The Language and Lingo Club

Started by Mana April 22nd, 2014 1:44 PM
  • 2988 views
  • 32 replies

Mana

Age 31
Male
UK
Seen March 25th, 2023
Posted August 18th, 2021
10,075 posts
14.3 Years
The Language and Lingo Club

A few moons ago the wonderful Droomph created the "Lorem Ipsum" Language Club. PokeCommunity is a place where there is an amazing diversity of cultures, and language is central to that.

Although the majority of our users speak English, many of us speak a number of languages - or a passion for learning them! That is why I have resurrected this club, in the hope of meeting people in a similar situation to myself and getting to hear about everyone's position when it comes to foreign languages.

Without further ado~



The Rulebook:
  • Be courteous to those around you.
  • Do your best to respond to others in the thread - everyone is welcome.
  • Try to contribute to the current discussion before adding your own topic to the table. What is the starting topic, I hear you ask? Well! Here it is:

CURRENT TOPIC:

How many languages do you speak? How did you come to learn them?



The Crew:

Altairis
Andrew
Daixtey
[supporter]Genesis[/supporter]
GoldenHouou
Gottacatchemall87
Insomniac
Magic [club leader]
Minerva
Sheep
[supporter]Sopheria[/supporter]
Stygian
The Void

Recommended Resources:

Sorted A-Z by Language


If you'd like to join me just post some interest bellow and address the main topic!

In case you're wondering, I know GCSE level French, minor German and Spanish and am working towards teaching myself Japanese - I am hoping to take a class over summer to gain an official qualification, but I think I'm making steady progress so far :3.

Meganium

memento mori

she/her
Houston, TX
Seen February 1st, 2023
Posted February 1st, 2023
hi bby i would like to join! :D

Well, to introduce myself, my name is Megan! I am fluent in both English and Spanish. I was born in Mexico, but English became my first native language. My parents both speak mostly Spanish, so it got hard for me to communicate in the same language, especially with my mother. When I got a little older, I began to learn Spanish, and was able to communicate (and hold a convo) with my mother.

With the job market nowadays, employers will be asking for peeps who know a second language. I'm proud to have both languages in order, as well as a third, Italian, on the way!

The Void

hiiiii

Male
MOTHA RUSSIA
Seen May 29th, 2019
Posted August 9th, 2015
1,416 posts
13 Years
Count me in~ :D

I love languages; they tell so much about a country's history and the speaker's personality. There's a polyglot who said that whenever he speaks a new language, he feels like a different person, and that's just how I feel sometimes when conversing in a different language.

I can understand four languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Dutch, although my Dutch is really rusty. I'm learning basic Italian, since it's about as easy to learn as Dutch and Spanish. After, I'm planning to learn either Catalan or Welsh.

I'm touring Europe this December, so I'm sure these languages will come in really handy to me. French, Portuguese, and German are off the list for now because they're insanely difficult tbh.
Όφις ην μη φάγη όφιν, δράκων ου γενήσεται.

Mana

Age 31
Male
UK
Seen March 25th, 2023
Posted August 18th, 2021
10,075 posts
14.3 Years
Added you all in :<

Well, to introduce myself, my name is Megan! I am fluent in both English and Spanish. I was born in Mexico, but English became my first native language. My parents both speak mostly Spanish, so it got hard for me to communicate in the same language, especially with my mother. When I got a little older, I began to learn Spanish, and was able to communicate (and hold a convo) with my mother.

With the job market nowadays, employers will be asking for peeps who know a second language. I'm proud to have both languages in order, as well as a third, Italian, on the way!
Being bilingual+ has great connotations around here too. Residents who speak English and Welsh end up with a much better chance of getting many jobs in government and teaching due to the huge lean to preserved 'Welsh Culture'. It's both good and bad, I guess... I hear that the difference in jobs is even more extreme up north, where there are more Welsh speakers.

How are you learning Italian? :) How are you finding it so far - do you think you're picking it up faster/slower than when you learnt Spanish?

I love languages; they tell so much about a country's history and the speaker's personality. There's a polyglot who said that whenever he speaks a new language, he feels like a different person, and that's just how I feel sometimes when conversing in a different language.

