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What are your languages?

What's your native language?

German
5
6%
French
3
4%
Spanish
11
13%
Russian
10
12%
Italian
3
4%
Chinese
9
11%
Arabic
6
7%
Portuguese
10
12%
other that isn't listed (sorry) - please tell us in a coment
25
30%
 
Total votes: 82

salivia_baker
Been Around a Bit
Posts: 25
Joined: July 25th, 2009 7:48 pm

What are your languages?

Postby salivia_baker » August 18th, 2009 6:19 pm

So I was wondering what is your native language? And what other languages do you speak?

My native language is German I also speak English (obviously ;) though not perfect...yet). I had to study Spanish for three years but that's several years in the past so I have forgotten a lot. Currently I try to study Japanese.

saphir
New in Town
Posts: 5
Joined: July 9th, 2009 8:57 am

German, too

Postby saphir » August 19th, 2009 7:21 pm

Hello,

I'm a German, too. :D

I speak English and I really have to improve my language skills. I'd been learning English at school for some years many years ago and I forgot so much. A couple of weeks ago I started to brush up my English at last. I think it's getting better but there is still a lot to do. :roll:

Salivia, that's fun! I am learning Japanese, too. When did you start it? I 've been learning Japanese for about 2 years now, just for fun. This year I also started to learn Chinese and I've been trying to brush up my French, but I'm afraid I haven't learnt much yet. :cry:

Greets from Cologne

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salivia_baker
Been Around a Bit
Posts: 25
Joined: July 25th, 2009 7:48 pm

Postby salivia_baker » August 19th, 2009 7:43 pm

German too? oh that's great. maybe we can help each other put then when we don't get the English explanations :)
Though actually I am half German and half Austrian but I grew up in Germany and I am living here so I am more German I guess.
I am also at GermanPod to learn more English - or at least see how they describe German and Germany that is fun *g*

I started learning Japanese around two month ago. Before that I just look a bit into it. Looking up some phrases or words. I love to watch anime with Japanese audio and English subtitles so I heard a lot of Japanese already and some phrases were repeated often and so I learned that word or phrase. I also listen to Japanese music and watch Japanese films and TV Shows. I started with that in November 2007 but the interest came a couple of month later. So I would say a year ago maybe. I cannot say much yet ( I understand more).
Hashimemashite. Watashi wa Baker Salivia desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu.O-genki desu ka? The usual.

Do you know kanji? If you do does that help you with Chinese?
Do you use ChineseClass101?

oh Köln. That isn't far from here (living in the Ruhrpott)

saphir
New in Town
Posts: 5
Joined: July 9th, 2009 8:57 am

Postby saphir » August 22nd, 2009 8:49 am

Hello,

oh, a half Austrian, that's completely different! :wink:

hajimemashite. watashi wa saphir desu. dozo yoroshiku. genki desu. ima kohi o nonde imasu. kyo o-tenki wa ii desu ne.

I hope, the Romaji are correct. I don't use them very often. It's better to use Kana and Kanji. I know some Kanji but I'm not sure how many Kanji I've learnt in the last 2 years. One reason starting to learn Chinese is to keep them in mind. Yes, I signed up for ChinesePod101 and I like it. The different tones are the greatest challenge at the moment. I'm afraid, it's more singing than speaking.

Sometimes I watch Japanese TV-shows ( e.g. cooking shows) and commercials on youtube. That's so strange and funny. I like anime, too. Manga and anime are great learning motivation. But you should be careful. Many phrases are very casual and depend on the social status of the speaker. If you learnt and used phrases without keeping that in mind, you would learn to speak like yakuza boss tanaka or princess moonlight, for example. :wink:

You live in the Ruhrpott? My fiancé grew up there but lives for years in Cologne. He always laughs, when I struggle with the English continuous forms and cry, there is nothing like that in the German language, I'll never understand. He jokes then, that I should learn the 'Rhenish continuous' (my translation for: "Rheinische Verlaufsform") first. I've only moved to Cologne 3 years ago and never heard about that before. This sounds like something like that: 'Dat Chantal is sich die Haare am machen.' I think, you know, what I mean. But German learners out there: Please, please don't use this phrase, that's very special, very strong dialect. For other Germans it sounds like comedy!

