Why We are Terrible at Speaking German (...and French, and Spanish, and Italian, and Arabic.....)
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- If you’ve ever wondered…. “Why are Americans infamous for only speaking one language?” Well, the answer is actually a lot more interesting and academic than you might think.... Challenging the idea that Americans might not just "verstehe nur Bahnhof".
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Episode 108 | #germany #usa #germanamerican #americaningermany #foreignlanguage #foreignlanguages #fluency #speakingenglish #speakinggerman #expatlife #german #language #languagelearning #languagenerd #cultureshock #cultureshocks #sprint202305 #lingoda #languagelearning #Lingoda #Lingodareview #learngerman #detusch | Filmed April 29th 2023
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00:00 Intro
00:41 Speaking Foreign Languages Across the World
04:41 Foreign Language Proficiency in the USA
8:00 Jonathan Speaking German
09:59 The Elephant in the Room (US Census Bureau)
12:11 Our Geography Problem
16:12 Problem with Foreign Language Education in the USA
18:06 American Privilege of Lingua Franca
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Let me tell you a true story which is only possible in Flanders. A few years ago on a story telling event they had 4 story tellers. But each of them told in his own language: Dutch, French, English and German. The room was packed with hundreds of listeners, which all knew it and understood the 4 languages. That gave it a very special taste.
Was knowing these languages a requirement to go to the event? Because, yes you learn these languages in school somewhat, but I don't think most Flemish people speak German and French enough to follow a story. I've met some young Flemish people and they said they didn't really speak French at all.
I can see something similar happening theoretically in Switzerland, with German, French, Italian and Romansch.
But I don't think people in a given region would know all four of these languages.
Other than that, I can't imagine many places in Europe this would work.
But other continents experience similar events frequently, especially Africa and Asia.
@@Anonymous-sb9rr They don't like French, but they at least understand it. Exposure is ubiquitous. Flamish is a dialect of Dutch which is pretty close to German.
@@sertaki Nobody understands Rumantsch. They speak German among themselves when they come from differen valleys, because the different variations of it are not mutually understandable. English is by now the language of exchange between the different linguistic groups. Ticinesi are usually quite fluent in German and to some extent in French by approximation. Among many foreigner, Spanish, Italians, Portuguese and even some Slavs, Italian is a lingua franca in the working class, still common on construction sites.
@@HelmutQ I think they only have a limited amount of exposure to French. Dutch and German are not mutually intelligible, they're not as close as a lot people think. It's not like Spanish and Italian, those are really close. But they are more similar than Dutch and English.
Mother tongue German, then learned English from 5th grade, French from 7th grade. But due to lack of practice the French almost completely vanished. And lastly Swahili which I need because I live in rural Tanzania.
I feel uncomfortable visiting a foreign country and not at least try to know a few words. To me it's a sign of respect as well.
I couldn't agree more on the respect. Also, especially with rarer languages, I find it to be a huge door opener and conversation starter. Also, as soon as you travel outside of bigger cities and touristic areas, fewer if any people tend to know English. And even if they do, it's important to keep in mind that people may know English because the country used to be a colony. So the reception they give to someone who tries to speak their native tongue may be more positive because of that as well.
Thanks for raising the respect issue: I'd never visit a country without being able to say at least the very very basics (hello, thank you, excuse me, good bye).
@@ElinT13 A wise lady told me to learn those basic words you mentioned, how to count to ten, but also how to say " what do you call this" in the local language.
Yes! The first thing I learn in a new language is how to say Thank you, then please, then hello and goodbye, and only then, basic travel phrases. Consequently, I know how to say "thank you“ in many languages!😂
I am 62 and American but took 3 years of German in high school and have continued to try and become fluent ever since. There is little opportunity to speak German in America but I have a strong interest in German and European railroads and Model Trains. Reading train books and magazines in German and ordering models from German hobby shops has helped me learn more German. I have also traveled to Germany six times for vacations and practice German each time. My son who is 17 is going to German language school in Freiburg this summer! He wants to be an engineer and possibly work for a German company.
Ah that is really cool!! I hope you son enjoys his time in Freiburg. We LOVE this city!
Funny. I'm a 70 years old German with a "strong interest" in American railroads ( besides European, German and the rest of the world railroads ). "Reading train books and magazines" ( trains) from the US and playing with trains from America and all over the world with Train Simulator and Open Rails. Greetings from Germany.
@@joachimniebling5034
Thanks for your comment. I am also in American railroads and models. I model the 1930 US time period with steam and electric locomotives and I model German Epoch III. We travel to Europe and Germany to go to railroad museums and ride on steam lines and excursions. We loved the Harzbahn and an excursion with the Eisenbahn Museum in Dresden. The Eurail pass works great for us and we go everywhere by train. We also love to get a compartment in a Schlafwagen for overnight trips. Europe has such a wonderful rail system. The USA is far bigger with long distances but our Amtrak system still should be better than it is. There are some great tourist railroads in the USA. If you haven’t been on the D&RGW in Colorado or the Cumbres and Toltec in New Mexico those are two of the best steam lines. Also Alaska RR in Alaska is very scenic.
Have you been in the Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg? Did you like it? (I do!)
@@bettinaknuelle9981 Yes I have been there and loved it. I have also been to railroad museums all over Germany.
As a native Norwegian speaker, I began my journey with English at the age of 10 or 11. However, I don't view your content to enhance my English skills. I am drawn to your channel because of the exceptional quality of your well-researched content. It's both informative and factual, which is the sole reason for my viewership.
I feel the same way about the well researched and informative facts provided by the channel.
I am not Norwegian.
Same for me as a German.
I'm German native who started English at the age of 10. I learned French for 5 years until 2008 but didn't really use it since. Now I'm learning Spanish since half a year at the age of 31 ... we'll see where that ends up :D
And yes here ist anathor native German who listen two your Chanel because of your contend. About my language skills, Sure First of all German and in Grade 5 I had to start with English, but when my Grandmother and my mother started to speak to each other, I allthogh piked Up a View Dutch words. In 8th Grade I started with french and after my First vacation in Italy I Beginn with Italien. But if it comes to the Level of fluency I would only consider German and English as funktional. The other languages are at best to survive a Restaurant visit.
17:50 In fact, the Abitur, which is the only graduation that allows to attend any German university, requires to have taken 2 foreign languages.
In my case it was Latin.
i started with french (grade 5-11), then english (grade 7-13), and when there was a choice between another language and _"Darstellende Geometrie"_ i chose latin (grade 9-11) to get the _"Kleines Latinum"._ Of course i never spoke latin (and rarely french), but once having known french and latin (and frequent holidays in italy, although on a "german campsite" :-) enabled me to communicate in basic italian (restaurants, hotels, shopping :-) and even once have a tedious but successfull basic conversation with a monolingual spaniard without ever really having learned any of those latter two.
The more languages you know, the easier it is to at least somewhat learn or understand other similar (for me: south/west or north/west european) languages. too bad that because of politics and their travel limitations to eastern europe, all those languages were completely foreign to me during the first half of my life, and then learning them from scratch (never being exposed to them or even having heard them) at a higher age wouldn't have been easy enough without a useful goal (and having become "too lazy" to attempt learning more completely different languages "just for fun").
Abitur ist nicht die einzige Möglichkeit eine Zugangsberechtigung zu deutschen Hochschulen zu erlangen. Zugegebenermaßen eher ungewöhnlich, aber ganz sicher nicht unmöglich. Lg
Latein nur von der 6-9 gemacht. Da hat man alles wieder vergessen:D und trotzdem Abitur
As a Dutchman (77yrs) we learned in school to speak/read/write in English, French and German. With my wife being Peruvian I learned Spanish and working for a Greek airline I learned modern Greek. As a hobby I learned Italian. However now I can speak fluently in Dutch, English German, Greek and Spanish. After a few days in the country my French and Italian will come back. And besides Spanish I sort of understand the written Brasilian-Portuguese.
