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If you could wake up tomorrow with one language and one skill that you have either never had before, or which you would like to take a lot further than you have ever been able to before, what would they be?
For language, I would take German. It was my father’s first language, and I have never done it justice.
For a skill, as strange a choice as it might seem, I would like to be able to tie proper knots. Like knots for every occasion. I have always admired the people in my life who could tie the right knot at the right time, and I while I have a nice book on the subject, I have never learnt.
Over to you.
Welsh. Land of my fathers, but I only know a handful of words (despite 5 years of lessons at school).
Skill. I’d love to be able to play an instrument. The piano, or saxophone. Or to be able to do something artistic. But, right now I’d settle with being better at chess.
Greek. I speak and write it to a reasonable level but it’s gone a bit rusty and it would be wonderful to be fluent.
As for a skill, I wish I could sing well enough to be confident to sing with other people. I love singing but I have no confidence with it, so I only sing when I am alone.
Language would be German. Skill would either be playing the piano to a decent level or being able to swim front crawl properly.
I did German at school but I'm not very good (at any language, even English)
I'd like many skills. Im basic in many all of which I'd like to be passable in.
Saxonrider. Many people over think knots and many can be very task specific. Correctly tying a bowline is a good start. That and figure of 8, alpine butterfly, clove hitch, fisherman's/barrel knots. Those are all knots I use on a day to day basis.
Spanish.
Lack of it has almost caused me issues in Mexico before and put me off travelling further south, which I'd love to do (some day)
I can tie a bowline 1 handed though, so that's a plus 😉
Language: Italian.
Skill: Reading people. I struggle with people skills tbh.
No idea on a language though would love to be fluent in one. There is no country I visit routinely enough and for long enough to make use of a language skill so whatever language I would have I’d rarely or never use. If I were to spend significant time in any other country then I would learn the language. But more likely to be Mandarin Chinese these days due to work travel in SE Asia rather than a European language.
Skill, a musical instrument. Wish I’d kept up the piano as a lad. Showed some promise but was never into it so gave it up which is a regret now. Or guitar or drums.
Language: Python
Skill: Singing. I'm a good guitarist and can hear/write vocal melodies in my head, but I can't make them come out my body
I might go for German too because my French is probably good enough to allow me to progress pretty well if I sit down to it. Skills - yeah being actually good at guitar or piano. Or the ability to apply myself because if I could do that then I'd have plenty of skills already.
Actually, being able to draw whatever I could imagine, that'd be brilliant.
French.
The ability to do fine cabinet making. I can bash stuff together out of 2x4 and even get some respectable looking stuff but I just seem unable to work with the precision needed for a really good finish
Despite rather tenuous connections with the country I’d like to learn Welsh. I can play/sing a couple of songs in welsh but that’s it. I’m a reasonable Basque speaker, so quite fond of minority languages.
Skill: Gardening. Keeping plants alive is beyond me. Can’t even grow herbs on the kitchen windowsill without them getting infested.
Italian. Can get by but would love to be able to chat.
I red scho a bissl Deutsch. So that's out... Horrible language to learn, but I've only had to do it once.
Skill? Really not sure. Better at my job, maybe? But then I'm always learning.
Skill of time management or conquering procrastination. That would probably be most beneficial.
What a great thread idea.
Language is tricky. My first thought was French, I have a somewhat tenuous grasp on it already and it'd be cool to be fluent in the language of our nearest neighbour (I'm skipping home languages like Welsh as I've never found myself anywhere in the British Isles faced with someone with no English). But then I thought, more immediately useful might be something like Urdu or Punjabi. Or maybe, if I could just do a Matrix then something like Russian or Chinese?
Skill, something musical I think. I'm a practical sort but the arty side of life passed me by. I'd love to be able to sing, I have a good ear I think but cannot reproduce it. And beyond basic pre-teen levels of music theory I lack the commitment to learn an instrument, so I'm not about to become the ghost of Hendrix any time soon. Actually, being able to draw, that'd be neat.
Skill: Gardening. Keeping plants alive is beyond me.
Oh, that too. I come from a long line of gardeners, farmers and assorted outdoorsy types. It is a gene which skipped me.
Though, thinking about it, actually I don't overly care. I'd rather have a driveway flanked with a strip of Astroturf.
