Do you speak Chinese, Japanese or Korean?

hyperpape · #1

Apropos nothing in particular, I got curious how many of us speak or read a language from one of the big four Go playing countries. Option 5 is meant to excoude the first three, btw.

I don't speak any of the three, but I really would like to learn enough to read the newspaper coverage. One day...

DrStraw · #2

I said NONE, but with a lot of patience and a dictionary I could make sense of a Japanese go article. I certainly cannot speak the language but I know a fair amount of the grammar.

Tommie · #3

I voted for SPEAK (Chinese),
can and did easily take a commentary in that language,
but actually 'being able to communicate' seems more honest.

Reading an article, e.g. in WQTD (on the multiple kos) is hard work for me and requires a dictionary (and too much time).
Getting the gist of problem or study books is not difficult.

Ah, and if ever these languages become relevant for Go :lol:

, than I am prepared:
DE (mother tongue), EN (ok), FR (17 years ago on DELF/DALF level, D.A.L.F. = Diplôme Approfondi de Langue Française), NL (fluent)

Hushfield · #4

I voted for "speak Japanese", but actually speaking the language would require some getting used to again. I mainly read and write Japanese these days, and I seem to be struggling to keep the same level I was when I graduated in Japanology.

hyperpape · #5

The poll allows for speaking or reading. I suspect there are a lot of people who can do one or the other but not both.

And Dr. Straw, that's an edge case, but I might have said yes. When I first started reading the newspaper in French, I would generate a full notebook page of vocabulary to double check or learn, but I was still reading, even if an article took half an hour or more.

I'm more interested in how many people have put forth the effort for Go (or by coincidence) than how competent they are.

DrStraw · #6

hyperpape wrote:

The poll allows for speaking or reading. I suspect there are a lot of people who can do one or the other but not both.

And Dr. Straw, that's an edge case, but I might have said yes. When I first started reading the newspaper in French, I would generate a full notebook page of vocabulary to double check or learn, but I was still reading, even if an article took half an hour or more.

I'm more interested in how many people have put forth the effort for Go (or by coincidence) than how competent they are.

Then in that case, yes. I have 18 credit hours at junior college in Japanese which I took only because I wanted to read Japanese go books. That is enough for an associates degree if I had had all the other classes in gen ed. But that was 20 years ago and I have forgotten most of it.

kirkmc · #7

hyperpape wrote:

The poll allows for speaking or reading. I suspect there are a lot of people who can do one or the other but not both.

And Dr. Straw, that's an edge case, but I might have said yes. When I first started reading the newspaper in French, I would generate a full notebook page of vocabulary to double check or learn, but I was still reading, even if an article took half an hour or more.

I'm more interested in how many people have put forth the effort for Go (or by coincidence) than how competent they are.

Then the question should be different, along the lines of how many people have sufficient competency in a language to carry on a conversation or read an article in a newspaper. I studied Chinese for a while more than 20 years ago, and do know enough to understand how to find characters in a dictionary, and could probably, like Straw, decipher texts given enough time.

hyperpape · #8

The original poll said speak/read but the first post stupidly just said speak--I've changed it to match.

mohsart · #9

Voted None, but I've studied a bit Chinese and have a Chinese girlfriend, so I know a little; not enough yet to hold a conversation or read a newspaper but maybe some time in the future...

/Mats

ketchup · **#10**

I've been wanting to learn Korean for a while now. Not only because I enjoy Go, but because a lot of other interests also seem to correspond with the language.

Nikolas73 · **#11**

I'm not completely fluent in Japanese, but I know enough to get by. Actually, Go was one of the factors in my decision tos tart studying Japanese (Korean was a close second and still something I want to learn one day).

Kirby · **#12**

I "know" Japanese and Korean. By "know", I mean that I can communicate with people and read with the help of a dictionary to look up words that I haven't memorized, yet. Since the first of the year, I've been studying each for an hour a piece Monday through Friday.

Dusk Eagle · **#13**

I'm currently enrolled in a Korean 101 class at University, and I have taken a Japanese non-credited course. I can't read or speak either one right now though.

cdybeijing · **#14**

I've been in China four years and I'm still working on it. The closer you are, the further away you seem.

kgsbaduk · **#15**

Quote:

The closer you are, the further away you seem.

Sounds like you were talking about Go

tapir · **#16**

Arimasen.

hyperpape · **#17**

We can worry about selection bias, but I'm impressed by how many people have studied one of the three languages.

yithril · **#18**

I speak all three

Bill Spight · **#19**

Tommie wrote:

Reading an article, e.g. in WQTD (on the multiple kos)

An article on multiple kos? Can you point me to it? Thanks.

xed_over · **#20**

hyperpape wrote:

We can worry about selection bias, but I'm impressed by how many people have studied one of the three languages.

studied?!

that's a different question altogether

Do you speak Chinese, Japanese or Korean?

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