What language should I learn?

Status
Not open for further replies.
strawman

strawman

Aside from English and computer languages, what human language should I learn and why?

I've looked at eceonmic growth to see who the next big winners are globally, and current GDP per capita, largest countries, etc, but can't make up my mind.

Not saying I'm going to learn a language, but I'd like to, and the first step is choosing one and diving in.

Bonus points if you can find free mp3 language lessons for commuting.

-Adam
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

NOOOOO! Don't learn more languages! It's people like you who put translators and interpreters like me out of a job. :(

More serious answer:
For practical use in a globalized world, you already know English.
For being able to converse with people from other countries and cultures, I'd say Spanish is more useful for Americans.
Lots of people say Mandarin is a good language to learn, and I see their point, but if Mandarin's a good choice then Indian should be too. So... learn Indian.
 
T

Twitch

When I just started school I was told to learn German, "The Trade Language of the World", then they started saying it was English, now it's all about learning Spanish in the US. So I'd go for that.
 
W

Wasabi Poptart

Gaelic!


which I am only suggesting because I think it's neat, not for any practical use
 
North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Staff member
Finnish, because then you would know if I just insulted your mother :D Äitisi on minun mielestäni äärimmäisen mukava ja iloinen ihminen. Hänen kaltaisiaan naisihmisiä soisin kohtaavani useamminkin.

But seriously... considering you're from the States, I'd recommend Spanish.

Of course, you could always do what the Google Ads tell you and learn Biblical Hebrew.
 
C

Chazwozel

stienman said:
Aside from English and computer languages, what human language should I learn and why?

I've looked at eceonmic growth to see who the next big winners are globally, and current GDP per capita, largest countries, etc, but can't make up my mind.

Not saying I'm going to learn a language, but I'd like to, and the first step is choosing one and diving in.

Bonus points if you can find free mp3 language lessons for commuting.

-Adam
Click to expand...

Entish.

You'll spend your entire life just learning to say "hello, good morning to you"
 
Rob King

Rob King

I've been meaning to learn French. Not because it's the second official language of my country, but because it's a big colonial language. Spanish too, but ... well, it being the second official language of my country does have a little bit to do with it.

Not that I'd really want to talk to any Quebecois anyways ... :tongue:
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
Spanish! There's a free tutor on this board. :D (points to the guy in the funny hat, smoking pot, listening to the Beatles)

---------- Post added at 02:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:21 PM ----------
AshburnerX;253696][quote=JCM said:
Learn the most important ones... I´d say French, Spanish, or Mandarin.
Click to expand...
French? How is French relevant today? It's useful for seduction, but it's hardly useful for business, which is why he wants to learn a second language.[/QUOTE]

It's still the language of diplomacy.
 
G

GeneralOrder24

Cajungal said:
Spanish! There's a free tutor on this board. :D (points to the guy in the funny hat, smoking pot, listening to the Beatles)

---------- Post added at 02:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:21 PM ----------
AshburnerX;253696][quote=JCM said:
Learn the most important ones... I´d say French, Spanish, or Mandarin.
Click to expand...
French? How is French relevant today? It's useful for seduction, but it's hardly useful for business, which is why he wants to learn a second language.
Click to expand...
It's still the language of diplomacy.[/QUOTE]

Je suis les petit surrender!
 
strawman

strawman

GeneralOrder24;253705][quote=Cajungal;253701][quote=AshburnerX;253696][quote=JCM said:
Learn the most important ones... I´d say French, Spanish, or Mandarin.
Click to expand...
French? How is French relevant today? It's useful for seduction, but it's hardly useful for business, which is why he wants to learn a second language.[/quote]

It's still the language of diplomacy.[/quote]

Je suis les petit surrender![/quote]
:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I still love the related google bomb:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=French+Military+Victories&l=1

-Adam
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Cajungal said:
Spanish! There's a free tutor on this board. :D (points to the guy in the funny hat, smoking pot, listening to the Beatles)

---------- Post added at 02:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:21 PM ----------
AshburnerX;253696][quote=JCM said:
Learn the most important ones... I´d say French, Spanish, or Mandarin.
Click to expand...
French? How is French relevant today? It's useful for seduction, but it's hardly useful for business, which is why he wants to learn a second language.
Click to expand...
It's still the language of diplomacy.[/QUOTE]

No... that's English now too.
 