Listen in GermanPod101 is a great idea! I'll try that. Thank you. Certainly we can help each other.

I wonder why nobody answers your question here. What native languages learners at EnglishClass101 have, is interesting. Is that such a secret? Maybe there are not enough people, who visit the forum. It is really empty, so no one stops by.

Bye
saphir

salivia_baker
Been Around a Bit
Posts: 25
Joined: July 25th, 2009 7:48 pm

Postby salivia_baker » August 22nd, 2009 1:44 pm

saphir wrote:Hello,

oh, a half Austrian, that's completely different! :wink:


it's more different then you think. And since most Germans say it's the same as being German I make a point to point out that I am half Austrian and that it is different.

hajimemashite. watashi wa saphir desu. dozo yoroshiku. genki desu. ima kohi o nonde imasu. kyo o-tenki wa ii desu ne.


I didn't get ima kohi o nonde imasu. I guess I have to work a little harder. And i simply love that the Japanese have ganbatte for that.

I hope, the Romaji are correct. I don't use them very often. It's better to use Kana and Kanji. I know some Kanji but I'm not sure how many Kanji I've learnt in the last 2 years. One reason starting to learn Chinese is to keep them in mind. Yes, I signed up for ChinesePod101 and I like it. The different tones are the greatest challenge at the moment. I'm afraid, it's more singing than speaking.


I am only fit in Hiragana, in Katakana I only know few. I haven't even started kanji. it's hard with the different readings.

There are four different ways of pronunciation in Chinese if I remember correctly. That must be a bitch to learn.
I thought I might learn Korean after watching a Korean TV show ( a remake of a Japanese show that is based upon a manga) but I have so much trouble pronounce the word I don't think I can do it. Like French, I hate French just because of the pronunciation :D

Sometimes I watch Japanese TV-shows ( e.g. cooking shows) and commercials on youtube. That's so strange and funny. I like anime, too. Manga and anime are great learning motivation. But you should be careful. Many phrases are very casual and depend on the social status of the speaker. If you learnt and used phrases without keeping that in mind, you would learn to speak like yakuza boss tanaka or princess moonlight, for example. :wink:


Oh I do keep that in mind. And I also know that Japanese usage of media is different from our. Which makes it really interesting for me to watch (meant as schauen & beobachten). I do media studies so it's one of my kinks^^
But i admit my first Japanese word was "baka" not one you should probably start with *lol* Though it's great to learn vocabulary better - as I do with English words as well. I take a scene that I remember very well and try to understand every word - or when I learned something new I try to find it in that scene. For example when I learned about formal and informal language I tried to hear when what was used. Or what version of I (atashi, watashi, ore, boku,..) is used. Or when they use a word over and over again I look it up. For English that was "indeed" Tuvok in Star Trek Voyager always said that and I didn't know it at the time so I looked it up and hence it's stuck in my head.

You live in the Ruhrpott? My fiancé grew up there but lives for years in Cologne. He always laughs, when I struggle with the English continuous forms and cry, there is nothing like that in the German language, I'll never understand. He jokes then, that I should learn the 'Rhenish continuous' (my translation for: "Rheinische Verlaufsform") first. I've only moved to Cologne 3 years ago and never heard about that before. This sounds like something like that: 'Dat Chantal is sich die Haare am machen.' I think, you know, what I mean. But German learners out there: Please, please don't use this phrase, that's very special, very strong dialect. For other Germans it sounds like comedy!


