Been learning Danish with Duolingo on the phone app. Loved learning languages at school and scraped O-levels in French and Spanish.
Some of the pronounciation in Danish is bizarre, i will never master it.
My mother-in-law is from Norway and she reckons Norwegians can understand spoken Swedish really easily and can read Danish easily, but they find written Swedish and spoken Danish more difficult. Which is all a bit weird.
Also, a member of the Norwegian family showed me this sketch from a Norwegian comedy show, which is just a pisstake of the danish language. Some of the sketch is in English and, even with no real knowledge of Norwegian or Danish, it’s pretty amusing, but there are bits non-scando speakers won’t understand and so won’t get the joke. Ladyromford’s cousin showed me this and he was absolutely pissing himself. I think it’s a really popular theme in Norway!
I once stopped in a village in the Basque Country and asked an old lady with a youngish man for directions, as my Euskara is non existent I asked in Spanish only to be told (in Spanish) that she did not speak Castilian (Spanish), turning away in disgust.
I then spoke to Mrs Cordoban in English which the old lady heard, turned to me smiling and very politely gave me directions in Castilian. They then both merrily waved me on my way (and the directions were perfect).
Dutch is a good one to have a go at. Sort of halfway between English and German. If you can speak some German, you'll find Dutch pretty easy. Danish and Dutch also seem to have quite a few similar pronunciations.
Finnish is meant to be a hugely difficult language.
I have been watching this TV series with Latin and German spoken. I understood a lot more of it than I did watching the Welsh language coverage of the cycling.
Spanish is a great language to learn - relatively easy, the official language of twenty countries and once you have a decent level it is quite easy to read and understand Italian.
I've tried learning Hungarian over the last couple of years as our adopted daughter is from there and we needed to use it with her before she learned English, but it is unbelievably difficult with barely any relation to any other language and the pronunciation is also really hard - it's supposed to be one of the hardest languages to learn. Luckily she's got enough English now that I don't have to rely on my dismal Hungarian!
4. Hobby languages that play second fiddle even in their own area and have only been resurrected through govt intervention. Welsh - I'm pointing the finger at you here.
I wouldn't call Welsh a hobby language, Stig ...... it never died out in many rural areas of Wales, invariably being the first language of the community. It's in the cities and larger towns though where there's been huge momentum in the number of Welsh speakers.
And resurrected through government intervention? Apart from the fact that it was the British government that in the first place repressed and suppressed Welsh speaking, and banned it being spoken in Welsh schools ...... I don't see any problem with the Welsh devolved government using their own language in their administration.
Fair shout Oggy, I was being cantankerous calling it a hobby. In terms of the primary function of language though, communication, it is neither necessary nor is it as widespread as you suggest. Only 16% of the population speak it on a daily basis and in only in two local authority areas (Anglesey and Gwynedd) do more than 50% speak it on a daily basis. In the other twenty areas, the majority of people do not use it daily; choosing another language as their preferred method of communication. You therefore have to drill down to quite a small level to find areas where it is the preferred language. The claim of it "invariably being the first language of the community" seems to be quite a bit wide of the mark.
Resurrected is possibly too strong a word. But the bottom line is that the figures above would be a lot less if it wasn't government policy to push the language with their target of 70% of school leavers being able to speak Welsh by 2050 and their keenness to get the number of speakers of the 1 million credibility bar. I have no problem whatsoever with the Welsh Government doing this, but I do have a problem with the UK gov having to make everything available in Welsh.
I once stopped in a village in the Basque Country and asked an old lady with a youngish man for directions, as my Euskara is non existent I asked in Spanish only to be told (in Spanish) that she did not speak Castilian (Spanish), turning away in disgust.
I then spoke to Mrs Cordoban in English which the old lady heard, turned to me smiling and very politely gave me directions in Castilian. They then both merrily waved me on my way (and the directions were perfect).
Euskara is a very interesting language that long ago I even attempted to learn, very briefly. Its proponents' attitude towards Spain makes the Welsh look like confirmed Anglophiles
My dad spoke fluent Spanish, my mother WAS Spanish, I have Spanish first and middle names, and I spent all my holidays in Spain hanging out with my twenty odd Spanish cousins who constantly spoke to me in Spanish, and yet I still managed to fail Spanish O Level, (Twice!).
I retook and finally passed Spanish GCSE when I was twenty odd after taking evening classes.
