american's must be stupid-they only know one language....

[Fryk]

I have a condition that I call Chewbacca syndrome. I can understand several languages quite well -Spanish, German, Swedish, and a little Czech and Japanese (enough to get the gist, but not totally understand). BUT I cannot reutrn the conversation in any of them but German. I don't know the grammar structure in any of them well enough to form my own sentences. I don't know if this is common for a lot of people or not, but I call it Chewbacca syndrome after the character who holds his conversations in Wookie, no matter what the other person is speaking.

[blas87]

I think the main point is that it's much easier to learn a second language when you are young.

Language courses start in middle school around here, which is still an ok age and kids are still spongy enough to absorb and learn it, but I feel if everyone learned at an even younger age, it would stick better.

I have forgotten almost all the French I ever learned in school, at least how to put a sentence together or ask a question.

[Slytovhand]

So, Fryk, if you bellow and growl and mewl and all that - people can understand you ok???

[Fryk]

Well, my wife does. But I only do that in, uh, "certain" situations...