# What is your mother tongue?



## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

I'm not sure I have a mother tongue, but still.....


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

It's something she uses to speak and taste things.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Aren't 'Mother" - tongue and "Mother" - land both more a literal translation, gender assignment and all, from Slavic language groups? 'Father' from the Latin / Romance and English languages?

As an American, I only recall 'Home - land' and "Native" language - 'tongue' being another more 'Euro' translated usage, I thought...

Any rate, something both quaint and creepy about the constructs from the other languages - to instil a sense that the nation you were born in and the language you speak are somehow almost 'genetic.' Lol, o lol.


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

"English/Irish/Scottish"?? 

Arguably that's three languages - Irish and Scottish are both versions of Gaelic. Lumping them in with English is as meaningful as lumping Czech and Polish with Russian.


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## kv466 (May 18, 2011)

Spanglish


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Other - Dutch.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

Frenglish....


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Frenglish....


LOL. Je pensais que c'était uniquement l'anglais. Peux-tu expliquer un petit plus?

Merci

Martin


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> LOL. Je pensais que c'était uniquement l'anglais. Peux-tu expliquer un petit plus?
> 
> Merci
> 
> Martin


When I was growing up en Suisse avec mes friends we sometimes melangions our French et notre anglais.

That's franglais, or Frenglish.


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## Moira (Apr 1, 2012)

My mother tongue is English, but my father tongue is Afrikaans. I grew up quite fluent in both, but attended an English school and then an Afrikaans university. I now speak hardly any Afrikaans.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Jeremy Marchant said:


> "English/Irish/Scottish"??
> 
> Arguably that's three languages - Irish and Scottish are both versions of Gaelic. Lumping them in with English is as meaningful as lumping Czech and Polish with Russian.


Do you speak Irish or Scottish, if not what is the purpose of your post?


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

PetrB said:


> Aren't 'Mother" - tongue and "Mother" - land both more a literal translation, gender assignment and all, from Slavic language groups? 'Father' from the Latin / Romance and English languages?
> 
> As an American, I only recall 'Home - land' and "Native" language - 'tongue' being another more 'Euro' translated usage, I thought...
> 
> Any rate, something both quaint and creepy about the constructs from the other languages - to instil a sense that the nation you were born in and the language you speak are somehow almost 'genetic.' Lol, o lol.


Very interesting I'm sure, the man is asking what language members were brought up speaking. That's not very difficult to answer is it?


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

moody said:


> Very interesting I'm sure, the man is asking what language members were brought up speaking. That's not very difficult to answer is it?


Well....I have learned to say it this way in English...in French it would be "langue maternelle", in Spanish "lengua materna" in Russian, I don't know or I don't remember...It will be the first language you have learnt and speak with your parents...Is this a bit clearer?

Martin


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

Jeremy Marchant said:


> "English/Irish/Scottish"??
> 
> Arguably that's three languages - Irish and Scottish are both versions of Gaelic. Lumping them in with English is as meaningful as lumping Czech and Polish with Russian.


Haha yeah that's true. I definitely don't speak Irish or Scottish... Just sayin'.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Jeremy Marchant said:


> "English/Irish/Scottish"??
> 
> Arguably that's three languages - Irish and Scottish are both versions of Gaelic. Lumping them in with English is as meaningful as lumping Czech and Polish with Russian.


No! Definitely, you are too serious for me! I'm just a little (old) guy trying to have some fun here!

:lol:

Martin


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

mamascarlatti said:


> Frenglish....


LOL! That's funny. So far I've now heard of Spanglish, Frenglish, and Denglish [German (Deutsch)/English].  Someone should also make up Runglish.


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

well, I have been catalogued as an "ESL" here in this forum, so I suppose that my attempt to pass like a native english speaker has failed :lol:. Funny, the three members who have selected "spanish" in the poll are from Argentina. We rock here! :lol:


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

MaestroViolinist said:


> LOL! That's funny. So far I've now heard of Spanglish, Frenglish, and Denglish [German (Deutsch)/English].  Someone should also make up Runglish.


Kanieshna...Ia gavariu pa russky ochien kharasho. I've heard that Polednice was bannished! What a pity! Corageous people are often bannished...so was I, once.


Martin


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Kanieshna...Ia gavariu pa russky ochien kharasho.


What did you just say???


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

aleazk said:


> well, I have been catalogued as an "ESL" here in this forum, so I suppose that my attempt to pass like a native english speaker has failed :lol:. Funny, the three members who have selected "spanish" in the poll are from Argentina. We rock here! :lol:


Yes, I am Argentinian y a mucha honra, que es un país divino, pero mal gobernado.

