Here, most kids learn a 3rd language. I learned German (not that I'm any good at it, but I understand the basics, can read a newspaper and order beer , I also took French for a semester, but I have forgotten most of the little I learned )
My German is 99.9%, but my English is far, far behind. I went to Florida to visit mom and dad, and they speak English perfectly, and when we went out one night for supper, they had to do the translating for me when I was ordering supper for myself and my wife. I can speak English when I'm around English-speaking people, but I very often mis-pronounce words, and I get stuck if people speak fast. Back in Israel, I went to only French private schools, and we were taught 3 hours of English a week, most of the time, I didn't pay attention enough, and now, I regret it. My wife's English is even weaker than mine, although she is able to understand it quite well. Our daughter is absolutely ZERO in English, all she can speak is Hebrew and French.
Schade... englisch ist ein gutes sprache zu sprechen, es ist ein weltsprache... Sie müss ihnen englisch lernen!
Welche sprache spricht Sie zu huse? Sollen Sie manchmal English sprechen? Macht es nich zu schwer für iher tochter um Englisch zu lernen... (My german probably sucks a lot!)
Your German is better than you realize, Johan! You're better than ok at it, it doesn't suck at all, buddy! Sprechen wir nur Franzosisch und Hebraisch zu Hause.
Je ne parle pas Francais! ... and I must admit.. I don't know a single word of Hebrew (apart from Shalom!)
mais, tu viens de le parler juste maintenant, mon vieux!=But you just got finished speaking it now, old buddy! Hebrew is not an easy language either, however, I know a Hungarian guy who speaks it so well, that you would swear it was his 1st language!
I wish I spoke more Spanish. I didn't like it in highschool, and never really wanted to learn it. However, with my job now as a law enforcement officer, I really need to learn a little more since we seem to encounter more and more people who don't habla....I wish I knew at least enough to get what they're saying.
Je parle le français... Though I fear I have forgotten much of it. I took 4 years of French in High School. In 2005 when I was in Germany I made frequent trips into France and Luxembourg and had no trouble at all. When I was a kid we used to drive through Canada to see my Grandparents in Maine and I fared well there also. I'm quite sure my basic French is lacking common inflection and slang, but overall it served me well. Watashi wa nihongo wo sukoshi hanashimasu. I was in my second year of Japanese when I got deployed. I will start up again when I get back to Japan. This is something that I think many Americans are greatly missing out on. It's easy to understand why so many Europeans and Asians would learn multiple languages with so many smaller countries close together, but I think American's tend to live in a bubble, that and we are stubborn. I always make an effort no matter what country I am in. I lived in Germany for a few months in '05 and by the time I left I knew enough to get by and enough that the locals appreciated the effort. Sadly, most of that is gone.
Having grown up in the Southwest, I guess I picked up a lot of Spanish just by proximity. But I have forgotten so much. We have a locally-owned Mexican restaurant that we love, though, and we go there about once a week. We make an effort to order completely in Spanish and they coach us. They appreciate the effort and we have fun with it. My wife is learning Spanish (again--she took in high school) for her job as a medical secretary and CV monitor tech. And having mostly Southern relatives and having spent much of my teen and adult life in the South, most folks think we speak a different language anyway.
I wish I was able to speak more Spanish, too. Especially in the neighborhood I work in, day by day it's becoming the dominant language. I picked up quite a bit when I was in Honduras for 4 months, but that was over 10 years ago now; I can still order a beer, a tequila, and ask where the bathroom is though! :happy102
I am quite fluent in Spanish, although I don't use it too, too often. My wife speaks it even better than I do, and she speaks an elegant Castillian Spanish, which is lovely to listen to. One other, actually 2 other languages I'm very proud of my fluency in at the risk of bragging are, Russian and Greek.
ive hat mein zylinderrohr und eine tasche erhalten die voll ist von wundern stecken sie voll von wundern ein stecken sie voll von wundern ein :scared007
