What languages do you speak?

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Wow, so many multilingual people on these forums! The only language I consider myself truly fluent in is English. However I do have some ability in a couple of other languages (but not as much as I’d like).

I understand Polish well, and speak it passably, but my vocabulary is somewhat limited. It is my mother’s native language, and she has always spoken Polish to me. Unfortunately at some point in my childhood I started answering her in English, which left my speech skills lagging behind. Even though I never did any kind of Polish schooling, I can also read simple Polish texts fairly well (again, it’s my small vocab that gives me problems). The fact that I am able to read Polish without any formal schooling just shows how much more consistent and sensible it is than English! I’ve actually read an article about how it takes children born in English-speaking countries years longer to learn to read and write than children born in other countries, all because of the inconsistencies of the language. Lately I’ve been finding the ability to read Polish most useful for deciphering recipes in various Polish cook books.

Now when it comes to deciphering Swedish recipes I usually run into considerably more trouble, which is unfortunate because I absolutely LOVE Swedish breads and pastries. My father’s native language is Swedish. I used to speak it when I was very little, but then lost it when he remarried and began speaking English at home. That was when I was five years old. Now I can understand some Swedish, but it’s all very sketchy. There are some simple and common phrases that I have no idea about, while at the same time I’ll suddenly remember some far more obscure terms and expressions. So I can quite often recognise large chunks of what I’m hearing, but I can barely speak it at all. Oh how I’d love to learn Swedish properly! But nobody seems to do classes where I live.

Then there are the languages I did in school, which are hardly worth mentioning considering how little I gained from them. I did a few of years of French in primary school, but really didn’t get very far. Then I did a few years of Japanese, which was fun, but again didn’t get me far. Right now all I can remember in Japanese is “Please turn left”, and “I like apples”. I’m sure that will come in handy if I ever visit Japan. :rolleyes: I think the way they teach languages at school in Australia is just shocking. I sure hope they’ve improved since my time.