# How many languages do you know?



## The red spirit (Sep 29, 2015)

Minimum level of what counts as knowing language:
You have passed the lowest formal level of your studies, like A1 English or N5 Japanese. Or you can have a very simple conversations in those languages. You also know basic symbols of that language (in case of Japanese hiragana)

Your native language also counts.

Just curious how many languages do perCs know.


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## Monadnock (May 27, 2017)

Not enough of them.  I know a decent number of words in Spanish and Russian and I can get the gist of things written in both languages, but can't really speak much of either of them.


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## BigApplePi (Dec 1, 2011)

Only two: English (native) and mathematics. I've passed the test for English right here on PerC.

My aunt was a linguist and is said to have known fourteen. My dad knew six. Both were European. Wife knows English and Latin.


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## The red spirit (Sep 29, 2015)

Monadnock said:


> Not enough of them.  I know a decent number of words in Spanish and Russian and I can get the gist of things written in both languages, but can't really speak much of either of them.


Can relate to your experience with Russian, I have been in classroom for years and I still can't speak it well. To be honest, even Japanese comes easier to me. When I was on trip to Spain, it actually looked very easy. It's similar to English and grammar is pretty much just like many other European languages.


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## Jaune (Jul 11, 2013)

English is my native language and I can have basic conversations in Tagalog.


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## bubblePOP (Aug 8, 2014)

English is my native language, and I speak conversational spanish.


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## Lucan1010 (Jul 23, 2018)

English is the only language I really know (well, unless we're counting sarcasm).

I know bits and pieces of Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, but not enough where I'd count myself as being able to speak them.


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## Convex (Jan 5, 2015)

english and italian


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## Darkbloom (Aug 11, 2013)

Croatian (my native language)
English
Can mostly understand conversations in German, I can understand what people are telling me and give simple responses, but having to form full sentences kills me 
My Spanish is at a similar level except with more formal knowledge but less practical experience, feel like I'd have a hard time understanding native speakers, should work on that (yet at the same time speaking Spanish feels more natural even though I make mistakes, German makes me freeze up)


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## incision (May 23, 2010)

Fluent reading and writing in three languages with multiple disparate dialects in one.


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## Neetee (Sep 24, 2019)

1. Reading (daily): 3-4 
2. Listening (daily): 3-4 
3. Speaking (fluently): 3
4. Writing (daily): 2

Not included:

Dead languages: 1
Speaking (beginner level): 4

Learning the mentality of a country is far more important than learning its language; if one is imaginative and patient enough communication can work even without any language skills. I find advanced reading skills most useful, followed by advanced listening skills. In CVs I only mention 3 languages, so my answer is 3 languages. 

_Frederick Bodmer, The Loom of Language: A Guide To Foreign Languages For The Home Student_


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## AnneM (May 29, 2019)

Lucan1010 said:


> English is the only language I really know (well, unless we're counting sarcasm).


Yes! Let's count sarcasm! Many people don't speak/understand it, I've found. Therefore, it's a language.


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## Theodore (Jul 6, 2011)

Two by you criteria. English is my native language; I've "studied" Portuguese off and on for four years but there's been a lot of off. I was probably better after a year or two, when I was putting a lot of hours into it every day. I can read a lot of Spanish by association. Going to be in Portugal for the first time in a few weeks. Unlikely I'll _need_ to use Portuguese but I would like to and I hope I don't embarrass myself too much. I hope I can (and will want to) return and take a class or get a tutor. It's not easy (European Portuguese phonology especially) but I love the language.


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## incision (May 23, 2010)

AnneM said:


> Yes! Let's count sarcasm! Many people don't speak/understand it, I've found. Therefore, it's a language.


It's a dialect since it shares its written version.


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## 74893H (Dec 27, 2017)

1.5, sorta? Native English speaker and I'm studying Japanese.


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## The red spirit (Sep 29, 2015)

Pizzafari said:


> 1.5, sorta? Native English speaker and I'm studying Japanese.


I enjoy Nihongo too, but I will never learn it well.