Martin


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

MaestroViolinist said:


> What did you just say???


LOL

_Naturally, I speak Russian very well _(I wish it could be true...LOL)

Martin


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

moody said:


> Very interesting I'm sure, the man is asking what language members were brought up speaking. That's not very difficult to answer is it?


Yes, I understood at least that much. I just thought it was an interesting side thought which would not in any way disrupt or derail the thread, which it has not.

To address the basic: English, and within the family, American English and, via a Nana, English with a rather sweet permanent soft Norwegian lilt is what I grew up with, English the language of my country - a country, interestingly, which has no legal proclamation of what the 'official language' is, but where one can assume the language on the money, other than a few scraps of classical Latin, is the language of the place.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

English is a Germanic language, but the others are Celtic. But Russian, Czech and Polsih are all Slavic and very similar to each other.


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## opus55 (Nov 9, 2010)

Korean 한국어

I sometimes hear people speak Spanglish. I know one guy at work, when he talks to his wife on the phone, he mixes English and Spanish. And his English has thick Chicago accent too.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

superhorn said:


> English is a Germanic language, but the others are Celtic. But Russian, Czech and Polsih are all Slavic and very similar to each other.


I don't agree...I speak Russian, but I can't understand Polish (just some words)...I know the roots are the same...But just some roots. BTW...Polsih, I don't understand it at all. LOL LOL LOL

Mar_itn_


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

English with an accent that has been labelled "general Australian" as opposed to "broad Australian" (aka "strine") and "cultivated Australian."

Cultivated Australian Accent is a dying art form among the younger generations. We need to start speaking it again!


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

^^You young 'uns don't say these kinds of Aussie words/phrases anymore - g'day, bloke, how's it goin'?, mate, hooroo, etc. What I hear are those bloody (there's another one!) _Americanisms_ - yo bro!, yo dude, calling people _guys_ (which I'm guilty of!), stuff like that. So _cultivated Australian _is okay, but _Americanisms_ are not, in my book.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Sid James said:


> ^^You young 'uns don't say these kinds of Aussie words/phrases anymore - g'day, bloke, how's it goin'?, mate, hooroo, etc. What I hear are those bloody (there's another one!) _Americanisms_ - yo bro!, yo dude, calling people _guys_ (which I'm guilty of!), stuff like that. So _cultivated Australian _is okay, but _Americanisms_ are not, in my book.


These are just Hilltroll's whippersnappers trying to sound with it.


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

American filler


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

regressivetransphobe said:


> American filler


Should I give you a _like_? No, I don't think I should. American English is still English...when you speak to a British guy you can understand each other...You language comes from England (even if you refuse it). Like me, I was born in Argentina, it would be ridiculous to say my mother tongue is Argentinian, Argentinian language doesn't exist even if we have our own expressions and vocabulary. Sorry, pal. It is English, that's why I didn't include your _slang _ here. Maybe your English is from Brooklin...LOL...._I don't know nothing...you ain't_...etc. It's still English, horribly spoken...but still

Martin


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> ...when you speak to a British guy you can understand each other...


*cough* Sometimes.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Klavierspieler said:


> *cough* Sometimes.


Well....I think you should...Some British speak very unclearly...I watched some series from the BBC and in the North of England their accent could be difficult to understand by a guy like me...Nor English nor "American" (LOL) are my mother tongues.

This is my real tongue!


__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
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:lol:

Martin


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Baroque English.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Baroque English.


In Handel's special accent? :lol:


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

Thinking of what Martin said, Rex Harrison playing Professor Henry Higgins (or 'iggins?) in My Fair Lady, would heartily agree with him. _Why can't the English Learn to Speak?_


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Should I give you a _like_? No, I don't think I should. American English is still English...when you speak to a British guy you can understand each other...You language comes from England (even if you refuse it).


Them's fightin' words...


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## eorrific (May 14, 2011)

My mother's tongue is muscle, lined with all 4 types of gustatory cells.


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

My Father Was Italian although his Mother was Russian. My Mother English, though her Father was Irish. I was born in Scotland though live in the North East of England.

Its a wonder I can string a sentence together...


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> Well....I think you should...Some British speak very unclearly...I watched some series from the BBC and in the North of England their accent could be difficult to understand by a guy like me...Nor English nor "American" (LOL) are my mother tongues.
> 
> This is my real tongue!
> 
> ...