Always feel un-welcome in Wales, lovely countryside, very picturesque, but the people just seem to be so un-welcoming especially in North Wales. Did my response driver training with North Wales constabulary. 2 weeks in Llandudno...hated every minute.
Italian land of my grandfathers birth and the language is almost musical
Well you would wear your St George's cross t-shirt...
A friend of mine is fluent in 16 languages. And so good in most that native speakers think it is his first language. He has studied 50 languages. Truly amazing
I'm learning Spanish and did French to A level and a bit of German at school. Having reasonable French has helped learn Spanish which so far is simpler and similar. I only know present tense verbs and have heard tenses in Spanish aren't so easy as pother aspects
A friend of mine is fluent in 16 languages. And so good in most that native speakers think it is his first language. He has studied 50 languages. Truly amazing
I'm learning Spanish and did French to A level and a bit of German at school. Having reasonable French has helped learn Spanish which so far is simpler and similar. I only know present tense verbs and have heard tenses in Spanish aren't so easy as pother aspects
Spanish is a great language to learn - relatively easy, the official language of twenty countries and once you have a decent level it is quite easy to read and understand Italian.
I've tried learning Hungarian over the last couple of years as our adopted daughter is from there and we needed to use it with her before she learned English, but it is unbelievably difficult with barely any relation to any other language and the pronunciation is also really hard - it's supposed to be one of the hardest languages to learn. Luckily she's got enough English now that I don't have to rely on my dismal Hungarian!
I’m pretty sure I’ve read that Hungarian and Finnish share a remarkable number of similar characteristics, even though the two countries aren’t that close to each other and have a bunch of other countries between them that use completely unrelated languages.
4. Hobby languages that play second fiddle even in their own area and have only been resurrected through govt intervention. Welsh - I'm pointing the finger at you here.
I wouldn't call Welsh a hobby language, Stig ...... it never died out in many rural areas of Wales, invariably being the first language of the community. It's in the cities and larger towns though where there's been huge momentum in the number of Welsh speakers.
And resurrected through government intervention? Apart from the fact that it was the British government that in the first place repressed and suppressed Welsh speaking, and banned it being spoken in Welsh schools ...... I don't see any problem with the Welsh devolved government using their own language in their administration.
Fair shout Oggy, I was being cantankerous calling it a hobby. In terms of the primary function of language though, communication, it is neither necessary nor is it as widespread as you suggest. Only 16% of the population speak it on a daily basis and in only in two local authority areas (Anglesey and Gwynedd) do more than 50% speak it on a daily basis. In the other twenty areas, the majority of people do not use it daily; choosing another language as their preferred method of communication. You therefore have to drill down to quite a small level to find areas where it is the preferred language. The claim of it "invariably being the first language of the community" seems to be quite a bit wide of the mark.
Resurrected is possibly too strong a word. But the bottom line is that the figures above would be a lot less if it wasn't government policy to push the language with their target of 70% of school leavers being able to speak Welsh by 2050 and their keenness to get the number of speakers of the 1 million credibility bar. I have no problem whatsoever with the Welsh Government doing this, but I do have a problem with the UK gov having to make everything available in Welsh.
Hi Stig, fair enough throwing some stats at me, but as usual stats only tell part of the story. You say, for example, only 16% of the population of Wales speak it on a daily basis - but as population tends to be concentrated in larger towns, plus say Swansea, Cardiff, Wrexham, etc., it completely ignores that geographically large swathes of rural Wales speak predominantly Welsh.
Traditionally also, South Wales has been a melting pot of immigration in search of work in industry - and naturally English became the common denominator language in those towns.
Sure, Welsh Government policy is to target increased numbers of speakers, but what's wrong with that? After all, it's their language, their heritage and their culture.
A friend of mine is fluent in 16 languages. And so good in most that native speakers think it is his first language. He has studied 50 languages. Truly amazing
I'm learning Spanish and did French to A level and a bit of German at school. Having reasonable French has helped learn Spanish which so far is simpler and similar. I only know present tense verbs and have heard tenses in Spanish aren't so easy as pother aspects
Back in 1989 my girlfriends dad had bought some land on a chateau in France and was turning it into a campsite. We went over to visit and help out getting the site ready and one night we were invited up to the chateau for dinner. The owner was the former french ambassador to Russia and he could speak about 15 languages. However the way he learned a language was to just buy a couple of novels in that language and then buy the french version and after reading them alongside each other he said he could hold a conversation in the new language within three books !
