Or is it just Erasmus students? It seemed like everyone knew three or four languages - their own, Spanish, and English. Is this typical of today's younger Europeans as a whole, or just the smarter of them, which Erasmus students would be?
I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
I'm European and i have to say the majority of europeans are not trilingual at all. The majority of europeans speak only their native language. But Erasmus students in general study foreing languages and know at least one foreing language (expecially english, spanish, german or french).
NB: The film is settled in Barcellona which is in Catalunya region. The majority of catalan people are bilingual (spanish and catalan)
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i don't buy that the majoriety of western europeans are trilingual. I know that there is people who are trilingual in Europe but they are mainly young people who are from The netherlands(the best in english of the non english speaking countries in my humble opinion), Sweeden, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Denmark. There are people who speak three languages but their fluency in those languages is not a 100%. Most europeans speak their own language and know some english, the exception to the rule are the coutries that are up north like the mentioned above.
Ivan
You forgot about Switzerland. These guys are amazing...
There are four official languages - German, French, Italian and Romansh (the last one is least popular). As far as I know a lot of people can use two or three of them. They speak German in different dialect however usually know how to use "tradition" German...Add English plus some extra language... uhhh thats amazing.
Now Im going to study in Barcelona knowing English, Polish (native) and some Russian... Almost no Spanish at all (not mentioning Catalan). But I'm not the only one doing it - people go on Erasmus also to learn new language. Within a year of practical using it - it's not so difficult (I least I hope it's not!).
Depends on the country, some speak only one or two, some speak up to 5 or 6.
I'm in the middle with 4 (and a half).
I am not a complete idiot. Some parts are missing.
Most of the young Europeans speak their native language and English, sometimes with French, German or Spanish also
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I'm from the UK and not many people here speak three languages or even two for that matter. Personally I speak French and know some Italian and I intend to move abroad in the next few months.
I've met several people from other European countries who speak at least three languages who tend to come from big cities.
Il tue. Il tue trop sa mère. Vinz "La Haine"
I'm from Belgium and I speak my native language, which is Dutch, English, French, and I should be able to speak German as well. I am 17 and we learn all of this at school. Some people are able to choose between German and Spanish, but we didn't get that choice at our school. They do offer Spanish courses for everyone who's interested.
shareHardly anyone in the U.K speaks other languages.
It's funny the closer it gets the more it looks like a piano!
Yep, or at least bilingual. My native language is Spanish, I lived in The Netherlands my entire youth so I speak Dutch fluently, I watch tv like crazy and practically self-taught myself to speak English *and they say tv is a waste of time *. I now actually prefer English before Spanish to express myself. At school I've learned the basics of German, English and French *or at least I was supposed to *. Now that I live in Belgium, a trilingual country (Dutch, French and German), I have an insatiable thirst for the French language. I want to master and perfect it. I saw this movie like an hour ago and this is the first movie I've seen with only the French subtitles *hooray for teletext!*. I still have A WHOLE LOT to learn, but if I watch many good French movies like this one I'll get there in no time right? *hooray for the greatness of French cinema!*
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i don't think that most western europeans are trilingual. I don't buy that. I visited europe in 2001 and there are so many european countries where people only speak one language; their native tongue. I AGREE that many youngters in up north(Sweeden, The netherlands, Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Belgium)are trilingual but this doesn't happen in the rest of Europe. I mean many people are trilingual but their mastery of the languages is not as good as it is supposed to be. I do think that the dutch are the best in english of the non english speaking european countries.They speak pretty good english. Many people think they speak good english buy they just get around. I speak english and spanish a 100% and im learning italian right now.
Jose
Well, every young european speaks his native language and learns english very early in school.
And in germany every student learns a third lanuage in grade 7 and maybe a fourth language in grade 11.
I´m from germany and in Grade 5 I learned english, in grade 7 I learned latin and in grade 11 I learned spanish.