You are right,but up North they speak with a regional accent and it's mostly dreadful. On the other hand have you ever visited Louisiana ? I used to spend seven months of the year in the States on business and as I speak with what used to be called a BBC accent I had no problem in being understood. Also, the type of programme made about the north usually reflects the poorer segments of society,therefore you will get the bsd accents and grammar,as you would in a programme about the Bronx.


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## Andy Loochazee (Aug 2, 2007)

^ The “northern” English accent is of course not homogenous. There is quite a lot of variety among English accents in the north of England, i.e. north of the River Trent. 

The "Scouse" accent as spoken in the Liverpool area is very different from the much softer accent spoken in the rest of the Lancashire area. The “Beatles” spoke a very mild version of “Scouse”. The strongest version of it is a lot more difficult to follow. The more widely spoken Lancastrian accent, e.g. as spoken by the local characters in “Coronation Street”, is very different from “Scouse”, even though Manchester is just down the road relatively speaking. 

The Yorkshire accent is similar to mainstream Lancashire but sounds perhaps a bit more nasal. This gets weaker the further north into Yorkshire you go. But in some parts of Yorkshire, e.g. around the Pontefract area, there’s a pocket where the local dialect is a much stronger variant and use of words like "thee" and "thou" is still quite common. 

Moving into North East England it's a different accent altogether, i.e. "Geordie". As a Southerner I quite like this regional accent, as it’s easy to follow and sounds generally quite nice, at least the more refined versions of it do. 

As for the rest of England, the accents I find grating are "Cockney" (i.e. East London) and "Brummie", i.e. around Birmingham. Of these I hate Cockney the most as it sounds so rough and uneducated with its dropped “h’s” and substitution of “f” for “th” in words like “think”. However by far the most irritating accent for me, which has become more and more common all round the country is "uptalk", where statements have a rising intonation pattern in the final syllable or syllables of the utterance, as if a question is being asked. The Aussies generally speak this way, with their own peculiar twists. 

One quite prominent English accent that has almost completely died out is the one spoken by the English “upper” classes up to about 1960. Churchill’s accent was surprisingly not that clipped in this manner. Watch a British “movie” from the 1930’s or 1940’s and there’s almost bound to be a few examples. The Queen’s own accent is a very good example if you listen to old newsreels of her speeches etc, but she appears to have largely ditched this over recent decades in keeping with the times. 

The Welsh accent is unmistakeable. So too is Northern Irish, and likewise the Scottish accent even though it varies quite a lot. The broadest Scottish accent is Glaswegian, and is sometimes difficult for a South Englander to follow all that’s said. The Edinburgh accent is very much softer and, in my view, much posher. The accent around Perth is weaker further still, and the one that appeals to me the most. The Highlands accent is even weaker, and at the very top of Scotland they almost speak English again, apart from the ubiquitous “och” and “aye”. The Southern Irish accent varies considerably, almost from county to county. Generally I can’t say that I like Southern Irish and I find some of it quite comical to listen to. Generally it’s quite easily understood, provided one has learned a few key differences like “Oi tink” means “I think”.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Andy Loochazee said:


> ^ The "northern" English accent is of course not homogenous. There is quite a lot of variety among English accents in the north of England, i.e. north of the River Trent.
> 
> The "Scouse" accent as spoken in the Liverpool area is very different from the much softer accent spoken in the rest of the Lancashire area. The "Beatles" spoke a very mild version of "Scouse". The strongest version of it is a lot more difficult to follow. The more widely spoken Lancastrian accent, e.g. as spoken by the local characters in "Coronation Street", is very different from "Scouse", even though Manchester is just down the road relatively speaking.
> 
> ...


That should make the Yanks pause for thought!


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## Norse (May 10, 2010)

Norvegicus :tiphat:


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## Andy Loochazee (Aug 2, 2007)

moody said:


> That should make the Yanks pause for thought!


 Ah begorrah. Boyo yaki da. Eeh by gum I'll goto foot of our stairs. Ach aye the noo.


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## Stargazer (Nov 9, 2011)

Wut kinda daggum poll is this right cher'? I dun't speak none o' dem fancy languages, I speak Amurican!! Dang foreign folk!


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## Klavierspieler (Jul 16, 2011)

wut u takin bout dat no amerikin dis amerikin


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## opus55 (Nov 9, 2010)

moody said:


> ...On the other hand have you ever visited Louisiana ? I used to spend seven months of the year in the States on business and as I speak with what used to be called a BBC accent I had no problem in being understood...


