View Full Version : Additional language forums
As the community is growing and growing I'm wondering if it's time we start considering the possibility of opening forums for additional languages, even if the site still hasn't been translated (and I'm afraid I don't have a timeframe for that development).
Obviously I need numbers (I'm not opening new forums to see 10 posts a month!) before I make decisions.
So, how many of you around here are from one of the countries listed in the poll and would like a local language forum?
:chin: I voted for a Portuguese forum, but I don't think we have yet a big number of users using this language.
Spanish forum would be a better choice, but we don't have many users from this country. However, Spanish are very attached to their mother language, probably they won't join a forum if it hasn't a Spanish section, so I can see a loop here... Though choice :thinking:
A dutch forum is the thing i want and i also want a Gathering hall near me :(
you get all the fun British people
lik Gathering hall - Accent - wi-fi max (didnt found it here) and more :(
you get all the fun British people
I wish. There are plenty of things Japan and America got that I only wish we'd got.
Some stuff America got that I wanted:Fallout 3 Survivor Edition, earlier release dates, the Halo Zune(and Zunes altogether), bah I'm short on ideas at the minute...
Some stuff the Japanese got that I wanted: Pokepark, N64DD, Monster Hunter merchandise, more anime and manga to be read at my pleasure, Gachapon.
I wish. There are plenty of things Japan and America got that I only wish we'd got.
Some stuff America got that I wanted:Fallout 3 Survivor Edition, earlier release dates, the Halo Zune(and Zunes altogether), bah I'm short on ideas at the minute...
Some stuff the Japanese got that I wanted: Pokepark, N64DD, Monster Hunter merchandise, more anime and manga to be read at my pleasure, Gachapon.
I think s/he is refering to the forum.
I could prepare a translation file in one day. :p
AlienHunter
15-07-09, 15:58
italian forum could be great, but we're only 3 regular italian members :D
maybe i don't remember correctly, but for a couple of days the forum menus were also available in (a not so good) italian, weren't they? :chin:
I don't think they ever were, Alien Hunter :thinking:
The question is, would an Italian/Spanish/Portuguese/Dutch forum attract more nationals who are not confident with English? So, peeps, if you are registered but don't write in English cast your vote! ;)
So, peeps, if you are registered but don't write in English cast your vote! ;)
:D:D
I dont think people who dont write in english could understand what you are trying to tell them :D
I know enough people who can read but not write in certain foreign languages (me and German or French, for instance, I'm well too rusty) :p
Right, comprehension is easier than production. That's why it is a different grade in every language knowledge table, like europass.
Just like me, I understand perfectly you but I think I have some problem with my posts...
In technical english I am better, but this isn't a developers forum. :D
AlienHunter
15-07-09, 21:16
for the non-native-english-speakers:
did someone of you made the FCE (FIRST Certificate Examination) or some other English proficiency exams?
for the non-native-english-speakers:
did someone of you made the FCE (FIRST Certificate Examination) or some other English proficiency exams?
Oh, im planning to do that in...3... years :D
Is it hard?
AlienHunter
16-07-09, 09:14
Oh, im planning to do that in...3... years :D
Is it hard?
it's quite hard, but absolutely not impossible! and i did the exam 2 days after my birthday :blink:
however, i get a C as a final mark, because i sucked at the listening part like everyone there...you know...after 5 hours of exam, the listening wasn't hard itself, but it was hard for us to concentrate properly.. if i did the listening properly, i surely earned a B, and maybe an A...but it's not that important, in fact my certificate has the same value of another one with an A :rolleyes:
funny thing, Cambridge earn 141€ for every candidate...easy money for them :D
by the way, the certificate is useful..at uni the FCE has the same value of the english exam (or at least that is how it works in Italy)
I found one FCE sample test on one site and i made 9 outta 10 answers in the listening part without listening :D.
It was about a woman and a man discussing what should you do if your child is agressive or something like that, that you have to put him in a special school etc.
