[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 78 KB, 438x417, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5640290 No.5640290 [Reply] [Original]

What languages does /lit/ know?

What is your favorite language and why?

What languages are you planning/hoping to learn in the future?

I speak and write in English and French, and I can speak Breton. I hope to learn Russian in the near future, and I want to learn Polish at some point because that is where my mother's family is from and I'd like to try to find some of their records that disappeared during the war.

Personally I think I like Breton, or really Gaelic in general, the best. It's a beautiful-sounding language that has changed very little over the millennia, and I find the culture it is tied to equally fascinating.

>> No.5640312

>>5640290
I don't really know any other languages except grade-school Spanish. English is the best written language anyway. Japanese is the best spoken language, and Arabic has the most beautiful looking writing. I want to learn German just cause it's interesting to me, and is similar to English. Learning Mandarin could be useful

>> No.5640315

did you make that picture yourself, OP?

>> No.5640323

>>5640312
>German
>Like English

Good luck, mate

>> No.5640348
File: 613 KB, 1000x1000, 1414355401867.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5640348

I know German and I hope to learn French some day, and maybe Spanish after, but I'm probably too old and lazy to learn them properly at this point

>> No.5640351

I know American but I am trying to learn British because it is similar to Canadian, and I am going there in the summer.

>> No.5640352

>I can speak Breton

Do you also wear those funny rounds hat that the song speaks about ?

I speak French and a bit of English and Spanish. Planning to learn too many to count, but getting back some of my Latin and extending into Italian should be a first step (well, two).

>> No.5640356

>>5640312
>english
>best anything

>> No.5640357

i'd really like to read rimbaud but the translations are not doing it for me

is learning french worth it

>> No.5640363

>>5640315

Nope, snagged it from a Polandball thread

>> No.5640365

>>5640357
Definitely. It's probably one of the easiest foreign languages for a native English speaker, and there's ton of stuff to read.

>> No.5640367

>>5640357

French is totally worth it, it's a beautiful language and it opens a lot of doors

>> No.5640369

I learned Japanese for 5 years in school just because I liked anime. I simply have no use for it now. I should have learned a better language.

>> No.5640376

>>5640352

Haha I might love Gaelic culture but I'm not that dedicated

Those hats sure look comfy tho

>> No.5640381

>>5640369
There's literally no downsides to having a second language, I wish I had the brainpower to learn a non-romance language

>> No.5640399
File: 12 KB, 171x109, Capture.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5640399

>> No.5640557

>>5640399

Ok?

>> No.5640872

>>5640290

>speak and write

English, German

>speak

Terrible Spanish

>want to learn

Russian, Italian

>favorite

Latin master race

>> No.5640971

>>5640367
what doors

>> No.5641013

Is there a Michel Thomas type thing for Russian? I'm enjoying it but finding it difficult to learn.

>> No.5641031

>>5640971

It's the primary language in over 50 countries, it's spoken widely in many others, there's a vast amount of French literature in every age, and it is the diplomatic language of the UN.

Anywhere you go, from Europe to the Americas to the Far East, there will be people who speak French. Even if you can't understand the dominant local tongue start speaking French and chances are someone will be able to talk to you

>> No.5641033

>>5640290
>a beautiful-sounding language that has changed very little over the millennia
yeah cuz no one speaks it lol

>> No.5641052

>>5641033

Over 1.5 million people speak Irish

About 600,000 speak Welsh

Over 200,000 speak Breton

Around 60,000 speak Scottish

Over 2 million people speak some form of Gaelic. That's not nobody

>> No.5641066

>>5641052

but they are all nobodies

>> No.5641078

>>5641052
Breton and Welsh are not Gaelic. And if you say 1.5 million people speak Irish, you are being generous with your assessment. I'd say only about 600,000 could have a conversation in it about the weather.

>> No.5641144

>>5641066

Buttmad romanfag detected

>> No.5641182

I'm an American, so I only speak English.

