calticitron

Personally, I could only realistically learn 3-4 languages, maybe even 5 if I would actually get paid for the 5th Kidding aside, the amount of languages a person could realistically learn might depend on how patient that person is when it comes to actually developing his/her self in being able to speak and be fluent in a language. Also, mother tongues have origins and their "relatives". If you are able to speak a language, the verb forms, sentence constructions, and some word meanings in its "family" are almost alike with one another. Although not always applicable for every language, this might make it just a little faster for one to accumulate learning several languages in a lifetime.

I actually have an Indonesian friend whose family can speak a bit of Filipino slash Visayan (a popular dialect in the Philippines, south of the country) because they worked in India with other Filipinos for more than half a decade back in the 1980's. I also realized (while talking to the same friend) that some words in Filipino are similar to some of the words in Indonesia. However, I really doubt it would be easier for me who can speak Tagalog to learn Bahasa faster just because of these similarities. One needs to take into account the accent, sentence construction, and the alphabet. All of which will always take time to master and be fluent in.

While I was studying basic Swedish, there were several songs that I always listened to. I did not necessarily understand what they meant, nor could I properly hear what they sung because of their accent and speed, but I believe that I was able to relate to them. I would look up the lyrics and translate the words I did not comprehend. Then, I would listen to the song again right after. It also gives me a better idea on how some sentences are constructed in Swedish, and makes learning the language faster.

I've read somewhere in the internet that multilingualism definitely gives the brain a workout even at the earliest stage of mental growth (during infancy). It "physically" reshapes the patterns at which the brain is able to function. With this information, I would most definitely try to teach the next generation more than one language that I am able to learn. Whether or not this works, at least they are given the privilege to learn several languages as they grow up

As shallow as it may sound, I find it attractive when people can speak at least two languages fluently, English being one of those two. I am not sure if I know how to properly explain it, but I think it is because I find that communication plays an important role in a relationship. If two people could not get their points across to one another because of a language barrier especially during a fight, it might make the situation a lot worse.

This is pretty much how I felt when I moved to Sweden, which is a country who really imposes the use of their own language on you. Knowing English would be beneficial when looking for work, of course, but they prefer people who speak Swedish. So, I started going to school and I was really bewildered to find out that they taught Swedish in Swedish. Sometimes, they would translate to English. Sometimes. So, for my other classmates who did not know how to speak English, the teachers would act out what the words meant like walking, running, talking, eating, and a lot more. It starts to get funny when they try to teach words like honest, nice, or irritating.

The next language that I would like to learn is Spanish. The Spaniards have occupied my mother country, the Philippines, for almost 400 years since the year 1521 and we have incorporated many Spanish words into our language for everyday use. Most of our elders learned and spoke fluent Spanish as it was part of their university curriculum. I would like to think that learning this language and their culture would make me touch base with our heritage, and make me better understand how some of our Filipino words came about.

I speak English in class and with family and friends. I speak Filipino with some of those who came from the Philippines, as well. If I were to weigh which one I use more often, it would definitely be English as it would be easier for everyone to understand each other immediately instead of wasting time translating what one is saying to another if we all hung out as a group.

I agree with most of what you have said here. I am a Filipino, and we had three classes of English growing up. Job interviews and CV's must also be in English as well. You have to be skillful in your area of expertise, and being fluent in English adds major bonus points if you are working to go higher up the corporate ladder.

My first language is English, but my mother tongue is Filipino, and it is personally more difficult for me to speak my mother tongue because we grew up speaking English. Hopefully, it would be easier for me since I have been practicing and reading texts in Filipino. I definitely want to be fluent in my mother tongue.

First rule of Fight Club is you never talking about Fight Club! I think that line is just really kick-ass and every time my friends get together and someone says that line, we all just start feeling tough like the characters in that movie!

"Alright", he said. He took a step past the door, but the pungent odor must have registered in his senses as he suddenly looked horrified.

I think the British accent tops my list of favorite English accents. It sounds very elegant. The second on my list is the Scandinavian accent because it does not really sound English, German-like. It seems weird putting it that way, but I think that is exactly the reason why I like their listening to their accent.

This is the first time I have heard about these types of translations, and it is very interesting to read about them! My personal experience when it comes to translations is when hanging out with people here in Sweden. Some of my friends speak just in Filipino or just in Swedish and often times, I have to translate for both so that they can understand each other. I guess the trick is to use the important phrases or "keywords" of every topic so that they are able to get the gist of what everyone is talking about.

I have always wanted to learn French since I was a child. I am currently taking courses on a different language, but I have heard from some of my classmates that French is one of the most difficult to learn. Having read your explanation, I am beginning to feel discouraged in attempting to learn more about it haha! Discouraged, but challenged at the same time. I have to say, though, that this information was definitely interesting.