Foreign Language?

[bleujazz3]

Does anybody speak another language other than their native English?

I am interested in determining what foreign language would be comparatively easy to learn to translate, speak and read.

I am thinking of possibly Ukrainian, Russian, Estonian, Danish, Swiss German, Czechoslovakian, Greek, Hebrew or even Ameslan (American Sign Language).

I was originally schooled for 4 years in Castellano Spanish, and am presently rolling my 'r's in order to refresh my muscle memory of speaking the language.

I have a beginner's book in Spanish that can guide me through simple idioms and phrases that will help my quest, as well as some useful everyday Spanish and slang terms so I won't be totally out of touch with modern language.

If any of you speak another language other than your native tongue, what is it, and how did you learn it? Were you schooled in it, did you marry into it, or did your work require it?

How can someone who wants to learn another language go about it themselves without taking a college class? And without investing a ton of money in CDs and books, if possible....

[Czar Of Zonk]

Well, I'd say stay away from the French, as, in my case, it brings back unpleasant memories, I think... I just remember one thing; Had a homework assignment, and of course I waited until practically the last possible minute; It was a series of questions we had to write an answer to;

I was watching Johnny Carson and Johnny was doing the swammy bit and, right on cue, Johnny stopped at the "crowd boo" and said something not quite poignant if you catch my drift; I knew right away I had to translate it into French;

Next day, when it came to homework revelation time, I was all giddy and the teacher would not call on me; Until the last question... and I promptly laid out the Carson line...

The Teacher paused, put his hand over his mouth, cracked up under his breath and LEFT THE ROOM! The whole class was dumbfounded; "What did he say? What did he say?" The one big French student in the back replied "something about a horse!";

OK, my spelling is probably terrible and I aint proof checking this, so bear with me...

Jourai moi cheval fait celchochose miserabla suir votra ches (like I said, I'm sure it is horrible French spelling, seeing it was 35+ years ago);

"Cheval" is horse, I know that...

English translation: "I will have my horse do something mean on your chair!"

I think I got an "A" on that homework assignment ;)

Cheers!

[bleujazz3]

Thanks, Wilbur. :p I don't know if French would be my choice, either.

I used to have a book on slang and street Spanish, too, but it got me in more trouble than it was worth with Hispanic girls, so I tossed it out.

Think: (wait til my boo hears about this, gringo) :eek:

[Daniel]

If you'd like to learn Spanish without buying the books, cd's, dvd's, classes, etc. just move to South Carolina and hang out at any grocery store, mall, Walmart, construction site, government welfare office, hospital, school, etc. :mad:

I took French from the third through eighth grade in a special "talented and gifted" program the school district offered here. That allowed me to skip foreign language in high school. I tried German in college but the instructor refused to speak any English in German 101 so that didn't work out. I dropped back to French to fulfill the required four semesters to graduate. After college, I never used French at all. Then an interesting thing happened, my family went on a Mediterranean cruise in '07 and one of the stops was in Nice, France. I don't think I could have made much sense talking to anyone but listening to people talk on the street, I could understand enough of what I was hearing to follow the conversation. I was amazed.

A good friend of mine from college went to work for the State Department and was stationed in Mexico City and later Havana, Cuba. He and his wife both said the Rosetta Stone software was great for getting them up to speed quickly.

[thewhit]

I've also heard Rosetta Stone is very good. I had 3 years of Spanish in High School and a couple more in college and I've been to Mexico several times where I've used it.

I remember most words and present tense verb conjugations and can speak with pretty good dialect but the future and past tenses of so many irregular verbs leaves me with a void I wouldn't mind correcting at some point.

[GSVBagpuss]

I'd pick a language that you are likely to use, so Spanish is great if you plan on hitting Latin America for holidays etc. Of all the languages, I'd say Cantonese is the best one to learn from a business point of view, not sure how easy it is though!

When you say translate, do you mean for a living or be able to read it an understand? My fiance translates for a living, PM me if you want any more details :)

[bleujazz3]

I'd pick a language that you are likely to use, so Spanish is great if you plan on hitting Latin America for holidays etc. Of all the languages, I'd say Cantonese is the best one to learn from a business point of view, not sure how easy it is though!

When you say translate, do you mean for a living or be able to read it an understand? My fiance translates for a living, PM me if you want any more details :)

To be able to read and speak the conversational language, also understand what someone else says in that language and translate it to English for someone else.

FWIW, Cantonese is an extremely difficult language to learn because it involves learning individual Chinese characters for words. Cantonese is also a very precise language to speak; a slip of the tongue could mean the difference between saying "Good-bye, honey, I'll see you in two months" and "Go tell your sister the girl has fleas," if you get my drift. :p

[dinocicerelli]

I'm fluent in profanity.

[Daniel]

I'm fluent in profanity.

Which dialect? :D

[bleujazz3]

I'm fluent in profanity.

Perfect. Conversational Cantonese it is, then. :D

[dinocicerelli]

kooong kooong, ding, ding.

[bleujazz3]

kooong kooong, ding, ding.

I didn't think brownies were a Chinese food, Dino...:D

[dinocicerelli]

I didn't think brownies were a Chinese food, Dino...:D

A plate of those brownies will have you speaking ancient aramaic in no time.:dude:

[bleujazz3]

A plate of those brownies will have you speaking ancient aramaic in no time.:dude:

Not. Where are my tongs when I need them...? :D

[Moltisanti]

i speak fluent French, not very often these days but it's all still in there if I need it. I learnt at school from the age of 11, then at university too, I lived over there for a while an went to business school in Nice too :D c'etait la fete ;)

[imwjl]

How can someone who wants to learn another language go about it themselves without taking a college class? And without investing a ton of money in CDs and books, if possible....

Get a web cam.

That should be able to facilitate all sorts of verbal, non-verbal, fun and trouble.

;)

[Kannon]

Foreign languages are fun. :)

I currently speak English, Portuguese and Japanese (I'm half Brazilian, half Japanese, and born here in the US...) and at points have spoken Italian, French, Hebrew almost fluently when I was a child and some Russian. :D

Wish I knew all those fluently now... :mad:

[rosewoodsteel]

I'm fluent in profanity.

Polly-vous Fvckcais?

[bleujazz3]

Foreign languages are fun. :)

I currently speak English, Portuguese and Japanese (I'm half Brazilian, half Japanese, and born here in the US...) and at points have spoken Italian, French, Hebrew almost fluently when I was a child and some Russian. :D

Wish I knew all those fluently now... :mad:

Kannon, where are you in Hartford County? I am ensconced in the Farmington Valley. Granby Pub & Grill has an Open-Mic Blues Jam every Thursday evening with Burt Teague hosting from 9:15 PM til 12:30 AM. I usually play after midnight, accompanying Tom Whelan from the band "Eight to the Bar" on rhythm and lead guitar. We're located at 17R East Granby Rd, in Granby, CT 06035 right next door to the Bank of America.

Some say it's better than Black-Eyed Sally's Blues Jam and the Hungry Tiger Blues Jam in Hartford and Manchester respectively, from a musical viewpoint. You get to play 4 or 5 songs with people of like ability, and there's no cover charge.

I assist co-ordinate players so they can play. Arrive early and you'll have a better chance of playing earlier (so the ride back home isn't so tiresome after the night). Buy you a drink for "medicinal value's" sake. ;)