I've taken classes in Koine Greek and Latin in college, but I'm not sure I could understand anything more than pretty basic sentences in either language anymore.

I guess I know a few sentences in Spanish, too, but nothing impressive.

>> No.5641189

Español
English

>> No.5641218

Native portuguese speaking.

Self-learnt english, self-learnt french (very rusty from lack of practice, never went too far either), studying german, planning on russian. That's it for now. I hope to have all of these mastered before I'm 30 (because german is a pain in the fucking ass; I was planning on mastering them all in five years but older and wiser people told me that's not a possibility with german).

>> No.5642547
File: 101 KB, 750x499, image.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5642547

>>5640290

>tfw only other language I speak besides English is an obscure Native American tribal language with the number of fluent speakers in the low triple digits
>tfw most of these speakers are old as hell
>tfw I'll probably witness the extinction of the language and the death of the tribe's culture within my lifetime

Life is pain

>> No.5642556

>>5641031
Ahmed -- I mean: French shill pls go

>> No.5642570

>>5642547
What language? Why don't you archive it before it is gone forever.

>> No.5642580

english, fluent
german, motehrtongue
french, meh
(i know how latin works and all, but i dont have much practice)

I want to learn quenya

>> No.5642586

>>5642580
>quenya
what for? its vocabulary is extremely limited and its uses are even more limited,,,

>> No.5642595

>>5642570

Comanche. And people have been archiving it, but it won't be the same.

>> No.5642598

>>5641078
Ta se fuair agus ag cur baisti amuigh ag an am seo :D
Ach ta tine ullaimh agaim, beidh me e a cuir ar suil i gcupla noimead, taim are mhuin na muice :D

>> No.5642599

>>5642586
Don't act like you know shit about quenya, you retarded cunt.

>> No.5642603

>>5642586
What languages do you speak, kitty?

>> No.5642610

because I have nothing to do. I can live of my job where I have to work 7 days a month. the other 3 weeks i spend on 4hcan or playing lol.
I feel like i should practice using my brain again, but dont feel like doing anything really useful.
So: Quenya

>> No.5642636

Is muinteoir gaelige i mo mhammai, taim liofa e a escient, ach nilim abalta e a labhairt ro mhaith

>> No.5642647

tiofaidh ar la!

>> No.5642651

>>5642647
tiocfaidh...fuck

>> No.5642674

english native tongue
know bits and pieces of a handful of languages starting from strongest to weakest,

latin, spanish, croatian, french, russian, german

>> No.5642685

>>5642547
This sounds fucking awesome man.

>> No.5642694

Fluent in Finnish, English
Speak kinda ok Swedish, German

>> No.5642695

>>5642595

>research Comanche
>number of fluent speakers left estimated: 130

Damn...that wouldn't even fill a lecture hall at my school

>> No.5642696

>>5642685
I mean speaking a rare language, not the extinction part.
Time to move your ass and teach it to as many people as possible.

>> No.5642710

>>5640290
Afrikaans and English.
I prefer reading and writing in English, I even think in English most of the time, but speaking Afrikaans will always feel better.
Started learning mandarin recently.
Would like to learn Russian next.

>> No.5642711

I live in the Crimea, so my first language is Russian and the second one is Ukrainian (fluent). Taking a degree of translator for 2.5 years by now I have been learning English, Spanish and Japanese (in order of hourage). Ask your questions.

>> No.5642742

I'm a German who has been living in Australia for a few years now, i.e., speak English quasi-fluently (it's a weird mix of accents, that "what English do you speak" online test gave me a mix of mother tongue Ebonics/Australian English [1]).

I also speak French relatively OK, having grown up close to France, it's enough to go on holidays in France/piece together menus, order, ask for the way etc.

I have also married a Japanese woman, I took the JLPT3, so I talk on the level of a schoolkid and can read kids' mangas like Azumangah Daioh.

I'd like to know Spanish and improve my French, but first, my Japanese has to improve... it's a race against time trying to learn Kanji, without immersion or many books I keep on forgetting them. I do speak schoolgirl slang and a bit of old Yakuza slang from movies though [2], useful to crack up the in-laws.

