<p>Marite and others, what languages do you speak, read and write? How and why did you learn them, and, do you regret any of the time and effort you invested?</p>
<p>I learned four languages–2 dead, so neither writing nor speaking–as part of my French classics education. I learned one more in college. I do not regret learning them though I have forgotten most of what I learned through disuse. The most enjoyable language to learn was Greek. The most useful turned out to be English, as you can see.<br>
I have a natural aptitude for learning languages (as well as a natural aptitude for forgetting them, it would seem). Language learning comes more easily to some people than others.</p>
<p>I learned French in high school and college, Italian and Latin in college. I am fitfully attempting Mandarin now.</p>
<p>I learned French because I had, Italian because I realized I loved languages and wanted to major in Comparative Literature, and Latin to be macho I guess. Chinese is because my company is 90% Mandarin-speaking.</p>
<p>Language learning also always came easily to me. So underlying all the language learning was that I enjoyed it. And I regret none of the time, it wasn’t that much of an effort, and I wish I knew more:).</p>
<p>It’s wierd, but I have a sort-of natural ability to learn a very limited number of words and phrases and questions, but then I hit a brick wall. We travel to France a lot, and the first time we went, I got a cassette that I listened to in the car to and from work. I called the cassette “Just Enough French” because I’ve been getting around France and Haiti (to where I commuted one week a month for 5 years) using the same VERY limited French. I can say “tourist” things in the present tense, but no past or future. However, it gets us by and you’d be surprised how friendly the French people are when you’re (attempting to) communicate in French. We’ve had excellent, excellent trips all over French cities and countrysides.</p>
<p>Learning a few phrases can also break some other barriers as well. I had to work in the Netherlands for a little bit and on the plane over, I was studying a Dutch phrase book. The (Dutch) flight attendant saw me doing that, told me that very few Americans take the time (everybody speaks English there, anyway), and then would not allow me to speak English on the rest of the flight. She practiced with me, corrected my pronunciation, and generally gave me a 5-hour Dutch lesson. Later, in the country, I carried on entire conversations with people (in ritualized situations like shopping) who did not realize that I really knew no Dutch at all. If they had strayed from the “script” I would have been hopelessly lost.</p>
<p>One night, a group of (American) co-workers went out to a restaurant. The owner of the restaurant was complaining that Americans came over and just expected that everyone would understand English. When she came back later, after the meal, I said in fairly good Dutch: “That meal was excellent. Can we see the dessert menu, please?” She was so shocked that at that moment the 5 hours of lessons were worth it. She regained her composure and asked (in Dutch), “Do you speak Dutch?” “Of course,” I replied. Luckily, again, the conversation never deviated from the script in the phrase book, and when I left she was absolutely convinced I spoke Dutch. If she only knew.</p>
<p>I worked with a linguistics major who knew 23 languages. I asked her what was the weirdest language she knew–she gave it some thought and answered “Hittite.” Now she’s a lawyer and uses English–not much use for her Hittite now.</p>
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<p>Most people who learn a lot of languages do so for the sheer fun of it.
I learned Greek originally to keep me in school longer and out of the house where my mother was bent on teaching me how to be a proper young lady. It turned out to be the most fun class I had. Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten all my Greek but I can still remember what a good experience I had.</p>
<p>I read, write, and speak Japanese with a fair amount of fluency, I read Spanish almost fluently, my Chinese is only basic, and I have a passing ability to read French if I have to.</p>
<p>From the obituary of Omeljan Pritsak of Harvard in today’s Boston Globe:</p>
<p>At the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, Omeljan Pritsak, an internationally renowned scholar in Ukrainian studies, was referred to as ``The Tornado" for the gusto with which he pursued his mission to preserve the nation’s history and languages.
``He was an irresistible force when he set his mind to it," his daughter Irene of Rollinsville, Colo., said yesterday.
As an example, she offered the 67 languages Dr. Pritsak learned for his research, 12 of which he spoke fluently. When he was researching his six-volume work, ``The Origins of Rus,' " he traveled to Iceland to explore the Scandinavian sources for the history of Kiev.
``He taught himself Old Icelandic so he could research the chronicles and learn whatever was written originally about Kiev and the whole area around Ukraine," she said.
....
Despite his extraordinarily brilliant mind and breath of knowledge," Hajda said, Dr. Pritsak wasso modest, he assumed that everyone else could accomplish and understand what he did."
For example, he said, ``there was a proposal to create a new program in the history of Central Asia at Harvard. This was being discussed at a Harvard faculty meeting, and some professor asked if the program was really feasible since students would have to spend many years learning the languages to do the research.</p>
<p>“Professor Pritsak told them, ‘It only requires German and French and Russian, but everybody knows that. Beyond that is only Turkish and Arabic and Persian.’ at which point giggles were heard among the faculty. Then, Professor Pritsak said, they would need Mongolian, Tibetan, and so on. He felt it he could learn them, it would be just as easy for others.”</p>
<p>I particularly like that “and so on.”</p>
<p>After studying Spanish from 6th-12th grade, as well as minoring in it in college, I’m conversational (when i have a couple of drinks i become nearly fluent), but can read and write it extremely well.