I can understand four languages: English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Dutch, although my Dutch is really rusty. I'm learning basic Italian, since it's about as easy to learn as Dutch and Spanish. After, I'm planning to learn either Catalan or Welsh.

I'm touring Europe this December, so I'm sure these languages will come in really handy to me. French, Portuguese, and German are off the list for now because they're insanely difficult tbh.
Out of curiousity, where are you from? To have Welsh on your list of languages-to-learn implies UK/Western Europe? That's quite a good bunch of languages you've got going there!

I'm surprised that you find German hard though, considering you have knowledge of Dutch. I was told there was quite a lot of overlap and similarities (not to mention the parallels between English and German).

Two Italian learners! : < It's like a little study group.

Hello. I would also like to contribute.

I can currently speak very broken Spanish and am in the process of TRYING to learn German (too hard for me to start two at one time).

So hopefully I can progress and become... trilingual ;)

In my honest opinion, I have tried German AFTER learning some spanish and it makes it much easier. German isn't that hard IMHO ^
Congrats so far! :) I guess people have affinities for different language styles, depending on how they process vocabulary and language skills. I know my boyf finds Japanese quite hard, as he often gets caught up on differences in the writing, whereas I feel my struggle is simply remembering nouns :P.

Do you have any intended uses for your Spanish/German (family... work... holidaying... whatever)?

The Void

hiiiii

Male
MOTHA RUSSIA
Seen May 29th, 2019
Posted August 9th, 2015
1,416 posts
13 Years
Out of curiousity, where are you from? To have Welsh on your list of languages-to-learn implies UK/Western Europe? That's quite a good bunch of languages you've got going there!

I'm surprised that you find German hard though, considering you have knowledge of Dutch. I was told there was quite a lot of overlap and similarities (not to mention the parallels between English and German).

Two Italian learners! : < It's like a little study group.
They're very similar, but German grammar is really complex. Also, orthography is more of a thing in German than in Dutch. Their similarities also make it hard, since I'm used to this certain pronunciation of the word, but then I'd have to switch to a different pronunciation.

Just a random fact: In Dutch, the word for German is Duits, while the word for Dutch is Nederlands. In German, German means Deutsch while Dutch means Holländisch :3

And nah, I just like learning Iberian based languages since I like Spanish a lot. That's why Catalan and Welsh are next in my to-learn list. Portuguese can wait though. I don't like how it has so many letters. >_<

And Italian, ftw~
Όφις ην μη φάγη όφιν, δράκων ου γενήσεται.

Mana

Age 31
Male
UK
Seen March 25th, 2023
Posted August 18th, 2021
10,075 posts
14.3 Years
They're very similar, but German grammar is really complex. Also, orthography is more of a thing in German than in Dutch. Their similarities also make it hard, since I'm used to this certain pronunciation of the word, but then I'd have to switch to a different pronunciation.

Just a random fact: In Dutch, the word for German is Deutsch, while the word for Dutch is Duits. In German, German means Holländisch while Dutch means Nederlands :3

And nah, I just like learning Iberian based languages since I like Spanish a lot. That's why Catalan and Welsh are next in my to-learn list. Portuguese can wait though. I don't like how it has so many letters. >_<

And Italian, ftw~
Ah right I see, so you've got to break down what you know in your head, from Dutch, and re-purpose it. Yeah I can see how that's going to be difficult to keep them separate, with such similar spellings!

Ah right, I see! Several of my friends and colleagues speak Welsh, but it's generally considered a dying language here in its homeland :x. Once you get over the ch/dd/ll pronunciations, though it's pretty straight forward.

Mana

Age 31
Male
UK
Seen March 25th, 2023
Posted August 18th, 2021
10,075 posts
14.3 Years
Count me in~

I'm currently fluent in three languages : Creole(used in the Caribbeans regions), English and French. Creole/French are my mother tongue, picked English on the way ^^
Welcome welcome! :) Added you in, Genesis.

Ah, I think you count as our first English-as-an-additional-language member! Welcome :). Did you learn English at school at all or did you choose to pursue it yourself?

Nathan

Blade of Justice

Age 25
Male
Earth
Seen January 1st, 2023
Posted September 23rd, 2022
4,066 posts
10.9 Years
Welcome welcome! :) Added you in, Genesis.

