Can you speak foreign languages?

kaffe said:
I don't bother trying to read it, the words look like they cannot be pronounced. Stick to learning how words sound and reading/writing should come naturally. But like I said, I just know enough to get by, but I'm getting better!!!!!
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Yeah, my girlfriend is Norwegian and when she speaks to her family/friends it's crazy.

It just sounds like jibberish!
 
Robbo said:
Yeah, my girlfriend is Norwegian and when she speaks to her family/friends it's crazy.

It just sounds like jibberish!
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That's what english sounds like if you csnt speak it. Hell, even if you can, some accents makes you feel like you can't!
 
French and Russian to GSCE level but pretty rusty now. Can get by in France on the whole. Can still read and write Russian but would struggle to understand spoken Russian at speed.
 
Fluent Polish (from birth)
Some German
A tiny bit of French

Recently just started learning Scottish after moving up here.
 
I can ask for two different types of alcohol in units of up to 4 in spanish and I can say some rubbish in French and that's it.

I'd like to learn Croatian.
 
I'm learning Swedish right now to be able to speak to my gf in her native tongue! Although it helps that she can teach me :)

It'll be cool when we are able to have full conversations in Swedish with each other that other people won't understand :)
 
I can speak a little bit of German, I've forgotten most of it since school though. I tend to pick key words out of a sentence and then assume what is being typed/said.

Wouldn't mind learning Russian or something like Finnish for some reason.
 
Foreign languages are pretty simple, if you ever encounter foreign types that are pretending not to understand English, simply speak louder and slower until they understand. If they try and confuse you with their nonsensical jibber-jabber, don't be afraid to interrupt and repeat, increasing the volume and reducing the pace once more.

If, despite your best efforts, they continue their charade of ignorance, throw some plastic furniture around and smash stuff up until they start to 'comprendez'.
 
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Rich_L said:
Foreign languages are pretty simple, if you ever encounter foreign types that are pretending not to understand English, simply speak louder and slower until they understand. If they try and confuse you with their nonsensical jibber-jabber, don't be afraid to interrupt and repeat, increasing the volume and reducing the pace once more.

If, despite your best efforts, they continue their charade of ignorance, throw some plastic furniture around and smash stuff up until they start to 'comprendez'.
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Best advice in this thread. Why would anyone need to speak foreign!?

EDIT:

I had to call a depot in Tenerife last week. I called up, in my best polite Spanglish and said "Hola, puedo hablar con Pedro por favor?"
The woman who answered jabbered at me like a (Spanish) machine gun.
I just said "Errr..... English. Pedro please?!"
That seemed to do the trick because she hollered something like "Ey Pedro, Inglese telefonica etc eth eth eth Chris Waddle" and put me through to Pedro.

If you don't want to be as hardline as Rich_L, you can always try speaking European. It's a bit like English but with a slight American/Dutch hybrid accent, with "for sure" sprinkled liberally in each sentence. Works a treat for me!
 
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I can speak several arabic dialecs, some Farsi, italian and can read hebrew and greek (the ancient kind)

Although I have found that English is spoken pretty much everywhere these days so it isnt really necessary to have a knowlegde of foreign languages unless your job demands it or you wish to live abroad on a permanent basis.
 
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peterattheboro said:
This :)

So to those who have taught themselves... how did you go about it?

I've heard the Rosetta Stone pack is the one to go for?
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Rosetta Stone is alright, but I'd really recommend Pimsleur as it teaches you the 'core' stuff you'll need to get functional in the language (basic grammar and the most used verbs).

As for people saying everybody speaks English these days, we're pretty spoiled in Europe. Try going to Africa - it's a whole different ballgame.
 
I speak German quite fluently having studied it at degree level and lived there for a year.
I get by in Dutch and French and I can also read Latin and Ancient Greek reasonably well.
 
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