My dad spoke fluent Spanish, my mother WAS Spanish, I have Spanish first and middle names, and I spent all my holidays in Spain hanging out with my twenty odd Spanish cousins who constantly spoke to me in Spanish, and yet I still managed to fail Spanish O Level, (Twice!).
I retook and finally passed Spanish GCSE when I was twenty odd after taking evening classes.
We all have differnt skills and abilities to learn. I am utterly rubbish at learning a foreign language, I know tons of Spanish words and how to pronounce them but really struggle to put them into sentences. I also find it really hard to 'hear the seperate words' in foreign languages.
There are other things I am really good at and learn incredibly quickly but I would swap one of them to be good at foreign languages.
A friend of mine is fluent in 16 languages. And so good in most that native speakers think it is his first language. He has studied 50 languages. Truly amazing
I'm learning Spanish and did French to A level and a bit of German at school. Having reasonable French has helped learn Spanish which so far is simpler and similar. I only know present tense verbs and have heard tenses in Spanish aren't so easy as pother aspects
Back in 1989 my girlfriends dad had bought some land on a chateau in France and was turning it into a campsite. We went over to visit and help out getting the site ready and one night we were invited up to the chateau for dinner. The owner was the former french ambassador to Russia and he could speak about 15 languages. However the way he learned a language was to just buy a couple of novels in that language and then buy the french version and after reading them alongside each other he said he could hold a conversation in the new language within three books !
Spanish is a great language to learn - relatively easy, the official language of twenty countries and once you have a decent level it is quite easy to read and understand Italian.
I've tried learning Hungarian over the last couple of years as our adopted daughter is from there and we needed to use it with her before she learned English, but it is unbelievably difficult with barely any relation to any other language and the pronunciation is also really hard - it's supposed to be one of the hardest languages to learn. Luckily she's got enough English now that I don't have to rely on my dismal Hungarian!
I’m pretty sure I’ve read that Hungarian and Finnish share a remarkable number of similar characteristics, even though the two countries aren’t that close to each other and have a bunch of other countries between them that use completely unrelated languages.
Hungarian and Finnish are similar in the same way that English and German are.
4. Hobby languages that play second fiddle even in their own area and have only been resurrected through govt intervention. Welsh - I'm pointing the finger at you here.
I wouldn't call Welsh a hobby language, Stig ...... it never died out in many rural areas of Wales, invariably being the first language of the community. It's in the cities and larger towns though where there's been huge momentum in the number of Welsh speakers.
And resurrected through government intervention? Apart from the fact that it was the British government that in the first place repressed and suppressed Welsh speaking, and banned it being spoken in Welsh schools ...... I don't see any problem with the Welsh devolved government using their own language in their administration.
Fair shout Oggy, I was being cantankerous calling it a hobby. In terms of the primary function of language though, communication, it is neither necessary nor is it as widespread as you suggest. Only 16% of the population speak it on a daily basis and in only in two local authority areas (Anglesey and Gwynedd) do more than 50% speak it on a daily basis. In the other twenty areas, the majority of people do not use it daily; choosing another language as their preferred method of communication. You therefore have to drill down to quite a small level to find areas where it is the preferred language. The claim of it "invariably being the first language of the community" seems to be quite a bit wide of the mark.
Resurrected is possibly too strong a word. But the bottom line is that the figures above would be a lot less if it wasn't government policy to push the language with their target of 70% of school leavers being able to speak Welsh by 2050 and their keenness to get the number of speakers of the 1 million credibility bar. I have no problem whatsoever with the Welsh Government doing this, but I do have a problem with the UK gov having to make everything available in Welsh.
Hi Stig, fair enough throwing some stats at me, but as usual stats only tell part of the story. You say, for example, only 16% of the population of Wales speak it on a daily basis - but as population tends to be concentrated in larger towns, plus say Swansea, Cardiff, Wrexham, etc., it completely ignores that geographically large swathes of rural Wales speak predominantly Welsh.
Traditionally also, South Wales has been a melting pot of immigration in search of work in industry - and naturally English became the common denominator language in those towns.
Sure, Welsh Government policy is to target increased numbers of speakers, but what's wrong with that? After all, it's their language, their heritage and their culture.