[1] Because "she'll be alright" is valid for any situation! Link to test: http://www.gameswithwords.org/WhichEnglish/

>> No.5642744

>>5642711
>crimea
Pro-Russian or Ukraine?

>> No.5642752

>>5642711
is there any possible way to write russian in the latin alphabet? every source spells words differently (for obvious reasons). do you know of a online or physical source that shows how to read and write russian in the latin alphabet?

ie: menya/mene

>> No.5642774

>>5642742
>"what English do you speak" online test gave me a mix of mother tongue Ebonics/Australian English
lol

>> No.5642789

>>5642774
Just did it again, fun test, now I got:

>Our top three guesses for your English dialect:
1. US Black Vernacular / Ebonics
2. Singaporean
3. American (Standard)

>Our top three guesses for your native (first) language:
1. English
2. Dutch
3. Arabic

u wotm8

Dutch is close to German though, but Arabic?

>> No.5642816

English
Filipino
Some Spanish from high school.
Looking to get into other Romance languages and also Russian

>> No.5642881

I'm going to start Italian today for my first new language with Duolingo. I feel like I learnt basic Spanish reading the Border Trilogy recently. Context and a good knowledge of English made it surprisingly easy to figure out.

>> No.5642895

>>5642789
>http://www.gameswithwords.org/WhichEnglish/
1. Irish (Republic of)
2. North Irish (UK)
3. US Black Vernacular / Ebonics - See more at:

Holy shit how did it do that lol

>> No.5642909

I always knew Irish people were the black people of white people.

>> No.5642938

>>5642789
>>5642895
>tfw you realise the 'game' just generates results based on IP lookup.

>> No.5642939

>>5642938
Give it a bit of credit dude

>> No.5642942

>>5642938
Can't be, I'm the first poster with USBlack/Singaporean, and I'm in Germany right now

>> No.5642944

>>5642744
Now it is a part of Russia, you know. But except of last months I have been living in Ukraine.

>>5642752
Sorry, I use smartphone now, not computer, and the speed is so low that I can hardly find good sources for you.

Yes, it is possible and any Russian will understand you, if you choose right source. Try some textbooks, not internet articles.

>> No.5642959

>>5642711
So, if one of you guys need help with Russian, post your mail and I will be glad to help.

>> No.5643159

>>5642696

No one wants to learn it tho. No point.

It's not a "practical" language. It isn't spoken by the majority of the population in any nation, or even the Comanche tribal area. It isn't used as an international language for business or diplomacy. Hell, the last time it was given any significant attention was in WWII when it was used along with Navajo as a code language.

The only people who would have any interest in learning it would be academics, historians, archaeologists perhaps, maybe a culture-conscious filmmaker here and there. It would be learned for study and preservation, much like ancient Sumerian, Old English, or really any Pacific Island language.

Without a sudden resurgence in tribal solidarity, coupled with a complete overhaul of the Native American education system, the language will disappear into the dusty attic of historical oddities, curated by tweedy academics with no vested interest in the fate of the tribe.

>> No.5643194

>>5642752
>is there any possible way to write russian in the latin alphabet?

it's called 'tanslit' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translit

you will almost surely be understood but it's extremely barbarish and also kind of rude (you can even be banned for that on some sites, people used it when they had a problem with encoding etc, it's rarely used nowadays)

latin alphabet suits russian pretty bad, it lacks a few important letters and while the text is readable it looks like (and pleasant to read as) leet speak

if you don't have a cyrillic keyboard (windows already have cyrillic layout, all you need it's stickers for buttons), consider to use a site like http://www.translit.cc (there are also some links on the bottom of the wiki article) which can translate your translit to cyrillic

>> No.5643246

>>5640290
I speak Slovak, Czech, English fluently, my French used to be pretty good, now I can only use it for simple conversations and reading simple articles. In addition I am learning Swedish

>> No.5643322

I speak English and Spanish natively. French is pretty alright, but since I've never had much immersion I'm not quite on point. Been studying Mandarin for 1.5 years, it's getting pretty decent. Once I'm through advanced level Chinese at uni I might take an introductory Russian course, since I want to pick it up next.

