I was just wondering, because although my native language is English, I also know quite a bit of Spanish, plus a little German and French. A native Spanish speaker once referred to me as being "fluent" in Spanish. However, I have reservations about describing myself as fluent, since I know that there are quite a few Spanish words I don't know. But then again, there are also quite a few English words that aren't in my vocabulary, but I know that I'm certainly fluent in English. What does it take to be considered fluent in a language?
2007-01-25 04:09:18 · 21 answers · asked by tangerine 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
No one can ever learn every word in their native language let alone in a foreign language. Reaching a level of fluency means that you have the necessary vocabulary to explain ( paraphrase ) what you mean if you do not know an exact word. I imagine that a United Nations translator would need to know the largest amount of vocabulary because the accuracy of their translation could have such a vital impact on world events. For the rest if us, wr keep learning neww words in every language that we speak. It is a life time process.
2007-01-25 07:26:10 · answer #1 · answered by lizzie 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
i think that being "fluent" in a language means that you can successfully hold a normal conversation with a native speaker of that language. if you consider yourself fluent, as the conversation drifts to more diverse topics, you should still be able to carry on speaking. this doesn't mean that you cannot stop and ask for definitions every now and then.
i think that fluentness (if thats a word... =] ) in a language depends on the way you were taught. i took spanish for 2 years, twice a week, an hour a day, and i still consider myself very fluent. i am currently taking russian, for the past 3 years, but i still do not consider myself fluent. i am still constantly learning new words and phrases.
i bet you think i am a native english speaker. WRONG! i am a native german speaker!
Hofft, dass dies hilft! auf Wiedersehen!
2007-01-25 04:17:29 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely. Very few people know all the words if their native languages. I am more fluent than most in English, and there are a great many words with which I am not at all familiar.
Languages all have a sort of working vocabulary that most people use in daily life, and it serves them very well. My French, for example, is not very good, but I manage to get along reasonably well when I'm in France.
2007-01-25 04:14:03 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
Porsupuesto que si! Different people have different deffinitions of the word Fluent. Por ejemplo, some people may think that to be fluent in a launguage you must know all the words but do they even know all the words that are in their native language? hm...lo dudo. Mira yo naci en una familia de puros hispanos....bueno mexicanos eda, y mi primer lenguage fue espanol....osea, tenia que aprender ingles. So does that mean that i'm not fluent in engish? no. i can go threw a conversation without haveing to look up a word in a dictionary or pause for help. ok so lo amito that knowing and being fluent in both languages has some cons, cuz i find myself starting in english and ending in spanish. but that is not because i'm not fluent or i do not know the full language but because well.....i'm not really sure LOL no i'm kidding, its because i know both and want to interpret them both in my daily life. aunque i do it sometimes without knowing and it can get on peoples nerves (well the ones that dont know spanish or english) asi que i would say that you are fluent in English and Spanish. no se de German and French beacause you only mentioned that a Spanish speaker said you were fluent. and you certainly sound like you know Eniglish LOL bueno i hope i wasn't too confusing because right now i think that i confused myself a little bit. pero asi soy LOL bueno hope que te conteste tu pregunta y te gusto. Me voy adios
2007-01-25 04:49:36 · answer #4 · answered by LatinLoozer 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If you can say what you want to say without stumbling, then you're fluent. In English we look at vocabulary to determine education, it's the same thing in Spanish and French.
Your English may be at university level, your Spanish at High School level, and your French might be elementary, but you can still be fluent.
2007-01-25 04:13:56 · answer #5 · answered by poutine 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Hey, I know I'm more fluent than the average bear in English, but I know that there are a lot of words out there that I don't know.
I think fluent simply means that you can handle yourself in most situations in the language. If you don't know a word, you can at least ask others about it and be able to understand the answer.
Don't quote me on that, but that's my theory.
2007-01-25 04:14:53 · answer #6 · answered by Woz 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely. Even native speakers do not know every word in any given language. So, the fact that you can express yourself fluently in a language is what makes you fluent--get it?
2007-01-25 04:15:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is possible to be fluent with out knowing all the words.
Technically you should possess other words to get your point across smoothly with out missing a beat... therefore you are fluent.
I don't know every English word.. and I've been speaking it all my life, I am fluently English.
2007-01-25 15:27:08 · answer #8 · answered by Samantha 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes its possible. Because im sure you dont know all of the words in the english language which im sure no one does thats why we have dictionaries. so if u can hold a conversation with someone in say spanish then i guess that makes u fluent in the language.
2007-01-25 04:12:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
I think someone can be considered "fluent" in a language if they can express easily and accurately whatever they might want to say. If you can do that in every situation in which you're likely to find yourself, then I would say you are fluent!
2007-01-25 04:16:15 · answer #10 · answered by ? 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