Welsh is the only language, other than English, that can be used to debate in the House of Commons.
Welsh is widely taught from primary school level in parts of Patagonia, Argentina.
Spanish is a great language to learn - relatively easy, the official language of twenty countries and once you have a decent level it is quite easy to read and understand Italian.
I've tried learning Hungarian over the last couple of years as our adopted daughter is from there and we needed to use it with her before she learned English, but it is unbelievably difficult with barely any relation to any other language and the pronunciation is also really hard - it's supposed to be one of the hardest languages to learn. Luckily she's got enough English now that I don't have to rely on my dismal Hungarian!
I’m pretty sure I’ve read that Hungarian and Finnish share a remarkable number of similar characteristics, even though the two countries aren’t that close to each other and have a bunch of other countries between them that use completely unrelated languages.
I remember when I was in school taking part in a language comprehension study that was all in Finnish. It was explained that they were using Finninsh because it was unrelated to most other European languages so it was a pure test of language skills which could exclude the educated guesswork of working with languages related to English.
4. Hobby languages that play second fiddle even in their own area and have only been resurrected through govt intervention. Welsh - I'm pointing the finger at you here.
I wouldn't call Welsh a hobby language, Stig ...... it never died out in many rural areas of Wales, invariably being the first language of the community. It's in the cities and larger towns though where there's been huge momentum in the number of Welsh speakers.
And resurrected through government intervention? Apart from the fact that it was the British government that in the first place repressed and suppressed Welsh speaking, and banned it being spoken in Welsh schools ...... I don't see any problem with the Welsh devolved government using their own language in their administration.
Fair shout Oggy, I was being cantankerous calling it a hobby. In terms of the primary function of language though, communication, it is neither necessary nor is it as widespread as you suggest. Only 16% of the population speak it on a daily basis and in only in two local authority areas (Anglesey and Gwynedd) do more than 50% speak it on a daily basis. In the other twenty areas, the majority of people do not use it daily; choosing another language as their preferred method of communication. You therefore have to drill down to quite a small level to find areas where it is the preferred language. The claim of it "invariably being the first language of the community" seems to be quite a bit wide of the mark.
Resurrected is possibly too strong a word. But the bottom line is that the figures above would be a lot less if it wasn't government policy to push the language with their target of 70% of school leavers being able to speak Welsh by 2050 and their keenness to get the number of speakers of the 1 million credibility bar. I have no problem whatsoever with the Welsh Government doing this, but I do have a problem with the UK gov having to make everything available in Welsh.
Hi Stig, fair enough throwing some stats at me, but as usual stats only tell part of the story. You say, for example, only 16% of the population of Wales speak it on a daily basis - but as population tends to be concentrated in larger towns, plus say Swansea, Cardiff, Wrexham, etc., it completely ignores that geographically large swathes of rural Wales speak predominantly Welsh.
Traditionally also, South Wales has been a melting pot of immigration in search of work in industry - and naturally English became the common denominator language in those towns.
Sure, Welsh Government policy is to target increased numbers of speakers, but what's wrong with that? After all, it's their language, their heritage and their culture.
Welsh is the only language, other than English, that can be used to debate in the House of Commons.
Welsh is widely taught from primary school level in parts of Patagonia, Argentina.
I read that about Patagonia recently - bizarre
What are the numbers who speak only Welsh? Why do certain things have to be produced in Welsh as well as English but not, for example, in Scottish Gaelic?
A friend of mine is fluent in 16 languages. And so good in most that native speakers think it is his first language. He has studied 50 languages. Truly amazing
I'm learning Spanish and did French to A level and a bit of German at school. Having reasonable French has helped learn Spanish which so far is simpler and similar. I only know present tense verbs and have heard tenses in Spanish aren't so easy as pother aspects
Back in 1989 my girlfriends dad had bought some land on a chateau in France and was turning it into a campsite. We went over to visit and help out getting the site ready and one night we were invited up to the chateau for dinner. The owner was the former french ambassador to Russia and he could speak about 15 languages. However the way he learned a language was to just buy a couple of novels in that language and then buy the french version and after reading them alongside each other he said he could hold a conversation in the new language within three books !
