European Language Day!!!

[andy]

Jambo! Habari? Mi langu ni Andy.

8)As many of you know, it's European Language Day today.8)

I already know a little swahili (http://www.masai-mara.com/mmsw.htm), that's a bit up there - it says: "hello! How are you? My name is andy". =)

Swahili is the native language of Kenya, and I am learning it so I can, one day, go on a safari.
(safari in swahili means journey)

If you know any different languages, please let us know and post a bit of what you know. Have fun. :)

[q_dmc12]

Goed dag, mijn naam Ben - wat voer jij in je schild?

I'm not sure if it's all correct, it is supposed to be Dutch and say, "Good day, my name is Ben - what's up?"

PS> could be some german mixed in there, maybe Max could confirm.:)

[Sausehuhn]

Nothing German as far as I can see.

Myself, I speak German (best), English (more or less good ;)), for a few weeks Dutch (just got it in school, so I nearly know nothing) and... well... Latin... no...nono... not really. Looking at my mark and you know why :D

[Riccardo Raccis]

I speak Italian and English. Those are still European, aye?

:D

[andy]

yep, but you can learn any language from around the world. Mine is from africa and my mate knows loads of japanese.

I also know a little spanish. "Hola, me llamo Andy y vive en inglatera" but I got bored of that and took ICT instead.

[Tomahawk]

Next to my native tongue - german - I speak english and know a litte bit of french (enogh to help me get me around in france all right) and some spanish (only a few words here)... I don't have the time to study another language right now. Paradoxically I don't have any more sparetime since I got pure.:D

[Zerow]

Apart from my mother's tongue - English - I know a bit of Japanese (my high school taught that instead of German), some French, and of course some Welsh, the oldest language in Europe!

I'd really like to start learning all three languages again.

[andy]

wow, i didnt know welsh was the oldest language in europe. You learn somethin new everyday =).

Konee-chee-wa :D Zeroe-san

[eLhabib]

...just thought I'd point out that Kenya is definitely NOT in europe...

[Lion]

I know tiny amounts of:
french (failed it in highschool)
german (I don't know how I picked this up)
japanese (failed it in highschool, but have picked some up from anime)
maori (the language of the people native to new zealand, compulsory to learn some of it in school)

but I don't know enough of any of the above to be able to hold a conversation, the only language I am fluent in is english

[JABBERJAW]

I'm practicing my UK english, but am having a hard time.

[Mad-Ice]

My native tongue is Dutch, so what q_dmc12 said was right only a minor mistake in the grammar.

English but that's obvious now i think. French, good enough to have conversation ask Arnaud! Swahili, a little bit too, but originally the language is called Kiswahili ,and it means language from the coast, it is a mix between the local language and the arabs who came there years ago. So the language is also spoken by the Tanzinians and a little bit by Somali people.

About Kenya there are more then 42 tribes with their own language. I happen to have lived in Yala, western Kenya near Lake Victoria, together with my wife Ingeborg. We have lived there for eight months and have started a project, for info see www.stpa.nl We speak a little bit of Dho Luo, small conversation like saying hello, where we are going to what we will be doing and when we will be coming back and stuff like that.

Oyawore uru, means goodmorning everyone

[Shem]

well, i know polish, i know english (actually, i'm close to getting a bachelor's degree in english linguistics), a bit of german, a bit of russian. Well, i just had russian classes in high school, i didn't give a damn about them, so i know jack ****. German is something that i picked up while watching all these cable channels, we've got loads of them in my cable network.

[andy]

...just thought I'd point out that Kenya is definitely NOT in europe...

Very true, but you can use any language you want. European Language Day (finished now) is just about learning about a different language, other than your native tongue, from anywhere in the world. =]

[Lance]

I think we need something like that in the U.S.! Too many of us, including me, cannot speak or even properly read a language other than English [American style.]. Hell, a lot of us can't even speak or properly read English!

[Captain Q]

How could I have missed this thread? My mother language is Dutch, with English as a close second.

Ich kann gut deutsch verstehen und lesen, aber in Deutschland findet man, dass ich ein niederländisches Akzent habe wenn ich spreche (obwohl ich kein Niederländer bin). In Luxemburg dachte man jedoch, dass ich ein richtiger Preuße war, lol. Lëtzebuergisch kann ich gar nicht verstehen.

Mon français est vraiment terrible. Comprendre, ça va, mais parler est un désastre.

Jeg har også lest norsk før to år, men jeg har glemmt så mye. Min kjenskap er også blitt kontaminert av svensk og finlandisk.

This possibly contained some errors, heh.

[andy]

Wow. You've been busy. Would you mind translating it please? :)

[q_dmc12]

he is german not dutch(or so I believe :p) - deutsch:nod


I can understand and read well German, but in Germany one finds that I have a Netherlands accent if I speak (although I am not a Dutchman). In Luxembourg one thought however that I was a correct Preusse, lol. I cannot at all understand Leetzebuergisch.


My French is really terrible. , that will include/understand, but to speak is a disaster.

-The rest is Finnish I believe - not sure but could not find it's translation.:?

[Captain Q]

Hi all,

I am indeed not Dutch, I am Belgian. But I am a native Dutch speaker (60% of Belgium are native Dutch speakers).

Andy, you wanted a translation:

The first part is German: "I can read and understand German well, but in Germany they find my accent Dutch although I'm not a Dutchman. In Luxemburg some people did think I was a genuine German*, lol. I can't understand Luxemburgian° at all, though."

Then, French: "My French is truly terrible. Understanding is ok, but speaking is a disaster."

The last language was (an attempt at) Norwegian: "I have also studied Norwegian for two years, but I've forgotten so much. My knowledge has also been contaminated by Swedish and Finnish" (I also had these two languages for a year).

* Preuße is a mildly derogatory name for especially northern Germans
° Luxemburgian is a very weird German sublanguage.

[andy]

Thanks for clearing that up for us. :):+