Weekly Poll for July 6

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:white_check_mark: Welcome to Our Weekly Poll :white_check_mark:

Learning to code can be like learning a language. There is learning the structure and then working with the individual words to build sentences.

:speaking_head: :pencil2: How many languages do you speak and write?

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0 voters

Feel free to comment below. :slightly_smiling_face:
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I like this analogy.

It works on many levels. I’ve studied both french and mandarin for 2 years but I’ll always understand italian and portuguese quicker without having studied them (because spanish is my native language). That being said, I can’t write or formulate sentences in italian/portguese like I can in french or mandarin.

And then there’s the aspect of maintaining proficiency when you’re outside of the culture of a language. I have friends that have nearly completely lost their spanish (particularly their reading/writing). So to maintain a native language strong enough outside its context, there has to be some deliberateness.

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Ich verstehe ein bisschen Deutsch.

Not enough for it to be of much practical use, mind. I can comprehend German to a greater extent than I can translate from English into German… but I think that’s just because I spend more time reading it than I do speaking it…

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I’ve had to sit through hours of Beethoven rehearsals not understanding a lick of German… :frowning:

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I know very basic French. Enough to get around Paris the couple times I went. Maybe. :grimacing: I think I can read it a little better than if I hear it (if that makes sense?) I always forget the verb conjugations. I have tried to learn Italian but I stopped for some reason. I def need to learn more languages.

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Shikamu! Habari gani?

I can make enough conversation for day-to-day use, and of course English. I am learning French though the French grammar always trips me up.

Q: Do you know the language I started with?

A: Swahili!

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Spanish is my native language, I learned English a while ago in order to be able to make some friends online (lol) and started learning French a year ago. Like @toastedpitabread said, it was relatively easy because Spanish is my native language :yum:

I love comparing learning to code (and coding concepts as well) to real life stuff, it makes it easier to get the hang of it.

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Thanks for sharing. That’s Interesting you have Mandarin in the mix. I think it goes to show that languages with have similarities make it easier to learn intuitively. While other languages, really force you to learn the structure before you can really formulate a conversation.

You are definitely correct, one has to make a deliberate effort to maintain that native language proficiency.

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Maybe, you can read out loud :slightly_smiling_face:. I have noticed that just reading another language isn’t enough and hearing yourself pronounce the words makes quite the difference.

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Of course, I had to Google it. I would have never guessed. Hujambo!

Yes, there’s a lot of memorizing grammar rules in French.

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I know a little Spanish and a little German, but would feel like a total fool trying to actually communicate in either. I have always had great admiration for those who can communicate in multiple languages especially those who can communicate effectively in English when it isn’t their first language. I’ve seen many young children translate English to Spanish for their parents/grandparents. It completely amazes me that people so young can be fluent in both.

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You have to seize opportunities to practice your Spanish and German :slight_smile: