# What languages do you know? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092 "2010-04-14T18:16:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/1 "2010-04-14T18:16:14Z")
What languages do you know? For purposes of this thread, speaking or reading a language counts. I’m assuming everyone knows English so don’t bother picking that choice unless it’s the only langauge you know. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/2 "2010-04-14T18:18:34Z")
C. VB. LISP. Fortran. C++. What? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/3 "2010-04-14T18:21:14Z")
English. Esperanto. Very bad restaurant French. A small amount of Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/4 "2010-04-14T18:23:12Z")
Sorry for the confusion. The poll feature has a glitch. You have to post the OP and then put together the poll after the OP has been posted. Also, multiple choices are allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/5 "2010-04-14T18:25:26Z")
I’m supposed to “know” German as defined in the OP, but it’s very, very rusty. I can guessread some Dutch. And I did pick English because what the heck, I’ve spent the last six months being reminded time and again that it’s neither my first language (that would be Spanish) nor my mother’s language (that’s Catalan, which I do speak). ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/6 "2010-04-14T18:28:00Z")
I speak/read a little Spanish - enough to get by in L.A. - but that’s pretty much it. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/7 "2010-04-14T18:33:12Z")
a bit of Arabic… surprised that is not on the list considering it has a few hundred million speakers and up to a billion by way of the Qur’an… and is one of the 6 UN languages. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/8 "2010-04-14T18:33:34Z")
> [@Oni no Maggie](#): > > I speak/read a little Spanish - enough to get by in L.A. - but that’s pretty much it. I get by in L.A. with just English, but perhaps I’ve been lucky 😃 I have smatterings of other languages - French, German and Latin at high school, and a bit of Italian, Japanese and Modern Greek – but I count myself as really mono-lingual. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/9 "2010-04-14T19:39:41Z")
I am currently learning Hungarian and know enough to get by (after 1.5 years of lessons!) at the market. I’m not fluent by any stretch of the imagination yet, but I’ll keep at it. We’re not looking to move away any time soon so I guess the lessons will continue. I really believe that some people have a natural “ear” for languages, and that I do not have it. Every lesson is a mighty struggle, but I am making progress. ---
**Author:** ![nicole1912](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@nicole1912](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicole1912)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/10 "2010-04-14T19:48:14Z")
My French is good, I live here. My Spanish was ok, last time I had to use it - I lived in South America for a bit, several years ago now. My Italian exists because of a few weeks of classes, but I can read it fairly well because I speak Spanish. My German… I probably shouldn’t have ticked that box, in fact - I took a couple of years of classes at school, passed my written and oral exams at 16 and aside from one very surreal conversation with a Russian guy in Paris, haven’t used it since. Probably couldn’t even get directions to the nearest cafe, these days - I should do something about that… ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/11 "2010-04-14T19:51:18Z")
I answered the two non-English ones I know (Spanish & Polish, though both are rusty). I’ll add here that I understand, additionally, just enough Portuguese to know when my relatives are talking about me in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/12 "2010-04-14T19:54:56Z")
I answered other. I speak Bulgarian fluently. I didn’t click for any other languages, but I can get by pretty well in Spanish also. I _used_ to be able to get by pretty well in Hebrew, but it’s rusty as hell now. I also have a beginner’s grasp of Farsi and Russian. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/13 "2010-04-14T19:55:37Z")
I speak lots of languages: Spanish, Argentinian, Uruguayan, Paraguayan,Bolivian, Chilea… what? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/14 "2010-04-14T20:04:20Z")
I checked Farsi (although its actual name is Persian), French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Greek, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. I ought to have checked Yiddish too, because once you know both German and Hebrew, Yiddish becomes pretty easy and I can understand it fairly well. Ones I would have checked if they’d been on the list: Arabic, Dari, Finnish, Hungarian, Kyrgyz, Malay, Indonesian, Swahili, Tajik, Tamil, Tatar, Turkish, Urdu, Uyghur, and Uzbek. I missed seeing the option “Other,” so count me for that too. I have a certain amount of acquaintance with most of the other languages on the list, though not enough to say I “know” them. Actually, where do you draw the cutoff line? Are your criteria only conversational, or what about knowing written languages as well? I prefer the system that ranks proficiency on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 is rank beginner and 5 is native-speaker proficiency), with separate scores for spoken and written. I checked off my 3s and high 2s. Arabic is actually my best language and I too am dismayed it was omitted. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/15 "2010-04-14T20:12:08Z")
At this point, I’m about as qualified to grind out Latin-to-English translations as anybody entering a classics program would be expected to be. But what I’m working toward is a speaking and reading knowledge of the language. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/16 "2010-04-14T20:16:15Z")
> [@](#): > > a bit of Arabic… surprised that is not on the list considering it has a few hundred million speakers and up to a billion by way of the Qur’an… and is one of the 6 UN languages. That’s my fault. I had Arabic on my original list but I somehow lost it when I was moving things to the poll window. > [@](#): > > I checked Farsi (although its actual name is Persian) Sorry. I knew the language had two names but I thought it was the other way around; Farsi was the official name and Persian was just what people in other countries called it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/17 "2010-04-14T20:22:53Z")
> [@Oni no Maggie](#): > > I speak/read a little Spanish - enough to get by in L.A. - but that’s pretty much it. This. Plus a little French and Latin. My linguistic high point was being able to say “Yes, No, Maybe, I don’t know, I don’t understand, How much?, Give me two beers, and Where is the men’s room?” in 12 different languages. ---
**Author:** ![nicole1912](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@nicole1912](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicole1912)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/18 "2010-04-14T20:23:56Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > I checked Farsi (although its actual name is Persian), French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Greek, Italian, Latin, and Spanish. I ought to have checked Yiddish too, because once you know both German and Hebrew, Yiddish becomes pretty easy and I can understand it fairly well. > > Ones I would have checked if they’d been on the list: Arabic, Dari, Finnish, Hungarian, Kyrgyz, Malay, Indonesian, Swahili, Tajik, Tamil, Tatar, Turkish, Urdu, Uyghur, and Uzbek. I missed seeing the option “Other,” so count me for that too. > > I have a certain amount of acquaintance with most of the other languages on the list, though not enough to say I “know” them. Actually, where do you draw the cutoff line? Are your criteria only conversational, or what about knowing written languages as well? I prefer the system that ranks proficiency on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 1 is rank beginner and 5 is native-speaker proficiency), with separate scores for spoken and written. I checked off my 3s and high 2s. Arabic is actually my best language and I too am dismayed it was omitted. You speak 25 languages?! I am in awe - do you mind if I ask how you learnt them? They’re quite a broad range - was it for work? Or fun? Or do you move countries a lot? It must have taken a long time - did you take them in groups? Were there languages that were made easier to learn because of languages you already knew? (Sorry, ignore any of these questions that are too much - it’s just that you’re the first person I’ve ever met who speaks that many languages!) ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/19 "2010-04-14T20:30:42Z")
I speak Danish. I was pretty well fluent when I was younger; now I’m a bit rusty but still OK. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092/20 "2010-04-14T20:40:45Z")
What degree of skill are we talking about here? With an English-German dictionary I can read an article in a German magazine or newspaper and at least make some sense of it, and I can kind of speak it in a pidgin sort of way. I know some Spanish words and phrases and can often puzzle out the meaning of signs in Spanish. So I knew English fluently, German somewhat, and a little Spanish. That makes three in all. Unless you count armpit noises. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-languages-do-you-know/536092.md?page=2)