How many languages do you speak?

[Liquinn]

Yes. A non-native can write better. Some non-natives can speak better, but they miss out on a lot of the historical/social context expressions.

In your first example the person's native language is English. In the second, the native language is Spanish. The first person speaks English better while the 2nd speaks Spanish better. But their second language ratings are the same.

So my English would ALWAYS be better than a non-native?
What if it's a non-native speaker of English with no C2 in Spanish or Catalan? My English/Catalan/Spanish would be "better" while a native Catalan/Spanish would be better.
What if the English person has multiple C2 languages?
[doublepost=1453918364][/doublepost]what would be better?
Russian: native English: C2
English: Native. Spanish/Catalan/Russian: C2
Spanish/Catalan: native English C1/C2?

Hmmmmmmm... native's always best.
[doublepost=1453918961][/doublepost]Why is it when a non-native speaks it isn't "perfect"?
[doublepost=1453919104][/doublepost]

A spanish native or an English person with C2 has better Spanish than a Russian person... native is best tho.
[doublepost=1453919365][/doublepost]A guy I knew called Antonio spoke ALMOST perfect English.

 

[Liquinn]

So English and Welsh (native) is better than English (native) - Welsh (C2)?

 

[sartrekid]

Do Latin and ancient Greek count? If not, then German (native), English, and French.
[doublepost=1453923404][/doublepost]

So my English would ALWAYS be better than a non-native?
What if it's a non-native speaker of English with no C2 in Spanish or Catalan? My English/Catalan/Spanish would be "better" while a native Catalan/Spanish would be better.
What if the English person has multiple C2 languages?
[doublepost=1453918364][/doublepost]what would be better?
Russian: native English: C2
English: Native. Spanish/Catalan/Russian: C2
Spanish/Catalan: native English C1/C2?

Hmmmmmmm... native's always best.
[doublepost=1453918961][/doublepost]Why is it when a non-native speaks it isn't "perfect"?
[doublepost=1453919104][/doublepost]

A spanish native or an English person with C2 has better Spanish than a Russian person... native is best tho.
[doublepost=1453919365][/doublepost]A guy I knew called Antonio spoke ALMOST perfect English.

Have you taken a closer look at some posts by some English native speakers in terms of grammar and syntax on any given platform? You'll quickly discover that being a native speaker of any language is no guarantee to being better at it than someone who has acquired knowledge of a - to their tongue - foreign language through study.

 

[Liquinn]

Do Latin and ancient Greek count? If not, then German (native), English, and French.
[doublepost=1453923404][/doublepost]

Have you taken a closer look at some posts by some English native speakers in terms of grammar and syntax on any given platform? You'll quickly discover that being a native speaker of any language is no guarantee to being better at it than someone who has acquired knowledge of a - to their tongue - foreign language through study.

"Native is always the best. You can't speak better than a native speaker, and you can't become a native speaker."

What about a dead language?

Thoughts?
[doublepost=1453925082][/doublepost]I'd love Russian at native.
[doublepost=1453925153][/doublepost]

Why does non-native English sound funny?

 

[Gutwrench]

Have you taken a closer look at some posts by some English native speakers in terms of grammar and syntax on any given platform? You'll quickly discover that being a native speaker of any language is no guarantee to being better at it than someone who has acquired knowledge of a - to their tongue - foreign language through study.

I totally agree. I often have a tendency to be sloppy when writing in my mother tongue (English). My exwife who is ESL did a much better job editing/proofing my daughter's school papers.

I'm confident I would not pass the TOEFL.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Do Latin and ancient Greek count? If not, then German (native), English, and French.
[doublepost=1453923404][/doublepost]

Have you taken a closer look at some posts by some English native speakers in terms of grammar and syntax on any given platform? You'll quickly discover that being a native speaker of any language is no guarantee to being better at it than someone who has acquired knowledge of a - to their tongue - foreign language through study.

Some people natively speak 0 languages.

 

[sartrekid]

"Native is always the best. You can't speak better than a native speaker, and you can't become a native speaker."

What about a dead language?

Thoughts?

I definitely speak better Latin than Julius Caesar and Octavius combined. I listened to original voice recordings...

 

[SoggyCheese]

Thread resurrection and all. I'm learning German right now, which is quite a bit harder than the Latin-based languages I previously learned. Does anyone have any tips on websites etc. to go to for practising listening or reading at a fairly basic level? I tried the German newspaper and TV news sites, but that's all far beyond my abilities at the moment.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mefisto]

Fluently I would say I speak three languages. Obviously Finnish, and then German and English. I have conversational ability in Swedish, but that really amps up just after a couple of beers.

I'm learning Spanish at the moment. Duolingo is a great app for learning at least the basics. I can decipher most of what I read, but putting sentences together still takes quite a lot of effort.

 

[Tech198]

Why does non-native English sound funny?

French, Russian, all sound funny to me... Doesn't mean you can't understand. They just sound "not the way we talk"

Its only because words are pronounced not the same way...

No Russian is gonna start talking like an Austrian outback type person perfectly.

I crack up sometimes over the French.. but that's me...

 

[Melrose]

English. A fairly good fluency in British English.

Also Swift, PHP, JavaScript...

 

[mobilehaathi]

Thread resurrection and all. I'm learning German right now, which is quite a bit harder than the Latin-based languages I previously learned. Does anyone have any tips on websites etc. to go to for practising listening or reading at a fairly basic level? I tried the German newspaper and TV news sites, but that's all far beyond my abilities at the moment.

Thanks in advance.

My learning style is centered around a close study of grammar and as much "fun immersion" as possible. If you're brand new to a language, reading newspapers will feel overwhelmingly hopeless at first, but don't stop trying. Maybe just start trying to decipher the headlines at first, after several months or a year of consistent study you'll probably be ready to start considering the first few paragraphs of an article. Persistence pays off. Duolingo is a fine supplement, but it's not a stand alone solution. I find that structured instruction re grammar and common words with common themes is critical. Get a textbook. Get a dictionary. Watch movies, read comics, listen to radio/podcasts oriented toward a learner. Do everything you can to expose yourself to your target language. You'd be surprised what 30 min a day of exposure can accomplish. After a year, after two years, you'll be able to look back and recognize your progress. But it requires presistence. There will be days you feel overwhelmed and progress seems impossible. But with sufficient dedication and engagement, it will happen.