Fellow Dutchman here . I'm 54 , but i notice that languages i don't use tend to 'dissolve' over time. When i was in my twenties i worked to Spain a lot, and learned Spanish & German because a lot of Germans didn't speak anything else,. But now i still understand Spanish & German, but when i have to speak it, i notice it's actually pretty rusty. ;)
Isn´t it a waste of mental energy that people on this planet speak so many different languages? ;-)
Imagine all Russians would speak English - I think that there would be no war now in Ukraine, the government could not manipulate the people so strongly.
@@kralikkral5560 for one I'd say that would be a really boring planet but also if as humanity we ever decide to go that route English would seriously benefit some countries above others, way more than it already does. Ideally you'd want a language like Esperanto
So, you can understand written Brazilian Portuguese but you can't understand written Portuguese? How come?
@@module79l28, it often is easier to read another language than to speak it.
I was born in Kazakhstan in a German family. This means we were speaking German at home and Russian outside. In 1988 I came to Germany, where I learned English and French at school. I continued to use English, but French I know only passively. As an adult, I spend a little bit more than a year living in Romania, where I learned to Romanian. I still use it. Although my level is probably not higher than A2. Now I have married an Afghan husband, and therefore I am learning Farsi. Learning languages is fun. It opens for you a new world of understanding and feeling about things.
I’m watching your videos because it is interesting to see my own culture from the perspective of a foreigner. I watch a lot of channels with intercultural content
As Southtyrolean with a strong bavarian-austrian dialect I learned standard German in school, after second grade Italian (because Southtyrol is a part of Italy). I had Latin and ancient Greek later what helps to understand written Latin-based languages. I started learning english during Covid, mostly to watch american TV shows in original - so I watch your videos to train my listening skills.
Americans can’t even speak or write in English, it irritates me to read American “english” and the way they murder the English language when they speak.
All names in big letters... English, Bavarian, Austrian, American.... otherwise your English is very good
@@kralikkral5560 thank you very much
> Southtyrolean
Südösterreicher. ;)
@@Kleberei oder Norditaliener
My native language is Finnish. Additionally, I speak English and Swedish fluently. I can also speak some Estonian and Spanish, but I'm definitely not fluent. I have also studied some German, Italian and French... but only remember some words and phrases 😅 I watch your channel to learn from two foreign cultures at the same time. German culture is of course quite similar to Finnish culture, but getting to see things from an American perspective is really interesting.
Republik Finnland ... WHY KING?
@@maikotter9945
It was a very short period:
When the legal government, a.k.a. the whites or the butchers, depending on one's point of view, had won the civil war in 1918 (with decisive German help) and Germany had dictated a harsh peace to Russia at Brest-Litovsk, it was a popular idea among the White victors to create a Finnish king out of a German prince .
When, just months later, Germany had accepted the harsh Treaty of Versailles, the very same White victors of Finland's civil war realized they would rather be more like the French and the Americans and have elected presidents instead of hereditary kings.
I don't know if I missed it in this video, but learning English at German schools is not a choice. Everybody has to learn English.
I am 53 years old and I startet with English at the age of 10 (in Western Germany). Today kids start earlier with English.
My native language is German and I understand ostfriesisches Plattdeutsch. Me and my sister shouldn't learn to speak it even so our entire family spoke it. So we were a kind of bilingual at home. My English increased a lot through videos like yours (THANK YOU ❤), series and movies, English music and reading. But I still don't think as a fluent English speaker of myself, even so my speaking improved in the last years.
moin moin _p
I’m going to be 60 in a couple months and my ex wife and I met in 1985. She’s two years older than me and German. Her English was not very good but today her American English is almost perfect. We struggled communicating for a while but she learned fast.
Being "not fluent" is fine. As an American who learned German, my German is all but gone now... You can read, speak and write - that is excellent.
However, I know quite a few people in Germany who don't remember their school English if they are young enough to have had it required. So, if you do not travel to English speaking countries, and don't use it, it is not necessarily a working language.
I have never been to an English speaking country and I didn't really use my school English for over 20 years. But I had a basis to build upon - which I learned at school. Learning languages works different for everybody and of course there are a lot of people who don't remember much of their school lessons - me included. But it makes a difference if you had to learn it at school or not.
Growing up in Germany with a canadian dad, made me a natural bilingual. In school I learned french, but I've forgotten like everything. At best I could order a coke in a restaurant. Then a friend taught me some of his norwegian. It was so good and great. He moved away sadyly. But if I'd find a norwegian course i'd really would think of taking it. As a hobby. And if you can talk one of the 3 scandinavian languages, you'd get by with the other 2 as well due to their similarity
I'm half Scots, half French. I grew up bilingual in Scotland and had the weird experience of being taught French (a language I spoke natively at home) as a foreign language in school for 6 years. I did end up being able to spell better than my cousins in France, though.😂 I also learnt Latin for 5 years at secondary school.
I began learning German at 15, Spanish in my early thirties. Those two languages were learnt mostly by immersion in the countries themselves, catching up on the formal grammar later. I acquired a passive understanding of Catalan, Italian and Portuguese, as well as Low German (Plattdüütsch), and some Dutch. I worked with languages professionally, translating and interpreting.
For the past year, thanks to online resources, I've finally got around to learning Scottish Gaelic - something I've wanted to do for years. Through that, I've also come to understand some Irish too. Learning languages keeps your brain fit.
I watch your videos to get the American perspective. But also because you're a nice family.
Russian is my native language, but I was in a special school in then-USSR that had English classes starting 2nd grade (8 y.o.). As Ashton pointed out in the video, emersion is very important -- I got a huge boost in my language abilities during a school exchange trip I took in high school. At age of 28 I moved to Poland so now this is the 3rd language I know.
Funfact: There is only ONE country in the world with German as only official Language: Fürstentum Liechtenstein.
That is super fascinating!
And their German is terrible.
Germany is slowly speaking more Denglish......
We need to keep converting them to get the english rate higher. 🇬🇧❤🇺🇲 🤠👍
They speak Swiss-german.
@@oliverarndt4759 of sorts.
My native language is English, but have German family so I felt incentivised to learn German and then converse properly with my relatives. I always tell people it took 9 years of learning to reach fluency. I also did Spanish in school, with a two year dose of Japanese.
Now I live in the Czech Republic but work for an American company, so I speak English all day anyway. I know enough Czech to get by and deal with paperwork, but conversations with me in Czech are rare. Doesn't help that my local husband speaks better English than most natives.
Swedish here. I started learning English around 9 years old... and had english classes all the way up through the entire mandatory school, so until age 17. Along with lots of influence from media, English is definitely a language I'm comfortable with. The second foreign language I learned was French. That I began at age 13, and had classes up to age 17. There is no media in french in Sweden so I was never exposed to french outside of classes. I remember NOTHING of french today. Wouldn't be able to understand a single sentence of spoken french. So yes. Learning earlier is important, as well as being constantly exposed to the language. As a European I feel kind of like a failure at just being able to speak two languages... that's nothing. Especially since my only foreign language is english, the most basic and easy language to learn (in my opinion).
Hej, I can totally relate. As a German, I, too, am most comfortable with English, forgot most of my French and Spanish from school due to not really using it. But I took up Swedish and am determined to at least always keep my level there, even if I cannot always advance in my courses. But yes, two languages for me as well... kinda lame for a European ;)
It was the same for me, I didn't speak a word of French for 8 years after school. Then however I got to know some french people and (as the cliché goes) it was actually easier for me to "re-learn" French to talk to them than to try to communicate in English. And actually even though I thought I had forgotten everything, it all came back to me very quickly. I guess even if you never use it, multiple years of learning a language will still come back later if you need it.
