How many languages... (125)

10 Name: Anonymous Linguist : 2007-07-02 16:19 ID:UkcrD2Hc

Organized by language family:

English -- native.

Thai -- fluent. 4 yrs in college, lived in Thailand for 3 years post-college, and studied the literature as a graduate student.
Lao -- working ability, written and spoken. Lived in Lao-speaking parts of Thailand, traveled a lot in Laos. Plus it's hard not to be functional in Lao if you're fluent in Thai, if you have any head at all for language, as the two are very close.

Spanish -- working ability bordering on fluency. 5 years of much more serious than average study in middle and high school, followed by significant travel and work in Spanish-language environments, including more than a year in a Spanish-speaking environment in California where I needed Spanish daily.
Portuguese -- limited working ability. Worked in an office with a Brazilian branch and lots of Brazilians around; took a half-dozen intensive lessons. Can now read fluently and get by conversationally. Much like Spanish, grammatically, if you can get your head around the very distinct phonology.
Italian and French--can read, understand at least 50% of what is said around me, and have rudimentary conversations. My French pronunciation is terrible, but my Italian one is pretty good.
Romanian--limited reading and conversational ability. One year study in college. Helps to know Russian, as it's a Romance language chock-full of Slavic influences.

Russian -- working ability. 3 years in H.S., 3 years in college, some travel in Russia and other post-Soviet states.
Polish and other Slavic languages--basic functionality. Can get the gist of many conversations/written texts, speak basic phrases, and parse grammatically.

Khmer-- basic conversation & reading. 1 year study, travel.

Japanese--basic conversation, kana, 35 or so kanji. One year half-assed study, 15 years of anime fandom, some travel.

Pali (dead Indian language, cousin to Sanskrit, holy language of Southeast Asian/Sri Lankan Buddhism)--limited reading ability with dictionary in lap. 2 years of study in grad school.

Hindi/Urdu--basic conversation. Self-study, travel. Thanks to Pali, I recognize a surprising number of roots and bits of words when reading the subtitles in Hindi fims.

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