# Languages that we speak (or want to speak) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819 "2003-02-27T04:46:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RobbieFal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c5a1d2/32.png) [@RobbieFal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobbieFal)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/1 "2003-02-27T04:46:28Z")
I can speak English. I know some Spanish (I can comprehend some of it). I know several words in German, but I’d have to learn more. I am looking into Romanian, Albanian and I checked out Russian quite a bit. So, to mix languages, Tëngëtjeta, Numele meu este Robbie, Soy Guapo, Ты такая необычная! (Ti takAya neobIchnaya) Ich bin geil! Points to the people who can translate that entire sentance. The languages go Albanian/Romanian/Spanish/Russian/German. You will need Cyrillic font to get the Russian cyrillic alphabet. So, what languages do you know and what languages do you wanna know more of? ---
**Author:** ![Tblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tblue)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/2 "2003-02-27T05:42:42Z")
I would like to be able to understand Old Norse. I’m working on that. 🙂 I also speak extremely limited German. Favourite O.N. phrase that I’ve cobbled together - Hlœgiligr, um alla hluti! (Laughable, in all respects!) ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/3 "2003-02-27T05:51:20Z")
I’m a native English speaker with three years of high school Spanish and 15 years restaurant experience. This means that what I speak fluently is “busboy.” ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/4 "2003-02-27T06:09:34Z")
**Know well enough** : English Hindi Marathi Gujarati French **Wanna know** : Russian (had one semester) German Japanese ---
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/5 "2003-02-27T07:13:40Z")
I speak a little Vietnamese and a tiny bit of both German and Spanish. I used to be pretty good with Japanese (am picking it up again a little at a time) and am currently working on learning Farsi (my wife’s helping me with that one). ---
**Author:** ![Grelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a5b964/32.png) [@Grelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grelby)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/6 "2003-02-27T07:18:39Z")
I speak Spanish well enough to survive in another country, but once they start slinging it at full speed, I get lost almost immediately. A couple months in a latin-american nation would correct this quickly, I’m sure. I also want to learn French and Italian. I can read Italian surprisingly well, despite not speaking it at all. Comes from knowing Spanish, I assume. I can KINDA read SOME French, but not enough to claim that I can read it, really. I catch some words here and there, though. French is my priority. I also want to learn German. I know a few words, but that’s all. Knowing Japanese would be cool, but I don’t feel too interested in learning it. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/7 "2003-02-27T07:29:11Z")
Well, I’ve always wanted to learn Verilog, but I don’t think the GNU Project has developed much in the way of HDLs yet. Prolog, OTOH, is nice, and I’m nowhere near competent in that yet, but I’m getting there. If only the siren song of assembly wouldn’t keep drawing me out of the high-level abstractions… Oh, sorry. 😃 I have a practical desire to learn German so I can speak with my relatives in Austria, but I have a desire to learn Hopi so I can pick up its timeless tense structure. The fact I’m absolutely hopeless when it comes to learning natural languages (whereas I can pick up programming languages pretty readily) is a deterrent, however. And being able to curse in Old Norse would just be fun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![manx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@manx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manx)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/8 "2003-02-27T07:42:37Z")
I can speak English, some Spanish, very little German. I studied Latin for a while, so I can fumble through written French and Italian. I’d like to learn Russian and Maori, and something else. Preferably dead/obscure. I’m picking up Italian this year, (whee!) and probably I’ll wind up doing Maori next year. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/9 "2003-02-27T07:51:15Z")
And not, uh, **manx**? (I know it died in the 1800s-early 1900s. Don’t get much more obscure than a dead Celtic tongue. :)) ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/10 "2003-02-27T08:32:27Z")
I speak English, Hindi/Urdu, Gujerati, Kutcchi, French, and German. I can understand spoken Dutch, and a little bit of Italian and Spanish. I can understand written Swedish, Norweigian, and Danish, although I can’t speak them. And to round it all off, I’m learning Polish and Swedish. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/11 "2003-02-27T10:32:39Z")
Numele meu este Robbie, Soy Guapo Your name is Robby, you are handsome (or so you claim). My name is Robbie (you), I am handsome (by your standards. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/12 "2003-02-27T10:58:20Z")
I know some French and Latin. Good enough to survive in Paris or ancient Rome if need be and obtain fluency within a few weeks. I was really hot to learn Arabic back in the summer of 2001. Bought the text books and started working my way through a very interesting alphabet and language but then world events kinda killed my motivation. I imagine I’ll take it back up someday. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/13 "2003-02-27T11:00:35Z")
Yeesh. That’s a most unfortunate turn of a phrase I’ve just used. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/14 "2003-02-27T11:07:38Z")
I want to learn Danish. It’s so…so…hyggelig! And Spanish so that I will be able to converse with other people in my neighborhood. And Russian so that I can read the great poets in their original tongue. (I just said that last one because it sounds so…so…) ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/15 "2003-02-27T11:13:05Z")
Ooh, that reminds me Zoe. I really really regret taking French in High School rather then Japanese. Everytime I see a badly dubbed anime I think how great it would be if I had learned Japanese instead. Plus so many jobs here require you to speak it too. Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/16 "2003-02-27T11:42:10Z")
I speak English and French. I can read Italian OK, and I’m trying to learn Italian properly. I’d like to learn Finnish, Punjabi (maybe Hindi as well), Arabic and Turkish. ---
**Author:** ![GWVet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@GWVet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GWVet)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/17 "2003-02-27T11:53:00Z")
In order of ability, I speak English, Russian, and Spanish. I spent 2 years leaning Russian at the Defense Language Institute and several years living in Spain. I am able to read a newspaper in German, French, Italian and Portuguese. I can get by on everyday Turkish. I will learn another language if and when it is necessary to me, but I am content to try and improve in the languages I already know. And yes, Robbie, I am rather unusual, but I am most certainly not female. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/18 "2003-02-27T12:39:40Z")
Well for me, raised speaking English. I know a few words/phrases in Spanish, Gaelic, German and French. A couple of words in Dutch and Japanese. I would love to learn to speak all of them better, but we shall see if I get the chance. My little cousins are lucky in that their father is Lithuanian so they are bilingual. ---
**Author:** ![Siemsi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@Siemsi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siemsi)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/19 "2003-02-27T13:52:07Z")
German (actually low German) was my 1st language. (Donauschwaben dialect) …then the babysitters could not understand me, sooooo Back to English. Still manage well with the relatives in Frankfurt! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819/20 "2003-02-27T14:12:21Z")
Currently know: English Latin Broken Spanish (need more vocab but I know the grammar) Want to know eventually: French German Italian Portugeues Japanese Russian Basque And I should mention I’m working on my own language as a hobby but I can’t really say I’m fluent in it yet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/languages-that-we-speak-or-want-to-speak/157819.md?page=2)