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Originally Posted by 2manband
To Finns it's normal to be fluent in at least Finnish and English, possibly Swedish as well although many suck in all three. I don't get to use Swedish enough to consider myself fluent but I can understand (if someone else is speaking) and read it well. I do consider myself fluent in English and Finnish. I also know some French and Japanese.
This one makes my eyes go cross... I used to work with a Norwegian and a Swede. Sometimes, they'd speak to each other, but each using their own language. Yet, they totally understood each other.:eek: 'splain this for me, please.
I have a hard enough time understanding people from northern and central Vietnam, and it's the same language!
This one makes my eyes go cross... I used to work with a Norwegian and a Swede. Sometimes, they'd speak to each other, but each using their own language. Yet, they totally understood each other.:eek: 'splain this for me, please.
Norwegian and Swedish are very close to each other. Danish is like Swedish but spoken with a potato in your mouth.
I find reading Danish is easy but when I was in Copenhagen I couldn't understand a word if someone is speaking it to me.Finnish and Estonian are also quite similar. To us Finns Estonian sounds like a funny (and sometimes delightfully rude) version of Finnish. Many words and expressions are quite different though so for a Finn to understand Estonian isn't as easy as for a Norwegian to understand Swedish.
This one makes my eyes go cross... I used to work with a Norwegian and a Swede. Sometimes, they'd speak to each other, but each using their own language. Yet, they totally understood each other.:eek: 'splain this for me, please.
I have a hard enough time understanding people from northern and central Vietnam, and it's the same language!
Both languages are very similar.
Not to mention that Norway has several hundred years ago been under both Danish and Swedish rule.
Furthermore, a lot of Swedes live and work here and vice versa.
Now that I think about it, we are each other's Canadians
For us it's quite weird that a lot of Finland residents speak better English than Swedish :freak:
I have also envied people who can speak different languages. I took spanish in high school and college and lived in Spain for a year, I never got fluent, but I was able to live and work in Spain so I guess i was good enough. I speak spanish slowly and haltingly, like Tarzan or Tonto.
"Me like very much this food. You me say I pay how much? Thank you muchly"
"Me like very much this food. You me say I pay how much? Thank you muchly"
This thread has reminded me... My uncle is the coolest guy ever. He was born near Montreal (in Quebec), so he speaks French, but he also speaks English, German and Italian (amazingly fluently! Almost as if each of these was his mother tongue.). He also speaks some Croatian (badly, though), and a little bit of Chinese... but all these other languages seem sooo natural to him! He's a genius. On top of him being so smart and knowledgeable (and working as a finance consultant, he's been all over the world... twice, haha), he's also a fantastic cook, a talented DIY-kinda guy and knows tons about music (everything from Coleman Hawkins, over Poison to Metallica). Sorry for the OT, but this has reminded me of him.
Anyways, I, obviously, speak Croatian... and I'm pretty good with English. I'm no genius, but I can usually get around and find the words to express myself without much trouble. I speak a ttttttiny little bit of German and some pretty bad Italian.
Anyways, I, obviously, speak Croatian... and I'm pretty good with English. I'm no genius, but I can usually get around and find the words to express myself without much trouble. I speak a ttttttiny little bit of German and some pretty bad Italian.
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