...I just had my first conversation in Dutch on the phone with my mobile phone operator person (no not the speaking clock).
I'm well chuffed. Just had my 3rd lesson as well, its excellent learning another language and it's so easy when you're surrounded by it.
What percentage of folks here speak more than just their mother-tongue then? They say the english and americans don't bother, but how true is it?
yeah - way to go Matt. Ive started an Italian class this week. For no other reason that I thought it was about time I could speak another language! I travel quite a bit and always try to learn at least hello, thank you, goodbye and beer please where ever I go. As a whole I think we're quite lazy when it comes to other languages!
yea Matt but which beer are you asking for? lol
I SPEAK a very small amount of Spanish. Non-speaking language (BSL) British Sign Language, albeit a bit rusty, nay a LOT rusty now, as I don't get situations where I need to use either.
pilsje or biertje are both "little beer" translated literally. All drinks come in half pints here unless ur in an irish bar. Its like water too, unless u get Trappist which is sweet thick belgian beer - well nice, but pricey.
Biertje is for the north, like Amsterdam - where nobody speaks Dutch anyhow, there's more brits there than DutchPilsje is for down-sound, belgium/germany way where I live.
Did French at school, with the result that I can often freeze in France cos I know the mistakes I'm making.
German's another matter. Just got a tiny smattering, make it up as I go along and when the Germans have finished falling about laughing they seem to understand what I've said. Goodness only knows why.
Trouble is, a lot of it was picked up as a kid from war comics. In modern Germany 'hande hoch Englander Schweinhund' isn't the best way of starting a conversation.
I speak basic French and German, enough to order what I need and find my way around. My family are mostly Maltese, so I speak a fair bit of that, but not enough to hold a proper conversation. Most Maltese people speak fluent English and love to practise it, so there really wasn't a need for me to learn their language.
When I was a kid we lived in Singapore, and while we were there we all picked up[ some very basic Chinese (can't remember what dialect) and we were able to buy stuff in Malay in the kampong shops.
I suppose it helps that my parents speak 9 different languages fluently, makes picking up new languages very easy.
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