Rupert_Baehr Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 My own. I spoke it as a small child. It's the language that Gran' Mère (who was actually my great grandmother) used to talk to me when I was a child. The language was declared to be 'officially dead' when Uncle Albert (her [some years younger] brother-in-law died.) I can still speak some - probably more than most people - but when I come across a word the meaning of which I've forgotten, there is nobody left to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eccentric Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 But one can't help feeling that for all their sporting skills, linguistic brilliance and engineering endeavours, the germans are incredibly boring. That is, unfortunately, mostly true. Few Germans understand what humour is, and most of their so-called comedy programmes are downright horrendous. But there is also an undercurrent of really very witty satire. I used to read a magazine called Titanic, which is actually a worthy adversary to Private Eye: Never stop mentioning the war. ---------- Post added 08-08-2013 at 02:10 ---------- Un’ i hoab glaubt, du sprächst Boarisch, Rupert... ---------- Post added 08-08-2013 at 02:31 ---------- Learning two foreign languages should be a priority at school and it might make the British look slightly less lazy. It's also rewarding! The limited attention to foreign languages in British schools is an inheritance from the Empire. You governed most of the world and yours was the language of power and prosperity. I grew up in an officially trilingual country. French was compulsory from the age of 10; English started at age 12, German at age 16. I also got Latin and Spanish in the ‘educational orientation’ I was in. It is the normal case for any Fleming to speak at least Dutch, French and English, even if only in a clumsy way; that is simply what everyone has to learn at school. The King’s speeches are in Dutch, French and German. The German community consists of only 75,000 people yet constitutes an official language of the country, having its own parliament and regional government. In Brussels, all public communication must be in Dutch and French; such is the constitution, and bodies who fail to comply get fined accordingly. In Britain, on the other hand, there are no official languages; the dominance of English is so all-pervasive that it is taken for granted. Scottish Gaelic was recognised some years ago, albeit that it’s on the brink of extinction, Welsh is still relatively thriving but only in North Wales, whereas Manx and Cornish have been artificially raised from the dead. Such is the power of English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 ... The King’s speeches are in Dutch, French and German. ... Which languages does the Queen speak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eccentric Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 Which languages does the Queen speak? The present one, definitely frog and Dutch with an accent. A member of the royal family refusing to speak proper Dutch on Flemish territory would cause civil war. That is not an exaggeration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjarein Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Japanese - for the manga/anime and so i could move to japan and enjoy culture and understand what they are saying and catching them out on insulting foreigners but mainly because it would be a challenge and i have wanted to learn for 10 yrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.