>> No.5643601

>>5643246
>Slovak, Czech
Lel. That's like the same language. All Slovaks can understand Czech. Tons of books in Slovakia come out in Czech and I don't even notice sometimes if I'm reading Czech or Slovak.

On topic, I speak fluently Slovak (mother tongue), Czech (kek), Hungarian (my grandparents are Hungarian), English, German (currently living in Austria).
Lerning Italian.

>> No.5643773

>>5640290

>What languages does /lit/ know?

German, English and French.

>What is your favorite language and why?

I am currently learning Low German (yes, it actually is an own language and not just a dialect), which probably already is my favourite language. What I like about it? It is a very modest, down-to-earth way of communicating. You can not really be mean in this language, it is a language that actually minimizes conflicts instead of reinforcing them. Also you do not have to move your mouth a lot, which is perfect for the lazy ass I am.

>What languages are you planning/hoping to learn in the future?

Russian. I do not know much more than the Alphabet by now. I hope Dostoyevsky and Gogol are patient enough to wait for me, though.

>> No.5646016

>>5640290
Korean, English, HS-tier Spanish, trying to learn Icelandic.
I like Korean because it's such a flexible language. You can manipulate the words so much and as long as they bear some sort of resemblance to the standard, they're understandable.

>> No.5647038

native English
I read Latin fairly well (need a dictionary for anything substantial)
I read Ancient Greek less well than Latin
I'd say my German is intermediate, although I read much better than I speak
I studied Spanish for several years, but it's quite rusty now

Ancient Greek is definitely my favorite of the languages I've studied. The way things are expressed in Greek, especially with respect to particles and word order, is really interesting, and it seems like a larger variety of words crop up frequently in Greek than in other languages I've studied (i.e., in any given text, you'll see more 'rare' words, synonyms, etc.).

>> No.5647049

>>5642547
If it makes you feel better, your obscure language will help linguists understand human language even when it'd dead. I'm a linguistics student, and in classes we get tons of examples from native american languages because a lot of them are different in interesting ways. I'd love to be able to think in a language like that.

>> No.5647058

>>5643773
>You can not really be mean in this language
Klei di an 'n Mors, Schietbüddel.

>> No.5647068
File: 56 KB, 500x500, 1414439323396.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5647068

>tfw I will always be a BR
>English, Portuguese and Spanish
>tfw I've only read books in English

>> No.5647075

>>5643773
>I am currently learning Low German
Coould you translate this for me?
http://youtu.be/txwQ_IjgETw?t=31m30s

>> No.5647079

>>5647075
Shit, wrong timing. Start at 31:30

>> No.5647338

>>5647075

Harhar, it is just a joke, they are not really speaking Low German. It starts with the speaker in High German talking about how Low German is spreading in politics, which is of course far from the truth as it is a dying language. He mentions that for the first time a session in the national German parliament (Bundestag) was held on low german. Then there are parts of interviews with politicians speaking in Low German* about how they want to see the European Parliament discussing in their language.

*Only the beginning of sentences are in Low German, the rest is just some kind of fantasy gibberish which sounds alike and phrases in High German when there is no translation to Low German possible. The mixture of those elements sounds funny and describes well the problems you tend to have when you have to include High German vocabulary when there is no Low German equivalent.

>>5647058

Still sounds cute and adorable.

>> No.5647553

English, Norwegian, German, elementary japanese, a little bit of spanish vocabulary and sentences, but no grammar

>> No.5647679

English, Spanish, some Latin words, some Greek words, I dunno.

>> No.5647696

My mother tongue is turkish,
I speak english and french fluently,
I have a basic understanding of latin but it's been years since i've touched it,
+i used to speak italian but it's nearly all gone, though I think I could get it back with some effort

>> No.5647708

English
English
Spanish due to the hostile takeover of Florida by the Hispanic menace.