Yup agree. As a German I wouldn't even count English as a Fremdsprache at this point either.
I was born in the early sixties and when I was in the fifth year of elementary school I got my first English lesson, just learning words. It was the first year a foreign language was educated on my school. In the sixth year I learned simple sentences. At secondary school I got French (2years), German (3years) and English (4years and as an exam subject). In secondary technical vocational school I got German and English for 2 years. The third year is internship and the fourth year is exam year. In the first two years you could also take optional languages like French, Spanish and Italian or technical German and technical English. I chose the latter two, to broaden my technical vocabulary. Although I did benefit from technical German and technical English in my career I still feel a bit sad that I didn’t chose French and Spanish. I would have loved to be fluent in French and Spanish also. Maybe after I retire.
Being German, I of course speak German at home. I have always had an interest in and a knack for learning other languages, so in school I took as many as I could. That resulted in me taking 5 years of Latin (which is of questionable use, admittedly), 7 years of French and 9 years of English.
I think the last point in the video is the most important. I have forgotten most of my french, because since I left school I haven't really used it at all. English, on the other hand, I've likely actually gotten better over time because I use it almost daily. That's partially my personal preference, as I watch films and series as well as read books in english, because I dislike the German dubs and translations, but a lot of it is interaction with other people online. Whether in games with voice chat, in the youtube comments or on forums and discords, it's always English that's spoken, because with English it doesn't matter where you're from. Speaking it is kind of an entrance requirement to most of the internet, I feel.
Oh cool! I think Latin would be fascinating to learn. I know of a few friends who opted to learn Latin because they were pre-med in University and they found it super helpful for understanding the root names of diseases and conditions.
Exactly my point of view.
@@TypeAshton You actually need Latin for some study programs (partially also depending on which university you visit). Additionally, knowing Latin makes „understanding“ (written) Italian or Spanish much easier.
@@TypeAshton not only that, Latin is probably the single most influential language. Everywhere the Roman empire spread, you find traces of it. English has had a double influence even through the occupation and its french roots.
I find it super interesting looking at the etymology of Latin words and how their meaning changed over time. Like apothecam (wine cellar, iirc) and modern day uses like apothecary or Apotheke. I was fortunate to have had very good teachers in both Latin and English who raised our awareness for these connections and it is so interesting and enriching and there are countless Latin words surrounding us. Most people just don't realise it.. like audio (I hear), video (I see) it's everywhere..
@@TypeAshton honestly: The most fascinating aspect of learning Latin for me was, that it was a huge additional (but very, very Euro-centric) history course. The Roman Empire has had one of the most historic influences on our continent and therefore is for the whole of Europe a very important aspect.
Learning the language not only was very boring and really, really hard, but the effect, that learning Latin for ancient texts means, you never get in the mode of being able to SPEAK Latin, always gives you the feeling of being held back. This is a huge problem, because it excludes the most important part of language learning, as you know yourself of course: having conversations. So in hindsight for me it was not a good idea to start foreign languages with Latin, as the most valuable early years for fluency (for example in English), were kind of wasted.
Wouldn't I have started to explore the internet at the age of 14 and at the same time also not want having to wait for the translation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I probably would have had a very hard time to become only somewhat fluent up to 10 years later during my college years.
My third language, or second foreign language in school, was Latin. At that time my school would only offer Latin or Russian, and I chose the former.
I actually didn't regret it. Although my Spanish, Italian and French are pretty much non-existent or let's say on touristy level, it does help to figure out the meaning of many (written) words of those languages. Since learning Latin pretty much means learning grammar my understanding of English and also German grammar has really improved.
Bonus: Reading the SPQR novels by John Maddox Roberts is a lot more fun with some knowledge of Latin and Roman history. 😂
I can agree on that bonus.
About SPQR: It is also used in the Italian version of Asterix & Obelix: sono pazzi questi romani
But let's be honest here: yes, the "Latin Languages" are obviously related to each other. If you learn spanish, portuguese, italian, french or latin, you will be able to learn the other ones faster and mkght be able to figure out the meaning of many words in those other languages. So why would anyone pick the only dead language that isn't spoken by anyone anymore? Why not pick italian right from the start?
I know, you didn't have that choice, but still! It alsways baffles my mind that people say "learn latin, that will make it easier for you to learn italian" instead of "learn italian".
My work helps people from other countries making their first steps in Germany. I cannot stress enough how important it is to learn the German language. Besides a couple of specialized jobs, you won't find high, or even average paying jobs if you don't speak German. Can you survive without German: yes, can you live without it: no.
P.S. German, English & Spanish.
I agree with this statement only to a certain extent. It really depends on your profession and the area where you live. If you work at a global firm in a major citiy and possibly in a job that assumes a high level of qualification you can live in Germany for years without learning the language. Work in IT at the Telekom in Berlin for instance and no German is needed. Most IT projects include foreign (American, Hungarian, Spanish or Chech) experts and the common language is Englisch. Major German cities are so international, that half of the conversations you overhear in the streets are not held in German. Here in Berlin we have plenty of cafe's and restaurants - and not only ethnic ones - where the waiters don't even speak German and expect you to order in English. I do agree however with both Ashton and you, that it makes things soo much easier and just more interesting and rewarding if you speak the language of the country you live in.
PS. Germain, English, French
@@aautrata lol. With that many „if‘s“ I’d call the job specialized.
As a Dutchy I speak Dutch obviously, English, German, a little French (enough to go around) and a few words of Spanish.
As a Dutchy people keep telling me that the Dutch are straight forward in sharing their opinion when asked but I think it is rudely and unheard off to start a conversation in English (Native or non-native speaker) and expecting people to understand you and expect them as well to answer you fluently in English as well, without excusing yourself not knowing the local language.
Now, where on earth did such a rude attitude come from..? Remember that knowing the language at least for a certain degree of the country you're visiting is a must. Don't expect local people to understand any foreign language at all, and remember that we, (the locals in Europe) effectively know one language well enough to express ourselves in and that would be our mother language.
The rest of the languages one learns much later at school, but barely ever is spoken, since we all speak the local language, and so is not practiced, and so becomes a language one does not or barely control, and so is a language one does not really master and so is not a language one likes to be forced into by foreigners whom demand fluent speakers of the language of their choice, since the little travel booklet told them we Europeans are all bi-lingual--> which is sadly not the case.
"Wir können alles, ausser Hochdeutsch" 🙂
("We can do everything except High German". A former Slogan of the state of Baden-Württemberg)
The funny thing about this slogan is that, their local dialect is High German. Even Austrian and Swiss dialects are High German. The only people not speaking High German are in the North, speaking Low German.
This confusion happens because colloquially we use the terms "Standard German" and "High German" interchangeably.
@@frankmeyer1473 : I agree. "High German" is imho a inappropriate translation of "Hochdeutsch". It just means standard German.
Well, I'm speaking the "High German" dialect Alemannic. :-) When I'm visiting northern Germany (ok, meaning: Every state northern to BW and Bavaria :-) = "Weisswurstäquator") and I'm really doing my best to speak "High German", I'm often get asked: "Are you from Switzerland?" Because accidentally I'm using some southern German words, phrases or it's just because of my grammar 🙂
I myself speak German, Bavarian (which is not considered as an official language though 😅) and English. However, my English is only something between B1-B2. I learned it at school for almost 5 years, but I forgot so many about grammar rules and vocabulary. I've decided to start learning English again about 6 months ago and that was one of the main reasons why I started watching your videos. So I apologize in advance for all grammar mistakes that I've made to write this comment 😅
Vielen Dank fuer die Inhalte auf eurem Kanal! Meine Muttersprache ist Englisch, und meine Deutsch-Faehigkeit ist ungefaehr B1. Eines Tages lerne ich mehr Sprachen (Spanisch, Schwedisch, Platt, usw), aber zuerst muss es mehr Stunden in einem Tag geben :)
Hello 👋 how are you doing today??