Took 3 years of latin in high school (obviously not speaking), and at one point i was very good at reading it.
I can read French well (studied for 4 years), but have trouble writing it/speaking, though again, when ive had a couple of drinks can fake speaking it.
Due to my background in romance languages, i can decipher some italian.</p>
<p>But by far the best way to learn is to immerse yourself in the culture where you are forced to speak it!</p>
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<p>Years ago, H and I went to Italy without having made hotel reservations in the several cities we were visiting. We got to Siena and, using my French and my rusty Latin, I was able to ascertain whether such and such penzione had double occupancy rooms with showers (not a universal fixture in those days) and how much they cost.</p>
<p>I learned Latin and French in hs (4 yrs each), plus 1 1/2 years of college French. Never achieved fluency due to lack of use. But could steep myself in audiotapes prior to a trip and enjoy conversing with those who would speak slowly and be patient. Languages come easily to me as well, and I enjoy learning them.</p>
<p>Now I am learning Spanish, as we are buying a second home in Baja California, Mexico. </p>
<p>You know what’s funny? I will be sometimes be casting about in my brain for a Spanish vocabulary word… could be a very simple word, any word and the brain segues through every foreign language which has ever crossed my lips: hmmm, “good-bye”… “au revoir” (no), “caio” (uh-uh), “das vedanya” (Russian and it doesn’t even mean goodbye), “sayonara” (:eek: ) and so on until finally, finally (!) “adios” arrives on the scene. Does this happen to anyone else?</p>
<p>It happens to me all the time! As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I was supposed to end a rather important speech and got stuck. My mind was frantically trying to sort through the various languages I learned for the correct term. I gave up, said the word in French. About ten minutes later, the correct English word popped into my head. Sigh.</p>
<p>Not a parent 
but i guess i have some interesting experiences with languages… i’m indian, but born in japan, with parents who primarily spoke english at home, so i learned all 3 languages together. As a kid my English was obviously best, because that’s what my parents spoke to me and I also went to English-speaking schools. Not many people on the street in Japan speak English (and they would probably just giggle and walk away if you asked them a question in English, lol) so out of complete necessity I was fluent in Japanese at a young age. My Japanese got even better because my mom decided to send me to Japanese pre-school, yochiyen, the year before kindergarten. I’m not sure why she did that…Maybe she wanted to do a social experiment in her own home or something haha. My Hindi was, and is, basic. I can carry on decent conversation, but not without people laughing at my terrible accent. Ethnically I’m Sindhi (a part of India now in Pakistan) so I also fully understand, but not speak, Sindhi. </p>
<p>But I moved to Dubai at age 8, so the Japanese has largely been lost. I still completely understand, but it is hard for me to speak. I’ve been taking Spanish at school now for 6 years though, so I’m quite good at that now 
I really enjoy learning languages, and might take Hindi classes in college this fall to learn to read and write!</p>
<p>I speak Greek with the grocer and his wife. I studied it at night for years and am just beginning to have a feel for the language. Though paltry! I studied French from grade 6 through college and haven’t used it on a daily basis for years but I read it and understand conversations around me. I work with a French speaker. I love Spanish! I lived in a Spanish speaking environment and used it daily for 10 years.</p>
<p>Polish is my mother tongue. Learned English in school starting with grade 1, then Spanish (I teach it) and learned conversational German in my many trips there. Prior to age 5, when we lived in another country, I spoke French, Russian and German fluently because I had to in order to play with the kids around us in the various neighborhoods where we lived. When we moved to US, as quickly as I picked up those languages, I forgot them, since I didn’t know anyone to speak to. In college, while in Mexico for Study Abroad, I went with a college friend and his cousin who lived in DF, to a restaurant, and of course, we were speaking Spanish. Suddenly, my friend looked at me, and asked what I had said - it wasn’t until he quesitoned me that I realized that I had apparently not known a word that I wanted, so I slipped into Polish! Since I don’t translate when I speak, I didn’t know I had done this. If only I had slipped into English, then they would have understood me, but Polish??? When in Italy, I used my Spanish to get along. When in France the first time, I came prepared with a phrase book. We were in a Chinese restaurant - yes, Chinese (absolutely the best I ever ate), and using the phrase book, when the 2 young ladies at the next table asked to look at it. They had a wonderful time laughing over the phrases, and we communicated with it, my Spanish, and hand signals. Then, another man came over, and he started speaking in English. He had just dropped his son off at the airport for son’s exchange student flight to St. Louis. Then, the next table joined in, and they were from Sweden. We had a wonderful international spur of the moment “party,” with most of the restaurant joining in! And it was all thanks to that phrase book.</p>
<p>Jmmom, German was my first foreign language and the only one I speak with any fluency. My bad habit is to use a German accent when trying to learn another language as well as substituting German vocabulary.</p>
<p>Yes, mardad. Although French was a second and nowhere-near-fluent language for me, I just cannot stop myself from pronouncing the Spanish “en” (should be ehn) as the French ahn or the Spanish “de” (should be day) in the French manner.</p>
<p>mardad,</p>
<p>I got chided constantly in Chinese class for injecting Japanese syntax and pronunciation.</p>