What languages do you speak?

[Farseer]

I'm with Chris in this. English, that's it, for me...unless Aussie slang can be considered a language of it's own ?

I am so impressed by the rest of you - that you write so well in English is truly a credit to you all . Reading your posts, I would never have guessed that some of you struggle to speak it!

[joost]

- Dutch (native)
- English
- Basic German
- Very basic French
- I used to be able to read ancient Greek, but that's been years ago.
- Limburgs (local dialect, I can only understand it, speaking twists my tongue into knots I prefer not to have)

[Albertosaurus Rex]

I am so impressed by the rest of you - that you write so well in English is truly a credit to you all . Reading your posts, I would never have guessed that some of you struggle to speak it!

What can I say... I read a lot in English so some of that rubs off on a person. Also, tv shows and films are not dubbed in the Netherlands, but always subtitled (Dubs are simply not available - except for children's shows and movies.) so I guess that helps too - although the subtitles can be pretty bad at times. (One from Star Trek Enterprise that was exceptionally hilarious: "Target the lead vessel." You know the word "lead" can indicate something that is in charge and something made of lead, right? Guess what option the subtitler went with...)

[Nuytsia]

Hey it might have been made of lead ....... well it WAS kind of grey and metal looking .... hehhehehheee

[Albertosaurus Rex]

And then the Klingons (Or were it the Augments? I'm not sure which episode it was again.) all died of lead poisoning. :p

[Manephelien]

No dubs here in Finland either, for most shows and just about all movies meant for 8 year olds and over. When you're 8, you're supposed to read fast enough to keep up with the subtitles. Most kids do.

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Now that you mention it, there has been an interesting development in Dutch children's television. Back in the day, live action was almost always subbed and cartoons... sometimes dubbed, sometimes subbed. Nowadays, everything is dubbed. (Although the Dutch Disney Channel apperently broadcasts subbed live action series after 6 o' clock... )

(I remember watching Power Rangers with subtitles when I was seven and being incensed when I could only get my hands on a dubbed version of the theatrical movie. When DVDs started getting popular I was overjoyed to replace my VHS with a DVD with the English voices. Yes, I was 14 at that time. I will always have a place in my heart for Power Rangers, no matter how stupid it is. Ironically, PR is technically even worse than a dub because it's Japanese footage mixed with new American footage...)

[Nuytsia]

I'm curious - does that mean most of what you see on TV is English language programs that are subtitled? Or is most of what you see on TV made in your native language, and it's only the odd thing made in English speaking countries?
I sound pretty ignorant! (and I am!)

The reason I ask is that I was just thinking of how here in Australia foreign language TV shows are almost always subtitled (not dubbed) and it doesn't really bother me BUT having said that, obviously that is a still very much a minority of what is on TV. SO maybe if I had to deal with subtitles almost ALL the time I would dislike it.........

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Well, there are plenty of Dutch programs, but most of it just doesn't impress me. It's just like Dutch authors: they don't excite me. One exception, though: I recently saw a few minutes of a new series about Prince Bernhard and that really impressed me. It's out now out on DVD, maybe I'll take a look... Oh, and I used to be a big fan of the talk show Kopspijkers, before it started degenerating and finally got canceled. But other than that, I'm no fan of Dutch tv.

I really don't pay all that much attention to the subtitles anymore. I'm so used to them that they don't bother me. They do help sometimes - English still is a foreign language to me, so it's sometimes slightly difficult to follow everything that is said.

[Manephelien]

Plenty of programs made here, but to be honest I mainly watch the news and the odd domestic movie and talk show in Finnish/Swedish. Most of what I watch is English/American, with the occasional Aussie/Kiwi show or movie thrown in.