While I agree starting earlier if definitely a huge advantage, I think many underestimate how far you can get starting later if you have the motivation and put the work in. I'm an American who started learning German at 19 years old, (3 years ago), and at this point Germans are usually shocked when they find out I'm from America.
I think one of the areas that many learners stumble at is pronunciation. It's helps so much to get a bit familiar with the international phonetic alphabet and the sound system of the target language (and even with your first language too!). Many Americans pronounce German as it they were reading an English text with weird spelling, when (imo) you really need to fight that urge and learn the rules from scratch, which letters correspond to which sounds, and when you stumble across a new sound, to try to learn it.
Here, a speech coach helps a ton, I had one who was familiar with American English, and meticulously pointed out where I needed get over bad habits. A good speech coach is definitely worth the money!
I 100% agree with your pronunciation point. To me, it seems that's what people from America struggle the most with. Other countries seem to be doing much better with pronunciation though. In my experience, most Americans struggle with German pronunciation even after years of learning, while most other countries seem to adapt much quicker. No idea why that's the case, but you definitely made the right choice by focusing on pronunciation. That's probably the reason why people are often surprised by how good your German is.
@@Feeber2 Not only Americans, Canadians and Brits as well. I think that is caused by the really different pronunciation rules for English compared to most other languages using the Latin alphabet.
@@apveening yes sorry, I should have said native english speakers
Hello, My native language is german. Growing up close to the danish border, I started learning Danish and speak it at a mother tounge level.
We started learning English at school at the age of 12-13.
In my early twenties I learned Italian, which I now speak fluently as I live in Italy.
❤ PS: Thank you for the very well researched video. It was very interesting.
German, English, French, Spanish... I am not watching your Videos for the language, but for he content and your way of presenting it. You are a great educator. ❤
As a Belgian (from the Flemish part) I speak our three native languages (Dutch, French and German). Since English is important wherever you go I also speak that. And since my level of these languages is not so bad I can also understand a bit of Spanish and Italian. As in the Netherlands all programms on TV are in their original language, so alot of children have already a notice of another language (especially) English before they got their first lesson at school. I can say that it is definitely true you better understand the way of thinking of a foreigner if you speak his language.
My parents are Chinese so I learned Mandarin Chinese. I was Born in Germany and started learning German in kindergarten.
I started learning English in 3 grade and French in 5 grade
I am a Ukrainian native speaker who grew up in a bilingual UA-RU environment, had English as my first foreign language and German as a second foreign language. I enjoy your videos, but currently, I am not at the point of learning English anymore, it is more of maintaining the level I have and enjoying the wide variety of content that the English-speaking community provides.
Looking forward to your new videos!
I speak German (native) and English (C1). I learned Russian in school because it was mandatory at the time, but I barely know any of it anymore. I also tried Japanese, but only a few words are left.
I watch your videos because you give an outsiders look on Germany, which I find interesting.
I started listening to your content because of my interest in keeping my English fluent. But by now I very much appreciate your diligent research - no matter what topic you choose to present - I always feel my brain has had some training. I have very often thought you should be in the teaching profession somewhere because you have the gift to break down complicated topics in a way which makes what ever it is comprehensible. Kudos!
Frisian is not german.
It is not hard to measure if a people or person is bilanguage or understand a language. You measure how well a person understand the words and vocabulary.
Sweden didn't have a official language since it was was just viewed that we speak swedish and it wasn't viewed necessary, until 1 july 2009. Swedish was the language was out of as we say of hävd/Usucaption.
The Louisiana Creole or French was really mistread in the USA the same with swedish speakers.
Youl talk about how large the hispanic is in USA. But you call yourself american bet say that your an estor is from germany are you really a american. And not all american are not amercan bet french dusch. And can't be a one part something.
Texas was once spanish Florida was once spanish. New Orleans was french New Amsterdam was dusch.
Another great video. Thank you! I do have one tip: The language called "Hochdeutsch" has - here in Hannover - a clear LONG "o" in the first syllable. Have a lovely Mother's Day! ☺
And if they say "here in Hannover", they actually mean "here, where we speak Hochdeutsch". 😉
@@patrickhanft Tun sie auch! 😂
Alles Liebe zum Muttertag! ❤ Welcome, little Black Forrest family addition!
My native language is German. Languages at school (in order): English, Latin, French, Italian (extra curricular) and Spanish. I also took some Chinese classes at Volkshochschule, but forgot most of it. 😅 I went on studying English at university and also lived in the UK for a bit.
Now I'm so happy to be able to use English everyday in my job - I'd really miss it otherwise.
Hallo, I am a russian native speaker, but my German ist better than my russian today. I learned english in school and try to practice everywhere i can. Because of that i See you Chanel. Thank you for great content every time!
I grew up in the States with a German mother. I speak English and German and some Spanish. I had some French in school. I taught in an international school in the Dominican Republic which is where I mainly used German in the community, because at the time German speakers were the largest expat community there, and Spanish I was learning living there, even though the Lingua Franca of the school was English. My husband who grew up in Germany speaks German and English fluently. He is good at modern Greek because he studied in Greece, and took it in school. He also has a working knowledge of Latin, Italian, French and then worked on Spanish on our honeymoon in Mexico. He studied Russian in school, so now he is studying Russian, Polish, Ukrainian and Czech on Duolingo to see whether learning languages in the same family is easier. He thinks it helps. My mother speaks German and English fluently, and also studied Arabic, and Persian. My neighbor who is from Finland and is a translator speaks at least 8 languages, and her husband who is German and Egyptian speaks at least 8 languages as well, and is a prof of Near Eastern Studies at our neighborhood University. In fact, several of my friends are in that department and speak several languages as well. That is probably because our local university draws faculty and students from all over the world.
Hope all is going well with the newest black forest family member and everyone is getting enough rest and bonding time!!
In the Netherlands the benefits of speaking a second language is well understood and if im not mistaken both Dutch and English are mandatory with French and German optional.
Also they start at a much younger age then when i was in school (many many moons ago 😂) granted kids nowadays are way more exposed to other languages then we ever where (like through music etc).
Dutch and at least one modern foreign language are mandatory, the latter usually defaults to English, but French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese and Arabic are also allowed. There may be even more allowed languages, but it is very rare to encounter those at school in the Netherlands.
Languages open doors that you otherwise could not enter. I would have never be able to work in Canada if i would not have improved my English skills or could not even follow your Videos. Also i think that learning another language also means respecting another culture on a Personal level. Also here in Germany we love to See that people at least try it out. Language and Music are the corner Stones of Personal Interaktion. On the other Hand i think it is a life long process until auf Grab all the fine nuances a language has to express yourself in it❤
I wish there was greater foreign language opportunities both in and out of the classroom in the US. I grew up in a VERY rural part of the US and German wasn't even offered to us as an option (not enough students or teachers to make a class useful).
I didn't take my first German class until my late 20s and my brain already felt like a dried sponge.
@@TypeAshton But living in a country where you need the language is a great help and speaking it casually 'all the time' is much more helpful than class learning only.
@@TypeAshton The other thing is: Why would you possibly learn a foreign language in the rural USA? There is basically no need for that, unless you want to leave (for the great great outside world)...🤷♂
@@TypeAshton That was the case before Internet. Nowadays it's easy to take private lessons with a native speaker anywhere in the world, no matter where you live. It's just a matter of dedication and available time.
