statistically, spanish is going to give you the most upper edge. However, I think Chinese or Russian would be more interesting and less people can speak, so in a way you would be able to do something most can't. I guess it is up to you and your reasons behind wanting to learn a language.
If you're not sure which language to study, here are some factors to consider:
Availability
Are materials and other resources available for the language you want to learn? Are there classes in your area? For the popular languages, like French, Spanish and German, this shouldn't be a issue, but it may be difficult to find resources and/or classes for other languages.
Usefulness
If you want to learn a language with a large number of speakers and which is spoken in many countries, the ones to choose in order of 'usefulness' are: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), German, Japanese, Portuguese and Hindi/Urdu
This list is based on the number of speakers, the number and population of countries where the languages are spoken, the number of major fields using the languages internationally, the economic power of countries using the languages, and their socio-literary prestige. For a breakdown of these factors see: http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm
Languages in demand by employers
If you want to learn a language in order to improve your employment/promotion prospects then choose one that is in demand by employers. The list below gives you an idea of which languages are in demand and is based on job ads posted on recruitment sites. You can find links to the recruitment sites on the Careers using languages page.
Note: languages are shown more or less in order of popularity with employers.
Africa
English, French, Swahili, Arabic, Portuguese
Americas
English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese
Asia-Pacific
English, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Malay/Indonesian, Spanish, Portuguese
Western Europe
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Finnish, Greek, Welsh, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic
2006-07-11 23:57:03
·
answer #1
·
answered by Twinkerbell 3
·
0⤊
0⤋
Chinese are just one of the unique language in the world, of course it quite difficult to learn for caucsian (except you living there), and one thing you have to to take a note is, whether what language you wish to learn, you have to practicing it all the time, use it when you were, try it if you interested in, speak it if you can, because to learn the language was one of the long course to learn, may be for life time. And to be honest, French and Spanish are too easy for native English speaker, Will you take a little challenge? Wish you luck! Cheers from Hong Kong
2006-07-11 23:59:18
·
answer #3
·
answered by Miss Train catcher 3
·
0⤊
0⤋