i want to learn a foreign language, anyone reccommend one?

Question

i was thinking french or german.

Answer 1

I wish I knew the following before I started to learn foreign languauges:

1. Most educated people in the world speak English, so learning a foreign language will help you travel/live in a foreign country and communicate with the poor/uneducated. Unless you learn a language at the superior level (ACTFL guidelines) most international people you deal with for business/politics/etc. will speak English better than you speak their language.

2. Choose a language that you can easily practice at home (tv, radio, native speakers to talk to, etc.). Most US cities have Spanish tv/radio stations and lots of native speakers, in certain areas French, Mandarin, and Russian may also be fairly prevalent.

3. Find out where your language is spoken (as both a 1st and 2nd language). This is where a language like German, Italian, or Japanese (which are really only spoken in 1 or 2 countries) has a disadvantage to French or Spanish (which are spoken in numerous countries throughout the world). Also, UN languages (English, French, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Arabic) are the most common lingua franca, 2nd languages used for negotiations and communications.

4. There's really no such thing as an "easier" language (they'll all take a lot of work to really master), and some may take more work than others, but ultimately it comes down to your motivation to learn the language. If you're really excited to learn a language (even if it's "hard" or not as "useful"), you have the best chance of learning something that you're excited to learn.

Lastly, stay away from Latin or other dead languages, unless you're dying to know them. Being able to travel and interact with people internationally is the most rewarding experience you can have from learning another language, and you can't do that with a dead language. Furthermore, the "once you know Latin, the languages derived from it are easy" argument can be made about really any of the Romance languages (i.e. once you know French you can decipher Spanish and/or learn it easy, etc.).

Answer 2

I would study Latin. The Romance languages are all "dirty Latin" in that they all derived from the Latin language. Once you have the Latin language down, you should be able to easily learn French, Spanish, Italian, and other languages.

Latin would also help a person to gain a greater understanding of the English language since so many of the root words come from Latin.

My next choice of a language to learn would be Greek.

I already know French, as well as some Arabic.

Answer 3

The great manner is to take categories even as residing within the nation wherein the language is spoken. The moment great manner is to take categories AND use audio constituents. You fairly want the conversational reports that a elegance presents. Merely utilizing a research consultant and a CD would possibly not support you that so much, regardless that you would gain knowledge of to learn a language good that manner.

Answer 4

If you like romantic language, you should consider taking Spanish or French. But the most widespread language is Mandarin, Cantonese, and English

Answer 5

Chinese, Arabic and Urdu are the top languages to know in International politics and business right now. Fluency in any of these language will make you look very good to any employer.

Spanish is important because it is essentially America's second language, and by 2050 1/3 of our population will be of hispanic descent.

Answer 6

even though you said french or german, spanish is definetly the way to go. Well then again it depends where you live. Like in California, spanish is like half the population and it helps you get a better job and be able to talk with lots of people. and with spanish I can talk to my family members

Answer 7

Arabic since the government is paying top dollars for translators. People who get pay for what they do, often remain more committed. Learning a new language is rewarding, just don't give up when you plateau. This is part of the learning process.

Answer 8

Spanish and chinese are the most widely spoken languages in the world besides English so either of those, but Japan is the most fun place to visit, so Japanese would be cool too.

Answer 9

I was about to recommend Chinese. But between German and French, I would recommend German.

Answer 10

Spanish is the easiest. Latin would be excellent to learn to give you a good foundation of all of the other languages.