| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | What language do you speak to your partner? Thread poster: RafaLee
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Ahmad Batiran 
Yemen
Local time: 12:58
Member (2006)
English to Arabic
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SITE LOCALIZER | Her Tongue Mainly | Feb 11, 2007 |
Hello world!
She is an English native speaker. I am an Arabic native speaker and I can speak English. We live in Arabia where she learned Arabic fast from my family and the community; however, we mainly communicate in English and if someone who might shift between both languages, it is me.
Since it was a kind of heavy finding no one that close to speak her tongue, I was her relief. That helped.
Regards.....Ahmed
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Ruxi wrote:
When we met we did not know each other's language but both of us speak German, so in our family we talk German (and live in Germany).Then I started to learn Italian and now we can also speak Italian.He does not learn my language (Romanian).
In his country I speak Italian.
We don't have children, but we would also use the method I agree very much: each in his own language so that the child can learn both of them and he/she could also speak German at school, with friends, a.s.o. It would be a little difficult, stressing for the children, but if he /she would have my talent, he/she would have no problems.My husband knows some foreign languages, but not so well and I think he is not a talent in this field.He is also very shy. Still,he speaks German very well (he has to!).
I'm affraid I don't understand the example above about the two Italian people who can not talk together Italian, but French. Even if they speak a dialect, they must have learned the normal Italian language at school. In my husband's region they also speak a dialect (more the elder people, the younger don't), but we can understand each other (with his friends and family) very well in the normal Italian.
I think the most important problem is not the language to be used (it can be learned easy), but the diplomacy in managing fair the family life: tradition, religion, relatives,meals a.s.o, so that none of the partners would be neglected.
But I will open another thread for this.
Ruxi
Hi Ruxi,
I am a native Flemish speaker, with a throrough knowledge of German (my 2nd language). Hubby is a Turkish native speaker. We live in Belgium and in the beginning we spoke German with each other as he had lived there for quite some time. Now He speaks Flemish and I speak Turkish, so we speak Turkish most of the time, when we are together. With the children he sticks to Turkish and I to Flemish/German. Works perfectly for us, all children are trilingual and don't seem to have any problems with that.
[Edited at 2007-03-14 15:18]
| | | | | We speak English. | Mar 16, 2007 |
I am Polish my husband is English and we speak English at home. We met in Spain and lived there for over a year.
My husband admits himself he too thick to learn languages besides as far as he is concerned everybody should speak English.
When we lived in Poland for 2 years he did not managed to learn Polish. He learnt the word MILK, obviously if you have a cup of tea with MILK 3 or 4 times a day you eventually happen to remember that word. Another one was BEER for obvious reasons and ... See more I am Polish my husband is English and we speak English at home. We met in Spain and lived there for over a year.
My husband admits himself he too thick to learn languages besides as far as he is concerned everybody should speak English.
When we lived in Poland for 2 years he did not managed to learn Polish. He learnt the word MILK, obviously if you have a cup of tea with MILK 3 or 4 times a day you eventually happen to remember that word. Another one was BEER for obvious reasons and the third one, I believe, it was GOOD MORNING. He even managed to ‘learn’ marriage vows in Polish. I suppose it is not that difficult to repeat what the priest says. He quicklt forgot it anyway. When he went shopping he would do so called 'finger shopping' and he would end up with two kilo of tomatoes instead of two tomatoes, but it did not seem to bother him. The truth of the matter is that he was surrounded by people who were either English or tried to speak to him in English, so basically he could not have been bothered to learn Polish.
Anita ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sasha2
Local time: 10:58
German to English
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| We speak Arabic | Aug 15, 2007 |
I met my husband who is Tunisian in Tunisia and we started speaking Arabic to each and have continued ever since. Now we both live in Germany. Occasionally of course German words crop into our conversation.
I am very familiar with all this mixing because my parents were Czech born (father) and Croatian born (mother) - they met in Australia and so spoke English to each other. I was born in the US. However I learned Croatian as a child and began to speak Croatian to my mother at some... See more I met my husband who is Tunisian in Tunisia and we started speaking Arabic to each and have continued ever since. Now we both live in Germany. Occasionally of course German words crop into our conversation.