Richard seems to be able to learn a language in about 3 months - he pretty much immerses himself in the country and the language
I too find it hard to separate words spoken in another language, especially Spanish ( but it is recognised as the fastest spoken language. SO my spoken is better than my comprehension which is very unusual. Normally you can basically get the gist of what is being said far better than speaking yourself. But not with me, which causes confusion when you speak to a certain level and others (naturally) expect your comprehension to be way better
A friend of mine is fluent in 16 languages. And so good in most that native speakers think it is his first language. He has studied 50 languages. Truly amazing
I'm learning Spanish and did French to A level and a bit of German at school. Having reasonable French has helped learn Spanish which so far is simpler and similar. I only know present tense verbs and have heard tenses in Spanish aren't so easy as pother aspects
Back in 1989 my girlfriends dad had bought some land on a chateau in France and was turning it into a campsite. We went over to visit and help out getting the site ready and one night we were invited up to the chateau for dinner. The owner was the former french ambassador to Russia and he could speak about 15 languages. However the way he learned a language was to just buy a couple of novels in that language and then buy the french version and after reading them alongside each other he said he could hold a conversation in the new language within three books !
Richard seems to be able to learn a language in about 3 months - he pretty much immerses himself in the country and the language
I too find it hard to separate words spoken in another language, especially Spanish ( but it is recognised as the fastest spoken language. SO my spoken is better than my comprehension which is very unusual. Normally you can basically get the gist of what is being said far better than speaking yourself. But not with me, which causes confusion when you speak to a certain level and others (naturally) expect your comprehension to be way better
A friend of mine is fluent in 16 languages. And so good in most that native speakers think it is his first language. He has studied 50 languages. Truly amazing
I'm learning Spanish and did French to A level and a bit of German at school. Having reasonable French has helped learn Spanish which so far is simpler and similar. I only know present tense verbs and have heard tenses in Spanish aren't so easy as pother aspects
Back in 1989 my girlfriends dad had bought some land on a chateau in France and was turning it into a campsite. We went over to visit and help out getting the site ready and one night we were invited up to the chateau for dinner. The owner was the former french ambassador to Russia and he could speak about 15 languages. However the way he learned a language was to just buy a couple of novels in that language and then buy the french version and after reading them alongside each other he said he could hold a conversation in the new language within three books !
Richard seems to be able to learn a language in about 3 months - he pretty much immerses himself in the country and the language
I too find it hard to separate words spoken in another language, especially Spanish ( but it is recognised as the fastest spoken language. SO my spoken is better than my comprehension which is very unusual. Normally you can basically get the gist of what is being said far better than speaking yourself. But not with me, which causes confusion when you speak to a certain level and others (naturally) expect your comprehension to be way better
4. Hobby languages that play second fiddle even in their own area and have only been resurrected through govt intervention. Welsh - I'm pointing the finger at you here.
I wouldn't call Welsh a hobby language, Stig ...... it never died out in many rural areas of Wales, invariably being the first language of the community. It's in the cities and larger towns though where there's been huge momentum in the number of Welsh speakers.
And resurrected through government intervention? Apart from the fact that it was the British government that in the first place repressed and suppressed Welsh speaking, and banned it being spoken in Welsh schools ...... I don't see any problem with the Welsh devolved government using their own language in their administration.
Fair shout Oggy, I was being cantankerous calling it a hobby. In terms of the primary function of language though, communication, it is neither necessary nor is it as widespread as you suggest. Only 16% of the population speak it on a daily basis and in only in two local authority areas (Anglesey and Gwynedd) do more than 50% speak it on a daily basis. In the other twenty areas, the majority of people do not use it daily; choosing another language as their preferred method of communication. You therefore have to drill down to quite a small level to find areas where it is the preferred language. The claim of it "invariably being the first language of the community" seems to be quite a bit wide of the mark.
Resurrected is possibly too strong a word. But the bottom line is that the figures above would be a lot less if it wasn't government policy to push the language with their target of 70% of school leavers being able to speak Welsh by 2050 and their keenness to get the number of speakers of the 1 million credibility bar. I have no problem whatsoever with the Welsh Government doing this, but I do have a problem with the UK gov having to make everything available in Welsh.
Hi Stig, fair enough throwing some stats at me, but as usual stats only tell part of the story. You say, for example, only 16% of the population of Wales speak it on a daily basis - but as population tends to be concentrated in larger towns, plus say Swansea, Cardiff, Wrexham, etc., it completely ignores that geographically large swathes of rural Wales speak predominantly Welsh.