Language: German as it's the only one I've tried where I don't sound like a lunatic. Same for Italian too.
Skill: Bushcraft - especially all the knowledge of what's edible or where to find stuff wherever I am.
Would need the Matrix to download me the Mears and Hiddins version.
Yep, I'll go with German as a language and for a skill, that's easy.
Fly a helicopter... and if I could do that I'd love to work for Air Zermatt.
Language: probably Arabic, although German or French would be good too.
Skill: to be able to draw comics, and not just the simple line drawings. Things like Judge Dredd etc.
Language - Greek. love greece and want to retire to crete eventually. started learning but work always puts a stop to that, dont get the time to learn continuously.
Skill - was going to say being able to play the lyra (did i tell you i love greece) and i do plan learning it when retired. however, i think carpentry would be a more useful skill that id enjoy. id love to be able to create some of the stuff that you people show off on here.
I'd like to be able to speak the languages I find beautiful - French and Gaelic. My French is okay, but Gaelic has remained a mystery despite a couple of attempts.
I'd like to play the violin better. I took it up again a few years ago after not playing since school, and it has been a joy to play with others in an orchestra. It's a work in progress.
Skills which would be useful but which I lack entirely: navigating and diy of any kind. I went on a navigation course, I know how to read a map, I know how to use a compass - but still I have an uncanny knack for getting lost!
Italian. Italian Grandparent. Would like to visit, track down the details of that side of the family, and being fluent in the language would help considerably.
French as France is a great country to visit, and it is useful in a few other places.
Skill is a tough question, ride with the competence of Jedi, cook like a Michelin starred chef, ski like Thovex, or just walk past a packet of biscuits without eating them all. As you didn't mention them being real world skills or not, the ability to fly would be up there. Ultimately though, a better understanding of psychology and people would be helpful.
But then I thought, more immediately useful might be something like Urdu or Punjabi.
Good point, not immediately useful where I live now but I had an ex in Blackburn who taught me a bit of Urdu (much of it rude admittedly) but it felt good to be able to use a bit of it out and about.
I already speak slightly rusty German from "studying" it at Uni. It's more of a comedy tool these days.
If I could speak another one, I'd choose Japanese.
As for skills, it would be talking / presentation skills. I would love to be able to keep an audience engaged for more than 2 minutes. .
Language is tough. In no particular order.#1. Spanish because it's widely spoken. #2. French because I like France #3. German for the jobs.#4. Cantonese because my partner speaks it. #5. Mandarin because China is so massive. Probably #1 or #5.
Skill. Got to be playing an instrument well. Guitar or maybe piano but probably guitar.
Language: Part of me wants to say Swedish (because I live here and being able to speak it fluently would be a real benefit for a lot of things), but I am learnign that now and am getting there. Chinese might be more useful though as it's spoken by a looooot more people than Swedish and will be pretty important in the coming years. Getting in early might be a good idea.
Skill: Yourguitarhero's "Python" language might actually be my choice of skill. I'd love to be good at scripting things for ay situation I find myself in and Python seems to be the most useful language to script in. I can do basic stuff, but being good at it would be better.
Spanish would be very practically useful, I think. Colombia was the only place I went for work where almost no-one spoke English even in the office, and apparently this is fairly common across South America. Whilst in Germany there were plenty of people in everyday life who could speak English to me, there were a fair few in the office who couldn't, unlike in France where everyone's English was spot on (again, at work).
Having moved to Portugal in October, Portuguese would be good! Skill, in the process of buying a house and from what I've seen, I think electrics would be a useful new skill!
Klingon and teleportation
Language: Russian or Danish/Swedish or Japanese/Korean. Ya, can't decide.
Skills: Cooking or making food from SE Asia perfectly or doing metal fabrication work where I can design things ...
Spanish - had a strange attraction to the language from a very early age, my Dad had a book, not that either of my folks ever even opened it. Did a year at school, but had to drop it as i couldnt separate it properly from French, which was obligatory. Picked it up again a few years back and can get by, but fluent is a long way off.
Other - when i opened the thread, first thought was manuals. however i would choose advanced DIY, i can do basics ok, and have a background from welding/fabrications, but just dont have the confidence to tackle the bigger tasks in plumbing/electrics/plastering without crippling procrastination.