Ok, Lemmy, let’s play a game!

Post how many languages in which you can count to ten, including your native language. If you like, provide which languages. I’m going to make a guess; after you’ve replied, come back and open the spoiler. If I’m right: upvote; if I’m wrong: downvote!

My guess, and my answer...

My guess is that it’s more than the number of languages you speak, read, and/or write.

Do you feel cheated because I didn’t pick a number? Vote how you want to, or don’t vote! I’m just interested in the count.

I can count to ten in five languages, but I only speak two. I can read a third, and I once was able to converse in a fourth, but have long since lost that skill. I know only some pick-up/borrow words from the 5th, including counting to 10.

  1. My native language is English
  2. I lived in Germany for a couple of years; because I never took classes, I can’t write in German, but I spoke fluently by the time I left.
  3. I studied French in college for three years; I can read French, but I’ve yet to meet a French person who can understand what I’m trying to say, and I have a hard time comprehending it.
  4. I taught myself Esperanto a couple of decades ago, and used to hang out in Esperanto chat rooms. I haven’t kept up.
  5. I can count to ten in Japanese because I took Aikido classes for a decade or so, and my instructor counted out loud in Japanese, and the various movements are numbered.

I can almost count to ten in Spanish, because I grew up in mid-California and there was a lot of Spanish thrown around. But French interferes, and I start in Spanish and find myself switching to French in the middle, so I’m not sure I could really do it.

Bonus question: do you ever do your counting in a non-native language, just to make it more interesting?

  • megane-kun@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    8 days ago

    I can count to ten in seven languages. Not as many as some of the others here, I suppose?

    Yes, I sometimes count in one of my target languages.

    Languages in which I can count one to ten, along with the numbers (in words)
    • Tagalog/Filipino (native): isa, dalawa, tatlo, apat, lima, anim, pito, walo, siyam, sampu
    • English (school): one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
    • Cebuano (heritage speaker): usa, duha, tulo, upat, lima, unom, pito, walo, siyam, napulo
    • French (school): un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix
    • Japanese (self-study): ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, shichi, hachi, kyuu, juu
    • Esperanto (self-study): unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin, ses, sep, ok, naŭ, dek
    • Spanish (quirk of native language): uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, sais, siete, ocho, nueve, diez