BBC accent :lol: Did you have trouble understanding American Southern accent? The deeper down south you go, far from cities, they speak different language it seems.


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

Sid James said:


> ^^You young 'uns don't say these kinds of Aussie words/phrases anymore - g'day, bloke, how's it goin'?, mate, hooroo, etc. What I hear are those bloody (there's another one!) _Americanisms_ - yo bro!, yo dude, calling people _guys_ (which I'm guilty of!), stuff like that. So _cultivated Australian _is okay, but _Americanisms_ are not, in my book.


I absolutely and totally agree!  (I still try to say g'day, how's it goin', mate, etc.) Mind you, I also like saying dudes and dudettes, but that's just me.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

_Dudettes_ is totally new to me, but I'm not in the _youth_ age bracket that uses that kind of lingo. I'm not up on the latest lingo, I'm probably stuck in the 1990's.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

and my Uncle tongue is:
Dutch


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I hate the teenage colloquial language at the moment in Australia. It is almost completely derived from American and Internet language whatever that may be.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I hate the teenage colloquial language at the moment in Australia. It is almost completely derived from American and Internet language whatever that may be.


Yeah, well it's partly (I'd think) a result of the education system throwing out the baby with the bathwater around 1970's and '80's. They stopped teaching grammar. So a whole generation grew up not knowing it. Now with your generation, people in their teens now, you got grammar back, it came back into schools around 10 years ago, roughly. So your generation is restoring the balance. But it will take time for the language to get back to a case when people can speak properly. IMO the language has deteriorated somewhat, but some people call it just _change_ and _evolution_ of the language. I don't agree, basically I think it's _deterioration_. Let's call a spade a spade.


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

Sid James said:


> _Dudettes_ is totally new to me, but I'm not in the _youth_ age bracket that uses that kind of lingo. I'm not up on the latest lingo, I'm probably stuck in the 1990's.


Hehe, stuck in the 1990s!


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## MaestroViolinist (May 22, 2012)

Sid James said:


> Yeah, well it's partly (I'd think) a result of the education system throwing out the baby with the bathwater around 1970's and '80's. They stopped teaching grammar. So a whole generation grew up not knowing it. Now with your generation, people in their teens now, you got grammar back, it came back into schools around 10 years ago, roughly. So your generation is restoring the balance. But it will take time for the language to get back to a case when people can speak properly. IMO the language has deteriorated somewhat, but some people call it just _change_ and _evolution_ of the language. I don't agree, basically I think it's _deterioration_. Let's call a spade a spade.


But the grammar *hasn't* changed! Infact, I think it's got worser! Do you know what we're learning with this new Australian Curriculum? You may as well call the English Social Studies! We're not learning _any_ grammar at all. And we're not studying and books such as Shakespeare or anything.


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## Philip (Mar 22, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> I hate the teenage colloquial language at the moment in Australia. It is almost completely derived from American and Internet language whatever that may be.


Epic comment is epic.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Sid James said:


> _Dudettes_ is totally new to me, but I'm not in the _youth_ age bracket that uses that kind of lingo. I'm not up on the latest lingo, I'm probably stuck in the 1990's.


And better for it!


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

PetrB said:


> and my Uncle tongue is:
> Dutch


That will probably be lost on anybody under fifty.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

opus55 said:


> BBC accent :lol: Did you have trouble understanding American Southern accent? The deeper down south you go, far from cities, they speak different language it seems.


I managed pretty well and I have always loved the accents in the south.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

The language I spoke as a young lad was Northern Appalachian hillbilly. From what I can recall, it was English with many archaic, and some 'obsolete', words and pronunciations. For instance, I never used the word 'yes' until forced to in school; the basic affirmative was 'ayuh'. An example of centuries old pronunciation is the word 'palm'. My family pronounced it 'parm'.

It's mostly gone from me now, but when I was in my 30s I could shift into the dialect at will. The folks I worked with in northern Georgia said it sounded a lot like southern hillbilly, except faster.


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## Miaou (Mar 1, 2012)

I speak Cantonese, which preserves many 'archaic, and some ''obsolete'', words and pronunciations' too, plus some old-school grammar of Chinese. Not many of the native speakers are aware of it, though, and many think Cantonese itself is just a dialect that cannot be fully translated into 'proper' written Chinese (there are plenty of generally accepted self-created words used in informal communication though). In fact, it can, only the words will look strange because they're so old and forgotten and are not generally known anymore. I hope one day those 'proper' written Cantonese can be generally known and accepted and be not just the in-joke of some scholars.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Mine is Finnish.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

English and Spanish seem to be to most popular ones, it is quite understandable.

