Language barrier - please list your language skills here

[Dodger67]

The recent arrival of a number of new members who are not fluent in English is very gratifying (we are truly becoming a global resource) but we need to find a solution to the language barrier.

I propose that we create a list here of members who are fluent in English and other languages who will be willing to translate for our non-English speaking members.

If you are willing and able to do translation here please specify your language abilities:

Dodger67 - Fluent in Afrikaans. Vlot in Afrikaans.
I can translate Dutch (Nederlands) to English but not English to Dutch.
Ik kan vertalen Nederlands naar het Engels, maar niet Engels naar Nederlands.

[dahliafaolan]

I have some skill in French. I'm not sure if I'd say I'm a fluent translator yet, but I'd be willing to take a whack at it.

[NerdaliciouS]

I can read German quite well, and quite a bit of French too. So...

[Gymp]

I speak fluent German (I spoke German before I learned English),I read it okayish but can't write it worth a darn.I Learned French in school but don't remember hardly any of it.

Gymp

[erin86]

Chinese (simplified)- Wouldn't consider myself fluent but good enough to get the gist from most non-specialised material. As I don't have anyone to speak Chinese to at home, I'm retrogressing from my previously acquired skills.

Malay- Can read and understand quite well.

[Justy Me]

I speak Polish fluently, have been improving upon my writing skills in that language....and have been dabbling in French and Spanish in the last half year as well.

[leila]

I know a good bit of Spanish, and can speak (but not read) toddler level Chinese.

Kelly

[erin86]

I know a good bit of Spanish, and can speak (but not read) toddler level Chinese.

Kelly

My heavy-accented Chinese speaking ability is toddler level too. Strangely enough, most adults understand me while toddlers usually have a hard time understanding me (I have a hard time understanding toddlers too). My reading and writing abilities are better though.

[Dodger67]

I wonder where our Spanish speaking regulars are?
Is my impression (from movies and tv) that Hispanic Americans are generally bilingual incorrect?

[Dodger67]

I presume that both of you mean Mandarin as your spoken dialect?

[erin86]

I presume that both of you mean Mandarin as your spoken dialect?

Yes, the dialect I learnt was Mandarin.
Due to poor demand and lower mutual intelligibility, other dialects are rarely offered to foreign language learners of Chinese.

[Bigwilli]

I have some Italian capability so I raise my hand

[Avocado Baby]

I have a degree in German, although my written skills are a bit rusty now.

[Moon2810]

My native language is Dutch. Translating from Dutch to English and English to Dutch is no problem. I have basic skills in understanding German and French. To speak or write it, I don't feel very confident (vocabulary is definitely lacking, compared to English).
Working for the International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, I have access to volunteers who translate English to French, English to Portuguese and English to Spanish, and I'm sure they can manage the other way around as well. However, their time is limited.

[anabgd]

Hello all, I'm new here, but I can offer my translating skills! :)
I can easily translate Serbian (my native), Croatian and Bosnian language.
Some Greek, French and Russian too, but I'm a bit rusty in those... :Banane21:

[mcco5543]

I wonder where our Spanish speaking regulars are?
Is my impression (from movies and tv) that Hispanic Americans are generally bilingual incorrect?

I vote totally incorrect. Most of the Hispanic Americans I know dont' speak a lick of spanish of any dialect/version. I think it will depend on how far in generation they are. Same goes for anyone of any origin. This is quite the sweeping generalization you have made.

[Dodger67]

We'll just have to blame Hollywood for spreading such false impressions around the world.
I was expecting at least a few posts here saying "I can translate between Spanish and English"

Anyway it's really awesome to see this list grow.

[Crispy]

I can't translate, but I have used http://babelfish.yahoo.com/ to talk to some family in France. You can Type in your language, and then pick which language you want to translate it to, then copy and paste to whatever you are using to communicate. Some times it mixes up some meanings, but it works pretty well for the most part.

[sbmama]

I can't translate anything, by I think this is a really cool thread/idea.

As for Hispanic Americans, it really varies. As a teenager I lived in an area with a large Hispanic community, and the majority of the kids were bilingual. It was pretty common to hear Spanish being spoken in the halls. I also know plenty of Hispanic people who only speak English.

[Dodger67]

In my experience machine translations range from lousy to dangerous...

I started this list specifically to be able to offer assistance to a number of recently joined members who are not fluent in English. Automatic translations cannot be trusted for stuff like medical terminology where accuracy is really important.

[Maryanne]

I love this thread! Well done Roger.

I can translate French.

Cheers, Maryanne

[Kent T]

English is main tongue. I speak forms of UK and Australian English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Swedish and both forms of Norwegian (I am trying to learn Swedish and both forms of Norwegian due to being a full Norwegian citizen by Marriage).

[Alejandro Duran]

HOLA!
I can translate form spanish to english or english to spanish.
Im from Colombia; in most the schools now, they teach English.

[eng188]

I'm an anglophone. Grew up taking the second languages of French and Spanish. Lost them both, however, so I am no good to you all whatsoever.

I'm into conlanging (studying and developing constructed languages, e.g. Esperanto), though. w00t! :D :p :offtopic:

[steffi with Amaya]

I'm a native speaker of German.
I have no problem translating German to English and vice-versa.
I guess my English is quite fluent though I have to get used to all the medical terms of course.
For about 10 years I've been on english-speaking messageboards and I watch movies and tv-shows in English so my English is a bit more than school-English.

I also speak Spanish.
By the definition of the european foreign language certification my level is about B1.
Maybe a bit below...
I can read and understand it quite well and write and speak Spanish though my grammar is not perfect... but people usually get what I mean ;)
And if I listen real hard I can also understand stuff on TV in spanish or songs.

My husband is a native speaker of German and Spanish so he could help me.

I'm also surprised no american wrote that they speak Spanish.
But being of 'hispanic' origin probably a complicated situation in the US. (Again: mainly clisheés from hollywood and american media here.)

[Pisara]

I speak Finnish as a native language so I can translate English to Finnish and other way around :) I also know some Swedish.

[Erika G.]

Hi, I speak n read Spanish

Erika G.