The Internet is mean! Wahhhhh… (photo: Storyvillegirl)
Every time I stumble across a “Tim Ferriss claims to speak…” post regarding Spanish, Japanese, or whatnot, an orphaned kitten loses a small part of its soul. And then I cry.
Granted, I’m no master hyperpolyglot, but on my best days, I can speak five languages to differing degrees:
– English (unless I’ve had too much wine)
– German
– Spanish
– Mandarin Chinese
– Japanese
Below are videos of me speaking each.
German is the language I forget the fastest, which I believe is due to articles and noun cases. Japanese is what I retain best without practice, thanks to length of immersion and a nasty manga habit (e.g. One Piece, Rokudenashi Blues). Spanish is what I use most, and I think it’s improved dramatically since the below video from several years ago.
There are other languages I really enjoy studying. Sadly, I sound like Sloth from The Goonies when I speak these: Italian, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Arabic (aiming for Levantine), Greek, Turkish, and Norwegian. The last is hardest to learn, as they all speak flawless English.
Forthwith, assorted vintage Tim…
English:
German (for Amazon.de ages ago):
Spanish (For the Spanish publisher of The 4-Hour Workweek):
Mandarin Chinese (Dinner placemat doodle; The Randow Show with Kevin Rose, filmed in Beijing):
Practicing Chinese characters during dinner after a long lay-off. Smatterings of Japanese.
China Part 2a from Glenn McElhose on Vimeo.
Japanese (Trial by Fire TV pilot from History Channel):
Yabusame – Tim Ferriss from Kevin Rose on Vimeo.