Traditionally also, South Wales has been a melting pot of immigration in search of work in industry - and naturally English became the common denominator language in those towns.
Sure, Welsh Government policy is to target increased numbers of speakers, but what's wrong with that? After all, it's their language, their heritage and their culture.
Well I did say that the only two areas where Welsh speaking is even at the 50% level are Gwynedd and Anglesea; between them they cover 3263km². I concede that's a pretty big area - almost as big a Cornwall. But that is only 1/6 the size of Wales so it seems a little unfair to characterise it as if it's just the industrial south where English is ascendant, because that grossly overestimates the importance of the Welsh language throughout the bulk of the country.
Nothing wrong with that at all. I agree, it's their language and their country, they can do as they please. But but I think your final point about heritage and culture hits the truth about the Welsh language. It is far more important as a cultural tool/signifier than it is as communications method.
4. Hobby languages that play second fiddle even in their own area and have only been resurrected through govt intervention. Welsh - I'm pointing the finger at you here.
I wouldn't call Welsh a hobby language, Stig ...... it never died out in many rural areas of Wales, invariably being the first language of the community. It's in the cities and larger towns though where there's been huge momentum in the number of Welsh speakers.
And resurrected through government intervention? Apart from the fact that it was the British government that in the first place repressed and suppressed Welsh speaking, and banned it being spoken in Welsh schools ...... I don't see any problem with the Welsh devolved government using their own language in their administration.
Fair shout Oggy, I was being cantankerous calling it a hobby. In terms of the primary function of language though, communication, it is neither necessary nor is it as widespread as you suggest. Only 16% of the population speak it on a daily basis and in only in two local authority areas (Anglesey and Gwynedd) do more than 50% speak it on a daily basis. In the other twenty areas, the majority of people do not use it daily; choosing another language as their preferred method of communication. You therefore have to drill down to quite a small level to find areas where it is the preferred language. The claim of it "invariably being the first language of the community" seems to be quite a bit wide of the mark.
Resurrected is possibly too strong a word. But the bottom line is that the figures above would be a lot less if it wasn't government policy to push the language with their target of 70% of school leavers being able to speak Welsh by 2050 and their keenness to get the number of speakers of the 1 million credibility bar. I have no problem whatsoever with the Welsh Government doing this, but I do have a problem with the UK gov having to make everything available in Welsh.
Hi Stig, fair enough throwing some stats at me, but as usual stats only tell part of the story. You say, for example, only 16% of the population of Wales speak it on a daily basis - but as population tends to be concentrated in larger towns, plus say Swansea, Cardiff, Wrexham, etc., it completely ignores that geographically large swathes of rural Wales speak predominantly Welsh.
Traditionally also, South Wales has been a melting pot of immigration in search of work in industry - and naturally English became the common denominator language in those towns.
Sure, Welsh Government policy is to target increased numbers of speakers, but what's wrong with that? After all, it's their language, their heritage and their culture.
Well I did say that the only two areas where Welsh speaking is even at the 50% level are Gwynedd and Anglesea; between them they cover 3263km². I concede that's a pretty big area - almost as big a Cornwall. But that is only 1/6 the size of Wales so it seems a little unfair to characterise it as if it's just the industrial south where English is ascendant, because that grossly overestimates the importance of the Welsh language throughout the bulk of the country.
Nothing wrong with that at all. I agree, it's their language and their country, they can do as they please. But but I think your final point about heritage and culture hits the truth about the Welsh language. It is far more important as a cultural tool/signifier than it is as communications method.
Can't disagree with that point, Stig ..... it is cultural and signifies Welsh national identity. It's most definitely used as a community language in many rural parts and shouldn't be underestimated; in recent years, even in the urban areas there has been a surge in the number of Welsh speakers.
Modern Welsh, like Cornish and Breton, is descended from the Brythonic language once spoken throughout most of Britain, long before there was a nation of England and English was spoken. I don't have Welsh ancestry myself, as far as I know, but I rather admire their tenacity in keeping their living language in today's world.
