Thinking of learning another language.

[Popinski]

I'm thinking of going back to school and learning a language. Here were/are my choices:

-Spanish: Making up my mind on whether or not I should become a border patrol agent....

-Dutch: Everyone in the Netherlands speak English..so it's useless.

-Any Scandinavian language: Same as Netherlands, everyone speaks English.

-Korean or Japanese: The languages are not interesting at this time

-Eastern European countries: Not interested

-Italian: I was disrespected and beat up in Italy so I do not want to go back there.

-German: Such a powerful-sounding language and am thinking of learning it.

-French: My second option.

Anyone here know a 2nd language?

 

[crinkles]

I am bilingual and can do a bit of german as a third. I can also read, listen to dutch, but not talk.

for today's world, i'd recommend chinese.

 

[Boomer]

Depends on what you might gain from this new language. For example, you really want to know German if you are a chemist, particularly an organic chemist, as most of the literature in this field prior to WW I is in German and French, mostly the former. If you are in business in the US, Spanish might be the most useful while international business might take you t Chinese.

 

[eoghan]

I've been trying to learn Gaelic on my own for years and it is NOT easy to say the least!

 

[Pablo]

Chinese. (Mandarin - putonghua)

 

[ctrcbob]

Spanish, only if you want to be usefull in the USA. Most of South America (except for Brazil) and Central America speak Spanish. Each country has their own accent. The Spanish spoken in Chile and Columbia is a very high quality Spanish. The Spanish of Argentina if very poor quality. (the Italian there have killed the Spanish language.) Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, etc. speak a mid quality, not nearly as high quality as Chile.
(Yes, I speak some Spanish).

French. This is the language of diplomacy (sp). Very hard to learn only because you don't pronounce words as they are spelled. Also, most English speakers want to pronounce the letters the way they are pronounced in English, and that will not work in French. I speak a little French, just enough that I will not starve in France, and enough to check into a hotel or to buy gas. French is also spoken in many areas of the world, (Eastern Canada and half of sub-equetorial Africa).

Italian is much like Spanish or Portugese. Very easy to learn because the words are pronounced just as they are spelled. Each has its own rules, but once you learn those rules, it is easy. (Yes, I do speak some Italian). Only learn Italian if you will spend a lot of time in Italy. Otherwise, it is not spoken anywhere else in the world.

Portugese is the language of Brazil. If you want to spend any time in Brazil, learn it. Brazil is an up and coming country in the world.

Russian - Very hard to learn.

Mandarin (Chinese) - Very hard to learn

Japanese - Easy to learn. What makes it seem hard is that it is written using the Chinese alphabet. The spoken language is easy.

German - Only if you are going to spend a lot of time in Germany or Austria.

Eastern European Slavic Languages - Forget it. Only if you are going to spend a lot of time there.

IMHO, go with French. (If you want easy, go with Spanish)

 

[Papa Bear]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
I am bilingual and can do a bit of german as a third. I can also read, listen to dutch, but not talk.


A friend of mine is Dutch and told me what KLM stood for... no wonder you can't talk it.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

English is my second language. Gone through 4 semesters of Japanese and find it interesting and easy. If I had time in my schedule I would do 5 and 6. Hated Spanish.

 

[bradepb]

Hands down if you live in the u.s. you should learn spanish, all three of my children have taken years of spanish, high school and college.
It has been very usefull , one is a journalist,one a financial planner and one will be an english teacher of non english speaking persons.
A huge amount of the population especially west of the Rockies speaks spanish and it is expected to grow.
Even here in Michigan we have bilingual signage in many places and a large spanish speaking population.