>> No.5647736

>>5646016
여기 아직 있으세요? 저랑 한국어로 대화해도 될까요?

>> No.5647766

>>5647696
>My mother tongue is turkish
No wonder you're annoying as shit.

>> No.5647785

Fluent Polish, fluent English, advanced French and basic Latin.

>> No.5647786

>>5647766

4u

>> No.5647815
File: 404 KB, 200x195, 1375007992479.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
5647815

>>5640312
>English is the best
kek, good story bro.

>> No.5647822

>>5642938
1. Welsh (UK)
2. New Zealandish
3. Australian

Australian, no idea what I replied to that put Welsh and NZ first.

>> No.5647830

>>5647822
Whoops, wrong reply. Context still works though.

>> No.5647834

>>5642547
>Find a willing girl or several
>Impregnate them
>Have over 20 kids, less if you only have one girl.
>Teach them Comache
>Repeat

And I'm serious.

>> No.5647836

>>5642547
>Become world leading comanche language authority
>Tech comanche at some college
Literally easiest life you could live

>> No.5647837

>>5640290
>What languages does /lit/ know?
Croatian, English. Had German, Latin, and ancient Greek in school (not sure if the last two count). French and Russian on the side

>What is your favorite language and why?
Standardised Croatian. Russian can be quite nice on the ear

>What languages are you planning/hoping to learn in the future?
I want to be fluent in German, French, and Russian

>> No.5647846

>>5643159
I think... If I were on your shoues I may become a terrorist or a radical.

>> No.5647850

>>5640290
>What languages does /lit/ know?
Portuguese and english, mid level german and low to mid level korean.

>What is your favorite language and why?
Every language feels different for me so I don't really have a favorite one

>What languages are you planning/hoping to learn in the future?
Russian, Japanese, maybe French.

>> No.5647853

Yo aprendo espanol y estoy sabe ingles.

>> No.5647858

>>5647853
does "estoy sabe ingles" make sense? I don't know spanish, but it doesn't look like it makes sense.

>> No.5647861

>>5647837
>Not sure if the last two count
>The most patrician languages
>Not sure if they count
Get a load of this pleb

>> No.5647867

>>5647853
"Y sé Inglés" better

>>5647858
It doesn't, but he's learning.

>> No.5647868

I'm fluent in French but I can't read very well and I can't write for shit. Came with living there for 3 years and fucking off in school.

It actually gave me a lot of empathy towards illiterate people. I'm now ok with spanish language things all over the usa.

>> No.5647870

Italian, english and broken french

>> No.5647877

>>5647867
Thank you. I'm only on my second semester. I really enjoy it though.
>>5647858
The guy who responded to you has the right of it. I mixed up my shit.

>> No.5647879

I'm finally starting to get a grip on German poetry and holy shit is Goethe butchered in translation. I'm finally realizing why he is so praised.

>> No.5647883

>What languages does /lit/ know?
Ancient troll moonrunes, ancient Egyptian, Klingon, Tolkein Elvish, mathematics

>What is your favorite language and why?
R2D2 binary beeping

>What languages are you planning/hoping to learn in the future?
Love

>> No.5647890

>>5647879
Brauchen sie ein Wörterbuch um sie zu lesen? Ich habe nie die Gedichte von Göthe versucht zu lesen, aber als ich sein Buch (Die Leiden des jungen Werther) versucht zu lesen habe, war es sehr, sehr schwer. Doch ich hatte ein Wörterbuch, konnte ich fast nix verstehen.

>> No.5647902

>>5647883
ebin :^)

>> No.5647908

>>5647837
This guy here is Ustashe

>> No.5647923

>>5647883
>Tolkein Elvish
Quenya or Sindarin? You fucking pleb.

>> No.5647967

>>5647861
They're not that useful, really

>>5647908
Naw

>> No.5647995

>>5640290
I'm a native English speaker. Learning German at the moment and really enjoying it.