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## The red spirit (Sep 29, 2015)

Theodore said:


> Two by you criteria. English is my native language; I've "studied" Portuguese off and on for four years but there's been a lot of off. I was probably better after a year or two, when I was putting a lot of hours into it every day. I can read a lot of Spanish by association. Going to be in Portugal for the first time in a few weeks. Unlikely I'll _need_ to use Portuguese but I would like to and I hope I don't embarrass myself too much. I hope I can (and will want to) return and take a class or get a tutor. It's not easy (European Portuguese phonology especially) but I love the language.


I'm just curious, what makes Portuguese hard for you?


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## lokasenna (Apr 7, 2019)

English, Japanese, Russian, in that order of proficiency. 

I studied French and Latin in middle school but I don't remember either of them well.

母国語は英語、良くない日本語、悪いロシア語。

中学校の時、フランス語とラテンを勉強したが忘れてしまった。


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## Janna (Aug 31, 2018)

This definition is so generous that I got to pick the last one. I've passed at least "the lowest formal level" in five languages, with flying colors even. 

In reality, I'm only fluent in two, and one of the five (the one I studied the longest!) I can't really even read a book in.


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## Schizoid (Jan 31, 2015)

I know 2.1 languages: English, Mandarin, and a little bit of Spanish.


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## Blazkovitz (Mar 16, 2014)

English and Russian. I have some knowledge of German and Tok Pisin (Melanesian Pidgin), but not enough to have a conversation.


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## TacoTach (Apr 6, 2019)

Portuguese (native language), french, and english.


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## outofplace (Dec 19, 2012)

Besides English, I speak French and Haitian Creole. So, technically 3?


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## major breakdown (Apr 4, 2017)

english, spanish, french, russian, latin, german and hopefully italian until the end of the year. still might want to learn danish, old greek, japanese and arabic. so many languages so little time


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## Aridela (Mar 14, 2015)

4 alive, 2 dead.


* *




English and Greek, Native/Native level respectively, conversational Italian and Japanese. 

Ancient Greek and Latin. 

Also enough Ladino to understand conversations, can hardly speak it anymore. 

Currently learning Chinese


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## Blazkovitz (Mar 16, 2014)

outofplace said:


> Besides English, I speak French and Haitian Creole. So, technically 3?


Wow, another person to learn a creole  Naispela tru


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## Strelnikov (Jan 19, 2018)

I'll say 4... Romanian (my native language), English (C2), French (B1) and German (A1) (I'm learning it right now... literally, I have a textbook and my notebook right in front of me as I write these lines, took a break from learning). I'd also say I know a little Russian.

For those unfamiliar with the European language levels... They go A1 (beginner), A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 (native level)


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## Introvertia (Feb 6, 2016)

*+++
*Finnish { _fluent in these_
English

*++
*French
Spanish { _simple conversation possible in these_
Russian
Swedish

*+*
Japanese {_ itrylol in this_


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## fleursdetilleul (Dec 21, 2015)

Two - my native (Romanian) and English. I had studied French for 8 years in school but I never enjoyed it much so haven't used it afterwards, therefore I forgot most of it. I can still understand some, but I'm not able to express myself using it. I can also understand some Spanish and Italian because they share a lot with my native, but again, can't express myself using them.


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## magrael (Oct 19, 2019)

I speak fluent Romanian and English, and i'm pretty mediocre at French, but I manage. 
I used to learn Italian also,, forgot most of it unfortunately


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## Sophi (Mar 19, 2013)

I'm like 1...and a half? I've been learning Korean for about 2 years now. I can have a very, very basic conversation. (Where are you from? How old are you? Do you like Korean food? How much is this? Where is the bathroom? I want chicken and fries. Please take me to _location_. etc) It's not an easy language. ;_; It is fun thought!


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

*[1]* English
*[2]* Malay
*[3]* Mandarin
*[4]* Arabic


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## blood roots (Oct 29, 2013)

English. And a slight amount of Polish.

But I've also dabbled in others like Danish, Russian, and I can understand Spanish more than I can speak it.


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## Convex (Jan 5, 2015)

Notus Asphodelus said:


> *[1]* English
> *[2]* Malay
> *[3]* Mandarin
> *[4]* Arabic


fluently? cool


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

Convex said:


> fluently? cool


The first two I can speak and write fluently. The 3rd and 4th I can write with no problem. Speaking takes a bit of time though because of the intonation and inflection as one word can mean a lot of things depending on how high or low pitch it sounds.


