Jack's Language Chart

1	English	Evenin', laddies and lassies :-) They say it's an "international" language -- I say let's stamp out "linguistic Imperialism" and let other languages live! Yep, it's my strongest language -- sigh ;-]
2	Japanese	Konnichiwa -- Nihongo no sekai e yookoso! こんにちは。日本語の世界へようこそ Soft sounds, intricate script, vagueness galore. I love kanji, detest katakana proliferation. For better or for worse, Nihongo is my life.
3	Hebrew	Shalom khaverim. Ma nishma? Ancient and guttural, the once "dead" Holy Tongue thrives in everything from the Scriptures to ichthyology (huh?) As the language of the Hebrew Bible, its importance far outweighs its number of speakers
4	Yiddish	Sholem-aleykhem, yidn un goyim! Nuuu...vos hertsekh? This is indeed my *mame-loshn* (mother tongue). Sweet and beautiful, zaftik and heartwarming, it justs melts in your mouth. If you think it's not a "real" language or it's only for "joking and cursing" -- may your harddisk crumble and a flood of GPEs torment you!
5	Portuguese Português	Bom dia, pessoal. Tudo bem? If you don't consider Brazilian P. the galaxy's most exquisite language, suspect an acute otorhinolaryngological disorder ;->. Some call it God's mother tongue :-) -- what *would* life be without those delicious liquids and rich nasals flowing like a bosanova rhythm of infinite softness?
6	Spanish Español	Hola amigos, ¿que tal? Spoken in some 26 countries (really!), this rich and beautiful tongue is a joy to speak, sing and listen to. For beginners, it's a cinch to learn. ¡Adelante, amigo. Aprenda español!
7	German Deutsch	Hallo, ihr Leutchen! Was ist denn los? Sharp, crisp, logical -- sounds like the rat-tat-tat of machine-gun fire. I love that cold, guttural feel, the sharp edges and rectangular (harsh?) sounds.
8	Chinese	Pengyoumen, nimen hao! Yiqie dou hao ma? 朋友们你们好! 一切都好吗? Unvoiced and retroflex consonants flow among subtle? vowels in a torrent of melodious tones. The complex, exquisite script adds ineffable beauty to a feast for the eyes and ears.
9	Esperanto	Saluton, karaj geamikoj. Kiel vi fartas? "Internationalism par excellence! This *planned* language boasts ease of learning, simple grammar, and infinitely flexible word-formation. It aims to be a universal auxiliary -- *not* to supplant ethnic languages.
10	Arabic عربي	`Assalam `Alaykum. Kayfa Haluka, ya-Sadiiqi? AlHamdu lillaa. السلام عليكم. كيف حالك يا صديقي؟ ألحمد لله Harsh, powerful, sexy and juicy -- this beautiful language with its beautiful script and complex verb system is the official language of 25 countries. Yes, it is difficult, but if it weren't it wouldnt't be fun!
11	Vietnamese Tiếng Việt	Xin chào mọi người. Bạn có khỏe không? This exciting language is really fun to learn. Except for the pronunciation, it is much easier than your realize: no gender, no plurals, no conjugation, and more...
12	Interlingua	Bon die, senioras e seniores. Como sta? If you heard of it, you're either a language freak or a World Citizen. Another *planned* language, a kind of simplified Latin, that aims to be natural and easy. Proof? Interlingua es lingua facile e natural de parolas international. Got it?
13	Ladino	Kerido lektor, avla Djudeo-Espanyol? Also known as Judaeo-Spanish, this Jewish language is based on Spanish plus Hebrew-Aramaic elements. It was carried by Jews to Mediterranean countries after their explusion from Spain in 1492.
14	Papiamento	Bon dia, con ta bai? Mi por papia Papiamento. Mi stima Aruba. Hopi bon!! Spoken in Aruba and several other islands in the Carribean, this delightful language is "a piece of cake" to learn if you know Spanish/Portuguese and have a bit of sprachgeful. I amazed myself in how I leaned enough to converse a bit and read rather fluently after about a week's vacation with my wife in Aruba.
15	Aramaic	Yehe shlama raba min shemaya. Spoken by Jesus Christ and heard in the movie The Passion of Christ, the lingua franca of the ancient Near East is still spoken mostly in Iraq and Turkey and lives on in Jewish prayers and the Talmud, which I studied as a Yeshiva boy.