Biingual, Trilingual, and so on and so forth.

[Watari]

I've always wanted to learn Japaneses, German, or Tagalog. I've actually attempted Japanese, but I never did have the patience for it. It amazes me how some people are so inclined to learning certain things. Perhaps I'm more amazed by their commitment. Well, this has been digging in my skin for a while now. Primarily because my girlfriend likes to toss foreign-lingo -"Jungle Speak" at me from time to time. Rocelle, who is Filipino, actually knows 4 languages, and can speak them all fluently; English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Chinese.Daily, she'll grab a phrase from her dictionary-like head of hers and make a smart joke or mention something in gibberish just to toy with me.

Anyways, even with the irritation, its still amazing. If only I had the patience to learn Japanese and smart off to her.

Any thoughts?

[Ashley]

I took Spanish and French in high school, and I found that I learn languages very easily. I would really love to learn German though, and maybe brush up on Spanish while I'm in college. Learning Japanese would be interesting, but for some reason I've always gravitated toward the European languages.

[buddys]

I took Latin in high school and remember very little of it.  I also took a semester of German in college and can't remember it either.  I would love to learn Spanish because we have recently had a huge influx of Mexican immigrants and I would love to know what their saying about me when I'm around them.   

[Gurdit]

A very close friend of mine told me that everyone ought to know at least 3 languages:
1. English (because it's the most widely spoken one)
2. Your mother-tongue (because it's the language of your people)
3. The local language (so that you can talk to your neighbours )

For me, it's been relatively simple. I live in India, and 2 and 3 are almost the same for me. We have a multitude of regional languages though, and I can understand the language of my reason (more or less), but not speak it.

It really is amazing how quickly and easily some people pick up languages. I've never quite been able to do that so easily. I think language is an extension of culture. To truly understand a language, I feel you must understand the culture of its people. But that's just how I think, I guess