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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:04 AM
Original message
if you had the time, money, energy, patience and capability
what foreign language would you like to learn and why?
:shrug:
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Writer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:05 AM
Response to Original message
1. As many as I can... at least all the Romance languages.
Language is the most beautiful aspect of a culture.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:07 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. languages are beautiful
and very interesting.
:hi:
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The Velveteen Ocelot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:09 AM
Response to Original message
3. The more unusual ones:
Gaelic, Basque, Finnish, Pashtun, Hungarian, that sort of thing.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:12 AM
Response to Reply #3
6. if Finnish is anything like their last names
that would be cool.
:hi:
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TroubleMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:13 AM
Response to Reply #3
8. On Finnish start here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VakjZqso8Ik
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The Velveteen Ocelot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:18 AM
Response to Reply #8
12. ...
:rofl:
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TroubleMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:43 AM
Response to Reply #12
20. Oh there's more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaU-Z-jUQXM
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Aristus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:34 AM
Response to Reply #8
15. Finnish is a linguistic mystery.
Finland borders on Sweden and Russia, but their language is completely un-related to either Swedish or Russian.

Finnish's closest lingual relative is Hungarian. And Hungary is nowhere near Finland.

It's a mystery...
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TroubleMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:10 AM
Response to Original message
4. I would relearn Japanese, and I would learn Spanish - and then maybe French.

In 1996 I could hold a conversation in Japanese - not well - but I could do it. Now, I hardly remember any of it.

I know lots of Spanish, and listen to a lot of Spanish music (merengue, salsa, and bachata), but I don't fully understand it on a conversational level. I can read it okay, but when somebody speaks it to me I get lost.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:14 AM
Response to Reply #4
9. I plan on taking some Spanish when my daughter starts
taking it in preschool - maybe next year. I know she will pass me quickly, but I'd like to at least try to keep up.
:hi:
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TroubleMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:16 AM
Response to Reply #9
11. My daughter is 21 months, and we have her learning some Spanish words.

The daycare she goes to is run by a Latin American women and she helps them in Spanish and English. Down here in South Florida it's exceptionally useful to know Spanish, but it's also a gift that she can use for her whole life (assuming we can pull it off).
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:20 AM
Response to Reply #11
13. that's so wonderful
it's really common now for the little ones to learn Spanish. what an amazing idea! just think where we would all be if we had all learned another language as pre-schoolers and kept with it.
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driver8 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:51 AM
Response to Reply #9
22. My daughter is in a Spanish immersion kindergarten. Her day is
taught 90% in Spanish and she is learning it quickly! My wife's sister speaks fluent Spanish and she was blown away by how much my daughter has learned since school started. My daughter will be fluent (reading, writing and speaking) by third grade.

I am planning on taking a "conversational Spanish" class at the local Community College.

I have to keep up with my daughter!!
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TroubleMan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:55 AM
Response to Reply #22
24. At that age they can pick up languages much more quickly than in later years.

Their brains are wired for learning language(s). I want to try that with my daughter if it's available.
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driver8 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 09:07 AM
Response to Reply #24
27. When I was a kid, I lived in Panama with my family. (Father career military).
My Mom also worked so my sister and I had a nanny. The nanny spoke almost no English so she would speak to us in Spanish. My mother told me that when we left Panama, my sister and I could chat with our nanny in Spanish. I wish I could speak it, now. I remember that most of the television we watched was in Spanish, also.

Our daughter has informed us that she now wants to learn Chinese...
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fizzgig Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:11 AM
Response to Original message
5. french
i think it's such a beautiful language

i would also brush up (a lot) on my spanish
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:16 AM
Response to Reply #5
10. I almost minored in French but I was just shy of the credits
now, ten years later, I can hardly remember a thing. such a shame.
:hi:
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GreenPartyVoter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:12 AM
Response to Original message
7. I tried teaching myself Irish once. I would give it another go, perhaps.
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zingaro Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:32 AM
Response to Original message
14. Ancient Greek.
And I'd brush up on my Latin as well.

Because I would love to read original texts as opposed to translations. :)
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:46 AM
Response to Reply #14
21. one of my grandpas did that so that he could read
the Bible.
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Omphaloskepsis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:37 AM
Response to Original message
16. Icelandic..
Because I love Iceland and really want to go back. Damn you Iceland for being so expensive.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 11:08 AM
Response to Reply #16
53. it would be so cool
to show up in a country and know the local language.
:hi:
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Tuesday Afternoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:37 AM
Response to Original message
17. Greek, Latin, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese,French and
Russian...I think that would do it.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:24 AM
Response to Reply #17
34. that's quite a list!
I'd just be happy learning one well.
:hi:
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sakabatou Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:37 AM
Response to Original message
18. Nihongo da
Kakuii desu ne?
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KitchenWitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:41 AM
Response to Original message
19. Thai, so I could know when my MIL is bad mouthing me.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:25 AM
Response to Reply #19
35. I'd like to know another language so I could bad
mouth my MIL!
:hi:
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KitchenWitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 08:01 PM
Response to Reply #35
58. I could learn Spanish for that!
:hi:

:D
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Mutley Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:54 AM
Response to Original message
23. To start
Edited on Tue Dec-04-07 12:55 AM by mutley_r_us
I'd further perfect my knowledge of the English language. Then I'd start in on Gaelic.

Then Japanese.