Martin...breathing


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## DrHieronymusFaust (Jan 31, 2012)

My mother tongue is German, just like my mother ears and my mother duodenum. Bonjour :tiphat:.


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

moody said:


> Do you speak Irish or Scottish, if not what is the purpose of your post?


No, I don't speak either Irish or Scottish, but thanks for asking.

My purpose was to point out to the original poster, who I suspect may be from the Americas, that, just because England, Scotland and Ireland are part of the same politically defined nation (the United Kingdom) doesn't mean we all speak the same bleedin' language.


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## Jeremy Marchant (Mar 11, 2010)

superhorn said:


> English is a Germanic language, but the others are Celtic. But Russian, Czech and Polsih are all Slavic and very similar to each other.


I was exaggerating to make the point


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Jeremy Marchant said:


> No, I don't speak either Irish or Scottish, but thanks for asking.
> 
> My purpose was to point out to the original poster, who I suspect may be from the Americas, that, just *because England, Scotland and Ireland are part of the same politically defined nation (the United Kingdom)* doesn't mean we all speak the same bleedin' language.


Not for long! My friend! You are too optimistic or simply British. LOL

Martin


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## Lenfer (Aug 15, 2011)

Jeremy Marchant said:


> No, I don't speak either Irish or Scottish, but thanks for asking.
> 
> My purpose was to point out to the original poster, who I suspect may be from the Americas, that, just because England, Scotland and Ireland are part of the same politically defined nation (the United Kingdom) doesn't mean we all speak the same bleedin' language.


I also wanted to point this out but I could only see it leading to headache.

There are no such languages as *Scottish* and *Irish*. There is *Gaelic* both *Scots* and *Irish* variants and *Welsh* which make up the non-*English* native languages of the *UK*. Most if not all native *British* people speak *English* the only difference is in dialect just as in the *U.S.* not everyone sounds the same but it's still *English*.


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## Tero (Jun 2, 2012)

Why would you list Danish and not Swedish, the largest of the Nordic countries?

No, I'm not Swedish. They do not even have a decent composer.


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## Polyphemus (Nov 2, 2011)

Its supposed to be Gaelic (Irish) but I only have the 'cupla focal' so i am stuck with the Queens English in all its variants. From flat Dublin to D4 gobeldegook it is used as a class distinction tool. 
Halleluiah to the fact that music is a universal language.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Lenfer said:


> I also wanted to point this out but I could only see it leading to headache.
> 
> There are no such languages as *Scottish* and *Irish*. There is *Gaelic* both *Scots* and *Irish* variants and *Welsh* which make up the non-*English* native languages of the *UK*. Most if not all native *British* people speak *English* the only difference is in dialect just as in the *U.S.* not everyone sounds the same but it's still *English*.


And then there are Cornish (akin to Welsh) and Manx (closest are Irish and Scottish Gaelic) - admittedly spoken by a very small number but still worth nurturing, I think. Then there is Lowland Scots/Ulster Scots, which is recognised by the European Charter for Regional & Minority languages even though it's broadly speaking a variant of English. There was also a Nordic language called Norn that was spoken on the Orkney and Shetland Isles but became extinct by the 18th cent, as did Yola and Fingalian, two Middle English-derived tongues that were spoken in various parts of what is now Eire. I found it interesting to discover that the closest continental language to modern English is North Frisian (a minority language in the northern Netherlands).


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Tero said:


> Why would you list Danish and not Swedish, the largest of the Nordic countries?
> 
> No, I'm not Swedish. They do not even have a decent composer.[/QUOTE
> 
> ...


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## Tero (Jun 2, 2012)

myaskovsky2002 said:


> As far as I know, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish are more or less the same language.
> 
> http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080707090418AAW5foR
> 
> Martin


No. I only speak Swedish. My wife speaks Danish and Swedish. They are almost as far as French and Spanish.

I could probably understand spoken Norwegian well, using my Swedish.


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## myaskovsky2002 (Oct 3, 2010)

Tero said:


> No. I only speak Swedish. My wife speaks Danish and Swedish. They are almost as far as French and Spanish.
> 
> I could probably understand spoken Norwegian well, using my Swedish.


I tought the roots came from swedish... My bad!

Thank you

Martin, ignorant


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