Ah, I think you count as our first English-as-an-additional-language member! Welcome :). Did you learn English at school at all or did you choose to pursue it yourself?
Pursued it myself in a...dictionary xD
|| ||

The Void

hiiiii

Male
MOTHA RUSSIA
Seen May 29th, 2019
Posted August 9th, 2015
1,416 posts
13 Years
Thanks for the advice. Like I mentioned on DCC once, I rely on programs like Rosetta Stone to teach me new languages. It takes time, but it's worth it. Though it's a shame Rosetta doesn't have Catalan, which has much more speakers than some of the languages it does have, like Latin and Navajo.

Count me in~

I'm currently fluent in three languages : Creole(used in the Caribbeans regions), English and French. Creole/French are my mother tongue, picked English on the way ^^
Welcome, man. I've never heard French Creole before. What's the difference between that and French?
Όφις ην μη φάγη όφιν, δράκων ου γενήσεται.

Sopheria

響け〜 響け!

深き海の彼方
Seen July 19th, 2022
Posted December 17th, 2017
4,904 posts
9.5 Years
Hello! Hola! よろしくね!

I speak three different languages:

English is my first language and native tongue.

I picked up Spanish from my family growing up, and took it in high school for three years.

I speak Japanese semi-fluently. I minored in Japanese language and culture in college, and was an exchange student in Japan for a semester.
Paired with Dragon and Koakuma

Meganium

memento mori

she/her
Houston, TX
Seen February 1st, 2023
Posted February 1st, 2023
Being bilingual+ has great connotations around here too. Residents who speak English and Welsh end up with a much better chance of getting many jobs in government and teaching due to the huge lean to preserved 'Welsh Culture'. It's both good and bad, I guess... I hear that the difference in jobs is even more extreme up north, where there are more Welsh speakers.

How are you learning Italian? How are you finding it so far - do you think you're picking it up faster/slower than when you learnt Spanish?
Italian is vagely similar to Spanish. Some phrases or words really sound similar. I can read many Italian articles and even read newspapers in Italian closely well. How I SPEAK the language is something I can't seem to master yet. I could keep a conversation in Italian well... in written form, speaking it verbally is what I'm having trouble.

My bilingual skills can also be beneficial in Mexico too. Some companies out there REALLY want people that are fluent in the English language. I've put some thought into the fact that I might have a better shot at scoring an IT job in Mexico rather than in the US, with my current education and all. I might not be able to know everything IT in Spanish, but once they know I'm a fluent English speaker, they'll want to take me in right away xD

Altairis

take me ☆ take you

Female
database database
Seen December 29th, 2022
Posted October 5th, 2018
5,170 posts
10.9 Years
Hi!!

I am Altairis/Lapras and while I currently can only speak English fluently, I have recently become more interested in other languages! I've been taking Spanish in high school and I am pretty okay at it. If you talk to me in Spanish I could probably understand you but I'm not confident that I'll be able to respond accurately, haha. I just found out that I got into a Japanese class this summer, which I am really excited about because I am a nerd think the language+culture is really interesting and idk I am just really excited :3

I admire those who were able to learn a language by themselves or at such a young age. :O I studied French and Spanish in elementary/middle school but none of that ever amounted to much since I had awful teachers and no motivation to do any class. I mean, that is like four years of each lmao and I don't think I could ever speak like 3 sentences of French and I know that I could only conjugate like 3 verbs in Spanish. You go, guys.

ORAS/XYBW

Andrew

Ah Yeah 아예

Age 26
Male
Michigan, USA
Seen October 17th, 2020
Posted November 18th, 2017
270 posts
9.8 Years
Glad to see this club come back! I'd love to rejoin!

I currently only speak English as it's my native language. I took a few years of Spanish in High School, but a not so great teacher combined with my not so great work ethic destroyed any progress I made in the class :P

I'm working on learning Korean right now. I'm basically self teaching myself using the internet so it's difficult, but it's a lot of fun as well. I'm still a beginner and make a lot of mistakes on simple sentences, but I'm starting to pick up on more lyrics in K-Pop songs, so I know I'm making some progress :p

Although the college I'll be attending in the Fall doesn't have Korean, they do have a Japanese course so I signed up for that. Should be a lot of fun ^.^

Pikachu
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Latest Update

Mana

Age 31
Male
UK
Seen March 25th, 2023
Posted August 18th, 2021
10,075 posts
14.3 Years
Welcome Gottacatchemall87, Sopheria, Altairis and Andrew! I'll add you up to the first post :3 I'll update with supporter colors once they've been finalised.

