How many languages can you speak?

[Samson]

Once you get to 5 in counting, you are better than me in German.....lol

[Kyuuketsuki]

One and one but in my defence I am exceptionally good at it, one might even say a pedant ... except, of course, when I choose to be otherwise.

Kyu

[Edwardo Piet]

Lol - how pedantic of you to point that exception out LMFAO

EvF

[Giff]

One thing is quite intresting in my country. People who come here is of course expected to learn the language, that is of quite obvious. Those who don't learn is often concidered to be unwilling to become a member of the society, and somewhat rude.

However some americans, or people from english speaking countries, think they can can go around and just speak englsih all the time, for some reason. But that can have something to do with that nearly everyone here understand the language and can talk it. But it's quite weird that some of them don't really care to learn the language. Most of them maybe do, but most of them have lived here for 2 years and more and have hard to time to even say the most simple sentence. Some of the enlgish speakers speak english speakers can uderstand swedish well, but they don't talk it. So it is quite odd to listen to such conversation.

One english guy, orginally from cornwall, which I worked with once spoke swedish. He had lived here for 7 years or something so it would be quite strange if he didn't. But he still had a funny accent. However he said that when first moved to Sweden did he, among with some people in england and people from other countries, think that english was the second offical language here. Because there so many that can both understand it and talk it well. There are quite many who can even talk it with a perfect english or american accent.

Not strange since we start to learn english in the 3rd grade.

[leo-rcc]

That is exactly the same in the Netherlands. That is also why English people never bother to learn Dutch because they assume we speak English anyway.

[Matt85]

My first language is Luritja Pintupi (an Australian aboriginal dialect). I can also understand some other dialects but not speak them too well.

and of course English.

[Darwinian]

Talking about Australian Aborigines, I once saw an episode of 'Nothing To Declare' where a man was arguing with the Australian Customs that he was being victimised because he was a native aborigine.

Trouble was, and thing that I couldn't work out was that he was about 6' 6" tall, whiter than a sheet of A4 paper, typically European and Jewish.

How can someone who looks like this..



Claim to be a native aborigine and describe aborigines as "His People"?

It got me very puzzled

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

Talking about Australian Aborigines, I once saw an episode of 'Nothing To Declare' where a man was arguing with the Australian Customs that he was being victimised because he was a native aborigine.

Trouble was, and thing that I couldn't work out was that he was about 6' 6" tall, whiter than a sheet of A4 paper, typically European and Jewish.

How can someone who looks like this..



Claim to be a native aborigine and describe aborigines as "His People"?

It got me very puzzled

In Australia ,to be recognised as aborigine all that is required is that person identify as one AND be accepted by the aboriginal community.


WHY a person would WANT to identify in such a way unless they felt personally compelled is beyond me.By that I mean it's NOT to a person's advantage to be aborigine in Australia, although things have improved marginally over the last few decades.

Improvements include: counting them in the census, giving them the franchise,allowing them to legally drink alcohol, paying them the same as white guys on [some] stations (ranches).We also stopped taking away part-white children to be raised white.Oh, we also stopped killing aborigines for sport in the 1920's. We did however manage to kill all of them on the island state of Tasmania. I can remember the first aborigine person to attend university in this country;Charles Perkins.He graduated in 1965. He died in 200, age 60. (Aborigine life expectancy is still significantly lower than for other Australians.

I've provided a few links below for interest:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_Generations


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasmanian_Aborigines


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_N._Perkins


The Youtube clip is of the present Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd making formal apology to the aborigine people,in parliament.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3TZOGpG6cM

[Darwinian]

How strange... But thanks for that, it makes things a bit clearer now..

[Dotard]

Just one.

Although I can curse quite well in Spanish and Tagalog.