01-02-2010, 09:56 PM
I wouldn't say that I 'excel' at the moment, but I do think that I do have some sort of a talent for foreign languages.
The foreign language that I am best at is Dutch. I did live in The Netherlands for a few years off and on, but the last time when I ived there,
was from 1999-2001. I couldn't say that I was totally fluent, but I was fairly good at it as I was often told by Dutch people.
Most Dutch people seem to be able to speak English fairly well, especially the younger generation, who Learn a few languages in school I think.
But the Dutch people show a lot more respect to foreigners in their country, who take the time and effort to learn the language,
but there are people who have lived there for years, that do not speak any Dutch at all.
Second to Dutch, the next best language that I have a reasonable command of is German, as the grammatical construction in particular
is very similar to Dutch. I only spent a few months, living in Germany though, but the language still interests me.
I did try to learn Italian and Japanese at one point in time, but didn't continue very long with those pusuits.
What I find to be quite enjoyable regarding foreign languages, is to take a look at proverbs and sayings in the language that you are interested in,
because you may find some sayings that you may never hear in your own language, which may give you an insight into how that particular culture sees things.
One thing that I did find to be quite fascinating while living in Holland,
in Amsterdam in fact, was the names of some of the streets there as they were quite interesting.
Off the top off my head, a couple of rough translations for street names in Amsterdam, could be:
'Our beloved women's street'
'Torturers Street'
'Blood Street'
'Russia'
There are many other weird and wonderful names there as well, and one of them may even translate into something like:
'Rabbit's Trousers Street'
Although that last one may translate to something else for Dutch people.
I can't say that I'll ever lose interest in this subject.
The foreign language that I am best at is Dutch. I did live in The Netherlands for a few years off and on, but the last time when I ived there,
was from 1999-2001. I couldn't say that I was totally fluent, but I was fairly good at it as I was often told by Dutch people.
Most Dutch people seem to be able to speak English fairly well, especially the younger generation, who Learn a few languages in school I think.
But the Dutch people show a lot more respect to foreigners in their country, who take the time and effort to learn the language,
but there are people who have lived there for years, that do not speak any Dutch at all.
Second to Dutch, the next best language that I have a reasonable command of is German, as the grammatical construction in particular
is very similar to Dutch. I only spent a few months, living in Germany though, but the language still interests me.
I did try to learn Italian and Japanese at one point in time, but didn't continue very long with those pusuits.
What I find to be quite enjoyable regarding foreign languages, is to take a look at proverbs and sayings in the language that you are interested in,
because you may find some sayings that you may never hear in your own language, which may give you an insight into how that particular culture sees things.
One thing that I did find to be quite fascinating while living in Holland,
in Amsterdam in fact, was the names of some of the streets there as they were quite interesting.
Off the top off my head, a couple of rough translations for street names in Amsterdam, could be:
'Our beloved women's street'
'Torturers Street'
'Blood Street'
'Russia'
There are many other weird and wonderful names there as well, and one of them may even translate into something like:
'Rabbit's Trousers Street'
Although that last one may translate to something else for Dutch people.
I can't say that I'll ever lose interest in this subject.
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Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance - Confucius
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