Getting My Languages Mixed Up.
@danishcanadian (28953)
Canada
April 14, 2013 3:43am CST
As I've written before, my husband and I absolutely love listening to radio in foreign languages. Our favourites are on a local community station, by local personalities, in their own native languages. We especially love the German, Croatian/Serbian (almost the same thing) programs. I'm starting to pick up a few words in various languages, and then there was the French I took in school which I never really got the opportunity to use, and the bits of Danish I picked up from my mother and grandparents.
Last year I was in Montreal, and my cousin's two little boys were talking to me in French. I understood every word they said, but when I tried to respond, I kept coming up with words in German, or Croatian. LOL My brain seems to be on two settings. English, and not-English.
Anyone else experience this problem?
3 people like this
10 responses
@dagami (1158)
• Rome, Italy
14 Apr 13
i speak english, italian, filipino, and five other dialects in the philippines. i sometimes get mixed up about the dialects but with the different major languages, no. they are so different. sometimes i don't find the exact word in italian as this is not my native language but i always have my italian-english dictionary with me to help.
1 person likes this
@jillhill (37354)
• United States
17 Apr 13
I don't speak alot of any foreign languages but I am trying to learn some spanish at the present time. I have my own little craft business and have decided to make my greeting cards...or a line of them I should say in Spanish! To embrace the spanish community we have here in town. But so far I can't speak alot but I am learning the meaning of several of the words!
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
16 Apr 13
There was the time I put a German word in the middle of my sentence in French class...
@elitess (5070)
• Ipswich, England
14 Apr 13
Hello my dear Danish Canadian,
Well this happens to me as well. The best example was how in college French words kept coming to my mind when I was writing in English. Also as I only briefly studied Greek, words in Spanish, English and French come to mind to fill out the blanks where needed.
I think if we knew the foreign languages perfectly then we would not have these problems.
A good day,
Alex.
@wilsongoddard (7291)
• United States
14 Apr 13
No, but I only am fluent in one language--English. I do, however, find myself getting songs in other languages stuck in my head--usually in Hebrew. Since I am working to learn Hebrew, that isn't a surprise.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
14 Apr 13
I have always had trouble mixing up French and Spanish with the why word. But I was never that good at languages in the first place. Unless I see the person speaking it and what he is speaking about, I cannot get it. Although I understand it. I would like to know about those foreign language stations. We do have the French and the Mennonite local stations here, but not much else unless I go on the internet. I do wish I could talk in another language instead of just understanding it.
@alberello (4752)
• Italy
14 Apr 13
Well, I am Italian. In my country, we do not speak any other language that is not just the Italian language.
In many other European countries, almost all are bilingual or have their basic language and the second language, spoken and understood by most of the population is English!
We Italians are of course the usual "tail light". I personally know English well enough because at the schools I studied for ten years. However I have never had the opportunity to travel in a foreign land where the native speakers was just English.
@deodavid (4150)
• Philippines
14 Apr 13
Hey dancan,
Well i do think that must had been an experience for those to boys, well i think that you are a genius for knowing different languages, it is really cool to me, anyway i don't know any other language than what i know now and i think i cant add up anything in the near future anyway i hope i can learn my mothers regional language and Spanish in Latin america kinda accent.
