How many here have tried to learn the native languages of your station?

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 22:52:42 -0500

Have any of you learned German, Japanese, Italian, etc while being stationed in places where those languages are the official language?  Or Filipino.

Response by Cpl Ray Fernandez made Nov 27 at 2013 11:24 PM

Cpl Ray Fernandez — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:24:07 -0500

My only major duty station was at 29 Palms, CA and I mostly avoided dealing with the local population, but I did pick up some desert dweller speak, and while I was aboard the USS Pearl Harbor, I did learn the local sailor tongues to better understand and relate to the crew of the ship. Other than that most of my deployments/port calls were too short in duration to pick up a foreign tongue.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 27 at 2013 11:27 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:27:50 -0500

I think it would be great if they had a program where they would teach you while your in country. This way you could bounce off what you learn against the native speakers and get real time feedback.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 27 at 2013 11:35 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:35:46 -0500

I grew up in Luxembourg…so German, French and English were mandatory.  I moved to the states at age 12 and joined in 1992.  My first duty station was Vilseck, Germany. Already knowing the language helped me tremendously in every day life…not to mention the interaction with the locals.  I would encourage everyone to attempt to learn at least the basics of the language.  People are more inclined to help you out if you attempt to speak their language.

Response by SPC Gary Basom made Nov 27 at 2013 11:44 PM

SPC Gary Basom — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 23:44:02 -0500

In November of 1982 I went to Germany and learned a little german, never could grasp the signs for their driver's license however.

Response by SFC James Baber made Nov 28 at 2013 2:50 AM

SFC James Baber — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 02:50:13 -0500

Years ago, there was a program similar to headstart that was mandatory for anyone PCSing to overseas assignments, they went away from that sometime in the 90's, I think they should bring it back, it was also available to dependents as well if they wanted to learn.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 28 at 2013 9:50 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 28 Nov 2013 09:50:12 -0500

I picked up a little Arabic in Cuba, Iraq and Kuwait. It has actually been a little useful in Detroit.

Response by SPC Adam Kuykendall made Jun 25 at 2015 7:43 AM

SPC Adam Kuykendall — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 07:43:29 -0400

I learned German.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 25 at 2015 8:26 AM

PO1 John Miller — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 08:26:12 -0400

My only permanent overseas assignments were in England and Guam, so I didn't learn a new language though I definitely learned the difference between American English and The Queen's English!

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 25 at 2015 8:26 AM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 08:26:40 -0400

Yeah. Most of the places I have been stationed have been in the US and I have had a hard time communicating in these areas.

Response by SGT Roberto Mendoza-Diaz made Jun 25 at 2015 8:29 AM

SGT Roberto Mendoza-Diaz — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 08:29:54 -0400

I learned how to write korean.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Jun 25 at 2015 10:17 AM

MSG Brad Sand — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 10:17:19 -0400

I was actually trying to learn German when I was in Frankfurt, but so many of the Germans spoke English, that as soon as I tried they would start conversing in English.

Response by SSgt Dale W. made Jun 25 at 2015 12:53 PM

SSgt Dale W. — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 12:53:15 -0400

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member I did manage to learn Proper English, complete with accent, while I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath. Does that count? ;-()

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 7 at 2015 7:30 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Jul 2015 19:30:26 -0400

Not sure if LEARNED is the right word. Tried to learn and maybe picked up a few phrases.
Albanian in Kosovo
German in Germany
Arabic in Kuwait

Response by SPC Ingo W Schiller made Jul 15 at 2015 6:45 PM

SPC Ingo W Schiller — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 18:45:58 -0400

I didn't have to learn German because i knew it already being German !

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2015 8:59 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 20:59:20 -0400

I know speak enough German to get around the country and brother married a German girl.

Response by SFC Christopher Perry made Jul 15 at 2015 9:06 PM

SFC Christopher Perry — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 21:06:27 -0400

Tried is the perfect term. Yes, I tried wherever I ended up over the years. However, I openly admit that I never did it well.

Response by LCpl Scot Brake made Jul 16 at 2015 10:20 PM

LCpl Scot Brake — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 22:20:58 -0400

I learned a little bit of Japanese and I remember less

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 20 at 2015 2:20 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 02:20:17 -0400

Minnesotan was hard to learn.

Response by SGT James Hastings made Oct 2 at 2015 9:44 AM

SGT James Hastings — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 09:44:19 -0400

When I was assigned to Japan I already spoke German and French so my situation may have been different. I always want to know what the majority of the people around me are saying and was lucky to have an ex-officer of Japanese Military Intelligence working for me who helped me greatly in learning the language the natural way: hear it like a child and build a vocabulary until you can speak it well. I ended up using my language ability as an interpreter during negotiations with officials of the Japanese Government in returning telephone communication networks to them as we closed military bases. Much later, in the US I worked for an Agency of the Japanese Government in Los Angeles, CA.

Response by SPC Michael Johnson made Oct 13 at 2015 11:58 PM

SPC Michael Johnson — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 23:58:37 -0400

married and divorced to a german