Hey #SocialCoop'ers, as a newbie I'd like to know you better. What languages you speak/understand/are studying?
For me the list following:
#Finnish / #suomi native
#English fluent
#Swedish / #svenska fluent
#Dutch / #Nederlands studying
#Spanish / #espanol basics
#German / #Deutsch basics
And scrap knowledge of a host of other languages.
@Stoori English, Spanish fluent.
French, Portuguese, and a little Italian with more difficulty due to lack of frequent use these days. Dropped out German and Dutch class but may pick those up again in the future. One Eastern Asian language could be useful, but I don't have ambitions of becoming a linguist, nor a languages professional of any sort so that's more of a distant thing in the future than an immediate project.
Who knows, priorities can change given the right opportunity, right?
@h That's an impressive list anyway.
Some East Asian language could be good to learn. My own motivation is part just for the fun of it, but also part in that I could read in new languages and reach articles, books and phenomenons that would be unavailable to me otherwise.
Anyway, I don't think I would have much professional use for other new languages than Dutch and perhaps Spanish. There's a limit in how many working languages one can get, and professional level needs constant practicing.
@h When I was in school, English and Swedish were compulsory. In addition to that I also studied some French and later Russian. Then I ended up studying linguistics and took also courses in Estonian, Spanish and German. After that I've studied Romanian and Dutch by myself.
Only Dutch has been motivated by external reasons (planned migration in the future), other voluntary languages are just for fun. I've also interested in Dutch Sign Language, but alas, there's so little time for all this.
@Stoori Hehehe, yes, time and distance are typically limiting factors. Still, it's a whole new world now, entirely different from the internets circa Y2K, with so many resources and Youtubers spreading their knowledge like spores in the wind.
Back in 2000 when I researched Mandarin a bit I started looking into a Zhong Wen very arid, and excruciatingly hard to use website that I assume was sponsored by the PRC's state.
Entirely different reality now. Some things have changed for the better.
Taru Luojola
h