I am very familiar with all this mixing because my parents were Czech born (father) and Croatian born (mother) - they met in Australia and so spoke English to each other. I was born in the US. However I learned Croatian as a child and began to speak Croatian to my mother at some stage. When my husband came to Germany and the three of us lived together, we were speaking 3 languages at home, me and my mother, Croatian, me and my husband, Arabic - common language, German - however most of the time I was interpreting back and forth in Arabic and Croatian, as my husband`s German was not that good yet. In addition, with my mother we always used English words for certain things. My husband has now learned some Croatian words and our language - basically Tunisian Arabic, now has Croatian, English, French and German thrown in. Some would say this is terrible, but I find it quite fun really! It also makes one often review words in all the languages....
[Edited at 2007-08-15 11:29] ▲ Collapse
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| Mostly Spanish, some English | Sep 12, 2007 |
My husband is Guatemalan and we met while I was living in Guatemala. As he didn't speak a word of English at the time, we spoke entirely in Spanish for the first couple years of our relationship. We then moved to the US, where he began learning English and we spoke in English more often to help him practice.
However, even after three years in the States his English is not half as fluent as my Spanish, so for any sort of "serious" conversation (or argument!) we speak in Spanish. In f... See more My husband is Guatemalan and we met while I was living in Guatemala. As he didn't speak a word of English at the time, we spoke entirely in Spanish for the first couple years of our relationship. We then moved to the US, where he began learning English and we spoke in English more often to help him practice.
However, even after three years in the States his English is not half as fluent as my Spanish, so for any sort of "serious" conversation (or argument!) we speak in Spanish. In fact, it still feels strange to me to speak to him in English, since "our" language has always been Spanish. We don't have children yet, but plan to speak Spanish primarily at home, since they will get plenty of exposure to English in the rest of their lives...
~Shannon ▲ Collapse
| | | | Atena Hensch
New Zealand
Local time: 22:58
Persian (Farsi) to English
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| Farsi/Swiss Duetch/English | Sep 25, 2007 |
my native language is Farsi and my husband speaks Swiss German and we speak English together. I speak Farsi to kids, he speaks Swiss German and my older girl, who started speaking some months ago, responds in English to any of our languages.
[Edited at 2007-09-25 09:06]
| | | | Shane Wall
Vietnam
Local time: 16:58
Vietnamese to English
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| "Vietlish" to each other; English (Predomantly) to our son | Nov 28, 2007 |
I'm a native English speaker (Australian) and a fluent Vietnamese speaker (I translate from it after all). My wife is Vietnamese. We met and live in Vietnam. When we met, Nhung could speak no English, so it was all Vietnamese.
After we got married, and after some basic English classes, we decided to make English the language of the house so Nhung could acquire the language slowly and gradually in a "natural" way.
We now 'code-switch' frequently between the two languages... See more I'm a native English speaker (Australian) and a fluent Vietnamese speaker (I translate from it after all). My wife is Vietnamese. We met and live in Vietnam. When we met, Nhung could speak no English, so it was all Vietnamese.
After we got married, and after some basic English classes, we decided to make English the language of the house so Nhung could acquire the language slowly and gradually in a "natural" way.
We now 'code-switch' frequently between the two languages, depending upon which language is easier or better able to deliver the intended meaning.
However, we speak 95% English to our son. We figure he is surrounded by "a sea" of Vietnamese and will learn it no matter what we do, so decided to focus on English.
Cheers,
Shane ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Tetum & Portuguese | Mar 11, 2008 |
I am Portuguese and my wife is East Timorese (half Chinese). Her mother tongues are Tetum and Tokodede. We met and got married in East Timor, but at the moment we are living in Portugal. We speak Tetum to each other, I speak Portuguese to our son and she speaks Tetum to him. Our baby is six months old so we are still waiting to check the results...
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rossa_lisa
Local time: 12:58
Arabic to English
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daddy is arabic mommy is hungarian they met in rumania when they studied Medicine
well
i speak with my dad in Arabic
i speak with my Mother Hungarian
dad speaks to my mom in rumanian
i speak with my sister in french so that our brother won't understant our secrets
fun huh
| | | | Mikko Solja (X)
Finland
Local time: 11:58
Italian to Finnish
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I am a native speaker of Finnish and my fiancée is Italian. We've always spoken Italian to each other, because I already knew it when we first met, but we both speak more than 3 foreign languages. We share the same future goal - becoming interpreters.
Well, to complicate matters a bit I speak English with some of my friends, because we went to an internati... See more I am a native speaker of Finnish and my fiancée is Italian. We've always spoken Italian to each other, because I already knew it when we first met, but we both speak more than 3 foreign languages. We share the same future goal - becoming interpreters.
Well, to complicate matters a bit I speak English with some of my friends, because we went to an international school together, Italian with my Italian friends, Finnish with my Finnish friends and German with one Finnish guy. Maybe on this forum I'm not a real freak like I tend to be treated by other people who are strictly monolingual.
[Edited at 2008-05-15 13:17] ▲ Collapse
| | | | lufitz
Italian to English
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| English-Italian | Jul 18, 2008 |
We are an Italian (me)-English couple and we speak English at home. But I di speak Italian with our daughter, we are doing our best to raise her bilingual!
| | | | | English - French and step-children too! | Aug 26, 2008 |
I'm British, living in France, and am practically as at ease in French as English, having lived here for 12 years. My partner is French and is an "improver" in English. I speak to him, and to my two step-children, in French.
I speak English to our baby, as it seems natural, and because English is so important in education and job-hunting here. My partner and the other children speak French to him. For the moment, it's working fine, but then my son is only 14 months! The added bonus ... See more I'm British, living in France, and am practically as at ease in French as English, having lived here for 12 years. My partner is French and is an "improver" in English. I speak to him, and to my two step-children, in French.
I speak English to our baby, as it seems natural, and because English is so important in education and job-hunting here. My partner and the other children speak French to him. For the moment, it's working fine, but then my son is only 14 months! The added bonus is that the other children and my partner are picking up some English too, which helps when communicating with my family.
That's my experience so far, but it's only what works us and I really believe that you just have to do what seems to you right on this one! ▲ Collapse
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Mostly we have spoken in Russian
(Because my partner did not know Turkish.
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We are a Finnish - Brazilian couple, and it has always been obvious for us to speak English to each other (also as we live in the UK, at least for now).
We have absolutely no problem with that (I didn't even think it could be a problem), and will continue doing so unless I learn Portuguese or he Finnish well enough to talk about everyday matters fluently, which is not very likely to happen any time soon...
| | | | kmtext
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:58
English
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My other half's monoglot English, apart from a little school French from over 20 years ago, and isn't interested in learning Gàidhlig.
Always be careful when using a "secret language" though. You never know when you'll get caught out. I've also caught quite a few people out when they didn't think I could understand them. So far, that's happened in Gàidhlig, Welsh and German.
When it comes to dialects of a language, it's easy for people from different areas not to be ... See more My other half's monoglot English, apart from a little school French from over 20 years ago, and isn't interested in learning Gàidhlig.
Always be careful when using a "secret language" though. You never know when you'll get caught out. I've also caught quite a few people out when they didn't think I could understand them. So far, that's happened in Gàidhlig, Welsh and German.
When it comes to dialects of a language, it's easy for people from different areas not to be able to understand each other although technically they speak the same language. I'm from Lewis, which is the northernmost part of the Gàidhlig-speaking region but I can barely understand someone from Islay at the south end of the region because their dialect is so different so I can sympathise with Italians. I have a friend whose mother is Milanese and her father is Sicilian. The parents usually speak English to each other, but their own dialects to the children, who speak English, Milanese and Sicilian and sometimes translate for their parents when they don't understand what the other has said. ▲ Collapse
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