 

[Michael_P]

I grew up speaking Spanish around the house and it has paid off in a couple of jobs. In my current job (Fire / EMS) The only time I use Spanish is when we run on the elderly. Most young, legal immigrants actually speak English quite well. As a matter of fact, if they speak it well they prefer to speak it than their native language. Currently I am taking online classes in Arabic which is proven to be quite difficult but I am actually learning it. If you learn Spanish, Portuguese and Italian are very understandable. Also If you know Spanish, there are plenty of cognates between french ans Spanish. In short, if you know Spanish, you would be able to understand and roughly communicate in other languages as well. I chose to learn Arabic as a third language due to it's major differences from other languages. Russian would be another language I would like to learn. One more point, after you learn the language, travel to a country where you are forced to speak the language. I'm not talking resort towns either. About two years ago, when going to El Paso, I spent a day in Ciudad Juarez (probably not the smartest move) and other boarder towns to bone up on my Spanish. After a few hours, I was speaking much better.

 

[Torino]

Many years ago I went to South America to work. Ended up staying for 10+ years. Most of us found that the quickest and most effective way to learn the language was to find a 'sleeping dictionary'. As an engineer I always preffered the direct approach. John.

 

[ddrumman2004]

I still have problems speaking English after after all these years! LOL!

It's the only language I speak although I do know a few phrases of Spanish as well as some Chinese. But I have no desire nor need to learn another language.

At almost 58 years of age, I am pretty much set in my ways.

 

[97tbird]

German! sounds GREAT - wife and I both speak it, and it's a lot of fun, (and useful, too)

or French.

I wish this one included German..

 

[Mr Nice]

Spanish no doubt, not only you need for the business world here in the USA but since hispanics are the fastest growing population in the USA, its just a matter of time until english is not spoken.

I speak spanish (mom is from Panama) but I have light brown hair and blue eyes (dad from Hungary).
I just love when hispanic people are talking trash and I reply to them in perfect spanish. They turn pale and their eyes bulge.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Spanish no doubt, not only you need for the business world here in the USA but since hispanics are the fastest growing population in the USA, its just a matter of time until english is not spoken.




Don't get me started on that one.

While what you say is unfortunately probably true it is a disgrace that new immigrants (legal or illegal) do not assimulate with OUR culture. If I move to Germany or Poland I learn their language and customs. Why should it be any different in the USA?!

 

[kender]

+1 on the post above!
My wife is Puerto Rican. I lived in Puerto Rico 94-97. I learned enough Spanish to go to the bank, auto parts store, etc. Even though alot of people there can speak English, they appreciated it when I tried to speak Spanish.
Lots of the current immigrants want us to assimilate to their culture!!

 

[Popinski]

Originally Posted By: 97tbird
German! sounds GREAT - wife and I both speak it, and it's a lot of fun, (and useful, too)

or French.

I wish this one included German..

If it included German, then there's a guaranteed Hitler joke.

Originally Posted By: GMBoy
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Spanish no doubt, not only you need for the business world here in the USA but since hispanics are the fastest growing population in the USA, its just a matter of time until english is not spoken.




Don't get me started on that one.

While what you say is unfortunately probably true it is a disgrace that new immigrants (legal or illegal) do not assimulate with OUR culture. If I move to Germany or Poland I learn their language and customs. Why should it be any different in the USA?!


Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Spanish no doubt, not only you need for the business world here in the USA but since hispanics are the fastest growing population in the USA, its just a matter of time until english is not spoken.

I speak spanish (mom is from Panama) but I have light brown hair and blue eyes (dad from Hungary).
I just love when hispanic people are talking trash and I reply to them in perfect spanish. They turn pale and their eyes bulge.

Like I said before, the only way I am learning Spanish is if I ever join Law enforcement or the Border Patrol.

 

[dwendt44]

Chinese is one of the hardest to learn with Japanese second.

Me, I have enough trouble with english.

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
Originally Posted By: crinkles
I am bilingual and can do a bit of german as a third. I can also read, listen to dutch, but not talk.


A friend of mine is Dutch and told me what KLM stood for... no wonder you can't talk it.


oh i can say the basics, my wife bursts out laughing when i try - she says it is complete gibberish! like somethings stuck in my throat.

 

[Popinski]

Wie gehts??

Well, looks like I'm learning German. I went to the Salvation Army to look at books and I coincidentally found a "German Made Simple" book by Adolph Geiger. Found it for $1.00. It's old but it'll do for starters. This fall I will sign up for German language classes at my local Community College.

Maybe I'll meet a German girl in the future.