| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: How many languages can you speak fluently? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How many languages can you speak fluently?".
This poll was originally submitted by Jiřina Ječná. View the poll results »
| | | | John Cutler 
Spain
Local time: 18:18
Spanish to English
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I live in my source language(s) country and have to speak, at any given time, any one of my three working languages. This poll will probably open up the great debate of "What is fluency?" for the umpteenth time, but I consider myself and speakers of other languages "fluent" when they have a speaking level of an educated speaker of the language. That means being able to communicate effectively about a wide variety of subjects with an educated native speaker of the language on the spur of the mome... See more I live in my source language(s) country and have to speak, at any given time, any one of my three working languages. This poll will probably open up the great debate of "What is fluency?" for the umpteenth time, but I consider myself and speakers of other languages "fluent" when they have a speaking level of an educated speaker of the language. That means being able to communicate effectively about a wide variety of subjects with an educated native speaker of the language on the spur of the moment, and not just being able to hold one's own in a basic colloquial situation. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 01:18
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Nice comment, John. I agree with you completely. You hit the nail on the head!
As part of my work over here, I have to discuss technical stuff in great detail with engineers, which qualifies me as fluent at the professional level.
I am often asked this question by the Japanese to which my answer is "English, Japanese and Kansai-ben" (the dialect spoken in Osaka and the surrounding prefectures).
This always gets lots of laughs. Isn't language fun!  ... See more Nice comment, John. I agree with you completely. You hit the nail on the head!
As part of my work over here, I have to discuss technical stuff in great detail with engineers, which qualifies me as fluent at the professional level.
I am often asked this question by the Japanese to which my answer is "English, Japanese and Kansai-ben" (the dialect spoken in Osaka and the surrounding prefectures).
This always gets lots of laughs. Isn't language fun! 
Happy translating!
[Edited at 2012-03-14 09:39 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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I am fluent in English and of course my native language, Spanish. My second foreign language is French but I usually just translate from it and don't have the opportunity to use it much so it's getting a bit rusty, I'm afraid.
I speak a little Basque, too, and people really appreciate the fact that a foreigner is at least making an effort to learn a language that is so different from Spanish...but it's far from perfect!
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 18:18
Spanish to English
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John Cutler wrote:
This poll will probably open up the great debate of "What is fluency?" for the umpteenth time, but I consider myself and speakers of other languages "fluent" when they have a speaking level of an educated speaker of the language... and not just being able to hold one's own in a basic colloquial situation.
I was just about to mention the subjective definition of "fluency". I answered only 2 because I have "educated speaker " level in Castilian Spanish and my native UK English, although I can "hold my own in a basic colloquial situation" in several others. For example , I have a degree in Russian but as I never get a chance to use it, it has dwindled away to a pale shadow of its former self. My French is now similarly "good for a laugh", especially my poor tortured vowels...
| | | | Barbara Carrara
Italy
Local time: 18:18
Member (2008)
English to Italian
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Bearing John's comment in mind, I'd love to read from some of our colleagues who answered 'more than 7', as I would love to virtually prostrate in awe in front of each of these super humans.
Mind you, fluency in three languages already makes it hard for me not to genuflect...
| | | | | Agree with Barbara | Mar 14, 2012 |
I know some people CAN hold their own very well, especially with preparation, in multiple languages.
My parents, for example, but they were also the first to admit that they were only fluent in narrow areas in most of them, or had what used to be called 'a reading knowledge' of others in the days before electronic audio equipment. My husband can get by on the phone or on holiday in a handful of languages, but he too prepares carefully first if he gets the chance.
But re... See more I know some people CAN hold their own very well, especially with preparation, in multiple languages.
My parents, for example, but they were also the first to admit that they were only fluent in narrow areas in most of them, or had what used to be called 'a reading knowledge' of others in the days before electronic audio equipment. My husband can get by on the phone or on holiday in a handful of languages, but he too prepares carefully first if he gets the chance.
But real fluency as John defines it, in more than two languages, is something I would like to pay my humble tribute to.
I have quite good paper qualifcations in French and German, which have never been put to a lot of practical use except on paper... so I do NOT speak those languages fluently any more, and struggle to understand them at speed.
Like many Scandinavians, I read the three related languages fairly happily, but only speak one. And they are NOT as identical as some agencies believe - there are masses of traps and false friends. The spoken languages and dialects are very different.
So no, I only speak English and Danish fluently, and content myself with that. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 18:18
Member (2006)
German to English
But I do know a couple of people that can actually speak 10 languages fluently and am really amazed about it, especially how they can switch between the different languages.
I am pleased that my two daughters will also be fluent in 3 languages and hope that they will have their own interest in learning more
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Mara Schepers
Netherlands
Local time: 18:18
Italian to Dutch
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4 fluently, and 2 on a conversational level.
| | | | Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:18
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| I agree with John | Mar 14, 2012 |
John Cutler wrote:
I consider myself and speakers of other languages "fluent" when they have a speaking level of an educated speaker of the language. That means being able to communicate effectively about a wide variety of subjects with an educated native speaker of the language on the spur of the moment, and not just being able to hold one's own in a basic colloquial situation.
It's 3 languages here as well - my working languages.
I am also a bit shocked about the 7 and more than 7 options and would love to hear from the people who selected them!
| | | | Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:18
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam
English. I can get by in simple conversations in Russian and German, and with rather more difficulty in French and Spanish, but I would not presume to call myself fluent in any of them.
