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Poll: How many languages and dialects are spoken in your home country?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Nov 19, 2014

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How many languages and dialects are spoken in your home country?".

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Deirdre Brophy (X)
Deirdre Brophy (X)  Identity Verified
France
English to Irish
+ ...
Dozens...? Nov 19, 2014

Not to be facetious.... but is this limited to the official languages, or all the languages spoken by new arrivals to the country, tourists, language learners?

 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:29
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
One language + several dialects Nov 19, 2014

In Portugal we speak one language and several regional dialects (mirandês (an Asturian dialect), barranquenho (heavily influenced by Southern Spanish dialects), alentejano, algarvio, madeirense, açoriano, …). The differences between these dialects are mostly in phonology and vocabulary and may make it difficult even for those who have Portuguese as their native language to understand rapid speech.

[Edited at 2014-11-19 09:09 GMT]

[Edited at 2014-11-19 09:09 GMT]


 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 16:29
Turkish to English
+ ...
Two Nov 19, 2014

Well, there are two official languages in my adopted home of the Republic of Cyprus, Greek and Turkish, but as a result of the ethnic conflict of the 60's and early 70's and later de facto partition of the island, Greek and Turkish speakers now mainly live in separate zones which have to all extents and purposes become monolingual, so Greek is the main official language where I live. There are also Armenian and Aramaic-speaking Cypriots, although these languages do not have official status. As a... See more
Well, there are two official languages in my adopted home of the Republic of Cyprus, Greek and Turkish, but as a result of the ethnic conflict of the 60's and early 70's and later de facto partition of the island, Greek and Turkish speakers now mainly live in separate zones which have to all extents and purposes become monolingual, so Greek is the main official language where I live. There are also Armenian and Aramaic-speaking Cypriots, although these languages do not have official status. As a legacy of British colonialism, most people here also speak some English, and quite a few are very fluent in the language of their former colonial masters. There are also the so-called 'Charlies', people of Cypriot heritage who grew up abroad (almost invariably in English-speaking countries such as the UK and Australia) and have settled on their parents' or grandparents' island, and they obviously speak native-level English, their accents often pointing to their north London origins. On the other hand, about 20% of the population of the government-controlled part of Cyprus is foreign, so in practice many other languages are spoken here. There is a large community from South Asia in Cyprus and, in particular, Singhalese and Tagalog can be heard on the streets. Quite a few Arabic speakers live here. Now that Cyprus is a member of the EU, it is open to migration from other EU countries, and along with the sizable British community here (of which I am one), there are significant numbers of residents from such newer EU-member countries such as Poland, Romania and Bulgaria who speak their respective national language.

[Edited at 2014-11-19 15:29 GMT]
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2 (3) Nov 19, 2014

Welsh, the self-proclaimed Language of Heaven, which comes in distinct southern and northern dialects, not sure which of them God prefers

Oh, and English


 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 16:29
Turkish to English
+ ...
Dialects Nov 19, 2014

I see dialects are mentioned as well, so it is worth adding that the Cypriot Greek and Turkish dialects vary considerably from the standard languages in Greece and Turkey, to the extent that mainlanders cannot easily understand the vernacular forms of their languages used on the island - especially in the case of Cypriot Greek. Sadly, people in both communities are increasingly using the standard language rather than dialect. This is especially true of the Turkish Cypriot community, in which onl... See more
I see dialects are mentioned as well, so it is worth adding that the Cypriot Greek and Turkish dialects vary considerably from the standard languages in Greece and Turkey, to the extent that mainlanders cannot easily understand the vernacular forms of their languages used on the island - especially in the case of Cypriot Greek. Sadly, people in both communities are increasingly using the standard language rather than dialect. This is especially true of the Turkish Cypriot community, in which only elderly people speak dialect in its broadest, comprehension-defying form.Collapse


 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 16:29
Turkish to English
+ ...
Welsh Nov 19, 2014

Chris S wrote:

Welsh, the self-proclaimed Language of Heaven, which comes in distinct southern and northern dialects, not sure which of them God prefers

Oh, and English


I have only ever encountered it once, while travelling on a train bound from London to Swansea, but I must admit that it is the most melodic language I have ever heard.


 
Chun Un
Chun Un  Identity Verified
Macau
Member (2007)
English to Chinese
+ ...
Hundreds if not thousands... Nov 19, 2014

enough said.

 
David Wright
David Wright  Identity Verified
Austria
Local time: 15:29
German to English
+ ...
How do you define dialect? Nov 19, 2014

Is the speech of lower austria a diaslect separate from that of Upper Austria, bioth of which are varaints of the Bavarian dialect? Is the dialect of Kilb a separate dialect from that of Mank (there are locals who can identify people's home on the basis of minor differences here)? Is the German of the 18th district of Vienna a different dialect to that of the 23rd? Is the Slovene dialect of Carinthia a different dialect to that of Styria?

and so on and so forth!


Daryo
 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:29
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
1 + 16 Nov 19, 2014

There's the official German plus the dialects in each state. However, one can hear several more languages being spoken, especially in the major cities.

 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:29
Member (2006)
German to English
Other Nov 19, 2014

Many

 
LilianNekipelov
LilianNekipelov  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:29
Russian to English
+ ...
337 at least, 176 of which Nov 19, 2014

are indigenous languages, Native American languages, English being the most commonly spoken language. Spanish is the second most popular language. Apparently spoken by 30 million people. (out of 318 million)

[Edited at 2014-11-19 10:12 GMT]


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 15:29
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Not sure which is my home country... Nov 19, 2014

Anyway, I answered 'don't know'.

I thought of England first.
Ever since there was anything officially thought of as English, there were variants and dialects.

A homesick Northumbrian doesn't long for the Queen's English, let alone the Estuary lingo. English for me is a range from Wilfred Pickles' best BBC English through my godmother's West Riding to the lilting Border burr. I love Geordie, whether I can understand it or not... and could listen to my sister-in-la
... See more
Anyway, I answered 'don't know'.

I thought of England first.
Ever since there was anything officially thought of as English, there were variants and dialects.

A homesick Northumbrian doesn't long for the Queen's English, let alone the Estuary lingo. English for me is a range from Wilfred Pickles' best BBC English through my godmother's West Riding to the lilting Border burr. I love Geordie, whether I can understand it or not... and could listen to my sister-in-law from Paisley all day!

I have made my home in Denmark too, and even this small country is very multilingual - Few people other than Danes understand Danish.
There are dialects here too. And it's well worth the effort to crack them - it's a fantastic language - or palette of dialects...
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svetlana cosquéric
svetlana cosquéric  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:29
Member (2008)
Russian to English
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER
>10 :) Nov 19, 2014

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Языки_России

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_dialects


 
Gudrun Maydorn (X)
Gudrun Maydorn (X)  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:29
English to German
+ ...
At least 4 (plus the languages of immigrants and refugees) Nov 19, 2014

You may think that all native Germans speak German, but this is not so. There are several officially recognised minorities speaking Danish (near the Danish border), Frisian (near the North Sea coast) or Sorbian (in the Southeast).

I apologise if I have forgotten any others.

[Bearbeitet am 2014-11-19 11:46 GMT]

[Bearbeitet am 2014-11-19 11:46 GMT]


 
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Poll: How many languages and dialects are spoken in your home country?






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