Hi Ashton to you and family. Your vid struck a chord with me in that I’ve always had a mild curiosity of variations of accents / dialects within a given country - never to the degree you’ve explored here (well done you). If you don’t mind, two instances come to mind … as previously mentioned I was 🇨🇦 military stationed just up road from you in Lahr early 80s. One night whilst having cocktails with a buddy married to a German from Freiburg German language came up. She told us that just within Black Forest she could go to various areas and barely understand what was being said, also in broader areas of Germany it could be even worse - I found that fascinating. Although I never learnt German I could tell there was a difference between German spoken in Lahr and German spoken in northern Germany where we went for gun camps. As for the US never travelled extensively but always curious meeting different Americans and their various accents, always wondered why. For example you guys speak English that I probably wouldn’t differentiate from Canadian English yet I met an American contractor in Kabul who was from Detroit, just across the river from Canada and she (to me) had a very noticeable accent. All very interesting.
Hi Ashton! I’m following your videos because of the super interesting topics, the thorough research, and myself being also an expat in Germany. My mother tongue is Spanish, English is my second language and the one I mostly use for work. German is my third, though slowly taking second place. French, which at one point was my second language, has been downgraded and needs to fight its way through German, same as Italian and Catalan. But I’m understanding them all and I can’t ask more from my brain. 😅 I’m thankful my parents sent me to English classes at the early age of 6. That set the foundations for all other languages coming afterwards. Keep up with the great work!
Thank you for the comprehensive view.
One thing i like to mention is, that Americans often have Problems understanding the Englisch that is spoken globally.
I have done IT-Projects in a global Corporation, and in Phone or Video Conferences People from Brasil, France, Argentina, Italy could very well understand each other in english, while our American Co Workers often had to ask twice.
For your language statitics, German native, english on business level and resonable Spanish. For travelling i have a basic knoweledge of french, italian, portuguese and dutch.
I like the recommendation I read somewhere to learn four languages:
1) a lingua franca (English)
2) a language of historical importance (e.g. Latin, or in my case French)
3) a regional language (for me, that's Czech)
4) one just for fun (Swedish)
Except for English, I'm not really proficient in any of those, though... only basic communication.
Mine look like this (an American):
1. The Lingua Franca (Spanish) [I'm in Texas, Latin Americans often take the same attitude to English learning that Anglos do to Spanish learning.]
2. Historical Importance/Serious Hobby (German) [My intended 2nd language to learn, and very useful for understanding older works of English literature that took the bizarre sentence patterns anyway.]
3. The Blowoff Hobby/F*&k with Native Speakers of #1 and #2 that don't have the decency to not switch to English when I'm talking to them in their language dammit, and sorry the accent isn't 100% perfect! (Russian)
5. Auxiliary (What Else is needed in the moment)
Interesting topic.Yes, of course, I watch these kind of videos to practice my English or let's say to keep it at its level.
Hey Ashton. Informative Video as usual. To answer your question at the end. I am a native German but I like the English language a lot. I consume a lot of English media just to maintain my listening comprehention. I used to be in a relationship with a guy from North Carolina and tipped my toe into the American culture back than, liked it and miss it now. Following you guys is part of my way to not forget.
I was raised with and speak Dutch, but my English is probably just as good and i use it extensively for work and consume most media in English.
Additionally I speak some German and can read and understand it well. My French is very very basic (though i can still read it).
I learned some ancient greek and Latin in high school as well and all that actually helps a lot with recognizing some words in some of the other languages in europe.
Hello Ashton, hello Jonathan,
Congratulations again to your new family member! I hope you all are doing well?
I personally speak three languages, hochdeutsch, english and pfälzisch(our local dialect). 😀
In my opinion it crutial to start learning a second language as soon as possible.
Best regards Ralf
Hi Ralf! We are all at home and resting 💜
One of the big reasons why we enrolled Jack in Kita was so that he has exposure 5 days a week to native German speakers and can hopefully develop two "native languages" in tandem. When we were in the hospital with the newest little one, he spent one morning with our neighbor who has a son the same age as Jack and they spoke exclusively German together. Really cool to see. 💜💜
Great to hear that about the development of Jacks language skills! You made that absolutly right decision.
First, congrats on your newborn! 🎉 I learned english in school, but using that skill a lot it get lost over the years. The reason why i watch and more importantly understand videos like this here today is i decided years ago to stay away from german TV and watch most stuff i like online/streaming in english. At first with german subtitles, but after a while i turned them off. Of course listing is not the same as speaking a language, but a few years ago a had the chance to test my english with a guy from australia and he was pretty impressed by my english skills and the desent conversation we had that day. so, yes beside online classes to learn english, it will took it liitle longer, but watching your every day tv shows in english will help to improve your skills.
Hi🙋
My first language is German but I started studying Japanese at around 14on my own, later proceeded the studies at university and have moved to Japan about 8 years ago. Your channel is a great way to reconnect with the country I was born in!❤️
At my school we started learning English at year 3 and were able to choose between French and Russian at the beginning of year 7 (where I took French). Oh, also I picked up some Russian as my parents would sometimes say phrases or words in Russian since Russian used to be the first foreign language kids got to study in the GDR 😂
I am Colombian and I am native in Spanish, have English as my second and German as my third languges. I do as well have learned some Italian, French, Portuguese and Russian to communicate better with my friends here in Europe. My brother lives in Europe as well and he does know even more languages than I do (namely 6 fluently and some others by curiosity). I watch these videos because of the great contrasts you make about US and German cultures, I end up learning a lot about both ❤
Great video as usual! Being from India and now lived Germany and Switzerland, I was already tetralingual, if that’s a word i.e. 4 languages (English, Hindi, Bangla, Odia) and now German. Yes! English is our native language as well 😂 In India it is actually expected to know more than one language. It’s funny ‘cause here in Europe people are impressed by that but Indians are not usually impressed 😂 Such an interesting phenomenon.
You’re from Orissa? Just wondering, since my family is from there.
I am from Kolkata but my parents are from Odisha 😊 I am a hybrid of Bengali and Odia 😄
@@sudipdas9389 cool 😎; it is very rare that I encounter another Indian with Oriya ancestry unless it is through my parents/relatives
@@abinashmishra329 Glad to hear that man, cheers!
"Quadrilingual" is the correct word.
Great video 😊 As a Norwegian I have studied English in school since the age of 10 (since 1994 Norwegian kids have English as a compulsory subject from the age of 6, 1st grade) but I did start learning on my own before I was 10 because I’ve always been a bit of a language buff 😊 I ended up studying English at uni and now teach it in high school 🤓 So I watch your videos not to learn but because I enjoy many of the topics you address (genealogy, city planning, languages). As for other languages, I did two years of French in middle school (only remember bits of it), three years of German in high school (can read and understand about 90% of spoken, but do not speak it because grammar), started learning Spanish at 35 (I’m 46 now and teach Spanish as well) and started learning Italian at 42 (am totally in ❤ with it, and am probably at about a B1. I take at least two online conversation lessons a week to keep progressing) So, four and a half languages I would say 😊 Also, you are never to old to learn a new language!
Being Russian, who lived in the US, Germany and now in Switzerland, I started to learn English at the age of 10. Learning German was an obligation when I moved with my ex to Deutschland. They make you to take Itegrazionskurs and pass a test in order to give you an Aufenthaltsbewilligung. When I moved to Switzerland after I have faced the same thing with French, because I lived in Wallis both French and German canton, but in a mostly French part so even I had my German test they made me to take a French test as well to give me my permis de sejours. So I had no choice. Now I am finishing my study in Lugano, in Ticino which is an Italian speaking canton, and it is completely in Italian. So in the end of the day I speak 5 languages: Russian, English, German, French and Italian.
Not perfect, but fluent enough to communicate with people, feeling myself comfortable and work which is the most important. And of course I keep on learning all of them. I can say that learning every next language gets a bit easier, because your brain understands the process and the things that are important at the beginning. The most funny thing is to see how the words distort and moreover analyzing their origins helps to learn vocabulary.
I can definitely admit that the complex grammar of my mother tongue helps me as well, so I have no issues with cases for example.
