is german or russian a more useful language to learn?

Question

im not too worried about difficulty, just which is more useful. ive heard that lots of germans speak english anyway so it would be kind of pointless

Answer 1

It depends what you'd like to do with the second language and where you live. Some areas of the U.S. have large Russian-American communities (such as Los Angeles) and others have longstanding German roots.

If traveling in Western Europe is intriguing to you, you'd be fluent in Austria and Switzerland, as well as Germany. Plus, you may be able to understand some Dutch. In many former Iron Curtain countries, many residents still know Russian, though some refuse to use it since they were once forced to learn and speak it.

German does use the same alphabet as we do, so you have a head start there. Did you know that German is the sister language to English?

Answer 2

German ad French would be easier to learn if you are a native English speaker. Russian has a very different vocabulary and grammar. I would recommend German and Russian. Russian is a Slavic language so once you speak it you can easily learn other Slavic languages and Russia is a rather large nation and is a player in the oil market so you might be able to get employment through that route. German obviously you have Germany and Switzerland which have some of the stronger economies in Western Europe as well as das Governator's homeland of Austria.

Answer 3

It depends on where you want to go.

A lot of Arabs and Persians speak German, which makes doing business with them easier.

The Russians I know always look down on people who speak Russian but are not native speakers and regardless of how long you study, it's always very obvious if you are a latent speaker.

Also, most Russians learn English in school.

I'd go with German, and I would worry about the degree of difficulty. Being fluent involves a lot more than memorization.

Also, bear in mind that the German spoken in Switzerland isn't really close at all to the German spoken in Germany or Austria, et al.

Answer 4

It totally depends where you want to go and be someday...
German is a great language to know because it is found in not only Germany, but also Switzerland, Austria, and some parts of Portugal. I was also reading something on Ireland the other day, and came across something that blew my mind away. I was reading gailic, or so I thought, because on this sign in this picture was a guiness beer. Underneath it was Mar is gnuc. It sounded so German to me because if it was german it would be "mehr ist genug" which translates to"more is enough" in English. I am still researching this and if it's true, then Gaelic is VERY close to German too. Other than that, German is good to know if you want to get into the science or technology fields someday. They are VERY strong in engineering and are leaders right now with that.
Russian would be good to learn also because they are slowly coming out of being a third world country. SLOWLY, but it is happening. We are seeing a sudden change in places which used to be third world countries, such as India and China, who are now competing to be world powers for the future. Russia may be one of them in the next ten years or so. It's also a great language to learn if you want to impress college admissions. German does that too, but Russian is a little bit on the rare side. Where can you go with Russian? I am not an expert on Russia, but if you want to work through the UN someday and help out kids and poverty, Russian would be great for you.
It depends on where you want to go...and just to let you know, just because the germans speak english, it's VERY impressing to them that an english speaking person can understand and speak their language. You will get GREAT job opportunities and many of the German people will not speak english to you if you are learning it. I should know because I was there and had a class and family who only spoke English with me. They don't like it if you speak English in their country. I mean they are fine with it, but it's like here with the hispanics. We can't really understand them, some don't even know English and we want them to learn our language or they should get out of our country. So don't use that as an excuse! ;-)

Answer 5

Just learn both. They are very different from each other, so it will be easy-you won't get confused, as say, you were studing Dutch and German.
Learning German will make you understood in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but Russian is spoken in most of Eastern Europe, so it's a win -win situation. Most of Eastern Europe is Slavic. And I can assure you if you know Russian you'll have no problem travelling.
Good luck!

Answer 6

Well. It all depends on what field you're in. Germany is a very industrialized country, so I'd so no matter where you are you'd be better off learning German. Plus, German uses the alphabet, unlike Russian which has completely different characters.

Answer 7

Russian, because in the united states there is a better chance to find a bunch of people who can speak German than Russian. and if you like Russian then you could work for an embassy

Answer 8

Definitely German, I would say. If your intention is to be an interpreter you will have more scope with German. Even if they speak English, many German speakers do not speak it well enough to fully express themselves. So your level better be very good.
If you lean towards learning Russian, then it will be useful if you intend to go to Russia or deal only with Russians. So it will be a question of where you intend to use your intended language skills.
Why not learn both? then you can't lose!!!

Answer 9

I think - Russian. German is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland. This language is similar to other Germanic languages - such as danish, dutch or Swedish. Russian is spoken in Russia and 14 countries of ex USSR, especially by the older generation. Russian is one of Slavic languages, so there is great chances to be understood in Poland, Czech Republic, Balkan countries. If your mother tongue is English, for you it would be easier to learn German. Ich liebe Deutchland. (I love Germany), Ja lyublyu russkij yazyk. (I love Russian language). O pats esu lietuvis. (I am Lithuanian). I hope it will help you to choose.

Answer 10

It would depend what you want to do with it... are you going to be spending time in Germany or Russia? I'd suggest German simply because other countries speak German, like Switzerland and Austria.(Switzerland speaks English, French, and German)