There were several question but the point was, what did the woman say from several choices. I automatically picked the softer answers, you know, that you shouldnt be hard on him, that you shouldnt send him away and i was succesful :D
AlienHunter
16-07-09, 10:27
ahahahaha :D cheater!!
but the exam is not that easy...the listening part is divided in 4 parts:
one is like that one you tried [in my exam was about a survival camp or a thing like that where the father was complaining about his kid even because he kicked a pole and a lot of leaves fell on them :confused:],
another one is composed by 5 people talking and you have to put in the correct box what is their main ideal + one box that doesn't fix with anyone [in my exam was about why people leave the place where they was born],
another one are 11 parts, and in each one you have to chose what they're thinking or going to do [3 possible answers, and that person speaking says all of them, i mean, in one of them a man was walking back home from the forest with a vidocamera filming his father talking about whay he hunted in order to show this to further generations, and i had to say if the film was made to show kids how the hunt is, how his father was or how his father told stories....all this with a Scottish accent...sick!! :D]
last part is an interview and you have to fill the boxes with some words [my interview was about polar bears and polluted seals]
for the non-native-english-speakers:
did someone of you made the FCE (FIRST Certificate Examination) or some other English proficiency exams?
Nah, I got a degree instead. I can teach English to Italians and Italian to English peeps :D
Alien Hunter, there is only one vote for italian... and that's mine.
If he doesnt want to vote then its his choice :p
AlienHunter
16-07-09, 21:49
whooops, i think i voted and clicked on "go page 2" while it was still loading :D
@ II ARROWS: sperando poi non si uniscano troppi bimbiminkia in un eventuale forum italiano :D
voted for the italian one, i think we are first now!
@AlineHunter penso la stessa cosa, anche se cmq sono pochissimi gli italiani attivi sul forum .. e io sono appena arrivato ..
I know enough people who can read but not write in certain foreign languages (me and German or French, for instance, I'm well too rusty) :p
To be honest, I'd say I'm the other way round. I can write and speak french and german but I can't understand people when they write or speak 'em. :p
@ II ARROWS: sperando poi non si uniscano troppi bimbiminkia in un eventuale forum italiano :D@Non sarà un problema... per noi intendo, per loro saranno mazzate.
Guys, please keep it in English...I haven't opened any Italian forum yet.
sorry Ten, i promise i'll not do it again
I don't know how to translate "bimbominkia"...
AlienHunter
13-08-09, 18:21
actually i think there isn't a proper word for that... :D
MAYBE it could be translated with n00b, but "bimbominkia" are more irritating and young than the typical n00bs :confused:
And I'd strike the glorious sledgehammer of doom if you used that word :chin:
AlienHunter
13-08-09, 20:26
ok ok, i get it!
anyway, if we're not so many for a forum, why not a "foreign" section with one miscellaneous thread for every language?
i mean like one (and only one to be easily moderated) random thread, but in a different language
Why isn't there a Swedish option in the poll? Oh right, there aren't many Swedes here... :(
Darkof, get 100 Swedish friends and friends of friends to register here and I'll give you a Swedish forum :D
Abit off topic but is English lessons an essential subject taught in schools for you non english born people?.
What i mean is when i was at school we had the choice to take German or Spanish lessons for a GCSE subject, ie examination. But these subjects were optional and not a necessity.
I just feel kind of stupid in only knowing my native language compared to the rest of the people on this forum, mostly of school age i would say who are foreign, but know how to speak and write in perfect English.
AlienHunter
14-08-09, 20:03
yeah, we have to study english at school since 6years old...i'd say it's essential, because without english you can't go anywhere far nowadays
anyway, in some schools we can choose about other languages to learn...usually french or german but i only study english (well, also latin, but i hardly consider it as a language because you wont use it anywhere [but the LOST island :D])
however, the english level isn't the same for everyone, in my class some people don't like studying english, so they really don't "know how to speak and write in perfect English" ;)
another question: what language(s) would you like to learn?
mine are French and Japanese
yeah, we have to study english at school since 6years old...i'd say it's essential, because without english you can't go anywhere far nowadays10 years, and the same thing will be true about chinese. Studing english is a waste of time.
