# What language can you speak? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 13, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618 "2004-08-13T00:20:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/1 "2004-08-13T00:20:13Z")
Here is my go: Minun aiti on suomalainen. (my mum is finnish) ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/2 "2004-08-13T00:23:15Z")
I speak English. Je parle français un peu (I speak French a little). ---
**Author:** ![Low\_Key\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@Low\_Key\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Low_Key_1)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/3 "2004-08-13T00:27:49Z")
Jag talar svenska ungefär lika bra som engelska. (I speak Swedish about as well as I speak English.) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/4 "2004-08-13T00:43:50Z")
Hablo un pocito Espanol. (I can’t do the enya thing) Dico, scribo et lego Latinam lente. (I speak a very little Spanish; I speak, write, and read Latin slowly) ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/5 "2004-08-13T00:57:20Z")
English is my first language. Et, comme Mississippienne, je parle un peu de français. (And, like Mississippienne, I speak a little French.) ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/6 "2004-08-13T01:18:18Z")
Hablo español, pero no muy bien. (I speak Spanish, but not very well) I also know a little Latin, and assorted words/ phrases in several random languages, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/7 "2004-08-13T01:56:12Z")
'Ku berbahasa Indonesia, wa khalilan min al-arabiya, und nur ein bisschen Deutsch. ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/8 "2004-08-13T02:02:12Z")
(I speak Indonesian, a little Arabic, and only a little German) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/9 "2004-08-13T02:21:04Z")
I speak English as a first language. Je parle le français couramment, avec un bon gros accent québécois. Hablo bastante bien el español, por lo menos bastante bien para conversar sobre la política, viajar sin problemas y comprender Mafalda y el mayor parte de Don Quijote. Non so esattamente come bene parlo l’italiano, ma a meno un po’. Credo que potrei viaggiare con lo che so. Mi parolas tre bone la internacian lingvon Esperanto! Mi senpage restis en Barcelono kun samideano, kaj mi lastatempe ekkonis al belan ‘pacxjon’ pere de gxi. Tio ja amuzis 🙂 Ich spreche furchtbar Deutsch. Ich glaube nicht, das ich reisen könnte, mit was ich weiss. La meva propera llengua vaig a ser el catalá. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/10 "2004-08-13T02:25:32Z")
Wow, **matt\_mcl** I, uh, speak English and French. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/11 "2004-08-13T03:24:52Z")
Only fluent in English, but know some Français and Español. (BTW **dwalin** , the “Enya” (eñe?) is Alt+0241. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/12 "2004-08-13T03:50:14Z")
English is my first language. Français, c’est ma deuxième. Je veux être prof de français! Je vais passer l’année prochaine (de l’automne 2004 à le printemps 2005) à un université français. Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/13 "2004-08-13T04:07:02Z")
English is my mother language. Learned then forgot French 日本語を普通に話して、書く事が出来ます。 (I can speak and write in Japanese) ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/14 "2004-08-13T04:16:23Z")
Yo hablo español. Puedo decir que el español es mi primer idioma, por que cuando yo era niño viví con mis abuelos mexicanos cuando mis padres trabajaron y viajaron. Por eso empecé a hablar español antes que inglés. Pero luego viví con mis padres, que prefieron hablar en inglés, tampoco no me hablaron en español en la escuela. Así creo mi inglés es mejor que mi español, aun que todavía pienso y sueño en español. Eu falo um pouco de portugués. Eu acho que é o idioma mais bela do mundo. I can also understand 90% of what I hear in standard Italian or Venetian - but I can’t make a simple phrase of my own beyond “come stai” or “io tarzan tu giovanna” I wish I knew something more “exotic” and non-Indoeuropean. (We are breaking the no foreign languages rule aren’t we?) ---
**Author:** ![jttm80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jttm80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jttm80)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/15 "2004-08-13T04:20:40Z")
Heheh… My Engrish is very the good. 😃 Saya juga boleh cakap Bahasa Indonesia. wo ye ke ye jiang hua yi. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/16 "2004-08-13T04:27:38Z")
I am fluent in English. I used to be fluent in French, and find that if I spent about 24-48 hours in a French speaking environment, it comes back. I have some Latin, and can usually follow most romance languages when spoken slowly. I also know Mil-speak, Squid, and can curse fluently in Japanese. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/17 "2004-08-13T05:10:01Z")
I can speak Gibberish and English. Gibberish was my native tongue, when I was born. However, in only a couple years, I started to get a hang of English. Now you can barely even detect my old accent, but every now and then - like when I get drunk - it comes back. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/18 "2004-08-13T06:21:50Z")
Hablo espanol un poco, pero no sabe como escribir el tilde o el acento. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/19 "2004-08-13T06:26:22Z")
English, but only when sober 😉 Portuguese, but never as good as the Brazilain tourist thinks I can Italian because I have two hands and drive a Fiat Love, naturally! Most importantly, I speak “Motorcycle” ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618/20 "2004-08-13T06:33:44Z")
Hablo un poco de español. J’ai etudié français pour trois années, mais j’ai oublié tout (that probably shows). Tá beagán Gaeilge agam. Govorim malo srpski. And English, the only one I’m fluent in at all ☹ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-language-can-you-speak/259618.md?page=2)