However to be honest the environment is among the most crucial factors. And living in Switzerland in my case is a great opportunity to practice all my languages almost on a daily basis.
In linguistics, bi- or multilingualism is defined by the languages that are aquired rather than learned or teached. A "second/third/n-th language" is one you get automatically by contact with native speakers (like parents, neighbors, friends, kindergardeners) during childhood, while languages you _actively_ learn are considered "foreign languages". In that regard, the Cencus Bureau's definition of multilingualism is actually a bit closer to the academic definition than simply counting what language you are able to understand and/or communicate with.
Ah that actually makes a lot of sense and is super interesting. I would wonder if the German definition then adopts this same standpoint.
@@TypeAshton I work as a language service provider and no one in my field considers themselves bilingual when they haven't aquired the language on native or near-native level as a child. I would never call myself multilingual although I speak several languages.
First, congrats on your newborn! 🎉
Second, I speak quite a few languages: my native Slovak, and - as born and raised in Czechoslovakia before it split - Czech as well (not only understand, but also speak and write on C2 level). My third language is Polish, as I grew up on the Polish border, where I am somewhere on C1 level. And I'd say I am around C1 in English, too, though I don't have any official exam.
Where I do have an exam and a certificate is German, for the B2 level, which I needed for my Swiss permanent residence permit. Speaking of Switzerland, I understand Swiss German, particularly Basel/Baselbieterdütsch quite well now, but don't dare to speak it (to not endanger my neighbors with death from laughing 😂).
And there is a bunch of languages I speak on a touristy level (to greet people, ask/thank for something, order in a restaurant, ask for directions,...), in particular Russian (which I learnt in primary school, as it was mandatory at my time), French (which is an obvious choice, living in the Dreiländerecke), and - as as long time karate practicioner - Japanese (though I haven't been to Japan yet).
similar situation here ... born Slovak, I can use Czech to a decent degree, learned German and English. I can understand most German dialects and also quite a bit of Polish since it is a similar language to Slovak/Czech.
It is the situation with small countries/nations that they have to learn the languages of their neighbors to function properly :-) But that was mentioned in the video. If you are an American from the middle of the country, you'll most likely never meet a person that does not speak English.
As a native Mongolian, I am fluent in both English and German, which makes it easier for me to communicate with people from different countries. I also have the ability to read Cyrillic and can understand a little bit of Russian.
I find English valuable as it enables me to explore the diverse perspectives and thoughts of people around the world. English serves as a bridge that connects various ideas and individuals, allowing me to engage with a broader range of information and experiences.
On the other hand, my experience with learning Spanish in school was not very successful, and I still struggle with it. However, I believe that in the future, I will undertake the task of learning Chinese, as I aspire to teach it to my future children.
Hi Ashley! What an interesting video! I really love all the content you post
I started to watch your videos in a phase where I was interested to learn about what kind of experiences people from other countries living in Germany encountered. This taught me a lot about German culture in general and about me, because it made me reflect on things that are totally normal for me, but left expats astonished or irritated.
As to the languages I speak (which is subject to definition - from which level on do you consider "speaking" a language?): So, fluidly I speak German (my paternal language), Italian (my maternal language), English (my favorite language since I was 4 years old), Catalan (which I chose to learn during the pandemic). Other languages, ranging from less to very little fluidity, are: French, Turkish, Arabic, Irish and an itty-bitty bit of Mandarin. I also learned Latin which, as a history buff, I use for deciphering medieval texts, tomb stones and such.
Oh, and then there are the languages that I never learned, but which I understand to an extent, which are: Spanish, Portugese and Occitan.
I can’t really relate to the idea of feeling privilege because everybody would address me in my first language. I’ve always enjoyed listening to, and trying to speak, foreign languages. When I travel, I’ll prefer going abroad for this very reason. I will prefer going to countries where I do speak and understand the language, because the feeling of immersion is so good. But I also enjoy the Internet because it enables me to practice my foreign languages, and I will use at least two of them every day.
The benefits of multilingualism go far beyond practical application, and I’m sorry for people who only see the utilitarian perspective. Practicing multiple languages is good for your brain, and getting used to making extra efforts to understand another human being certainly has psychological benefits as well. There is a quote attributed to Charlemagne that to possess another language is to possess another soul, and I would subscribe to that. When I started working for a company where most of the work got done in French, for a few months it felt like someone else was doing the work for me - no kidding. The extra effort that I had to make was more than compensated by learning new expressions and vocabulary every day.
As always a very informative video.
But it is not yet certain that english will remain the lingua franca. E.g. in African countries that speak French, the population is increasing and could displace English as the most spoken language on the African continent.
the reason im watching your channel: i do have alot of friends in america, and also in the usa. it is fascinating for me to see how you approach and think about things we have, i do have the feeling i get a deeper understanding of what makes my american and us friends tick.
Good morning, well I speak 3 languages fluently and can also read and write them (Deutsch/Nederlands/English). That's how I learned English as a duty at school! Have a nice day down there in southwestern Germany....
Tell ik Plattdüsch dabei dann praat ik 4 Spraaken .
Because of Jonathan's line of work, we often travel to the Netherlands and watch Dutch cycling crits and races. Dutch is FASCINATING because it really is a linguistic bridge between English and German. I love listening to the announcers speak it.
Some people (on a certain island) would add english to the list :P
Maybe even only a certain part of that certain island.
Kind regards Christiaan
I am Dutch, and speak English as a second language. I also learned German and French at school, and at work I deal with a lot of Portugese truck-drivers, so I started learning Portugese as well. It's fun to learn new skills, but it's a must for me to have the language playground, to test my skills on native-speakers of that language, otherwise I won't know if I learned correctly.
First up, your videos are entertaining and informative, so we enjoy watching them. Secondly, English was and is a big part of my business life, dating back to my studies when I did an internship in the States. Lastly, you're sometimes portraing our city of Freiburg, which feels like watching some local news channel. Oh, and there is a lot of content on youtube in general in English that I don't want to miss out 🙂
Other languages spoken are of course German as my native tongue, French just enough to cross the border and do some basic stuff like ordering in a restaurant, ask for directions etc (maybe my wife and I will try the app you recommended... finally) and some words in other languages, but not on a conversational level.
Thanks so much for this video - and for mentioning québécois! My languages: advanced (not professional) but rusty French and Italian, intermediate Spanish, and beginner Portuguese and German. I hope to perfect many of these languages through immersion in the coming years! I’m still working on how exactly I do that professionally…
Therefore you call Frisian and Niederdeutsch languages, not dialect.
Our late English friend was able to understand Niederdeutsch.
Ganz interessant!
Incidentally, I just asked about this language discussion on another video (kids and public and alternate transportation). I'm glad I found this. Thanks.
And Quebec in Canada speaks a specific dialect of French: Quebecois. I spoke to a French woman who works for Air France and she was surprised to see signs at the airport in Montreal that read "Embarquer." In France you wouldn't use this word as it means to get on a boat (barque). But, then, all languages are regional and are shaped by contact with other regions and cultures.
Hi Ashton, i grew up in Hamburg, so my first language is german and lower german ( Hamburger Platt ) and in school i had english and spanish and lst year i started with portugues, cause only if you speak some phrases makes travel way better and easier to dive in another culture. Have a phantastic weekend with your family.
That is awesome! My rudimentary French has come somewhat in handy living so close to the Alsace, but I would have loved to learn more Romance languages.
I'm always both astonished and deeply captivated by the thoroughness of your research, I wouldn't want to miss any of your video guys!
Well, evidently I was born and raised in southwestern Italy, not the kind of place where you'd expect to master multiple languages;
Still, I became fascinated by the prospect of learning English a good while ago, 13 years to date now.
And then all of the sudden 5 years ago I was starstruck by the German language, one that doesn't seem to reciprocate me quite as much, at least to this day.
