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I know Spanish and Italian aren't that similar and Ukrainian vs Russian are probably closer but i know they can't speak to each other like that.
I can confirm that bulgarian and macedonian are almost identical though - people from both countries won't need translator talking to each other.
what about Scandinavian languages? Also...is Welsh similar to English or is English similar to anything?
Right, Spanish and Italian are not so similar. For example I can't understand Spanish so well, in particular the spoken Spanish it's really difficult for me.
Sweden and Norway. Both very similar in spoken and written form, and are mutually intelligible, no translator needed. Danish may be similar in written form and has more or less the same words, but pronunciation and vowels are very different from Norwegian/Swedish.
Either that, or Serbia and Bosnia. Or Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 11-16-2014 at 08:16 AM..
Dutch and Flemish are the same language. The difference is comparable to British English vs. American English. Not sure why some insist on calling Flemish a separate language but I'm guessing it is to do with nationalism. Afrikaans is also for the most part mutually intelligible with Dutch, especially in written form. It's closer to standard Dutch than certain dialects spoken in the Low Countries. To illustrate my point, here is a "Flemish" reporter interviewing "Afrikaans" speaking actress Charlize Theron. I could translate what they're saying word for word:
On the other hand, Swiss German is technically called German but I, as a non-native German speaker, have a very hard time understanding them. I wonder if Swiss German is intelligible to native German speakers?
Luxembourgish is basically a German dialect with some French loanwords. Unlike other German dialects, they developed some rules on how to bring it to paper.
Do I properly understand it? Not really. Same with some Swiss and Austrian dialects.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LindavG
On the other hand, Swiss German is technically called German but I, as a non-native German speaker, have a very hard time understanding them. I wonder if Swiss German is intelligible to native German speakers?
Portuguese and Spanish are very similar and mutually intelligible on a basic level of conversation and even on a medium level with a little effort. Written wise both languanges are definitely mutually intelligible without being needed almost any effort just common sense to guess the meaning of the different words
Isn't Crimean Tatar, Azerbaijani and Turkish very similar too? Conversational level?
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