The threads with the the new guy from Belgium reminds me of a joke

[MindPilot]

told to me some time ago by a fellow from Japan.

What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
Trilingual.

What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual.

What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

1. an oldie but a goodie! n/t

[Ineeda]

2. and what do you call someone who can barely manage one?

A. George W. Bush
B. Astroturfers

[ixion]

3. indeed

it's a very sad statement about our culture. I've tried to learn some other languages (Spanish and German, mostly), and am generally considered a freak in 'polite' (e.g. brain-dead) society.

[A HERETIC I AM]

4. What do you call someone who speaks 4 or more languages and smokes reefer?

Dutch.

[MindPilot]

5. the object of my envy?

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. Mine too!

When I was young, my Father was stationed in Athens. One of our neighbors was a German family and the Father, who worked for a German firm had traveled all over Europe and Africa, taking with him his wife and their 8 year old son (My age at the time).

Klaus, (the son) spoke fluent English, French, Greek, Italian and of course his native tongue.

At 8 years old.

His father had those as well as several others including Swahili and another African dialect.

Multi lingual people always impress the hell out of me.

[jacko_be]

9. happy ?

[Sal Minella]

29. Ha! Good one.

[asdjrocky]

33. Good answer.

:smoke:

[bertman]

13. Just goes to show how that devil weed will fuck up your mind. He speaks four languages

but can't speak perfect English yet. Those furriners got their priorities all wrong. Must be the weed.

[jacko_be]

16. no

just don't do it every day use it to go to a museum
don't use it to studie or work
and there is not a problem
however you get retarded if you do it to often

[Peacetrain]

19. Ahhh but can you sign...

welcome to the DU kiddo :)

[jacko_be]

20. what do you mean with sign, sir

[Peacetrain]

23. Signing.. Language used by the Hearing Impaired, Deaf, Friends and Family of

Hearing Impaired..

By the way, I do not answer to sir..

[jacko_be]

26. ok thx

sorry i saw peacetrain and i didn't know if you were female or male
and i do hope you mean this ...
because otherwise i look like a complete ass

[Peacetrain]

30. That is okay.. its in my profile..

peacetrain is gender neutral..

[jacko_be]

31. I just foun the btton to see you're profile sorry miss

[bertman]

37. jacko_be, you're not Borat are you?

P.S. That's a joke.

[jacko_be]

38. nu but i do have his string lol

[bertman]

39. That must be a Flemish joke.

[jacko_be]

40. no we had it with a newspaper in belgium called HUMO

[liberal N proud]

7. Indeed

I will feel handicapped when I visit France and Switzerland later this month.

Fortunately the people I will be visiting speak enough english that I will be OK.

[Control-Z]

8. Three years of Spanish

in Middle School and HS, and I can't speak a word at this point. I would love to speak a second language, fluently, but learning a new language at my age seems all but impossible.

My girlfriend was learning Spanish, to accommodate her Spanish speaking patients without the use of an interpreter. She's a smart woman, an MD, but still found it difficult because of her age. I have great respect for anyone who can learn a second or third language. Great respect.

[jacko_be]

10. hey a big tip

try www.coffeebreakspanish.com

this are free and fun pod casts

[Blue-Jay]

14. Neat! Thanks for that link.

[jacko_be]

15. no prob

[Control-Z]

22. Thank you!!

Wonderful site. I think I may give Spanish another try.

[jacko_be]

27. you will notice that it is really fun to do

or i did enjoy it it is a lit basic at the bigging but it
gets harder every time

[csziggy]

11. I took six years of high school Spanish and a year of college Spanish

And never could speak fluently. I could read it to some extent, enough to pass a Spanish literature course, but cannot any longer.

Americans are horribly ignorant in many subjects.

[timeforpeace]

24. Three years, can't speak it. They teach us to read and write it but not to converse in it.

[csziggy]

36. Even our teacher was not fluent, so it made it hard to really speak it

I had thought about majoring in Spanish, but realized how little of the language I really knew. Plus, as I got to know more about the cultures in which Spanish was the dominate language back then (1970) I realized that I did not want to live in any of those cultures. That left teaching the language as a career choice and I was definitely not interested in that.

I think it was the cultural thing why I have pretty much blocked out what Spanish I knew. I took part of one term of German and remember about as much German as I do Spanish!

[Control-Z]

25. That makes me feel a little better.

I think, at the time, I just wasn't interested in learning for my own benefit. It's too bad that the desire to learn something doesn't always come at the most opportune time.

[jacko_be]

28. but it's never to late

[treestar]

12. English is are ofical language!

No amnety!

[RB TexLa]

17. You can add . . . and demands that those who speak differently become similar to to them

Assimilate is just a code word for "I want you to leave your culture at the border and become like me."

[imdjh]

18. How many farmers who own tractors plow by hand?

[MindPilot]

32. If you don't have a plough, it's a tough row to hoe.

And a draught beer is a good as a cold draft to daft whore. Or something.

[imdjh]

35. Who you callin' a ho?

[seabeyond]

21. and i am sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the differences in the two different areas.nt

[MindPilot]

34. Or their educational systems

I'm still fascinated hearing someone speak Spanish or German with a Japanese accent.

[ArbustoBuster]

41. I speak four languages.

I'm perfectly capable of speaking with people from New York, Texas, California, and Alabama.

Anyone who tells me those four areas speak the same language is lying.