When can I say I can speak a language?

 

Photo by Shamim Nakhaei on Unsplash

I've heard various answers to this question in the past, and I believe there is no true answer. However, I do believe there are some answers that are better than others. To say you can speak a language, should you be able to have a flawless, 6-hour-long, detailed discussion with a native? Or do you just need to be able to order for you and your family in a restaurant?

I'm a naturally more cautious person, and perhaps I don’t give myself enough credit. My favourite way of answering this question is to always use the words “a bit”.

“I can speak a bit of Spanish”

“I can speak a bit of French”

“I can speak a bit of Italian”

My thought process here is that I'm making it clear that I have some knowledge of the language, but it isn't clear how much. “A bit” is a very subjective term, and people will interpret it differently. If I use this term, I'll never really ‘disappoint’ people, because they know that “a bit” doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of something. I’m not sure how many people will agree, but I always have the feeling that if I claim to be able to speak a language, I'm perhaps disrespecting those who speak it much better than me.

I also think that when you respond to this question, there are two possible reactions that people can have when they hear you speak the language. For example, they'll either be surprised at how well you speak or at how little you speak. If I say I can speak Spanish, some people may expect me to be perfect. Inevitably, when I make errors, I'll feel like I've disappointed them. However, if I say I only speak “a bit” of Spanish, I may positively surprise them because they may not expect me to be able to say much. In this scenario, I'll always prefer to downplay how well I can speak a language.

A friend of mine once told me that he spoke Spanish because he spent time living in Colombia, and as a result, he considered it a language he could speak. I then started to speak Spanish to him, and it was an incredibly broken conversation because he knew how to say about three sentences with a lot of pauses and errors.

On the other hand, a former colleague of mine was moaning to me about how she couldn’t speak English, despite being able to successfully work at a college in London. Yes, she made errors, and if anyone was speaking excessively fast, she would struggle. However, she could very successfully communicate her message to everybody, even if she felt she couldn’t. 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

It really does seem to be a matter of personal preference when answering this question. It could also be an awareness of the situation you are in. For example, if your friend is thinking about starting to learn German and you know some German words, there is nothing stopping you from saying you can speak German. However, the situation could be more serious; for example, a German man suddenly becomes in need of a doctor in a supermarket and needs a translator. In this situation, if you claim to speak German and you mistranslate something to the doctor, this could have serious consequences. This example may seem silly and unlikely, but it's about being aware of the possible result of how you answer this question.

Summary:

My personal opinion is that if I heard someone claim they could speak a language, I'd expect them to have at least a B1 level. This means they can have a conversation in the language about a variety of topics. It won’t be an incredibly complicated discussion, and there'll be a lot of pauses and mistakes, but they can still communicate some sort of meaning to the other person. I can currently do this in Spanish, but because I'm naturally more cautious, I still say to people that I speak “a bit” of Spanish.

There are far worse crimes in the world than saying you can speak a language when you actually can’t speak it very well. If anyone ever said this to me, I would not disagree with them or create trouble; I would simply move on from the conversation. There is no need to tell someone they are wrong. It is just a matter of perception and perhaps modesty.

Key vocabulary:

Flawless – without errors/mistakes

Cautious – to be more careful with something

Subjective – based on a person’s opinion

Inevitably – certain to happen, unavoidable

Downplay – make something seem less important

On the other hand – offering the other side of the argument

Modesty – a quality which someone has if they don’t want to say they are that good at something. For example, “Jordan is very good at Maths, but he doesn’t brag about it. He is very modest.”