Cajungal

Cajungal

Staff member
Oops, you're right. :eek:

Love, then? It's pretty. English is not so pretty.

---------- Post added at 02:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 PM ----------

Also, no matter what language you learn (practical or not), I find it helps you appreciate language and communication itself a lot more.
 
strawman

strawman

Cajungal said:
Oops, you're right. :eek:

Love, then? It's pretty. English is not so pretty.

---------- Post added at 02:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 PM ----------

Also, no matter what language you learn (practical or not), I find it helps you appreciate language and communication itself a lot more.
Click to expand...


le meow, le purrrr...

-Adam
 
Calleja

Calleja

Cajungal said:
Spanish! There's a free tutor on this board. :D (points to the guy in the funny hat, smoking pot, listening to the Beatles)
Click to expand...


 HEY!

I wasn't smoking pot!!

but yeah, any Spanish questions you might have, I'd be happy to help.

Spanish is a good option, too. Dominating English and Spanish means I can pretty much communicate with half the civilized world. I can go to any country in this continent, except Brazil and the guyanas, without a problem.
 
Enresshou

Enresshou

North_Ranger said:
Finnish, because then you would know if I just insulted your mother :D Äitisi on minun mielestäni äärimmäisen mukava ja iloinen ihminen. Hänen kaltaisiaan naisihmisiä soisin kohtaavani useamminkin.

But seriously... considering you're from the States, I'd recommend Spanish.

Of course, you could always do what the Google Ads tell you and learn Biblical Hebrew.
Click to expand...
I've been thinking about trying to learn either Finnish or Swedish, just because I really want to travel to the region someday. Any pointers? :)
 
North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Staff member
Enresshou said:
I've been thinking about trying to learn either Finnish or Swedish, just because I really want to travel to the region someday. Any pointers? :)
Click to expand...
Well, for starters the two languages are completely different. Swedish, like English, is a Germanic language, and due to the contact between the Norsemen and the Anglo-Saxons, there's quite significant close similarities. Finnish, on the other hand, is a Finno-Ugric language, related to Hungarian and the Baltic and Sami languages - as well as several community languages spoken throughout Russia.

If by 'region' you meant Scandinavia, I would reluctantly advise you to try your hand at Swedish. Swedish, Danish, Icelandic and the two varieties of Norwegian (bokmål and nynorsk) are quite close to each other, although not completely mutually intelligible.

if, however, you should come to Finland, then by all means, study Finnish ^_^ Just a cautionary advice, though: Finnish is often ranked among the most difficult languages to master, right after Mandarin Chinese. Fifteen different cases alone tend to scare people away.

Generally speaking, however, you should be able to get by with English in all of the Nordic countries. Most people have been studying English as their first foreign language, and at least the younger generations are extremely fluent in it (at least in Finland).

Fun Fact: Finnish was one of the languages that J.R.R. Tolkien used when developing Quenya. The pronunciation of Finnish and Quenya are quite similar, and there's a lot of words that are either directly from Finnish or can be easily traced back to the Finnish base word.
 
Rob King

Rob King

North_Ranger said:
if, however, you should come to Finland, then by all means, study Finnish ^_^ Just a cautionary advice, though: Finnish is often ranked among the most difficult languages to master, right after Mandarin Chinese. Fifteen different cases alone tend to scare people away.
Click to expand...
Motherfucker! German kicked my ass with 4. Ancient Greek made me cry with 5. But 15??
 
North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Staff member
Rob King;253771][quote=North_Ranger said:
if, however, you should come to Finland, then by all means, study Finnish ^_^ Just a cautionary advice, though: Finnish is often ranked among the most difficult languages to master, right after Mandarin Chinese. Fifteen different cases alone tend to scare people away.
Click to expand...
Motherfucker! German kicked my ass with 4. Ancient Greek made me cry with 5. But 15??[/QUOTE]

Hey, it's easy when you grow up listening to the language. I still have trouble with your freaky English prepositions and gender-apartheid personal pronouns :p

Basically, Finnish uses cases instead of prepositions. Take a gander in here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_language_noun_cases
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top