully, the play was brief or Frankly, I have no use for your friend. And though this use of hopefully may have been a vogue word when it first gained currency back in the early 1960s, it has long since lost any hint of jargon or pretentiousness for the general reader. The wide acceptance of the usage reflects popular recognition of its usefulness; there is no precise substitute. Someone who says Hopefully, the treaty will be ratified makes a hopeful prediction about the fate of the treaty, whereas someone who says I hope (or We hope or It is hoped) the treaty will be ratified expresses a bald statement about what is desired. Only the latter could be continued with a clause such as but it isn't likely. ÔÇóIt might have been expected, then, that the initial flurry of objections to hopefully would have subsided once the usage became well established. Instead, critics appear to have become more adamant in their opposition. In the 1969 Usage Panel survey, 44 percent of the Panel approved the usage, but this dropped to 27 percent in our 1986 survey. (By contrast, 60 percent in the latter survey accepted the comparable use of mercifully in the sentence Mercifully, the game ended before the opponents could add another touchdown to the lopsided score.) It is not the use of sentence adverbs per se that bothers the Panel; rather, the specific use of hopefully in this way has become a shibboleth."

Interesting how they stuck that word in there at the last.

other languages

The toughest thing about Dutch is the reverse sentence structures:

Wie heeft de suiker in de ete soep gedaan? : who has the sugar in the pea soup put?

It's a fantastic language for telling jokes and funny stories. It's hard to describe.

Rinty

PAULBACH said:

Spanish and Kannarese.

Does anyone even know where Kannares is spoken?

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Yo Paul, You mean Canarsie ? Now that's a heck of a language !

Statdawg said:

Brooklyn ?

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Exactly! It takes a lifetime to talk like that.

We had to learn the Russian language in junior high and high school because of the "cold war". Then my wife took 4 more semesters in college. When we got our first flat in the city (St. Louis) the lady that owned it spoke Russian so she would sit with Sandy and talk and I could understand and usually answer in English/American. She loved Sandy so we got new curtains, new contact paper, new washer/dryer etc. When we started making more money and began looking for a house of our own she was heartbroken. Sandy went by for a while but when the babies started coming she didnt have the time. Now in my travels I occasionally get a Russian cabbie and listen to them talk on the phone and just before I get out say something about their conversation which either makes them laugh or they drop their chin! Ha! Exit Stage

rinty said:

The toughest thing about Dutch is the reverse sentence structures:

Wie heeft de suiker in de hete soep gedaan? : who has the sugar in the pea soup put?

It's a fantastic language for telling jokes and funny stories. It's hard to describe.

Rinty

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That is so funny and true. Now try counting. In Holland we say (89) as 'nine-and-eighty' , the last digit being pronounced first, while in English its 'eighty nine' . 98= eight-and-ninety English is ninety eight. This does make more sense but as to why that is I don't know.
Our 14 is however different as we say 'veertien' and not 'viertien' note the two ee's which changes the sound totally. Vier being # 4 normally. Now 15 is vijftien as in vijf (5) tien (10). I could give even more confusing examples but one can see that Dutch is difficult to learn. Now German on the other hand may sound similar at first glance but it is not at all. It is the same difference between Spanish and Italian, close but no cigar.

And now for French, they have yet another way of saying 99 than anyone, they say quattre-vent-dix-neuf that is 4 x 20 + 19...... How would that sound in English if we said ninety nine like that??

Languages are a lot of fun and the more you learn one language, the easier it is to learn others... IMHO

Oh wait. I took four years of Latin. Oh wait again...I think I only remember one sentence. Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres. But, I had to cheat on the spelling at that...

cjack said:

Oh wait. I took four years of Latin. Oh wait again...I think I only remember one sentence. Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres. But, I had to cheat on the spelling at that...

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Hi, Jack,
Damned if I know
Damned if I nare
Damned if I navi
Damned if I natus sum!

PHMarvin said:

Hi, Jack,
Damned if I know
Damned if I nare
Damned if I navi
Damned if I natus sum!

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Whoa...if this keeps up I'm going to have to call on my first wife, the Latin and English teacher.

I am unable to converse in anything but English, but I know a few words here and there of several languages. I can ask some basic questions but cannot understand the answers. German is probably what I know the most of. I know an easy tourist-mistake in Russian. I took two semesters of Portuguese in college but only remember a handful of words, even though I had to take an oral exam in it.
As for English, I am fascinated by forms other than American. Some of you may have noticed I often use British spellings (Colour, realise, etc.).

Latin...

According to a former colleague who was proficient in it, is summed up best with this bit of verse.

Latin is a language covered with dust; it killed the Romans, and now it's killing us!

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Since this has become a Latin language thread and I can't really think of any examples right now. I have studied various Latin words, since modern medicine is still based on the original teachings of medicine in Latin.

So if you've ever wondered where "Stat" comes from? It is from the Latin word "statim" which means "immediately".

But I prefer "Liquor" in the 12-uncia version And, let it be cito dispensetur adhibendus (administered quickly).

Doc

I can get by speaking North American, Canadian, English, Irish, Australian, Scottish and some Jamacian.

In 1995 I went on a mission trip to Russia, and took 16 clock hours of tutored instruction along with many hours of listening to tapes, doing other vocabulary work, etc. My tutor was an international student at the U of A.

The drill was that she would say the new word and I would work on the pronounciation in Russian. Then after I had the pronounciation passable down, she told me the meaning. Imagine my surprise when one day she came out with several select insults and cuss words.

Amused but a little taken aback (some words just are not permitted in the pulpit, you know?) I protested.

"I am certain I will not have a use for those words."

"Oh, but you are going to Russia," she replied. "I assure you that you will have many opportunities to at least think them."

One late evening rocking along on the train between Moscow and Kursk I thought, "The girl was right about that!"

My primary task was working with small groups of young adults -- many of which already understood some English, and who wanted to practice our language on me.

But there were other times when I did have to speak to large groups. I made sure and always had an interpreter with me for the public speaking events. I talked in English, and he did the talking in Parusski.

Rick, how true.

I've worked with a bunch of translators over the years and have found that although I may not be able/capable of teaching in one of the languages needed. I have had a basic understanding and vocabulary sufficient to understand what was happening.

It always goes over well, when one of your subjects/trainees asks a question and you reply in their native tongue before the translator has a chance to translate. It's also important to know WTF your paid translator is saying if it's wrong or missleading. (especially when working with explosives)

Someone else mentioned the taxi ride - I have had some fun before telling a taxi driver in his language at the end of the ride, exactly what I thought of his "private" conversation with others along the way. Talk about a gaping wide open mouth!!!

First thing to do in a foreign country is pay for a "Walking Dictionary". Much cheaper than trying to figure it out. And, some are quite beautiful...

"What happens overseas, stays overseas"

Doc

rinty said:

The toughest thing about Dutch is the reverse sentence structures:

Wie heeft de suiker in de ete soep gedaan? : who has the sugar in the pea soup put?

It's a fantastic language for telling jokes and funny stories. It's hard to describe.

Rinty

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German is the same way: Wer hat den Zucker in der Erbsensuppe angebracht?