Daixtey

The Sin of Joy

Age 28
Male
Germany
Seen December 10th, 2022
Posted June 3rd, 2017
163 posts
9.9 Years
Well, I would also love to join :3

I am fluent in German (Mothertongue) and English, and I want to learn Spanish as next but didn't start as to now. I am born in Germany and learned to speak English fluently almost on my own through being on the internet so much :3

(Even though, where/there and then/when still give me a hard time hehehe)

Mana

Age 31
Male
UK
Seen March 25th, 2023
Posted August 18th, 2021
10,075 posts
14.3 Years
Well, I would also love to join :3

I am fluent in German (Mothertongue) and English, and I want to learn Spanish as next but didn't start as to now. I am born in Germany and learned to speak English fluently almost on my own through being on the internet so much :3

(Even though, where/there and then/when still give me a hard time hehehe)
So the internet is good afterall! :< Welcome aboard, Daixtey.

Meganium

memento mori

she/her
Houston, TX
Seen February 1st, 2023
Posted February 1st, 2023
The internet is extremely powerful when it comes to learning a language. A friend of mine showed me this one web forum where other members teach you other languages that they know by tounge or memory. I'll ask her on facebook when she's online and I'll probably link it to you guys.

I've also seen many PC members whose native language isn't even English, and a few have told me that PC taught them most of the English, goes to show that many forums, even PC are great practice in learning the language!

Andrew

Ah Yeah 아예

Age 26
Male
Michigan, USA
Seen October 17th, 2020
Posted November 18th, 2017
270 posts
9.8 Years
I think it'd be helpful if people posted the resources they're using to study their languages. That way other people who want to get started with a language have a good place to go :)

I started off learning Korean with HowToStudyKorean.com. I really liked the format and explanations so that's definitely a good place to start. Unfortunately, the lessons are all text only (although most of the vocab has a audio file of a native speaker saying the word). Another great site is TalkToMeInKorean.com. They have a lot of great, free resources to use (Lesson PDFs, practice workbooks, etc.) and they provide great audio lessons, so you actually get to hear the language in action. Definitely recommend this site.

행운 (Good luck) fellow Korean learners! ^.^

Pikachu
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Latest Update

GoldenHouou

Abstract Nonsense

Page 26
Seen August 27th, 2018
Posted July 2nd, 2016
586 posts
18 Years
I need to be in this club like burning. Languages nnnnghhhh.

I'm fluent in Finnish and English, and semi-fluent in Japanese. I can understand most everything being said to me in the language, as well as hold a conversation on various topics in it. I spent three weeks in the country doing all my business in the language, as well as lived with a Japanese person who didn't speak a lick of English for six months - after which we were good friends and all, too. But reading... Yeah, I don't know my kanji yet. I've only got around 300 or so down, which is nowhere near the ~2000 required. I'm playing through some Japanese-language games at the moment though, so that helps. I've learned such bizarre kanji that way, ha. Thank you, SDR2.

Apaaart from that, I can understand Spanish (played some games in Spanish before) and Swedish fairly well, but freeze if I have to say anything beyond hello. I've also studied German and Russian in the past, and right now I'm living in Korea (been for almost a year) and getting kinda okay in the language. My French friends have also taken to giving me a word a day. But those are mostly curse words and my pronunciation is ♥♥♥♥.

As for how I learnt, uh. English from video games, media and the Internet. Japanese from the same sources plus immersion and some self study. The rest in school, hence why I'm not as good with them. I need to start watching Korean dramas, huh.

Also ooh, a fellow Korean student that is rare.

Current rps
| none ): |

Sheep

She/Her
Australia
Seen 23 Minutes Ago
Posted 1 Hour Ago
39,248 posts
16.6 Years
Hello guys! I'd like to join this fantastic place~

The name's Janna (pronounced John-uh). I'm fluent in reading, writing, and speaking English and am also a fluent Russian speaker, having been born in Russia. I don't write very well at all since I don't have a reason to so my writing skills are bad whereas I can read Russian, just slowly haha. I also know minor French from taking three semesters of it in uni.

