Languages

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a skill ( something you can learn how to do using Skillpedia ) by lxpk Thu, 2006-11-23 13:26

I can: Add to my skills I'll learn: Add to my skills wishlist Create Open Mission Create Learning Mission

People with this skill

People with this skill:

User	Category	Title	Experience	Comments
lxpk	Want To Learn	French	Skill Group: Languages Skill Category: Want To Learn I learned high-school French when I grew up in Canada, but I never gained fluency enough to travel and use the language. I want to relearn the fundamentals and practical french such that I can travel French countries and read French philosophers.	0
iMammal	Skill	Russian	Skill Group: Languages Skill Category: Skill I was born in Kiev, Ukraine while it was under Soviet Rule and my Mother, her parents and myself squeezed through the Iron Curtain and settled in the midwest, where we spoke Russian around the house. As a result I grew up pretty much bilingual and although I have never returned to the motherland, I have maintained my fluency by regularly speaking with my grandparents and any Russians I may have run into. I can teach you Russian.	1
iMammal	Learning	Spanish	Skill Group: Languages Skill Category: Learning I took 4 or so years of High School Spanish but I seem to have maintained my Spanish proficiency at the conversational level by speaking with local Mexicans. I picked Spanish as my High School foreign language specifically for this reason - easy maintenance in the Americas. I would like to upgrade my spanish skills to a more intellectual level and maybe read some Spanish Classics like Don Quixote or Jorge Borges.	0
agentmarina	Skill	Languages	Skill Group: Languages Skill Category: Skill I speak French fluently, and have studied abroad in France. I'm decent with Spanish, which I learned on my own, and it has become increasingly useful in day-to-day life. Because I'm ridiculous I also know biblical Hebrew (I suck at modern), and a bit of Latin. It's fun to read books in their original languages, so next on the list are German and Greek.	0

Language skills are essential to communication. The more languages you learn, the more people you can communicate with. You can get by speaking only your native tongue until you want to travel or communicate with foreign audiences.

Intelligence Factor

It takes a sharp mind to master the nuances of a language and remember vocabulary.

Training Required

Speaking a language without training is nearly impossible.

Multiple Languages

Speaking multiple languages allows you to travel the world and function in different cultures.

Your First Language Is Free

You began life knowing a first language or “native tongue” determined by your childhood background. Some countries have multiple official languages, one of which will be your strongest “native” tongue while the others are learned separately.

Second Languages Take Time

Learning a first language comes naturally to children, but it is much more difficult to learn second languages as an adult.

Choose Multiple Languages

Instead of training a single language skill, you can choose a new language that you can speak. Each language is a distinct skill to be chosen and developed.

World Languages To Choose From

Latin-based: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
Chinese: Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Thai
North Asian: Japanese, Korean
South Asian: Thai, Burmese
Slavic: Russian, Polish, Czech
Germanic: German, Dutch, English, Afrikaans, Yiddish, Swiss
Scandinavian: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Mid-Eastern: Arabic, Persian. Hebrew, Berber
Sign: American Sign Language, Hand Signals

Language Group Synergy

Languages in related groupings are easier to understand because they share some common root words. You get a competency bonus in languages related to a language you are at least skilled in.

Language Comprehension Chances

People can generally communicate with speakers of similar competency in the same language, but when a much more competent (20+% greater) speaker uses more difficult vocabulary and expressions there is a chance of misunderstanding.

If you fail a language chance (your language skill against the speakers’), some part of what they said will be unintelligable to you or even mistaken to mean something completely different.

Speaking Slowly

You can simplify your vocabulary, speak slowly and “talk down” to make your speech more understandable to less skilled speakers of your language. If you are literate you can usually read and write any language you speak.

Writing

Most languages have a written form such as roman, greek, cyrillic, chinese and japanese characters. Many related spoken languages share a single written alphabet with minor differences.

Dialects & Accents

There are many different ways of speaking each language. You may have a regional accent that indicates where you are from. When speaking a language other than your first, you will do so with a detectable accent. Anyone who hears you has a hearing or language chance opposed by your language skill.

I took Latin in high school

Submitted by angiewoot on Mon, 2008-08-25 00:59.

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for 3 years, yet I still don't know much of it. We did translate Virgil's The Aeneid from Latin to English in entirety though. I'd like to believe knowing latin has helped me become a better reader and increase my vocabulary by being able to pick out the latin roots in English words.

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