But I'm not giving up that easily!
Hope to hear from you soon guys and then I wish you all the very best for the birth of your second child !
👶🏻 🇮🇹 🇺🇸🇩🇪 😄😊
GRATULIERE! Your "Tschüss" is top level😊
I am German, living in Portugal... but I am learning more English than ever before because my preferred TV Channels are broadcasted in English with Português Subtitels... at least I found out that Português language and English have more lingual roots in common then I ever would have imagined! And sometimes Main words are easy to tell, you only have to change the pronounciation and the ending. Very diffent to German sometimes tho.😂
Those common lingual roots aren't really surprising, Portuguese is a Romance language and a large part of the English vocabulary is also of Romance origin thanks to William of Normandy and his victory at Hastings in 1066.
No, being “bilingual” means in Germany having two mother tongues. It doesn’t matter if you use them at home or elsewhere, but you are a native speaker in two languages. If you have learnt a second language in school etc. doesn’t mean that you are bilingual. It just means that you can speak in two languages, your mother tongue and that second language (usually with an accent and not 100% perfect like a native speaker).
Native German, started English in the 5th grade, French in the 7th grade and Spanish in High-School. Later in some evening-class Italian at the "Volkshochschule" to prepare for a six month sabbatical in Italy. I love learning other languages.
And most important, congratulations and all the best for your growing family❤
Great topic.. and also, congratulations again. Hope you're all doing well.
I couldn't even give you a number on how many languages I 'speak' and I'll elaborate on that.
I'm from the German part of Switzerland and my mother tongue is Swiss German. As such, my first foreign language was high German. Also, learning French at school was mandatory but my french is rather weak. Passive knowledge np but active not so much.
My strongest foreign languages are English (learned at school and during 1 year at uni in England) and Estonian (learned during an exchange year). Other than that, I also learned Latin and Spanish (school), Portuguese (picked up on the fly through Portuguese co workers) and Russian (Uni plus quite a bit of exposure in Estonia). I also understand quite a bit of Italian, Finnish and many Slavic languages just through exposure and knowing related languages.
The language that is mostly like a second mother tongue to me, is Estonian as I learned it solely through immersion and only know how to read and write because it is 100% phonetic. Still I'm probably more fluent in English because I use it far more often. And the hardest thing you can ask of me is translating Estonian to English as Estonian words aren't linked to other words like with English where words have a coupling to their high German counterparts.
So yeah, it's complicated.. 😊
WOW! That is AMAZING! You remind me quite a bit of our good friends. The husband is Dutch, wife is Lithuanian, and they live in Switzerland (where at work they must speak both French and German). Between the two of them at home, they choose to speak English - but at work, speak German and French. Their daughter is learning German from her father, Lithuanian from their mother, and french at school.
I enjoyed this video (again) and it is very good. What german l know I learned from different programs & people from the internet. I admire Europeans learning each others languages. Living in close proximity to other countries is definitely an advantage.
I'm German and those are the languages I speak:
German (native speaker)
English
Basic French
Super basic Spanish
Polish (just started learning it after reconnecting with the Polish side of my family)
And I understand a lot of Lauenburger Platt.
Belated congratulations on the new borne!!
Watching to see Germany from US perspective, enjoy the good content plus the unique topics you cover in such a high quality
today i noticed the first time that the " Black Forest Family " has changed and it has split , and you Ashton have your own "show"and i understand why. Your own contribution is
very academic and i think you are doing a great job collecting a lot of information first before going "on air "I am always enthusiastic seeing your point of view on all sorts of topics.
keep on digging !!!
Thank you so much!
Interesting as always. I'm American born and though my grandparents spoke other languages as well as english (German, Italian, Yiddish) we never spoke anything but english at home. I had French in high school, as did my wife and when we went to France 35 years ago we were completely lost and unable to understand what was spoken to us because they spoke so fast we couldn't even pick out words we knew and very little on the menus matched up with what we learned in school. It was also a time that the French weren't particularly fond of the US so absolutely no one would speak English to us except in the hotel in Paris. As we drove around France for a week we managed to find everything on our trip but we didn't find out that the US had bombed Libya until we were on our British Airways plane flying to London. Fast forward to more recent times and our more recent trips to France the locals were very friendly and many spoke english. My daughter is now fluent in German as she has lived there for a few years, but she says that the locals, in Mannheim speak a dialect of German that even many of her German friends can't figure out a lot of the time, because even though they learn Hochdeutsch in school they speak Mannheimer (Palatine German) at home and then rarely use the standard German. Actually so many Germans (at least younger ones) that she encountered speak english that she had a hard time using German because as soon as someone realized she wasn't German they switched to english.
Thank you for your videos!
I enjoy your perspective on Germany and hope that you can enjoy your life in the southwest of Germany.
As German I obviously speak German, but my English is just ok for a fluent conversation. I also learned a bit of Spanish with is enough for some holidays. And I learned 5 years French which I mostly had forgotten but now I have to remind myself of that lessons because I need it more often since my girlfriend is living in France. And we usually speak English with some addition in French. And she is also the reason why I watch your channel because I like your perspective as non-Germans.
Fantastic video! English native speaker, learned German and French in school but retain only a tourist-level proficiency, and Thai at home with my husband.
Great video as always! You asked at the end so I'll take it as feel-good request to list my languages as well. I speak Romanian (mother tongue), English (fluent), French (fluent in all but writing where I will certainly make a lot of grammatical mistakes haha), German (since I live here for 8 years now but I'd place it bellow french definitely), Korean (i would put this as above beginner since I don't use it as much and would need a good week or two in S. Korea to get it going again). I had Latin a few years in school but I think my understanding of Latin comes mostly from derriving from Romanian, Italian and Spanish. Speaking of the last two, I can hold basic conversations. After going a few times to Spain and Italy I am confident I could learn them super fast but I'll leave them at the occasional tourist gets free service level for now. I feel really priviledged to have been born in Romania and learn Romanian first since that language is such a good mix of multiple influences and that gave me an easier time learning other languages as well. When I was growing up in the 90s back home, cartoon network was in English with no subs, my best friend went to a mother language German school and watched a lot of RTL and ProSieben, my sister watched a lot of tellenovelas (fo Spanish), my mother was a French teacher and there are probably other influences there. I feel lucky and I wish more people challenge themselves to at least coversationally speak a few languages. I think it would make the world a better place
We went to a then non-touristy island in Greece many decades ago and the 9 year old(!) daughter was in charge of welcoming all the guests in English and sometimes in French. She told us she had learned English from watching TV (and French in kindergarten and school). As the all the cartoons and other shows had either no subtitles or she had not learned to read Greek yet, the boob-tube had become her foreign language teacher. We met several children at the shops also acting as interpreters. Here in Austria it is the children of immigrants who have to go along to doctors and official offices to act as interpreters for their parents.
At school, I learnt English, Latin and French - later on, I had a boyfriend from Latin America and decided to learn Spanish. When I was a small girl, my family went on holiday to Italy, where I got to know an Italian girl my age and we kept the connection, thus I have a passing understanding of Italian (of course facilitated by Latin, French and Spanish.
The reason I watch your channel is I find the outsider's view on my country interesting - and I very much appreciate the well researched content. So please keep going!
My native language is german. In school i learned latin (which one I dont speak, we did just translations), english and french. Some years ago i learned persian speaking and writing, which was a very interesting challenge. Learning Latin gave me a closer look for the systematic of learning a language. The foreign language I need the most is english. I dont know my language level but I can follow the most contents on youtube in english, and so i came to your channel 😄
English and Russian. Watch your channel because of the fascination of your journey. The fact that you fully assemilated into the German culture and persevered through the difficulties of German, continues to inspire me to keep learning Russian.
Hi!
