Languages?
- Thread starter Giaguara
- Start date
Spanish:
I was born in Mexico (3 hours away from Acapulco). I lived there until the age of ten. Reader's Digest En Español took over where my Mexican schooling left off.
English:
I've lived in the US more than half of my life. I speak English with a heavy accent, but I'm understood, I think.
American Sign Language:
I took two (or was it four?) semesters of ASL in High School. I know fingerspelling and basic signs. A teacher that I work with, who used to be a Sign Language interpreter, tells me that I know more sign language than I give myself credit for. She's a big liar. Hehe.
I will mark 2 in the poll. I think we should only claim the languages we feel comfortable speaking, and through which we're able to express ideas that go farrrrrr beyond "yes, the car is red."
I was born in Mexico (3 hours away from Acapulco). I lived there until the age of ten. Reader's Digest En Español took over where my Mexican schooling left off.
English:
I've lived in the US more than half of my life. I speak English with a heavy accent, but I'm understood, I think.
American Sign Language:
I took two (or was it four?) semesters of ASL in High School. I know fingerspelling and basic signs. A teacher that I work with, who used to be a Sign Language interpreter, tells me that I know more sign language than I give myself credit for. She's a big liar. Hehe.
I will mark 2 in the poll. I think we should only claim the languages we feel comfortable speaking, and through which we're able to express ideas that go farrrrrr beyond "yes, the car is red."
No, fortunately, I do not speak Spanglish. (Not often, anyway.) I've heard a non-English-speaking lady refer to her son's bike as his "baika", when the correct Spanish term was "bicicleta", or "bici" (slang). I understand when a hispanic kid will refer to the parking lot as "el parking lot", but to hear a lady who was raised in Latin America use those words, when she doesn't yet speak English, is kinda sad.
That's not to say I've never been in the position to use Spanglish.
I was the translator during a parent conference a few weeks ago. The teacher was asking the parent, "what about cupcakes, does your son enjoy them?" I honestly couldn't think of the Spanish word for cupcake. I was pretty sure the parent knew what a cupcake was, but I went ahead and described it for her, and used the word "muffin". Later on I realized I could have translated as "pastelito"... meaning, "little cake". Hehe.
For the Spanish-speaking folks here, what's a cupcake called in Spanish?
Vell, I vas born in Chermany, und I kame ofer to ze United Schtates ven I vas chust a yung boy!
German is my native language, as I was born there. We emigrated to the U.S. when I was six. Unfortunately, I speak very little German today; my parents went through the war on the losing side, and my father was a German POW in Russia, so when we came here my parents spent all their energies learning the English language and becoming "Americanized". This year is our 50th Anniversay in Amerca, and my mother is throwing a big party this summer.
I can still understand German, in a conversation, but I struggle with speaking it.
German is my native language, as I was born there. We emigrated to the U.S. when I was six. Unfortunately, I speak very little German today; my parents went through the war on the losing side, and my father was a German POW in Russia, so when we came here my parents spent all their energies learning the English language and becoming "Americanized". This year is our 50th Anniversay in Amerca, and my mother is throwing a big party this summer.
I can still understand German, in a conversation, but I struggle with speaking it.