Question for English speakers

[carlosvilas]

I have a weird question for the native English speakers of the forum!

Are there any other languages that you think you may be able to understand even if you didn't take one single lesson on them?

For example, I've never studied Italian or Portuguese but when I talk with people from those countries I'm able to figure out what they're saying, probably because the roots of the three languages are the same. But it doesn't work with German, or Chinese

Does it happens to you with English and any other languages, as for example German or something?

I'm so curious about it!

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by carlosvilas

I Does it happens to you with English and any other languages, as for example German or something?

In a word, no. Definitely not German. Even though English is classified as a West Germanic language, more than half the vocabulary is derived from Latin, often via Old French. This has the result that the distance from related languages (the nearest being Frisian) is too great to understand them without learning.

[poli]

Sometimes I understand British

As a speaker Spanish, you will find simple Italian
understandable, and Catalan and Portuguese readable.

Unlike Spanish, native English speakers may understand some words of French, Spanish, and German--especially French, but the differences are great. I agree with Peri in that most native English speakers are hopelessly lost in understanding other European languages, but Anglos with excellent vocabulary understanding may comprehend many words from the romance languages.

[Elaina]

Good Morning!

The disadvantage to asking that question to the native English speakers in this forum is that eventhough we/they are native English speakers we/they all speak/understand or have been exposed to Spanish so that Italian, Portuguese or any other similar language is undetstood to a certain degree.

I do grasp a little of German, Polish but only because I know people that speak those languages and again......I was exposed to it already.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by poli

Sometimes I understand British

[poli]

Here's an example of what and English-only speaker with a little bit of itelligence may understand from simple Spanish text:

"Si tiene problemas para leer el texto en inglés, le ofrecemos asistencia de idiomas. Para obtener ayuda, por favor llame el número de servicio al cliente que figura en su tarjeta de identificación."

These are words any halfway intelligent English speaker would understand:

problemas, texto, inglés, ofrecemos, asistencia, idiomas, obtener, por favor, número de servicio, cliente, figura, identificación

With those few words (some of which are false cognates) an English speaker my get the gist of the text.

The French version fares the best with a few more cognates than the Spanish translation. The German one however surprised me becuase it falls behind the Tagálag translation believe it or not.

[Premium]

It's just like German and Dutch, i'v never been to the Netherlands or so but i understand them well.

[JPablo]

I am native Spanish speaker... but given that I speak some English... I'd say that I was never able to understand people talking Coptic...

I was able to figure out some of the Latin in Church prayers... and some Julius Caesar letter...

I am able to follow Portuguese/Brasileiro, Italian, French... and I realized I am a lot more fluent in Catalonian than I thought...

I can follow Venezuelans (con sus "vainas"), Colombians, Mexicans, Chileans, Argentinians and Uruguayans... even people from Grana'a,

I can follow Old Spanish (Cantar de Mio Cid...) original version, edited by Colin Smith...

I know Swedish people may be able to understand The Canterbury Tales, better than British people... I guess Old English was closer to Swedish than to current English...

Interestingly enough I know some Swedish people who know British English better than many natives... (well, I guess that's questionable...)

Anyhow, there you have my 2 cents...

[carlosvilas]

JPablo, wow, you can understand almost all languages known to mankind

[JPablo]

Ha-ha... Not really...

If you read "The Professor and the Madman" (a very nice novel by Simon Whinchester on the Making of the OED, the Oxford English Dictionary) and check on the Curriculum Vitae of the first Editor of that dictionary, (James Murray) you'll be duly impressed...