Yes Germans cope with "am ..." for example: I am cooking = Ich bin am Kochen. (instead of Ich koche gerade where gerade is used as indicator of right in this moment) It's grammatical incorrect but it shows what the continuous is used for. Do you have problems with the -te form in Japanese? I read it's like the -ing form in English maybe that would be of help.
Like the Japanese doesn't have a future tense it's the same as we woudl say (again grammatical incorrect) "Morgen gehe ich in die Stadt" instead of "Ich werde morgen in die Stadt gehen"

Listen in GermanPod101 is a great idea! I'll try that. Thank you. Certainly we can help each other.


Big plus is that you get English in the connection to your own language.
:)

I wonder why nobody answers your question here. What native languages learners at EnglishClass101 have, is interesting. Is that such a secret? Maybe there are not enough people, who visit the forum. It is really empty, so no one stops by.


Maybe people are just shy. Or they don't speak well enough English?
Maybe we need to open more threads to get people going?

saphir
New in Town
Posts: 5
Joined: July 9th, 2009 8:57 am

Postby saphir » August 23rd, 2009 1:41 pm

Hello,

it's more different then you think. And since most Germans say it's the same as being German I make a point to point out that I am half Austrian and that it is different.


Oh, I'm very sorry. Honestly, I've never thought about that until now.

I didn't get ima kohi o nonde imasu.


Oh, that means "I'm having a cup of coffee now." "nonde" is the te-form of nomu (to drink) te form plus iru is present continuous. "kohi" means coffee (katakana word:
コーヒー) You see, mastering the continuous-forms is getting better. 8)

I think Japanese is a little off topic here. Maybe we should move to the Japanese forum.I'm sure, you will learn more Japanese soon. You are on the best way. がんばってね!

So, I've just signed up at GermanPod and listened to one or two pod-casts. The forum is nearly as empty as this one. But there are of course more English people than here are. Maybe I can help a little there and get some answers to my English questions.

I wonder why nobody answers your question here. ...

Maybe people are just shy. Or they don't speak well enough English?
Maybe we need to open more threads to get people going?


Maybe, ...but the poll is only one mouse-click. :?
I think there are to many other English speaking places out there in the deep space of the WWW or you are right: too many people think they aren't fluent enough for this place or worry about that they do not find native speakers here and perhaps that they start copying the language faults from the people here. Or or or...

I don't want to know, what a native speaker would think about my English writings. Probably it is more German written with English vocabulary than everything else. :oops: So, they shouldn't be shy.

Bye

salivia_baker
Been Around a Bit
Posts: 25
Joined: July 25th, 2009 7:48 pm

Postby salivia_baker » August 29th, 2009 8:12 am

saphir wrote:Oh, that means "I'm having a cup of coffee now." "nonde" is the te-form of nomu (to drink) te form plus iru is present continuous. "kohi" means coffee (katakana word:
コーヒー) You see, mastering the continuous-forms is getting better. 8)


oh I see. I only knew nomimono.
I will always remember コーヒー since it's one of the words I wrote over and over again for learning Katakana. Sadly I still can't remember Katakana :D Maybe it's because I like Hiragana better.
Thank you for the explanation :)

I think Japanese is a little off topic here. Maybe we should move to the Japanese forum.I'm sure, you will learn more Japanese soon. You are on the best way. がんばってね!


I don't think i's off topic. It's about what other languages we speak so every Language is fair game (and I must know I opened this thread^^)

So, I've just signed up at GermanPod and listened to one or two pod-casts. The forum is nearly as empty as this one. But there are of course more English people than here are. Maybe I can help a little there and get some answers to my English questions.


Yeah it's sad that the forums aren't that lively. They are such a great tool

Maybe, ...but the poll is only one mouse-click. :?
I think there are to many other English speaking places out there in the deep space of the WWW or you are right: too many people think they aren't fluent enough for this place or worry about that they do not find native speakers here and perhaps that they start copying the language faults from the people here. Or or or...


it's a mystery

I don't want to know, what a native speaker would think about my English writings. Probably it is more German written with English vocabulary than everything else. :oops: So, they shouldn't be shy.