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## Marvin the Dendroid (Sep 10, 2015)

1: Have studied formally: 24
2: Can read and enjoy literature in: 15
_3: Conversational: 8_
*4: Fluent: 4*


* *





(Level) In alphabetical order:

(1) Ancient Greek
(2) Belorussian
_(3) Bulgarian_
_(3) Danish_
*(4) English*
(2) Estonian
*(4) Finnish*
_(3) French_
(2) German
(1) Hebrew
(1) Icelandic
(2) Italian
(1) Japanese
(2) Latin
(1) Malay
_(3) Norwegian_
(1) Old Church Slavonic
(1) Old Norse
*(4) Russian*
(1) Sámi
(2) Spanish
*(4) Swedish*
(1) Thai
(2) Ukrainian


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## AnneM (May 29, 2019)

@Marvin the Dendroid But can you speak Pig Latin well? You got nuthin' on this lady.


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## Marvin the Dendroid (Sep 10, 2015)

AnneM said:


> @Marvin the Dendroid But can you speak Pig Latin well? You got nuthin' on this lady.


Fully fluent in galimatias.


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## The red spirit (Sep 29, 2015)

Marvin the Dendroid said:


> 1: Have studied formally: 24
> 2: Can read and enjoy literature in: 15
> _3: Conversational: 8_
> *4: Fluent: 4*
> ...


Whoa, I never imagined that somebody could actually have that much patiency and persistency. If you don't mind, could you reveal what makes you learn so many languages?


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## Marvin the Dendroid (Sep 10, 2015)

The red spirit said:


> Whoa, I never imagined that somebody could actually have that much patiency and persistency. If you don't mind, could you reveal what makes you learn so many languages?


It's fun, very rewarding and easy for me. Maybe more than anything, it allows me to "see" inside different minds - and that might just be the thing I value the most in life. Understanding different kinds of minds from their own POV, as if I were them. Reading authors from all over the world in their own language, without losing anything in translation.

Secondary perks are things like being able to converse with people when you travel and use language learning as a form of "brain massage", like sudoku. With the exception of the dead languages and Hebrew, Icelandic and Japanese, I have lived in/been to countries where all of those languages are spoken.


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

Marvin the Dendroid said:


> 1: Have studied formally: 24
> 2: Can read and enjoy literature in: 15
> _3: Conversational: 8_
> *4: Fluent: 4*
> ...


Oh you've studied Malay and Thai formally? I'm impressed. I've always wanted to learn Russian.


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## Marvin the Dendroid (Sep 10, 2015)

Notus Asphodelus said:


> Oh you've studied Malay and Thai formally? I'm impressed. I've always wanted to learn Russian.


I've lived in both countries and took a few classes. Unfortunately didn't end up liking either language much.

Russian is my favourite :happy:


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## incision (May 23, 2010)

It would be interesting hearing people's voices, speaking all their languages.


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## Marvin the Dendroid (Sep 10, 2015)

Duo said:


> It would be interesting hearing people's voices, speaking all their languages.


I did my fluent ones in this voice thread a few weeks ago.


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

Marvin the Dendroid said:


> I've lived in both countries and took a few classes. Unfortunately didn't end up liking either language much.
> 
> Russian is my favourite :happy:


It's ok.. :laughing: I was thinking if you could write a simple sentence in Malay and maybe I could make a reply.


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## Marvin the Dendroid (Sep 10, 2015)

Notus Asphodelus said:


> It's ok.. :laughing: I was thinking if you could write a simple sentence in Malay and maybe I could make a reply.


Adakah anda suka makan durian?


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

Marvin the Dendroid said:


> Adakah anda suka makan durian?


Saya tidak suka makan durian tetapi saya suka buah rambutan.

Lol! That is so formal to be honest. A bit stiff if taken into account for daily convo. I can understand why you may not like it. Perhaps as an example in French, maybe they don't say _vous_ as often as _tu_ so normally in Malay, they rarely say _Anda_ unless in formal speeches. Usually they would just say _Awak_ so yeah


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## Marvin the Dendroid (Sep 10, 2015)

Notus Asphodelus said:


> Saya tidak suka makan durian tetapi saya suka buah rambutan.
> 
> Lol! That is so formal to be honest. A bit stiff if taken into account for daily convo. I can understand why you may not like it. Perhaps as an example in French, maybe they don't say _vous_ as often as _tu_ so normally in Malay, they rarely say _Anda_ unless in formal speeches. Usually they would just say _Awak_ so yeah


Mostly I just don't care for the sound of it :tongue: I'm very particular when it comes to the sound of languages. They are like music to me, and I like some "genres" while disliking others - just like anyone would with music. Certain kinds of grammar structures can have an appeal as well, but it's always primarily about _sound_ to me. I tend not to like nasal or guttural sounds, and I like the kind of melodic prosody you have in languages like Italian.