Even in Russian, which is virtually my only working language now, though I have many years of experience of listening to it and translating from it, I have very little of speaking it.
| | | | lidija68
Italy
Local time: 18:18
Italian to Serbian
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| depends on languages | Mar 14, 2012 |
Barbara Carrara wrote:
Bearing John's comment in mind, I'd love to read from some of our colleagues who answered 'more than 7', as I would love to virtually prostrate in awe in front of each of these super humans.
Mind you, fluency in three languages already makes it hard for me not to genuflect...
Even if there are some differences between the languages, every serbian, croatian, bosnian and montenegrin translator can speak fluently all of those languages. The most of us study at least 2 foreign languages... On Proz.com there is also option "serbo-croat"...It's not so difficult to have 7 languages you can speak fluently.
But if we speak about non-similar languages, like chinese, german, russian, french, arabic.....it becomes more difficult.
P.S. I didn't vote at all
[Modificato alle 2012-03-14 13:07 GMT]
[Modificato alle 2012-03-14 13:08 GMT]
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For professional translation purposes, long ago I decided to focus on two languages, EN and PT, and not translate any other. Yet I learned three other languages, which now and then I use for conversation and even business meetings, but not for translation. (I use them for DTP and video subtitles spotting, though.)
What sometimes frightens me is that I often see people translating EN-PT, and it becomes obvious that their command in either one is inferior to mine in the three language... See more For professional translation purposes, long ago I decided to focus on two languages, EN and PT, and not translate any other. Yet I learned three other languages, which now and then I use for conversation and even business meetings, but not for translation. (I use them for DTP and video subtitles spotting, though.)
What sometimes frightens me is that I often see people translating EN-PT, and it becomes obvious that their command in either one is inferior to mine in the three languages I chose not to work with. A matter of personal ethics.
I studied French for three years as a teenager, and it was a bad deal. I have spoken it at most for some 8 hours ever since. I've never been to France, yet it was quite useful in some parts of Switzerland, as I don't speak any German at all. FR native speakers say that I communicate quite well in it, no idea whether they are just trying to be nice or not; the fact is that I understand them, and they understand me.
I studied Italian for four years in junior high school. Twenty years later I landed in Italy, and was surprised to discover that I still spoke and understood it remarkably well. It's worth noting that I never went one inch South of Rome, just all the way from there to the Alps.
I never sat through one single formal class of Spanish. However I organized maybe half a dozen large international corporate events. There were attendees from most Spanish-speaking countries I could name, so I gradually learned it by osmosis. I speak a probably funny, unplaceable pan-Hispanic mix, yet I do it so fluently that it amazes me every time. A few months ago I was in Argentina, and had absolutely no communication problem. However I must reckon that I am completely illiterate in Spanish: to read it, I must mentalize the text being said aloud to understand.
I am definitely not fluent in Polish. In spite of having heard it spoken at home during the first 25 years of my life, I never learned it. I can understand 30-40% of what is spoken, and maybe 15-20% of what I read in it, but no further. I can babble a few 'survival' words and phrases in PL, all with thoroughly wrong declinations. Though I know the sound of all peculiar diacritics, and most of the consonant groups, I can't read it properly.
So this helps me to draw the line for what "fluency" in a language means.
Yet, while fluency in a language helps communication, it does not guarantee that anyone fluent in two or more languages will be good as a translator. As I always say, a bilingual person is someone capable of expressing their own ideas in more than one language, while a translator/interpreter is someone skilled to accurately and faithfully express someone else's ideas in a language different from the one in which they were originally issued. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Local time: 17:18
Member (2010)
French to English
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| answered 4 but maybe 3 | Mar 14, 2012 |
I used to have fluent Irish (Gaelige) but although I am back living in my native country now after a long absence, I find it possible to speak more French and Spanish here than Irish, especially now I no longer teach in schools (where of course it is possible to practise with the Irish teachers). I can understand everything though and try to go to the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking areas), usually the Aran Islands, once a year to practise. So, maybe not so fluent any more. People make a bit more eff... See more I used to have fluent Irish (Gaelige) but although I am back living in my native country now after a long absence, I find it possible to speak more French and Spanish here than Irish, especially now I no longer teach in schools (where of course it is possible to practise with the Irish teachers). I can understand everything though and try to go to the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking areas), usually the Aran Islands, once a year to practise. So, maybe not so fluent any more. People make a bit more effort to speak the language this week coming up to our national holiday so am trying to find people to converse with...
My other languages are English (native) and French and Spanish to proficiency level. I can understand Portuguese and Italian but when I try speaking them, Spanish tends to come out! I figure I could learn them fairly quickly, if I had the time, because of their similarity to Spanish. So, the comment about the ability to be fluent in several related languages could explain the "7 or more answers" ▲ Collapse
| | | | Patricia Charnet
United Kingdom
Local time: 17:18
Member (2009)
English to French
very true, it depends on the level of fluency - I feel comfortable in French and English, and would use them in life emergency situations without thinking but as for Spanish and Italian - I would be worried about saying something wrong
I'm very skeptical about people who claim to speak so many languages fluently, I personally find it quite a challenge just to keep 2 at a very high level - lots of people think fluent m... See more very true, it depends on the level of fluency - I feel comfortable in French and English, and would use them in life emergency situations without thinking but as for Spanish and Italian - I would be worried about saying something wrong
I'm very skeptical about people who claim to speak so many languages fluently, I personally find it quite a challenge just to keep 2 at a very high level - lots of people think fluent means basic conversation in my opinion ▲ Collapse
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