Poll: How many languages do you speak fluently? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How many languages do you speak fluently?".
View the poll results »
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Four fluently, but only 2 perfectly.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 05:14
Spanish to English
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Apart from my native English (UK) I speak my source language, European Spanish, at bilingual level, but still with a bit of an accent and the odd mistake. My other languages are a bit rusty but I can have a conversation in French, although. I wouldn't say fluently. And my German and Russian have dwindled to basic levels through lack of use/practice.
I understand Valenciano/Catalan, but don't usually speak more than the odd phrase, which is quite common in my area, where many people speak ... See more Apart from my native English (UK) I speak my source language, European Spanish, at bilingual level, but still with a bit of an accent and the odd mistake. My other languages are a bit rusty but I can have a conversation in French, although. I wouldn't say fluently. And my German and Russian have dwindled to basic levels through lack of use/practice.
I understand Valenciano/Catalan, but don't usually speak more than the odd phrase, which is quite common in my area, where many people speak "Valenciano apitxat" and often switch from Spanish to Valenciano in mid-sentence. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Almost 2 (1 + 3/4) | Jan 16, 2020 |
For me, "fluently" means that I speak that language without having to look for words or hesitating because I'm unsure how to express myself. This being said, I’m fluent in 1 + 3/4 languages, 1 being my native language (Portuguese) and 3/4 being French. I lived in Belgium for 30 years and I used French on a daily basis, so I was quite fluent, but after returning to Portugal I find that my fluency is going down through ageing and lack of practice. I’m not that fluent in English but I manage. M... See more For me, "fluently" means that I speak that language without having to look for words or hesitating because I'm unsure how to express myself. This being said, I’m fluent in 1 + 3/4 languages, 1 being my native language (Portuguese) and 3/4 being French. I lived in Belgium for 30 years and I used French on a daily basis, so I was quite fluent, but after returning to Portugal I find that my fluency is going down through ageing and lack of practice. I’m not that fluent in English but I manage. My oral Spanish and Italian are as rusty as ever. ▲ Collapse
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| Speaking vs writing | Jan 16, 2020 |
As a bilingual introvert having a hard time expressing myself orally:
Fluently spoken languages: probably none
Fluently written: three
Thankfully, translation is about the latter.
| | | | Muriel Vasconcellos (X) 
United States
Local time: 20:14
Spanish to English
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English is my mother tongue and my Portuguese is near-native. I've been speaking Spanish for 70 years, lived in Mexico, and hung out with native Spanish speakers in my office for several decades, but I still hesitate when I speak. Hardest for me are household words because Portuguese keeps creeping in. When people give me a blank stare, I usually know why.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:14
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Only 2 (English and Italian) perfectly (bilingual written and spoken as working languages). French: very good for conversation and day-to-day use but not for work. A smattering of German. I have an aspiration to learn Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Classical Arabic.
An Italian hotel manager recently asked me "what part of Tuscany are you from?"
[Edited at 2020-01-16 12:32 GMT]
| | | | | Still learning English | Jan 16, 2020 |
I'm still struggling to learn English. If I can achieve the degree of fluency I'm aiming at in English, then I will be able to speak two languages fluently. Currently I speak just one language fluently, my native Chinese.
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Kaisa I
Canada
Local time: 23:14
English to Finnish
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| 0-3, depending on situation | Jan 16, 2020 |
Jean Dimitriadis wrote:
Fluently spoken languages: probably none
Fluently written: three
Thankfully, translation is about the latter.
I hear you. For my citizenship application, I have to do a speaking test. My husband and in-laws think I'm crazy for worrying, but it's not the language but the possibility of freezing mid-sentence that gives me anxiety, especially in a test situation.
| | | | | Two - and I've lost one | Jan 16, 2020 |
Two, English, my native language, and Danish, my language of habitual usage.
At times I have been able to speak French fluently, but I have lost it from lack of practice, although I can follow a French film on TV or read French. My German was never that fluent, but I can ´find´ what I have far more easily than French. I need the subtitles in German to get all the finer details of a film. I am very text-oriented, and if I am struggling with a language, I try to envisage how it woul... See more Two, English, my native language, and Danish, my language of habitual usage.
At times I have been able to speak French fluently, but I have lost it from lack of practice, although I can follow a French film on TV or read French. My German was never that fluent, but I can ´find´ what I have far more easily than French. I need the subtitles in German to get all the finer details of a film. I am very text-oriented, and if I am struggling with a language, I try to envisage how it would be written, and then I often recognise it!
Now we have a new Italian branch of the family, and I am trying hard to learn Italian. School Latin helps, even after fifty years, and oddly enough, my French pops up at the wrong moments. At least the grammar is a help sometimes.
Mercifully, our guest from Finland this Christmas spoke excellent Swedish and English... I don't think I could manage another completely new language!
[Edited at 2020-01-16 16:58 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Chinese and English
Fluent in Chinese language, especially southern part of China and Taiwan.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 05:14
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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...but the one is a bit rusty (having relocated to a country where no-one speaks it).
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Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 23:14
Japanese to English
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| Speak fluently | Jan 17, 2020 |
Two fluently and perfectly: English and Japanese. Japanese because I lived in Japan for eight years, attended a Japanese university (Todai) for four years and how speak it at home. Truth be told, I speak more Japanese than English.
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