你会讲英语马 ？

[Mike]

If I am talking to a Chinese person, which could I say: -

(i) nǐ huì jiǎng yīng yǔ ma? (你会讲英语马?), or

(ii) nǐ huì shuō yīng yǔ ma? (你会说英语马?)

Or do they mean the same thing?

Also can someone tell me what kuai4 means in: -

圣诞快年 - shèng dàn kuài nián

Thanks.

[Quest]

讲 and 说 are the same in this context.

It's 吗 not 马。

It's 圣诞快乐 not 圣诞快年。

快乐 means Happy.

[Mike]

Thank you - I must stop mixing up my horse and my ma

圣诞快乐 - of course! - Thanks Quest.

[chinesetools]

It's been my impression that shuo1 is more common in the north, while jiang3 is more common in the south, but that they both mean essentially the same thing.

[Mugi]

chinesetools is right - as a stand alone verb 讲 is predominantly a southern term, while 说 is predominantly northern.

You can also actually drop the "speak" verb altogether and simply say: 你会英语吗?

This by fay the most common construction, regardless of north, south, east, west!

(Textbooks always add the 说 or 讲, but in reality it's not used so much)