View Poll Results: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently? |
I'm British and only speak English fluently
|    | 13 | 6.88% |
I'm British and speak 1 other language fluently
|    | 19 | 10.05% |
I'm British and speak 2 other languages fluently
|    | 11 | 5.82% |
I'm British and speak 3 or more other languages fluently
|    | 6 | 3.17% |
I'm NOT British and only speak my native language fluently
|    | 6 | 3.17% |
I'm NOT British and speak 1 other language fluently
|    | 27 | 14.29% |
I'm NOT British and speak 2 other languages fluently
|    | 40 | 21.16% |
I'm NOT British and speak 3 or more other languages fluently
|    | 67 | 35.45% |  | | | 
09.06.2016, 13:47
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: |  | | | Wonder how many here have dual nationality? | | | | |
Or triple?
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09.06.2016, 13:49
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: |  | | | Wonder how many here have dual nationality? | | | | | I did, but now I don't.
My kids have triple.
Tom
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09.06.2016, 13:53
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
German - good enough that many Swiss think I'm German
Dutch - pretty good
French - good enough to have conversations
Spanish - good enough for basic communication
Hungarian - good enough to get blank stares of horror
Japanese - about 10 words, 6 of which I pronounce wrong. The other 4 may actually be Hungarian.
Last edited by amogles; 09.06.2016 at 14:43.
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09.06.2016, 13:57
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
So what do you guys consider fluency? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common..._for_Languages
I consider B2 fluency but some people will get offended if you say you're fluent without reaching C2
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09.06.2016, 14:01
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
(Swiss) German native, English fluent (IELTS 9, CPE, uni degrees from UK and 10+ years of professional experience in MNCs with teams who speak no German whatsoever). That's it. I speak four other languages, but far from (what I qualify as) fluently - Spanish, French, Italian, Russian.
Fluency for me is at least C1, rather C2. I'm very critical when it comes to this, though.
No dual nationality, just Swiss.
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09.06.2016, 14:09
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
The only language I can claim fluency in is my mother tongue - if an American can lay claim to English fluency, that is.
I live my life almost completely in German, but am at best functional. I always say that my German is good enough to know that it isn't good enough. Fluency is still on the very distant horizon, but as I'm only passing through reaching true fluency isn't at the top of my 'to-do' list.
I read French thanks to years of blood, sweat, toil and tears at school, but cannot speak it beyond ordering from a menu.
I worked without too much difficulty in Putonghua (standard Chinese)... but in a very narrow setting where my limited vocabulary was sufficient. I got by only because my colleagues were very kind - and far too polite to laugh when I would order a bowl of sugar as a first course.
(Sadly, most of the Putonghua I had was lost in my effort to acquire German.)
These days I'm putting most of my linguistic efforts into brushing up on my Hoosier. (  )
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09.06.2016, 14:10
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
I get what you mean. Learning languages means you have to constantly correct, criticise and push yourself further in order to reach that level you want.
But for me this is fluency: "Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party". Mainly because if I hear someone speaking in my native language like that I subconsciously consider them fluent straigh away.
But about myself:
Portuguese (native)
English (C1/C2)
Italian (B2)
French (B1)
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09.06.2016, 14:34
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: | |  | | | Fluent as in can speak, read and write fluently in another language. | | | | | 3 - German, English and French ..... 4 actually, I can do it all in Swiss German too (and no, Swiss German is not a dialect   )
Italian if I need it daily - that used to depend on the clientele I had, funny enough as soon as I don't use it it's "lost" - but don't write in Italian.
I understand several more languages but don't speak them (either can't or am too embarrassed like Dutch - or Nigerian pidgin English).
Double citizenship, Swiss and Peruvian (courtesy of Peru for having incarnated there  ..... lost Spanish skills but understand a lot still.
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09.06.2016, 14:40
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: | |  | | | or romani eunt domus? | | | | | Little would we know without Monty Python
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09.06.2016, 14:49
| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
I'm fluent in US English. Oddly, i've been asked many times in Switzerland and the Netherlands if I'm from the UK. I think it's because I don't have much of a regional US accent.
My German is atrocious - mostly I speak Gerglish. I know lots of words, no idea how to put them together.
