| Author |
Message |
steva11
Posts: 1680
Phone Model:
w810i/pearl
Service Provider:
Rogers |
 
Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:31 pm |
can anyone here speak more than on language?
I've learned basic mandarin on audio CD and can get by in the asian grocery store.
I gotta learn french 'cause my wife can speak it and we'll put out daughters in french immersion when they start school.
and i recently discovered how much german i had lost since university 
basically, i suck at everything...
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man1234
Posts: 208
Phone Model:
Sanyo Katana II
Service Provider:
Sprint |
Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:47 pm |
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well, i take spanish in school and i can speak that pretty well, not fully, but well
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Bjoern
Posts: 3611
Phone Model:
Nokia E61
Service Provider:
o2 Germany |
Mon Apr 24, 2006 6:54 pm |
German (of course)
English (duh!)
And I had Latin at school which I passed narrowly.
(you need to have at least three languages to get the diploma from German secondary school qualifying for university admission or matriculation)
Now I realize I should have taken French as third language.
I had English as oral exam in my final tests, I stuttered the whole time because I was nervous...
When I lived in a dormitory I answered the phone and at the other end of the line was some US chick... and I stuttered... she told the guy the call originally was for that I spoke the worst englisch she ever heared 
Last week I help a spaniard with a table he bought in the second hand shop of a friend... and since he can't speak german we communicated in english... it was fun, my english was so much more fluent than normally, he even complimented me for my english
Because I watch 90% of the movies and TV shows in english it's getting better and better (the Austin Powers movies in german are a pain in the ass! Badly translated and most of the jokes ain't translateable)
A friend of mine learns spanish in school and I've heard about a pre-school where they learn Chinese.
Did you know that "kindergarten" is actually a german word?
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Bjoern
Posts: 3611
Phone Model:
Nokia E61
Service Provider:
o2 Germany |
Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:08 pm |
Additional info: I laugh really hard nearly every time they use german in US movies and tv shows. Can't they afford somebody who actually speaks german?!
Bad examples:
EuroTrip: bad, bad translations sometimes
Scrubs: also bad translations, they should have taken native speakers
Good example:
Waiting...: they used real germans (or at least native speakers)
Scrubs: Sarah Chalke speaks nearly perfect german (which surprised me) - and John C. McGinley surprised me too when he spoke his german line (Ihre Frau hat einen schönen Busen) fluently and nearly without accent.
Saving Private Ryan: they used native speakers (but it was funny to watch the movie with german dubbing... both parties speak german and don't understand each other... oooookay.... )
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Bjoern
Posts: 3611
Phone Model:
Nokia E61
Service Provider:
o2 Germany |
Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:10 pm |
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Since the soccer world cup is in germany I can offer a little german class
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steva11
Posts: 1680
Phone Model:
w810i/pearl
Service Provider:
Rogers |
Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:12 pm |
we say kindergarten in some parts of cananda...a garden of children
but in other parts, people call it "primary"
I hear english is probably the hardest language to learn.
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Bjoern
Posts: 3611
Phone Model:
Nokia E61
Service Provider:
o2 Germany |
Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:25 pm |
Are you sure? German is way much more complicated...
In english there is "the"... the house, the cat, the man, the woman... in german "the" is translated with "der", "die", "das"... male, female, neuter.. that confuses many people...
the house - das Haus (neuter)
the cat - die Katze (female)
the man - der Mann (male)
the woman - die Frau (female)
Many foreigners confuse it and say stuff like "der Haus".
English grammar is much more easier, I started soon in school to "ignore" the rules... I didn't thought about to write, I just wrote... and I normally had a good grade in verbalism.
I know my english isn't that good, but good enough to survive over 5000 posts (including the deleted ones )
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steva11
Posts: 1680
Phone Model:
w810i/pearl
Service Provider:
Rogers |
Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:38 pm |
well, I have no personal experience, because i was born in canada, I heard it's hard because slang, double meaning for words, things like that.
the gender in german is tough to get used to, but i guess it's mostly memory.
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Bjoern
Posts: 3611
Phone Model:
Nokia E61
Service Provider:
o2 Germany |
Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:51 pm |
There is much more to learn, I can't tell if it is hard, but many foreign people I know say german is much more tougher than their native language.
German slang is hard too.
Something roughly translated as "to put a pole of water in the corner" means "to take a whiz".
But I know there are some tough phrases in english which are hard to get.
I would be lost without this website:
http://dict.leo.org/ende?lang=en
The best german-english dictonary on the net.
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steva11
Posts: 1680
Phone Model:
w810i/pearl
Service Provider:
Rogers |
Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:58 pm |
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I'll have to practice my german and post again in a few weeks
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