Studying english is a waste of time.
Can I ask you why? Studying english since 10 y.o. was useful to me for many many things, like speak in a foreign nation as france and spain or Egypt and Morocco. I've studied in some english college in the summer too and it really helped me ..
I've already explaned why: chinese.
AlienHunter
15-08-09, 18:46
but chinese sounds bad... i mean, the european (and worldwide actually) main languages were, in order, Latin, then French and now English...thinking about chinese as the next most used language really makes me sad
however, computers' "language" is english, not chinese, and since our times are ruled by computers and digital devices i can't really see why chinese will be the most widespread language, even if chinese people is growing really fast and exporting their products everywhere
Maybe you didn't notice that your list is ordered from the more complex to the simplier. The next step is chinese, the simplier language in the world that is still spoken.
I think that you can remove the Dutch option for translation. In Holland you speak fluently English when your like 10. years old. You learn it at school starting age of like XX, you'll hear it non stop on the radio and the tv is almost 90% english (ok American... ) and if you have joined a community like Capcom that means that your into gaming which increases your learning material for the English language even more. But he that's just my opinion.
FireRaptor
29-12-09, 20:49
Well, there is already an italian forum, so i think this is unnecesary.
I think ´, i spanish forum would be a great idea, because it is one of the most speaked languages around the world, after chinenese and english.
Spanish is my mother language, but i personally don´t have problem, because i´m also able to speak english and german, and some french and italian.
Nice forum.
Well, there is already an italian forum, so i think this is unnecesary.Well, that forum is here since late November. ;)
FireRaptor
30-12-09, 01:46
I know. I have only 5 posts, however, i have been here since April.
Well, I also think to add Spanish forums first, would be great as many people also seems to ask for it, thought it would be nice to get a forum for Portugese & Dutch people too ^_^
For those who are interessed about International Language (as I read some posts before), we studied those statistics at university, hope that document will help & give you an idea about languages place in the world :
"The Most Common Languages in the World"
Language > Approximate number of Native speakers (In the year 2000) > Countries with substantial numbers of native speakers
1. Mandarin Chinese > 874,000,000 > 16
2. Hindi (India) > 366,000,000 > 17
3. English > 341,000,000 > 104
4. Spanish > 322-358,000,000 > 43
5. Bengali (India and Bengladesh) > 207,000,000 > 9
6. Portuguese > 176,000,000 > 33
7. Russian > 167,000,000 > 30
8. Japanese > 125,000,000 > 26
9. German (standard) > 100,000,000 > 40
10. Korean > 78,000,000 > 31
11. French > 77,000,000 > 53
12. Wu Chinese > 77,000,000 > 1
13. Javanese > 75,000,000 > 4
14. Yue Chinese > 71,000,000 > 20
15. Telegu (India) > 69,000,000 > 7
Notes : If the 15 major variants of Arabic are considered one language, Arabic is the 6th most common language in the world having 198-201,000,000 native speakers with substantial numbers in at least 46 countries. Source : Ethnologue Volume I: Languages of the World, 14th ed. (2000) (These statistics are rough approximations)So we can say everyone were right in the thread. Both Chinese & English won.
Sorry to have been a bit off topic, this table didn't help the forum, the forum has its own stats about member's countries, different to this table. So it's up to members to vote for forums here.
Gearofchaos
09-04-10, 14:38
I wish. There are plenty of things Japan and America got that I only wish we'd got.
Some stuff America got that I wanted:Fallout 3 Survivor Edition, earlier release dates, the Halo Zune(and Zunes altogether), bah I'm short on ideas at the minute...
Some stuff the Japanese got that I wanted: Pokepark, N64DD, Monster Hunter merchandise, more anime and manga to be read at my pleasure, Gachapon.
I think the use of other languages will surely increase the number of the visitors...
The problem is that it's really hard to choose just one or two between those languages...
(Pokepark? What's that? I'm really envious of Japanese too!)