I'm hoping to learn German and Japanese in the near future but that's just a dream for now. Japanese will likely come first since I plan to attend language school there for a few years once I have enough income. :)

Mana

Age 31
Male
UK
Seen March 25th, 2023
Posted August 18th, 2021
10,075 posts
14.3 Years
I think it'd be helpful if people posted the resources they're using to study their languages. That way other people who want to get started with a language have a good place to go :)

I started off learning Korean with HowToStudyKorean.com. I really liked the format and explanations so that's definitely a good place to start. Unfortunately, the lessons are all text only (although most of the vocab has a audio file of a native speaker saying the word). Another great site is TalkToMeInKorean.com. They have a lot of great, free resources to use (Lesson PDFs, practice workbooks, etc.) and they provide great audio lessons, so you actually get to hear the language in action. Definitely recommend this site.

행운 (Good luck) fellow Korean learners! ^.^
Ooh yay :3.

For Japanese, I've been using apps:
Dr. Moku's Hirigana/Katakana - uses pictograms and fun things to help you remember the kana. (Beginners).
Human Japanese (Beginners/Intermediate) - very helpful, step by step lessons on vocab, grammar and eventually use of Kanji.

I need to be in this club like burning. Languages nnnnghhhh.

I'm fluent in Finnish and English, and semi-fluent in Japanese. I can understand most everything being said to me in the language, as well as hold a conversation on various topics in it. I spent three weeks in the country doing all my business in the language, as well as lived with a Japanese person who didn't speak a lick of English for six months - after which we were good friends and all, too. But reading... Yeah, I don't know my kanji yet. I've only got around 300 or so down, which is nowhere near the ~2000 required. I'm playing through some Japanese-language games at the moment though, so that helps. I've learned such bizarre kanji that way, ha. Thank you, SDR2.

Apaaart from that, I can understand Spanish (played some games in Spanish before) and Swedish fairly well, but freeze if I have to say anything beyond hello. I've also studied German and Russian in the past, and right now I'm living in Korea (been for almost a year) and getting kinda okay in the language. My French friends have also taken to giving me a word a day. But those are mostly curse words and my pronunciation is ♥♥♥♥.

As for how I learnt, uh. English from video games, media and the Internet. Japanese from the same sources plus immersion and some self study. The rest in school, hence why I'm not as good with them. I need to start watching Korean dramas, huh.

Also ooh, a fellow Korean student that is rare.
Hello guys! I'd like to join this fantastic place~

The name's Janna (pronounced John-uh). I'm fluent in reading, writing, and speaking English and am also a fluent Russian speaker, having been born in Russia. I don't write very well at all since I don't have a reason to so my writing skills are bad whereas I can read Russian, just slowly haha. I also know minor French from taking three semesters of it in uni.

I'm hoping to learn German and Japanese in the near future but that's just a dream for now. Japanese will likely come first since I plan to attend language school there for a few years once I have enough income. :)
WELCOME BOTH! :D Added to the list.

The Void

hiiiii

Male
MOTHA RUSSIA
Seen May 29th, 2019
Posted August 9th, 2015
1,416 posts
13 Years
I think it'd be helpful if people posted the resources they're using to study their languages. That way other people who want to get started with a language have a good place to go :)

I started off learning Korean with HowToStudyKorean.com. I really liked the format and explanations so that's definitely a good place to start. Unfortunately, the lessons are all text only (although most of the vocab has a audio file of a native speaker saying the word). Another great site is TalkToMeInKorean.com. They have a lot of great, free resources to use (Lesson PDFs, practice workbooks, etc.) and they provide great audio lessons, so you actually get to hear the language in action. Definitely recommend this site.

행운 (Good luck) fellow Korean learners! ^.^
Rosetta Stone
Pimsleur
BBC Languages

The three above give you a sort of 'mental immersion', which means your brain is having the perception of learning the language from the locals. But the best way, of course, will always be 'cultural immersion', wherein your brain is 'forced' to learn and adapt the language because of your presence in the country, among native speakers.
Όφις ην μη φάγη όφιν, δράκων ου γενήσεται.