How many languages do we speak?

[loinburger]

Originally posted by Ade
he's accused for being a racist sh*t

Are the Finns and Swedes considered to be members of different races?

[Monk]

En svensker der taler dansk? NU har jeg set alt.

Holy Hell! The government forces you to be tri-lingual!

Nothing unusual in that. It's the same if you want to attend High School in Denmark, only then we're talking about English and a choice between German and French. The only unusual thing here is that any country would want Swedish as a forced language when virtually every Scandinavian speaks basic English.

[Zopperoni]

Yeah, Dutch, English, German, French, Latin and Greek were compulsory

[ranskaldan]

English and Mandarin. I can generally make myself understood in French, though i still can't understand those natively produced Quebec shows.... hmm, and I can also construct very basic sentences in German.

well that makes three, i guess.

[Anodyne]

Originally posted by loinburger
Are the Finns and Swedes considered to be members of different races?

Nay, genetically we're almost identical, but at least around here 'racism' also means discrimination of different ethnic groups and other minorities (sexual for example..)

Monk:
At least you get some kind of a choice... and more so, a choice between languages that have major international authority.
(Förlåt, det är inte så med svenska )

[Zopperoni]

O yes, Finnish, I speak three words of Finnish, but I'm a fan of Eläkeläiset and Finnish Humppa in general

[Anodyne]

three words... lemme guess: Perkele, Salmiakkikossu and... (hmm this is hard) ... nah, can't figure. What's the third?

[Zopperoni]

Originally posted by Ade
three words... lemme guess: Perkele, Salmiakkikossu and... (hmm this is hard) ... nah, can't figure. What's the third?

"Mina voin pahoin" actually

[Juggernaut]

Originally posted by Ade
Yeah... about 5% of Finnish population list Swedish as their mother tongue, and about 75% (including me) are pissed off for having to learn Swedish in schools, but the government still insists us on learning it... Because of the Swedish colonization in Finland that lasted about from 1216 to 1808 most of the Swedish speaking population belongs to the upper class and they have much authority around here And still, Swedish is considered, especially by old people, as a 'fine' language, while our own Finnish is even shunned ( ) by some ...
And the thing with teaching Swedish is kinda sensitive issue around here, too...everytime someone brave politician suggests stopping teaching it, he's accused for being a racist sh*t... and more so, the 5% of the population who speak Swedish are situated in small coastal areas that make up about 5% of Finland's areal...

Surrender to the masters.

[Grrr]

Originally posted by Assur


Bedoel je niet "talen"?

Wel, Ik zij dat ik twee talen kon spreeken, niet srijven. Ik was uit Nederland gegan toen ik 3 was, dus ik can het nog wel ardig goed, vind ik. Dat was trouwens een tijp fout. Maar ze geven ons ook geen Nederlandse Spell Check !

[Anodyne]

Dra åt helvete

Ok, the situation isn't -as- bad as I mentioned , but it still sucks

[Zopperoni]

Originally posted by Grrr
Wel, Ik zij dat ik twee talen kon spreeken, niet srijven. Ik was uit Nederland gegan toen ik 3 was, dus ik can het nog wel ardig goed, vind ik. Dat was trouwens een tijp fout. Maar ze geven ons ook geen Nederlandse Spell Check !

It's OK, actually, it's quite impressive

[Dis]

this isn't going to make me popular. I applaud everyone for extending their education. But I find this thread slightly elitist. What's the point of knowing more than 1 language anyways? (esp. if the 2nd language is Latin- who speaks latin?) English is the dominant language . I know a little bit of Spanish. I did take spanish in school, and my city is quickly becoming a spanish speaking city. I find myself needing it at work occasionally. But I'm one of those people with bad memories (but with amazing computing power ). I find it difficult to learn languages at this old an age. It was far easier when I was a kid. I wish stupid american schools would teach foreign languages in elementary school.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Dissident
(esp. if the 2nd language is Latin- who speaks latin?)

Other elitists.

[Zopperoni]

Originally posted by Dissident
(esp. if the 2nd language is Latin- who speaks latin?)

Ego