A friend of mine is fluent in 16 languages. And so good in most that native speakers think it is his first language. He has studied 50 languages. Truly amazing
I'm learning Spanish and did French to A level and a bit of German at school. Having reasonable French has helped learn Spanish which so far is simpler and similar. I only know present tense verbs and have heard tenses in Spanish aren't so easy as pother aspects
Back in 1989 my girlfriends dad had bought some land on a chateau in France and was turning it into a campsite. We went over to visit and help out getting the site ready and one night we were invited up to the chateau for dinner. The owner was the former french ambassador to Russia and he could speak about 15 languages. However the way he learned a language was to just buy a couple of novels in that language and then buy the french version and after reading them alongside each other he said he could hold a conversation in the new language within three books !
Richard seems to be able to learn a language in about 3 months - he pretty much immerses himself in the country and the language
I too find it hard to separate words spoken in another language, especially Spanish ( but it is recognised as the fastest spoken language. SO my spoken is better than my comprehension which is very unusual. Normally you can basically get the gist of what is being said far better than speaking yourself. But not with me, which causes confusion when you speak to a certain level and others (naturally) expect your comprehension to be way better
I can sympathize with you here. It's not a problem now (in French) but it was for about the first ten years (living in France). It was also the same when I lived in Indonesia for a year as I had certain sentences that I just repeated and added a bit extra too as I went along, and people just assumed it was natural speech. In Spanish however I understand a fair bit of everyday talk on simple subjects but can hardly put a phrase together because I don't need to make the effort.
Comments
Dip dip die die.
I then spoke to Mrs Cordoban in English which the old lady heard, turned to me smiling and very politely gave me directions in Castilian. They then both merrily waved me on my way (and the directions were perfect).
Finnish is meant to be a hugely difficult language.
I wouldn't mind a go at Serbian or Hungarian.
I've tried learning Hungarian over the last couple of years as our adopted daughter is from there and we needed to use it with her before she learned English, but it is unbelievably difficult with barely any relation to any other language and the pronunciation is also really hard - it's supposed to be one of the hardest languages to learn. Luckily she's got enough English now that I don't have to rely on my dismal Hungarian!
Resurrected is possibly too strong a word. But the bottom line is that the figures above would be a lot less if it wasn't government policy to push the language with their target of 70% of school leavers being able to speak Welsh by 2050 and their keenness to get the number of speakers of the 1 million credibility bar. I have no problem whatsoever with the Welsh Government doing this, but I do have a problem with the UK gov having to make everything available in Welsh.
I retook and finally passed Spanish GCSE when I was twenty odd after taking evening classes.
I'm learning Spanish and did French to A level and a bit of German at school. Having reasonable French has helped learn Spanish which so far is simpler and similar. I only know present tense verbs and have heard tenses in Spanish aren't so easy as pother aspects
Traditionally also, South Wales has been a melting pot of immigration in search of work in industry - and naturally English became the common denominator language in those towns.
Sure, Welsh Government policy is to target increased numbers of speakers, but what's wrong with that?
After all, it's their language, their heritage and their culture.
There are other things I am really good at and learn incredibly quickly but I would swap one of them to be good at foreign languages.
Welsh is widely taught from primary school level in parts of Patagonia, Argentina.
I remember when I was in school taking part in a language comprehension study that was all in Finnish. It was explained that they were using Finninsh because it was unrelated to most other European languages so it was a pure test of language skills which could exclude the educated guesswork of working with languages related to English.
What are the numbers who speak only Welsh? Why do certain things have to be produced in Welsh as well as English but not, for example, in Scottish Gaelic?
I too find it hard to separate words spoken in another language, especially Spanish ( but it is recognised as the fastest spoken language. SO my spoken is better than my comprehension which is very unusual. Normally you can basically get the gist of what is being said far better than speaking yourself. But not with me, which causes confusion when you speak to a certain level and others (naturally) expect your comprehension to be way better
Nothing wrong with that at all. I agree, it's their language and their country, they can do as they please. But but I think your final point about heritage and culture hits the truth about the Welsh language. It is far more important as a cultural tool/signifier than it is as communications method.
Modern Welsh, like Cornish and Breton, is descended from the Brythonic language once spoken throughout most of Britain, long before there was a nation of England and English was spoken. I don't have Welsh ancestry myself, as far as I know, but I rather admire their tenacity in keeping their living language in today's world.
Anyway, cheers for the discussion!
It was also the same when I lived in Indonesia for a year as I had certain sentences that I just repeated and added a bit extra too as I went along, and people just assumed it was natural speech.
In Spanish however I understand a fair bit of everyday talk on simple subjects but can hardly put a phrase together because I don't need to make the effort.