Sadly I can no longer replicate my native Pittsburghese/yinzer speak. Been away too long.
I absolutely love Northern UK, Scottish, Welsh and Irish accents.
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09.06.2016, 14:57
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: |  | | | My German is atrocious - mostly I speak Gerglish. I know lots of words, no idea how to put them together.
Sadly I can no longer replicate my native Pittsburghese/yinzer speak. Been away too long. | | | | | Same here. I know tonnes of volcabulary but the grammar sends me doolally
I slip back into my hometown accent a little too easily. Even my OH couldn't understand me on the phone this week. | 
09.06.2016, 15:49
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
Wait, a poll about how many languages a British can speak fluently and it has more choices apart from the choice "zero"? | This user would like to thank Capo for this useful post: | | 
09.06.2016, 16:31
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: | |  | | | 3 - German, English and French ..... 4 actually, I can do it all in Swiss German too (and no, Swiss German is not a dialect ) | | | | | THAAAANNNKKKK YOU !!
I am the same.
Swissgerman is my mothertongue, the luuverly and wonderful Bernese variety of it and I am fluently writing and speaking (what we call) High German and English and good, fluent convo skills in French, but writing french is not soooo good,only standard letters and the like.
So quadrilingual,l I dare say.....and.....I can lip-read all of them too.
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09.06.2016, 17:39
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: |  | | | I think it's because I don't have much of a regional US accent. | | | | | I get it a lot too, but I figure it's just because many non-native speakers don't have any idea what a Midwestern accent sounds like compared to the British mangling of the language. After all, how many Americans could really identify whether a German speaker is Swiss, German or Austrian?
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09.06.2016, 18:39
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: |  | | | When one speaks this century's dominant international language, how does one choose which language to learn next? | | | | | The one you like...?
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09.06.2016, 18:42
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: | |  | | | The one you like...? | | | | | back in the day, many years before I was even born, my mother was learning Russian. Not for any political reasons but because she was interested in the literature and art. She was told by her boss in no uncertain terms that her interest was refelecting negatively on her and could be construed as political sympathy and was told that if she sought promotion she had better stop learning it.
She was working in the administration of the local town council, so not really a place that the KGB was likely to seek to place spies or anything.
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09.06.2016, 21:16
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
Can I throw a hissy fit for not having a "I have dual nationality and speak [x] languages" option? | This user would like to thank Kittster for this useful post: | | 
09.06.2016, 21:58
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
Sadly, I speak only English. In my part of the States languages were never mandatory and I only took a year of French because none of the other optional classes appealed to me.
I've tried on and off over the years to learn more, but never get past the very basic speaking ability. I can read and understand more than I can speak so I constantly annoy our doctor's receptionists by using translated e-mails to ask for appointments when I should be calling them.
I can tell my American accent has changed over the years. When I first moved to the UK I was definitely American to other people, but as the years went on people started asking me which part of the UK I was from. Funnily enough it was never the part I was actually in at the time. If I was in London they thought I came from either the north or west, if I was up in the north it was south or west and so on.
Still, the occasional Americanism slipped out. I remember when I was working at the BBC and for some reason tripped over my waste bin by my desk. I said rather loudly "Damn trash can!". A moment of stunned silence then the whole office burst out laughing. | This user would like to thank Medea Fleecestealer for this useful post: | | 
09.06.2016, 22:13
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently
Am involved in a major new programme at a big bank, and for the first time I'm having to interpret our colleagues from the New York / New Jersey region into useable business requirements.
Was already well used to Chicago, and had previously lived quite a while in Texas. Was never a problem.
But understanding the whole semantics of my new colleagues since a few months from the New York / New Jersey region almost completely escapes me. I honestly feel over-challenged.
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09.06.2016, 22:20
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| | Re: How Many Languages Do You Speak Fluently | Quote: | |  | | | for the first time I'm having to interpret our colleagues from the New York / New Jersey | | | | | From their English into yours or from English to another language?
Interpreting is a whole thing in itself. I speak and practice quite a few languages but I don't do interpretation jobs ever. One needs a natural talent for it. I just understand, translation/interpretation is just strange to me. I admire those who can do it well, it's a special gift on top of hell of a lot of work.
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