And the Romance languages, of course.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:27 AM
Response to Reply #23
36. Japanese would be cool to know
but I wouldn't want to have to write it - that seems so hard!
:hi:
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Flaxbee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 12:59 AM
Response to Original message
25. Initially, French and German
because I began to study French in jr. high and have never become fluent and that just feels like a personal failing (I think I'd need to live in France for a while to really have it all sink in) and German, because some of it just cracks me up ("funf" for the number five just causes me no end of merriment, I love to say it, along with fun stuff like farvegnugen from the old VW ads...) and I figure any language that can make me laugh would be fun to learn). Plus, my mom's German ancestors made harpsichords, and my dad's German ancestors were bakers in Bavaria. So - just family history, I guess.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:32 AM
Response to Reply #25
39. I too started French in jr. high
and I even did a summer abroad in France in college and I still never was any good at it and it is a personal failing for me. I'm just not that good at learning languages.
:hi:
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Connonym Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 01:08 AM
Response to Original message
26. Latin and Klingon :-P
because I'm a dork
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:35 AM
Response to Reply #26
40. Latin would be useful
Klingon would be useful in certain situations - like stuck at StarCon?
:hi:
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bluethruandthru Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 09:10 AM
Response to Original message
28. Norwegian
So I can move there!
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:36 AM
Response to Reply #28
41. I like how the Scandinavian languages sound
then there is always moving there...
:hi:
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ElsewheresDaughter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 09:22 AM
Response to Original message
29. Mandarin Chinese
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:38 AM
Response to Reply #29
42. ooooohhhhh
I'm so scared of Chinese. but it would be useful and open a lot of doors.
:hi:
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_testify_ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 09:23 AM
Response to Original message
30. Cantonese and/or Mandarin
I think it's so different from Latin-based language that it would really give me a mental workout.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:41 AM
Response to Reply #30
44. you've got that right!
my sister was learning one of them - I can't remember which one. she was struggling with the pitches (who wouldn't?).

give it a try!
:hi:
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Crazy Dave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 09:28 AM
Response to Original message
31. It takes hard work and patience but not a lot of money
There's free online courses for nearly every language. We're currently studying Spanish and changing the language or subtitles on DVD's of movies we know well to help learn better.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:44 AM
Response to Reply #31
45. I wish there would have been DVDs when I studied French
it would have made it easier, or at least more fun.

I'm looking forward to attempting Spanish with my daughter because of all the aids out there now.
:hi:
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Crazy Dave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:56 AM
Response to Reply #45
51. From this point on we're just learning how to be fluent....
...and to understand what people are saying versus proper sentence structure and those BS phrases they teach in lessons like "how fast can your turtle walk?".
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GirlinContempt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 09:30 AM
Response to Original message
32. Chinese languages
I already have some others under my belt, I think mandarin or something would be an actual challenge. The tones and stuff, eek.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:46 AM
Response to Reply #32
46. that's great!
I regret not mastering any yet. but I don't think I'd ever attempt Mandarin.

are you going to try?
:hi:
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GirlinContempt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 11:23 AM
Response to Reply #46
56. I may, someday.
Not now, that's for sure :D
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kentauros Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 09:38 AM
Response to Original message
33. Farsi
because I love Persia :D (mostly for storytelling... ;) )

I think rosettastone.com teaches it, too
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:49 AM
Response to Reply #33
47. I need to look up rosettastone.com - I've heard the commercials
enough.

how cool would it be to walk in a Persian restaurant and order in Farsi?!

go for it!
:hi:
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kentauros Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:53 AM
Response to Reply #47
49. I think Houston has at least two Persian restaurants
so I could easily do such a thing :D
I regularly eat at a little Palestinian cafe so I hear Arabic often. My dental hygenist is even from Azerbaijan :)
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av8rdave Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:28 AM
Response to Original message
37. I really should get conversational in Spanish
I travel to Mexico frequently, Venezuela occasionally, and there are a lot of Spanish speakers in my area.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:56 AM
Response to Reply #37
50. Spanish makes the most sense for me too
plus it could open doors at work.

I'm going to try next year when my daughter starts taking it.
:hi:
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Rambis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:28 AM
Response to Original message
38. Gaelic
Edited on Tue Dec-04-07 10:30 AM by Rambis
Scottish first then the Irish- I ove the sound of it and maybe I could talk to some of our relatives.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 11:05 AM
Response to Reply #38
52. Gaelic is a popular answer
sounds like lots of people in the homeland would be proud.
:hi:
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Coyote_Bandit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:40 AM
Response to Original message
43. None
I have learned to focus my efforts on acquiring skills and information where I am most likely to succeed. In the past my efforts to learn languages, music theory and even math have been very difficult due to a learning disability. I wish I had better abilities in these areas but I don't. No need to set myself up for further frustration and failure. I admire and envy folks that can communicate in multiple languages.
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momophile Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 10:53 AM
Response to Reply #43
48. that's why I put 'capability' in the OP
because I too struggle learning languages. actually, I suck at it. I haven't found a way to learn one fluently yet. I even lived in another country for over two years and never got it down. mostly I just learned the swear words. I know exactly how you feel.
:hi:
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Coyote_Bandit Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 11:14 AM
Response to Reply #48
54. I have a friend that moved to another country
without being able to speak the language. Quit her job. Sold most of her stuff. After six weeks in an immersion program she was functional in the language. After a year she was working as a translator. She now translates about 30 regional and tribal dialects. She has no idea how much I envy her language abilities. I've tried. Really I have. I'm only semi fluent in swear words.
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skygazer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 11:17 AM
Response to Original message
55. Russian
There's something about Russian... it's such an expressive language.
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no name no slogan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Dec-04-07 11:27 AM
Response to Original message
57. Catalán
or possibly a Roma (Gypsy) language, like Caló.
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