How many languages?

[MadDawg]

You forgot about yank and drunk as well dearie

Quintilingual?

[SueEllen]

How do you know she's fluent unless you are fluent too?

She could be babbling incoherently and they native speakers being polite...

I well remember being sat in the airport transfer bus from Sheremetyevo 2 to 1, c 2002, separate buildings then and was chatting to this Danish guy who claimed he spoke fluent Russian, he gets off the bus and walked straight into an unyielding door marked 'входа нет' - means 'No entry'. Wad a dick!

Speaking doesn't equal the ability to read or write the language as they are 3 different skills.

Put it this way little kids can speak English fluently before they can read or write it.

[MadDawg]

Speaking doesn't equal the ability to read or write the language as they are 3 different skills.

Put it this way little kids can speak English fluently before they can read or write it.

Me want potty.

[mudskipper]

Speaking doesn't equal the ability to read or write the language as they are 3 different skills.

Put it this way little kids can speak English fluently before they can read or write it.

And spelling it seems beyond the capabilities of many CUK posters.

[NickFitz]

My former Dutch GF and I once stopped a businessman in a well-to-do suburb of Den Haag, asking for directions. She asked first, so he started replying to her in Dutch; she translated salient bits to me. Realising I was English, he then started talking in English when he was addressing me, and in Dutch when he was addressing her. It became rather weird, as he'd say something like "Carry on until you see a church" as he was looking at me and then, turning to her, say "and then turn left" in Dutch. I don't think he realised he was switching between the two languages depending on who he was looking at; it was just the way you'd talk if you were giving directions to a couple, looking at both of them rather than just talking to one while ignoring the other, but in two languages

After he'd gone, I mentioned it to my GF; she admitted that she hadn't actually noticed that he was talking in both languages, but she'd understood all of the directions, so we got to where we wanted to be

[MarillionFan]

My former Dutch GF and I once stopped a businessman in a well-to-do suburb of Den Haag, asking for directions. She asked first, so he started replying to her in Dutch; she translated salient bits to me. Realising I was English, he then started talking in English when he was addressing me, and in Dutch when he was addressing her. It became rather weird, as he'd say something like "Carry on until you see a church" as he was looking at me and then, turning to her, say "and then turn left" in Dutch. I don't think he realised he was switching between the two languages depending on who he was looking at; it wtas just the way you'd talk if you were giving directions to a couple, looking at both of them rather than just talking to one while ignoring the other, but in two languages

After he'd gone, I mentioned it to my GF; she admitted that she hadn't actually noticed that he was talking in both languages, but she'd understood all of the directions, so we got to where we wanted to be

This never happened. You've never had a girlfriend.

[mudskipper]

My former Dutch GF and I ...

What nationality is she now?

[NotAllThere]

In my kids' school(equivalent to sixth form college), they have to read 50 books in three years, 15 in English, 15 in French and 20 in German. Kids specialising in languages will add Italian, Spanish and one other to the mix.

The locals grow up learning Swiss German, then learn German when they start school, with French coming in a year later, and English from about age 11. There's moves to start teaching English from 7 as well.

[BrilloPad]

In my kids' school(equivalent to sixth form college), they have to read 50 books in three years, 15 in English, 15 in French and 20 in German. Kids specialising in languages will add Italian, Spanish and one other to the mix.

The locals grow up learning Swiss German, then learn German when they start school, with French coming in a year later, and English from about age 11. There's moves to start teaching English from 7 as well.

Pretty pointless. If schools teach anything other than English it should be Chinese and Indian.

[VectraMan]

I once stopped at some motorway services in Belgium and had one of those guys rush up to try to sell me a gold watch, or some such tat, but in Belgian (or Flemish, whatever it is). I just said "I'm English" and without pausing for breath he instantly switched his patter to perfect English. He was from Turkey, so presumably spoke at least 3 languages well enough to scam people in each.

I'm getting close to a conversational level of French; really I need to go there and practice. But despite 2 years of German evening classes I'd struggle to string together much of anything in German. Pretty hopeless really.