Languages

[dimber]

I speak english as my first language,I'm trying to teach myself german but I'm not getting very far,and I've been learning Irish the last 11 and a half years and cant understand a word of it.

There's a language called Irish? I thought that was just English!

Oh, yeah!!! It's Irish Gaelic and derives from the ancient Celtic language spoken in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and part of France...there some Gaelic-speaking communities, especially in the west of Ireland and on the Aran Islands. Most of the people speak it along with English but in some areas, such a sDublin, it's disappearing among young people, even though it's taught in schools. By the way, you have to speak it fluently to get to University or work in any of the Givernment Offices...luckily enough, this rule doesn't apply for foreign people

[cassis_rose]

In Singapore, we're all bilingual. It's in our school systems to know at least 2 languages, English and your mother-tongue.

I speak English, Mandarin and some basic French. I want to learn some other languages though, maybe Italian or Spanish.

[21Twilight21]

I speak English and I kinda know Spanish ! All of my family speaks Spanish so I understand it, but for some strange reason I can't say the Spanish words ! I really want to learn Latin and Italian !

[Nora]

My first language is Estonian, I speak English pretty well, I´ve learned it from the second grade, but I have some troubles with spelling . I also know some Russian, but it's quite hard and difficult for me to learn. I also know some basic words in German, but I don't speak it.
I've always wanted to speak Spanish, I find it a very beutiful language. But I haven't had time for it, learning Russian is difficult enough for now.

[Mrs.TeddyBear]

My first language is Finnish, which is very similar to Estonian. Ironic that I post right after Nora! I moved to America when I was 4 and lived there for 10 years, so I'm fluent in English as well. In middle school I started taking French, which is probably one of the most beautiful languages in my opinion, but after 3years of studying it we didn't have enough students to continue the class, so I've been forgeting it lately I plan on trying to reach my previous level of fluency over the summer though Last year I started learning Swedish, which is required in Finnish schools. I learned 3 years worth of Swedish in one year to catch up to my classmates and now I would say I'm semi-fluent. It's basically a mix of english and finnish with some randomness thrown in, but it hasn't been too difficult for me. This year I started German and after one course I'm feeling pretty good about the language, though I find the vocab difficult. I plan on continuing though, and I will see if I can squeeze a few courses of Russian in there as well next year I enjoy learning languages and am considering a career in teh field, but I haven't decided yet. There's my language history in any case, my total tally is 5 languages that I've been sufficiently exposed to, 2 of which I consider myself fluent in, 1 semifluent, and 2 pretty beginner level, but with which I can manage.