Bye


well we are here to learn so get as much practise as possible!
I always have problems with the grammar especially when I form long sentences (or use parentheses). I use to do it in German (man I love to form complicated sentences makes me feel so smart :P) and it's really hard to change that behaviour I always feel so "stupid" then. There is no reason for that because it's English not German but still...

lamlani
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Joined: September 2nd, 2009 4:39 pm

Postby lamlani » September 8th, 2009 4:12 pm

Hi!

I'm a Singaporean! Although my 1st language is English, it is not considered as our native language. Singapore has a very diverse culture, hence our language tend to be a 'mixture' as well. We term it as 'Singlish'.

salivia_baker
Been Around a Bit
Posts: 25
Joined: July 25th, 2009 7:48 pm

Postby salivia_baker » September 17th, 2009 7:28 pm

lamlani wrote:Hi!

I'm a Singaporean! Although my 1st language is English, it is not considered as our native language. Singapore has a very diverse culture, hence our language tend to be a 'mixture' as well. We term it as 'Singlish'.


Oh I didn't know that. That's rather interesting.
How is that Shinglish different from English?


And we have a native Spanish speaker here: Buenos días *wave*

ShadeyLane
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Posts: 10
Joined: July 6th, 2010 9:08 pm

Postby ShadeyLane » July 6th, 2010 10:15 pm

English is my native language (I'm American) but I come here to help tutor in case some have questions. :) But my mom is Pilipina so I am familiar with hearing another language spoken around me. Oddly enough I'm learning Korean and Norwegian. I picked up reading/writing Korean very quickly. Somehow it helps me understand how to pronounce Norwegian.
If you need English help, feel free to PM me. I love helping!

salivia_baker
Been Around a Bit
Posts: 25
Joined: July 25th, 2009 7:48 pm

Postby salivia_baker » July 7th, 2010 12:36 am

ShadeyLane wrote:English is my native language (I'm American) but I come here to help tutor in case some have questions. :)


I do the same at germanpod101 *lol*
it's fun.

ShadeyLane
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Postby ShadeyLane » July 7th, 2010 1:16 am

It really is. I enjoy helping people.

Now, I just wish there was a Norwegian Class 101. I'd be soooo happy. The language is fairly intelligible in the other Scandinavian areas too, so it would assist with learning other languages.
If you need English help, feel free to PM me. I love helping!

salivia_baker
Been Around a Bit
Posts: 25
Joined: July 25th, 2009 7:48 pm

Postby salivia_baker » July 7th, 2010 8:21 am

ShadeyLane wrote:It really is. I enjoy helping people.

Now, I just wish there was a Norwegian Class 101. I'd be soooo happy. The language is fairly intelligible in the other Scandinavian areas too, so it would assist with learning other languages.


And I met nice people there. We even Skype now. which is a nice mixture of English and German *lol*

They just opened 5 new language sides. I am sure they will continue expanding.
I would love to see latinpod101. It could be very useful for those who have to learn the language. The only problem would be to find a native speaker XD

magictoaster
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Postby magictoaster » August 22nd, 2010 4:35 pm

salivia_baker wrote:
ShadeyLane wrote:English is my native language (I'm American) but I come here to help tutor in case some have questions. :)


I do the same at germanpod101 *lol*
it's fun.



Me too! I'm English!
I'm using Japanesepod and Cantoneseclass.
Everyones English here seems like it's already better than mine (from reading your comments) :oops:
I listened to some of the lessons, maybe some phrases are only used in America but we watch so much American TV here it doesn't matter very much. :lol:

chabe27
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Joined: October 20th, 2010 8:33 pm

Postby chabe27 » October 29th, 2010 6:27 pm

I seak spanish, I'm from chile. I speak a really little english but I want to learn because I live in a country where the people speak english. It was too hard to me to learn, I had lived 4 years here and still tihis is my poor english :cry: I would like a keypal :P

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