I'm a Venezuelan living in Spain, so my native language is Spanish. I speak English as a second language, and I watch this kind of videos to practice 👍🏽. I learned how to speak English over 20 years ago, so I use videos, movies, books, magazines... anything that can help me to maintain my level and (why not) keep learning, since languages are alive and they never stop evolving ☝🏽
I'm a Spaniard born in the German part of Switzerland, to immigrant parents who spent their first couple of years in the French part of Switzerland and were in close contact with their Italian neighbors throughout their years in Switzerland.
So I have both Spanish and German as mother tongues, French was spoken once a week at home (and studied in school); Italian was spoken with a large portion of neighbors, family friends and some classmates.
I started learning English at age 14 in school and that lead me to now almost exclusively using English for entertainment (books, Series, movies).
I am 67 years old and an American. I studied French starting in the 8th grade through 11th grade. When I was in 10th grade, my high school French teacher organized a trip to France, which I went on. Loved the experience. My French accent improved significantly as a result. I still study it, but am not fluent.
I wish schools would start foreign language study in elementary school instead of high school for middle school.
American from Georgia. Left the USA in 1990 and have never been back (not even to visit). I lived in Germany for 8 yrs as a US soldier, but took advantage of University of Maryland courses on the American installations where I was stationed. These were full, language from the basic grammar up courses, lots of verb conjugations, vocabulary memorisation etc. The first grounding course in this overall German study was 4 days a week, everyday after work for 90 mins. After that course, it was usually 2 times weekly but 2 hours. The teacher was a German who lived locally. So, not only did we learn the language in a university speed course with full scope of grammar, we learned from a native who spoke with the local accent. PLUS, after the class was over, I could go out into the local environment and begin using what I had learned immediately.
And I DID. I spoke German every chance I got. I studied vocabulary rigorously daily, going over entire pages of new words. I paid special attention to gaining new verbs, because this allowed me to say a wider variety of things. And when I got to the more complex levels of German sentence structure- like when the verb order gets split, or when a subordinate clause's word order gets reversed- I would spend hours saying these phrases and sentences out loud over and over, so they would come naturally when I had to do it in a real conversation.
Anyway, I wound up marrying a German woman who was a medical student, and after 8 years of living in Germany, I could go to German cinema and watch a film, read German novels, magazines, watch German television and converse in about any situation with no problems (technical situations where I simply didn't know the words for things that I rarely encountered would still trip me up sometimes). We eventually moved to Scotland and I've been here for 25 years now and as we're divorced, I rarely get the opportunity to speak German any more. I do dream in it, from time to time, and I don't consider the time and effort in learning and studying German to have been wasted. I learned a great deal about my own language from learning a second one, and speaking and understanding German vastly improved my experience of living there, and I look back on that time now with great fondness and nostalgia.
I also studied Spanish for a couple of years here in Edinburgh. And although I never put in the all out effort with Spanish as I did with German, I did still take local university courses that taught the language the same way: from the basic grammar up, and I did put quite a bit of effort into amassing a respectable vocabulary. At the height of my Spanish studies, I was reading Spanish novels written for teens, able to follow the plot of Pedro Almodovar films ;-) and I was ordering television series in Spanish and watching them. Plus, it helps to be able to take a relatively cheap holiday down to Spain and put the language to use. Every now and again, I run into Spanish tourists in the Edinburgh city centre who are quite clearly lost, and I can help them out and give them directions in Spanish, and although this is still a small pay-off for the effort of learning the language, it is still satisfying to be able to do so. I enjoy seeing their faces light up when they realise they've run into someone who can communicate with them in their own tongue.
And that's what learning language is all about, reaching out to others and not demanding that all communication be done on your own terms. We might usually speak a common official language, but I feel like if others know that you've taken the effort to learn about their language and culture, this makes for a deeper understanding and trust between people.
Great video. At an exhibition in Germany, I found myself translating English into German and visa versa, to the customers visiting the trade show. Being Dutch this was almost expected of me.
It helped when I silently counted 1 to 10 before speaking in the language I wanted to speak....
Hej , I am from Québec and now live in Danmark . My first language is of course French , I had to learn English at school but got really fluent when I went to an English speaking university.. Later after two years of teaching , I went back to university to do a bachelor in Spanish. My last sessions was in Salamanca ( Spain ) and I got fluent there. Before leaving Europe and go back to Canada , I went to Murnau (Bayern ) and took 5 months of German in the Goethe institut,. I am still speaking German pretty good even after more than 35 years.. From there I came to Danmark and got Married ,I speak Danish as a native with a little accent. With the help of my danish , I can easily read Swedish and Norvegian and understand the most of what people say but , I have never tried to speak those languages. living in Danmark and having lots of vacation I travelled to Italy 5 - 6 times and now speaks Italian easily but still makes a few mistakes and I am missing some vocabulary. I also went twice to Portugal ( 3 months in all ) , when I am there I only speak Portuguese with the people and get by quite easily .
To learn languages is like everything else , you have to want to learn , use a lot of time and dedication and practice every time you have the opportunity..
i am from Sweden so I speak Swedish and have learnt English, German and French in school. I like your channel because you are from the US living in Germany and i like to follow your life in Germany.
I was born to a family of German, English and Polish descent, learning French and Castilian (aka Spanish) later in school with an interest in (at least trying) to understand and speak different languages aswell. To the Franco-German Friendship Treaty I would also like to point out that some school even allow not only to make the Abitur but also the Baccalauréat which is its French equivalent which requires having subjects that are tought in both German and French (in my case History and Politics & Economics).
I am German by birth and came to Canada as at the age of 13. I had taken minimal English classes in school in Germany, but learned Canadian English growing up. We continued to speak Pfalzisch or Plattdeutsch at home, but I heard and read German books in Hochdeutsch. Although I lost complete fluency due to German magazines adopting a lot of English terms and tech words, I continue to be "fluent" in German, even though the German speaking part of my family has now passed away. I love your show, because my youngest so;n and I would love to go to live in Germany or Europe in general. You have inspired his interest in learning about European culture and their social and economical ideals. Thank you, Vielen Dank.
as a spaniard living in Germany married to my italian wife, i´m fluent in all this 3 languages; + to some degree, also fluent in english....to speak 3 or 4 languages is very common for us europeans !
You mentioned that 12 is far to late to learn additional languages - I cannot agree enough.
Saw a boy in Swiss 10 at best who spoke 4 languages frequent. Father Swiss from French speaking area, mother Italian and lived some time in the US and finally living in Swiss near the German Border.
Ashton, we missed you last week. I figured you must have delivered. Herzliche Glückwunsch zu dir und Jonathan. Auch Jack. Außerdem Glücklichen Muttertag! (I don’t know the proper expression)
I am a native German speaker
and beside your videos (great)
I look others in Spanish and
French to keep my mind in form. (71 years)
Greetings from Malaga
My mother tongue is (austrian) German, I started learning English in school when I was around 10 years old but our teaches in primary school (age 6-9) tried to teach us basic english vocab such as some fruits, vegetables, school related vocab and other easy and basic vocab. Later in school I learned french for 6 years and italian for only 1 year due to a change of schools.
I watch your videos not only because I want to train my english but also because I'm interested in the topics you talk about. 😊
Happy Mother's Day! Hope you are all doing well and have multi-lingual celebrations too!
Until my 4th year I spoke Dutch to my father, English to my mother, Portuguese to the nanny, Spanish to all the rest of the neighbourhood. Then had a year of French immersion at a kindergarten before going to a bilingual Spanish-English school. (All that time my mother spoke German to the dogs.☺) Then I learned Italian when visiting my Dad during high school summers, since he had moved there. I refreshed a bit of Dutch too.
I came to Austria 44 years ago and since then am mostly tri-lingual, as I forgot a lot of the Spanish vocabulary the more I learned German.