I have to add to CologneKev's post that Germany has a slightly complicated school system (at least for non-Germans) which consists of three school "branches". Which branch you attend depends on how good a student you are. While it is in fact true that all German students learn English from 5th grade on (some even earlier), it's not true that every student has to study a third language from grade 7 on - this depends on which school branch you attend.
I am fluent in English and German and am currently learning to speak Spanish.
~ Same procedure as last year, Miss Sophie? Same procedure as EVERY year, James! ~
Well, here in Finland you study two to four foreign languages (usually English + Swedish) in comprehensive school. Swedish is compulsory from 7th grade to 9th. Childrens start to study their first foreign language in 3th grade (usually English or German, but some schools have Spanish, Russian, French, even Portuguese I think). Then, in junior high, you can select third/fourth language to study if you want. In (Senior) high school, you can start even more languages, I took one course of Latin :P.
I've studied English, Swedish, German, French and Latin (in that orded) but to be honest I can only speak Finnish and English. I was lazy at school so I've forgotten most of French, Swedish and German... :(
the europeans i know speak 3+ languages...but that might be because i do too...(english, spanish, french, and german)
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I believe that the best way to learn a language is to emerse yourself in the culture. I will give you the best advice i can possibly give to an american- GET OUT OF AMERICA!
See the world! There is always a way (i am very poor but got from Australia to France to Spain to Denmark on scholarships and working my way across Europe.) There is no way that you will learn a language fluently in a language class- believe me, the french you are taught in America will be nothing like the french they speak in France.
What is the point of learning a language if you stay in your own country?
Language classes and tapes will help, but in real life they will be of little use to you.
Bon chance!
p.s. oddly enough, this applies to Deutsch too.
IF THE GOOD LORD HAD INTENDED US TO WALK, HE WOULDN'T HAVE INVENTED ROLLERSKATES. -WILLY WONKA
I can speak four language (including my native language German).
I can speak:
1) English
2) French
3) Spanish
4) German lol
I can also speak a bit dutch but not so much...I'm going to learn Dutch soon and after that I'm going to learn portugese too.
J'ai seize ans...je n'ai pas vingt ans!
Brandon,
In several ways, I agree with RadKid. The best way to learn a language is to spend time in the country. That being said, if age and/or money is preventing that I would strongly suggest attempting to find a native French or German speaker to talk to. I realize this might be difficult in Iowa (my parents are from there, though I was born/raised in NC - my mom always talks about how odd it is to her that all the cashiers in Iowa are white, not exactly what we see in NC...).
Several of my friends are bilingual (or more) and have spent time overseas. I know one of my friends would set up meetings with someone who natively spoke a different language where they would speak English for 30 minutes and (in her case) Spanish for 30 minutes. That way the conversation would improve both of their language skills. However, this friend was quite good at speaking Spanish already (although obviously not fluent).
Language centers will likely help a lot with the written aspect of it and obviously the basics. But you'll need to focus on the conversational aspect of the language.
Good luck.
~ E
"Q. What do you call a person who can only speak one language?"
"A. An American."
Riot, you are wrong. Many young americans are learning a second language. My friend Alyssa who's an american speaks such a good spanish that i really think she speaks better than me who has spanish as the first language. Don't generalize about it. Many americans speak spanish and other languages fluently.
ivan
"Q. What do you call a person who can only speak one language?"
"A. An American."
"Q. What do you call a person who can only speak one language?"
"A. An American."
As an American I wouldn't completely disagree with this, even if it is a generalization. Most people (Americans) I know can speak at least some Spanish, but a huge number of people also tend to believe that the world would be better off if we all spoke the same language (the Tower of Babel was considered a sort of punishment to man).
However, I travel to many countries for my work and I've always been surprised at how many people in the UK, which is part of Europe, don't speak anything but English. Also, in Canada, which most non-Canadians think is a bi-lingual nation, I've found that very few non-Québécois can speak any French.