Cyril Haearn wrote:Mrs Trump speaks half a dozen languages, she is probably smarter than the lot of us
Anyone here speak more than half as many languages as the First Lady?
I seem to replace my second language, rather than adding a new one.
When I was small, I spoke some French and German because my mother did. Then I took Latin in school and mostly forgot the French and German. Then I used the French as an adult, travelling to Belgium and France frequently for business. Then I worked for an Italian company and free Italian lessons. I got to the point that I could speak Italian conversationally, but I could barely put a sentence together in French.
Now, I can manage conversational Norwegian, and most everyday sorts of things to do with kids in school, shopping, etc., but I struggle to put together a sentence in Italian, and French is a lost cause, except for a few automatic kind of phrases that I leant as a child, like please, thank you, and you're welcome.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom