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Speaking two languages....

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2

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    #32
    syklops
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,969 ✭✭✭✭syklops


    Speaking 2 languages really is no big deal. It is incredibly common.

    My girlfriend is Polish and speaks (unsurprisingly) Polish and English fluently, is near fluent in German and can read/understand Russian and several other Slavic languages. Her sister studied linguistics in college and is fluent in four languages and near fluent in three others.

    My parents next door neighbour is from the Gaeltacht and only speaks to his children in Irish. His wife is Austrian and speaks to them in German and they learn English in school. Trilingual at 5 and 6.


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    #33
    Raminahobbin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,983 ✭✭✭Raminahobbin


    I really, really, really don't have any interest in learning to speak a second language. Seems like a lot of work.


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    #34
    gramar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,045 ✭✭✭✭gramar


    I was working in the south of Spain about 7 or 8 years ago getting a shop ready for opening and I was helping the owner with selecting the candidates as she had no Spanish. One of the girls who she was thinking of hiring was from Argentina and told me that she spoke Spanish and Argentinian!


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    #35
    the_monkey
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,556 ✭✭✭the_monkey


    Irishguy16 wrote: »
    .... A few days ago we went out and she kept saying it again, not realising that all five of us,including myself, can all speak a different language, Irish, Hindi, Lithuanian, Chinese......

    ....

    Yeah Irish is a real important language to know !!

    May as well learn Elvish or Klingon ffs...


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    #36
    --LOS--
    Registered Users Posts: 11,028 ✭✭✭✭--LOS--


    That would do my head in, can you not just say it to her in a jokey way?


    I met one of these asses recently that thinks it's downright shameful to only have one language. But a lot of us only have one language because that's all we need, and if you're in science you have to have english.

    Can she not take a phone call in private as well. Just because people wont understand her, it's still rude to just sit there on the phone in the middle of everyone. I used to live with a south african girl and she was lovely but she always did this, like you'd be watching tv or cooking or whatever and you'd be forced to listen to someone shouting down the phone ughh


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    #37
    4zn76tysfajdxp
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,944 ✭✭✭✭4zn76tysfajdxp


    the_monkey wrote: »
    Yeah Irish is a real important language to know !!

    May as well learn Elvish or Klingon ffs...

    What an irrelevant outburst.


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    #38
    Paramite Pie
    Registered Users Posts: 1,312 ✭✭✭Paramite Pie


    the_monkey wrote: »
    Yeah Irish is a real important language to know !!

    May as well learn Elvish or Klingon ffs...

    Most languages aren't important to learn, especially considering our tendency to emigrate to English-speaking countries.:pac: Also it's possible that he was raised to speak it fluently rather than actively chose to 'learn' it. And given the choice I'd rather learn any fringe language rather than a fictional language like "Klingon".

    I spent a short time in Korea (not long enough to learn the language) and I've continued to try and learn the language since I came home. I may never go back but I enjoy it, and that's the most important thing.


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    #39
    P. Breathnach
    Registered Users Posts: 12,089 ✭✭✭✭P. Breathnach


    From OP:
    I recently started a new job. I work with a girl from South Africa. She is a great person, very good at her job, very advanced, one of the bosses favorite, and very helpful if I ever need any advice or guidance.

    But she keeps making reference to the fact that she speaks two languages, English and Afrikaans....
    On balance, it seems that her good points outweigh the bad.

    I'd regard her behaviour as a foible, and not give it too much thought. It is possible that Afrikaans is her first language, and she is covering herself in case her English is a bit flawed.


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    #40
    gctest50
    Registered Users Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    send this

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeDk6ZeGNnU


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    #41
    OneArt
    Registered Users Posts: 1,910 ✭✭✭OneArt


    I dislike Afrikaans, only because it always reminds me of the strict teachers I had in South Africa. The sound of it still gives me the chills, and not in a good way.

    On a fun note, my dad was a factory manager out there and took to learning languages like Afrikaans and Zulu for the craic. His colleagues in the UK were very confused when the Irish boss started speaking to the South African cleaning lady in Zulu...


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    #42
    Solar Flare
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 15 ✭Solar Flare


    The benefit of a second language when you speak English is primarily on a personal developmental level, for that reason it's not pointless learning obscure languages.


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    #43
    biko
    Registered Users Posts: 81,223 ✭✭✭✭biko


    Next time say: "Yeah I used to work in a customer support centre, most people there spoke 2 or more languages. It was amazing..."


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    #44
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,697 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Sauve wrote: »
    Bit like Irish?
    More like Ulster Scots.

    From the PSNI http://www.psni.police.uk/ulster_scots.pdf
    The Polis Service o Norlin Airlan is aa sat for makkan Norlin Airlan saufer, wi
    progressive, professional polisin. We arettlet at makkan our services apen
    tae the haill commontie.
    ...
    Get Ahauld o Us
    Ye can get ahauld o the Polis Service wi the telephone, the email or in writin.
    ...
    Gin ye haena the Inglis, ye will be put owre tae an interpretar.
    A nott case is whaur serious injure is efter cumman aff, or gan on, an the
    suspects at or next the airt.


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    #45
    corner of hells
    Registered Users Posts: 8,356 ✭✭✭corner of hells


    Irishguy16 wrote: »
    Hey guys,
    I recently started a new job. I work with a girl from South Africa. She is a great person, very good at her job, very advanced, one of the bosses favorite, and very helpful if I ever need any advice or guidance.

    But she keeps making reference to the fact that she speaks two languages, English and Afrikaans. Every single day its "Oh, but I speak two langagues" and "Oh,it's great being bi lingual". We meet a lot of different people in the job, and she tells absolutely everyone that she speaks two languages, as if she deserves a reward or something. Even on break time i'm almost certain that she rings her mother on purpose, in front of us all, and starts speaking Afrikaans.

    I'm not sure if she is aware that everyone in my job, except maybe one or two, speak a different language aswell, but we very rarely point it out. A few days ago we went out and she kept saying it again, not realising that all five of us,including myself, can all speak a different language, Irish, Hindi, Lithuanian, Chinese......

    The other day we were all telling each other jokes and when it came to her she was like, I have to translate from Afrikaans, so this may take a few minutes, even though her english is absolutely 100% perfect

    I'm not sure what to do or say next time because I am slowly getting frustrated. Nobody ever uses a different language on the job. All we need is English in the job and nothing else is important.

    Anyone got any similiar stories?

    Wait till she's having a slash in the bog and throw in four black cat fireworks , then you'll find out her primary language and how good she is at screaming.


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    #46
    sebastianlieken
    Registered Users Posts: 1,778 ✭✭✭sebastianlieken


    Tell her you speak three languages. that'll make her feel inferior.


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    #47
    gctest50
    Registered Users Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=O--uGzo34N4#t=53


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    #48
    kowloon
    Registered Users Posts: 13,280 ✭✭✭✭kowloon


    This seems relevant: On being biligual


    corner of hells wrote: »
    Wait till she's having a slash in the bog and throw in four black cat fireworks , then you'll find out her primary language and how good she is at screaming.

    Like this?


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    #49
    diegroblers
    Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭diegroblers


    You can tell her knowing two or more languages will eventually be redundant: http://www.geek.com/microsoft/microsoft-emulates-star-trek-turns-skype-into-a-universal-translator-1595044/


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    #50
    BBJBIG
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 277 ✭✭BBJBIG


    And ...

    Who the Foook understands her ... except another bloody Boer ...

    And, why do you think she is in Oireland ?
    It certainly is a lot more safer than SA for a start - despite the skangers.

    Anyway ... is she Hawt ???
    Why not ask her (translated) in Afrikaans :-
    "Can I roide the Hole off ya ?"


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    #51
    Oink
    Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 2,150 Mod ✭✭✭✭Oink


    syklops wrote: »
    Trilingual at 5 and 6.

    ... And fooked up at 7 methinks...


    :-)


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    #52
    bnt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,957 ✭✭✭✭bnt


    I grew up in South Africa from age 6, so did almost all my school there - and had to take both English and Afrikaans in school, since both were official languages at that time. It's not a big deal to learn a 2nd language in primary school, your brain is more open to it, but it gets a lot harder as you get older.

    I don't speak Afrikaans any more, but it is a great language for swearing. Jou Ma is 'n Poes en jou Pa is 'n Pielkop, etc.. :eek:

    Afrikaans can be sexy if it's spoken by the right person...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3TTi_gAS5c

    From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch’.

    — Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut



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    #53
    FunLover18
    Registered Users Posts: 6,793 ✭✭✭FunLover18


    I had a similar problem once with a guy and I ended up just turning it into a joke. Everytime he mentioned it to anybody I'd butt in; "What!? Really, you never mentioned that! I can't believe I never knew"

    Soon everyone was doing it and he quickly learned that we'd all heard it before.


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    #54
    czechlin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,341 ✭✭✭czechlin


    She irritates me and I haven't even met her. I could tell her to fcuk off in a couple of languages (would be far from fluent in most of them but you've got to learn the important survival stuff first :D) but I think I'd give her THE look instead.


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    #55
    Pumpkinseeds
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,635 ✭✭✭Pumpkinseeds


    She sounds like a total bint. Of course she's the boss's favourite, she's probably got her tongue so far up his arse she could tickle his tonsils, of course she could be putting her tongue in other areas of his body:D I've always hated it when people deliberately speak in a different language in front of people who don't speak their language. It's extremely ignorant and is intended to be.

    Learn Afrikaans for 'you are an ignorant pathetic attention seeking cnut, fcuk off and die':)


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    #56
    AlanS181824
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 5,575 ✭✭✭AlanS181824


    I can speak 2, English and German.

    My mother speaks Swedish so she often talks to me i Svenska so I know a bit of that too.

    Also French and Spanish from school.

    I also done a course on Chinese :)





    ik ben een pinda ;)


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    #57
    dd972
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,563 ✭✭✭dd972


    Tell her she's a Kutwijf OP, Dutch but should be mutually intelligible if she's Afrikaans. :pac:


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    #58
    diegroblers
    Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭diegroblers


    Crude language.


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    #59
    trashcan
    Registered Users Posts: 3,906 ✭✭✭trashcan


    diegroblers wrote: »
    *Afrikaans
    "shut the fúck up": Hou jou fokken bek.

    Are you sure that's not Ulster Scots ?;)


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    #60
    beazee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,343 ✭✭✭beazee


    mfceiling wrote: »
    Or find out from google translate what the Afrikkan is for "shut the fúck up"...
    Hou jou kop (read: How Yo! Cop)


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    #61
    diegroblers
    Registered Users Posts: 108 ✭✭diegroblers


    trashcan wrote: »
    Are you sure that's not Ulster Scots ?;)

    Lol! Very! :D


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