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> And depending on the education we also speak Spanish, French, German and Italian, as the main learning paths in high school available to chose from. Come on

by wreath 4y ago

> And depending on the education we also speak Spanish, French, German and Italian, as the main learning paths in high school available to chose from. Come on now, how many people had any of these languages in high school speak it at a conversational level let alone for business. The vast majority of people i met who learned a foreign language in school (other than English) cant speak it.

pjmlp 4y ago
Many do. Myself I speak fluently six languages.
- WelcomeShorty 4y ago
  I am not sure in what circles you move, but the idea that "many" speak 4 or more languages is... not quit common. The issue is probably what you personally consider fluently / be able to speak.
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    On average most educated continental Europeans speak three languages, their own, English and another European language, or local dialect. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Foreign_language_skills_statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...
- dj_mc_merlin 4y ago
  I specifically went to a European language focused school where learning a lot of languages was a thing people did (it was also classified as such as by the government). Six languages was the most anyone ever spoke, and that was a dude who spoke English, German and Chinese natively (lucky bastard). Even people who were good with languages did not go above 4 usually. IMO you're misrepresenting to a huge degree the actual part of the population that is able to learn this many languages. Most young people in Europe can speak a native language and a second language, with a bit of a 3rd language thrown in. And that's only counting the richer part, many do not learn past a 2nd language if that. BTW I count speak fluently == could have a dialogue with a native person about a random topic and be understood. Being able to ask for directions or talk about the food is not fluency, I can do that without language at all.
  - pjmlp 4y ago
    Yes, I specifically said myself, not everyone. I have worked professionally in all of them, when I said fluently I meant it. The average as per EU statistics is three languages. The person's country main language, english, local dialects or additional national languages in countries like Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and so forth. Or in the case of European expats, the language of the country they happen to work on.

by wreath 4y ago

pjmlp 4y ago

Many do. Myself I speak fluently six languages.

WelcomeShorty 4y ago
I am not sure in what circles you move, but the idea that "many" speak 4 or more languages is... not quit common. The issue is probably what you personally consider fluently / be able to speak.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  On average most educated continental Europeans speak three languages, their own, English and another European language, or local dialect. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Foreign_language_skills_statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php...
dj_mc_merlin 4y ago
I specifically went to a European language focused school where learning a lot of languages was a thing people did (it was also classified as such as by the government). Six languages was the most anyone ever spoke, and that was a dude who spoke English, German and Chinese natively (lucky bastard). Even people who were good with languages did not go above 4 usually. IMO you're misrepresenting to a huge degree the actual part of the population that is able to learn this many languages. Most young people in Europe can speak a native language and a second language, with a bit of a 3rd language thrown in. And that's only counting the richer part, many do not learn past a 2nd language if that. BTW I count speak fluently == could have a dialogue with a native person about a random topic and be understood. Being able to ask for directions or talk about the food is not fluency, I can do that without language at all.
- pjmlp 4y ago
  Yes, I specifically said myself, not everyone. I have worked professionally in all of them, when I said fluently I meant it. The average as per EU statistics is three languages. The person's country main language, english, local dialects or additional national languages in countries like Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and so forth. Or in the case of European expats, the language of the country they happen to work on.