In the fall I will begin my third year of Spanish. I am now interested in gining up for German I in the fall. Would this be a good idea? Are there any problems that could occur?
2006-08-17 00:42:59 · 18 answers · asked by Matt M 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
i suggest that you take one language at a time...its ok if the languages are similar, like hindi and urdu, almost the same, but german is completely different from spanish, you will have difficulty in retaining it in your mind....
2006-08-17 00:49:37 · answer #1 · answered by sheikaella 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you think that you have mastered the Spanish language, then just don't wait and start your German classes immediately. If your Spanish learning process is still on, then I will not suggest you to jump to a new language as you may land up in a lot of confusion i.e. speaking German in Spanish class and vice-versa.
Professionaly, learning more than one language will always be useful.
2006-08-23 10:36:25 · answer #2 · answered by Ashok Pipal (India) 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would say yes. Spanish is 100% phonetic, and in German, they tell me you MUST PRONOUNCE EVERY LETTER or you could end up with the meaning of some of our 4-letter Anglo-Saxon words that are so well-known. There are many English-German cognates. I had an English professor that got his doctorate in Germany and he was quite fond of quoting Shakespearean tragedies in German! The sounds take practice for an English speaker. Luckily, they use our alphabet now. I need to find a copy of Martin Luther's Bible in the original German. For joy! I'm not even sure which German he spoke. I need an old German dictionary also. I've always loved languages, but you can get in over your head very rapidly. So, take it slowly.
2006-08-24 14:52:06 · answer #3 · answered by Ariel 128 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you know a lot of Spanish, I see no reason why you shouldn't start up German. Because they are not similar, you will not become confused between the 2. I speak German (well quite a bit, still learning) and it's a great language to learn. good luck with what you decide
2006-08-17 07:51:34 · answer #4 · answered by RLJ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That depends on what you intend to use German for.
I am fluent in German, and live in Milwaukee, a city founded by Germans. I would find Spanish a much more useful language in everyday life. It is one of the international laguages, and in the US a second 'un-official' language.
German is the second most used language on the web (#2 according to Wikipedia), so if you write pages, it could be useful.
Otherwise perfect your Spanish and it will help you vastly with work, and just communication w/ people.
2006-08-20 22:16:39 · answer #5 · answered by Benjamin W 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes you'll find that learning a new language interferes - but even if you're fluent in multiple languages - the one language for which you find the best word-match is always the one you are reaching for. Which is why knowing multiple languages can be a challenge. You can always study the basics of many languages without interfering I believe... especially if you are interested in writing systems only.
Also a lot of people have an affinity for one language over another. You'll not find this affinity in yourself unless you try.
I know English (natively), Spanish, Japanese, some Italian and am now learning Dutch. Without a doubt I have an affinity for Dutch.
2006-08-21 20:01:24 · answer #6 · answered by guicoder 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, there shouldn't be any problems 'cause these two languages are so different, it's like they have almost nothing in common. It's up to you. I've learned both of them at the same time, and had absolutely no trouble with words interfering from one language to another, unlike with Italian and Spanish, or French and Spanish.
2006-08-22 07:26:58 · answer #7 · answered by Petra 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes!!
I would encourage ANYONE to learn German.
Not only is the accent sooooooooo sexy it is easy once you get to know the basics.
It will be hard for the first few months but believe me when you listen to a German speak and you know what they are saying it is truly orgasmic!
GOOD LUCK!
Aufwiederhoren!!!!!!!
P.s With regards to learning 2 languages it is not as hard as you think. It is just another beautiful trait to have to be able to communicate to people of different cultures.
I learned German and French at the same time. It was hard at the start but once I got the basics I just couldn't put the dictionary down!!!
2006-08-17 07:52:28 · answer #8 · answered by Tod P 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Oh, I've so been there! First semester of college, I'd had German throughout high school, and wanted to add Dutch. That was the best decision in the world because it led me to be confident that I could add more and more... Eventually French and Chinese, too! I loved the days when I had classes in each language... English, German, Dutch, French, and Chinese. I'd say it's easier to learn another language after you've started learning one. The only "difficult" one was Chinese because of the writing system. I'd encourage you to take as many languages as you want to!
2006-08-19 13:52:51 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You remind me of me, a lot. I'm going to begin my third year of Spanish in the fall as well, but I began learning German anyway. I haven't encountered any problems yet.
2006-08-17 08:08:33 · answer #10 · answered by Steph 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't do it unless you are very fluent in Spanish, otherwise you will get so mixed up witht the two languages after a while you are not going to know if you are coming or going, finish the Spanish and then sign up for the german
2006-08-17 07:50:49 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