FRENCH oR SPANISH?

Question

I am now a freshman, taking French 1 as my language. I am aiming for Stanford, which requires 3 yrs of same language. I want to know the following questions:

1)Which is easier French or Spanish? (gramatically, speach and sentence structure)

2) should i take spanish 1 and work on my way to spanish 2 and 3 on my junior and senior year? or should i continue with my french and work on my way to french 3 in my junior year?

Answer 1

Pros and cons:
spelling; easier in Spanish
much of the grammar is similar, however the verb system in Spanish (when you are in Spanish 3) is far more complicated than the French verb system, even though they are similar.
They are both easy to pronounce, although you will find it easier to read aloud from Spanish until you get used to the french spelling system.
Reading comprehension: about the same in both languages
Both languages are Latin-based (Romance) languages so you will have cognates (related words, easy to guess words) for the more 'educated' words in English (commencer-commence instead of start. finir (finish) instead of end. travailler/trabajar related to 'travail' (hard, difficult task) for work)
variations of language: Spanish has many more dialects/varieties of language that you will run into.
while french also has a number of varieties (Canadian, Belgian, several African varieties), from what I've heard, they are easier for a non-native speaker to untangle. I may be wrong.

You've started French, so I'd just continue, and then add Spanish if you wish once you're in French 3. Since the languages are so similar, I'd guess that you would confuse one with the other until you had a firm base in one. (or add German, or Japanese, or any other language that interests you.

I speak french and german, so I can read Spanish, Italian and Dutch fairly well.

Answer 2

I studied, speak and teach both Spanish and French. I taught very young secondary school boys (11 years old) who studied both Spanish and French together. That was the curriculum in our school system. And so, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend both at once. Both languages have many features (especially grammar and idioms) in common, and if teachers are well trained and properly grounded in foreign language instruction methods, they can emphasize those connections. In that way, they'll make learning easier and great fun for the students. But If I had to choose one before the other, I'd do Spanish first, as it is the easier of the two, especially in pronunciation. it is not true to say that the two languages are nothing alike. They both derive from Latin/Romance roots and retain many common vocabulary words (often with only slight changes in inflections).

Answer 3

I believe the consensus is that Spanish is a little easier for Americans to learn.
As per your second question, it really depends on your goals. If you desire to work in France, or a French speaking country, then, by all means continue with your French. However, if you plan to remain in the United States, then Spanish would probably be the best choice because of the burgeoning Spanish speaking population. Fluency in Spanish, depending on your geographic location, may very well be a prerequisite for employment.

Answer 4

Each language has their own difficulty. French and Spanish are both Latin languages which makes them similar. I'd recommend Spanish because it is more spoken around the world then French, especially in the United States. But since you already started French you should stick with it. You have wasted your time in French class if went to Spanish.

Answer 5

I would take Spanish, because its more used than french unless you plan to live in Canada. I would really go for Spanish, and yes work your way up to 3 in your junior year. There is alot of jobs now wanting people to be English/Spanish speaking. I very rarely seen one for English/French.

Answer 6

WOW! lets see there is a stinkin Nazi in the house. Anyways i'm taking French. I dont know which is easier because i have no Clue about spanish. Sure that spanish girls are hot!!! but it really depends where you live.....if u live in canada then u MUST go towards French *head on* cuz almost all the jobs ask if you are bilingual and it also helps a lot as there are more french companies and merchandises then the spanish but it really depends on u!!!

Anything you take...Gud Luck with it

Answer 7

To the question which is easier; I think spanish is easier.
But, considering that you are already taking French 1 maybe you shoud just continue with your french. You can always learn spanish afterwards. Good luck.

Answer 8

I would go with Spanish because it is one of the easiest languages to learn. French is very related but it uses a lot of those little accent marks on the words. It also depends on where you would like to travel when you are older. think about it and maybe that will resolve your question.

Answer 9

Spanish is easier then French, but there s no big difference.try Spanish,if you enjoy it, I suggest you continue with Spanish, but if you like French better, go with French

Answer 10

In the US, learn Spanish. In Canada, learn French.