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

Marvin the Dendroid said:


> Mostly I just don't care for the sound of it :tongue: I'm very particular when it comes to the sound of languages. They are like music to me, and I like some "genres" while disliking others - just like anyone would with music. Certain kinds of grammar structures can have an appeal as well, but it's always primarily about _sound_ to me. I tend not to like nasal or guttural sounds, and I like the kind of melodic prosody you have in languages like Italian.


Welsh is a bit hard for me to read personally. :laughing: I would love to be able to speak it though.


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## Marvin the Dendroid (Sep 10, 2015)

Notus Asphodelus said:


> Welsh is a bit hard for me to read personally. :laughing: I would love to be able to speak it though.


That's a very niche interest :happy: What about Welsh appeals to you?


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## valosagutas (Nov 5, 2017)

> Minimum level of what counts as knowing language:
> Or you can have a very simple conversations in those languages. You also know basic symbols of that language (in case of Japanese hiragana)


Oh, then I know turkish (my native language), english (it's kinda like my other native language), arabic (some part of turkish is arabic), persian (some part of turkish is persian), azerbaijani (it's kinda another version of turkish), japanese (which I'm currently trying to master it), french (I learned it by trading with french for years), spanish, german, italian, russian — 11 languages.


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

Marvin the Dendroid said:


> That's a very niche interest :happy: What about Welsh appeals to you?


I kind of enjoyed listening to celtic sounding languages. Some people would say it's a bit phlegmy but I think that's the sort quirk that I found interesting..


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## Notus Asphodelus (Jan 20, 2015)

Marvin the Dendroid said:


> That's a very niche interest :happy: What about Welsh appeals to you?


Oh yes, I forgot to mention how I got interested in it initially. I've to admit, it was because of Catherine Zeta Jones. It's been only recently that I've come to realize that she's actually Welsh. For many years I assumed that she was Latin or Spaniard, but I was wrong. However, that's not the real reason. The actual reason was when she started speaking Welsh during one of the talk shows. The language is sort of sing-songy and I like it. I know there's a possibility that it would eventually become a dead language. Hopefully not as it should be for every language that still exist. They should be retained and treasured.


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## varikvalefor (Nov 11, 2019)

BigApplePi said:


> Only two: English (native) and mathematics. I've passed the test for English right here on PerC.
> 
> My aunt was a linguist and is said to have known fourteen. My dad knew six. Both were European. Wife knows English and Latin.


Mathematics is the language of the enlightened.


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## BigApplePi (Dec 1, 2011)

varikvalefor said:


> Mathematics is the language of the enlightened.


Mathematics is a language which keeps big things from falling down. It can tell you about the structure underneath. It has strange out-of-the-way truths which are beautiful to some and quite dull to others. Like all languages, it is opaque to any who fail to match up its unit symbols (like words do for English) with their intended correspondences in real life.


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## BigApplePi (Dec 1, 2011)

saintsophia124 said:


> In a way, yes. Officially no. Driving improves math skills if you still persist


Interesting. Can you elaborate?


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## katiepants (Nov 2, 2019)

grew up overseas, fluent in spanish and english and i love honoring others with the ability to communicate on their terms, in a way that makes them comfortable


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## neutralchaotic (Aug 13, 2017)

5: English (native), Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese in declining order of 'more than minimum' knowledge.


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## VoodooDolls (Jul 30, 2013)

able i am to speak like pro socially and pro
3


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## Eriophorum (Nov 15, 2019)

I suppose by those definitions, two. English and Irish (though I consider myself a beginner in Irish). I’d say Spanish, French, and Latin are “borderline” for me because there was a time when I could carry out simple conversations but I’m well out of practice and don’t think I could right now without either a little study or immersion.


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