Desire to learn a new language - which one? ?

Question

What language should I learn?

I know all languages are hard to learn somewhat. In case it is important to know, for learning potential - I am in my early 30's.

Of you are an experienced language learner who could recommend a language and/or give reasons why it would be benefitial to learn it, please submit your answer Thank you!

Answer 1

You can either,
1. Learn a language that is commonly used in the culture you are in or among your family.
In which case, for me, I would learn Spanish because everyone from my father's side of the family is Hispanic.
2. Learn a language because it is interesting and challenging and different.
In which case, I would learn Japanese, because it is a very unique language with words used to express a lot of things that we don't have a single word for in English. They also have more than one I and you pronouns and different ways of conjugating words depending on how polite you want to speak to someone or how much respect you want to show them.
3. Learn what sounds beautiful.
In which case, I would pick either Spanish, French, or Italian (but not German! It sounds so harsh!)

Answer 2

Each language is dependant on the complexity it presents to potential students, and the desire and mental discipline that those students command.
The constructed language Esperanto is a strong contender since it's use is expanding exponentialy. In numerous studies conducted over the last century, it has been demonstrated that first mastering Esperanto can lessen significantly the amount of instruction required for a third or forth language, because it clearly demonstrated linguistic theory that is useful in understanding languages. The link below provides details on this phenomena.
Now one could say that the same effect would happen with almost any language, and I believe they are correct. So if you are in a position to learn any language, and hope to use it to vault into a third language, then by all means do so.
The only real benefit that Esperanto has over the other tongues in this case is its ease of absorption, and its clear demonstration of linguistic principles.
I frequently make this next statement, and I live by it.
"If you can't learn Esperanto, you can't learn any language."
At the very least, if you learn Esperanto first, which by the way can lead to the enjoyment of meeting new friends and traveling to new places, you'll at least have that under your belt regardless of how far you decide to take any other languages.
It's not uncommon for a student of Esperanto to become fluent inside of a month, maybe less, if you've the desire.
Please don't let anybody tell you it's useless. As with anything else, it's use is dependant on how you decide to use it. With over 2,000,000 speakers in the world, there aren't too many places where you won't find it, you just need to look. The internet is the best place to start. The sites below are the best intitial places to investigate the language and it's history. (Yes, it has a history (119 years) and a culture.)
Research and make your own conclusions.

Ĝis!

Answer 3

It all depends on what your goal is for learning a new language. I've studied three -- Spanish, Chinese, and Russian -- saying "hard to learn somewhat" is a bit of an understatement. Unless you're exceptionally gifted, learning a language is a lifelong commitment requiring daily attention. I'm not exceptionally gifted and had to work very hard at each one (well not Spanish, that was a half-assed high school attempt at learning a langauge). Ask yourself why you want to do it, how you'll apply it to your life, etc.... because otherwise it will go the way of most hobby attempts -- you'll buy some tapes, a few dictionaries, maybe even take a few classes, and then get bored and frustrated and move on to the next thing.

(PS -- just for pure "fun" I would definitely recommend Chinese -- not written so much as spoken, it's easier than you might think.)

Answer 4

I highly recommend the Spanish language because:
1. Words are easier to pronounce. You can read it and say it right correctly with less difficulty.

2. Some of the words could be similar to English (e.g.: servicio, cheque, ultimo, fantastico....)

3. Grammar is constructed backwards from English, so it's one of the easy rules to remember (e.g.: 'Lo tengo' means 'I have it'. Lo = it, tengo = I have)

4. Once you know Spanish, you can see how it's similar to Italian and French. French could be hard on the tongue because how it is pronounced does not sound the same as how it is written.

5. If you live in the U.S., majority of the population speaks this foreign language.

6. If you know this or any language, your employer will highly appreciate that and it's a good asset.

7. The toughest part of learning a language at a later age is memorizing. So take plenty of food & supplements that are good for the brain. Practice, practice, practice.

Answer 5

Spanish-This language is getting more and more popular by the day. There are so many people in the U.S. who can speak it now, including me. Also, once you learn Spanish, you can travel throught Central America and South America. When you learn Spanish, it will be a breeze learning other Romance languages (French, Italian, Portuguese...), because of how closely related they all are to each other

You should also learn a language if you like the culture of the people as well. Ex: If you like Mexican culture, then learn Spanish. If you like Brazilian Culture, then learn Brazilian Portuguese. Belgian culture = French, Dutch, German

Answer 6

Try learning Esperanto (I speak English, Esperanto, Spanish, and German) Esperanto was far easier to learn than any of the others, and it opened the world to me. I've had conversations with people from every continent, and every country, and I only had to learn the easiest language on earth to do so.

You might ask, why is Esperanto easier to learn than any of the other languages? It's because it is a language designed to be easier to learn than any national language. Most of the time spent studying a foreign language is spent learning the irregularities and rule exceptions ("I before E except after C", " 'sheep' is both singular and plural", etc). Esperanto has only 16 gramatical rules, and no exceptions to any of the rules.

And before you ask, yes you can travel with Esperanto. Read this article in Wikipedia about the Esperanto "Pasporta Servo" (Passport Service)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasporta_Servo

Answer 7

English is the hardest language to learn unless you're writing. Most other languages use the same letters and have similar words. Spanish is good to learn because of all the people that speak it around the world. Chinese because of the 1.5 billion+ speakers. That's all I can think of right now.

Answer 8

I have a foreign language degree and I've studied several of them. My advice to you would be to learn one that you're going to use *often*. If you know lots of people who speak Spanish, learn Spanish. If you know scads of people who speak Japanese, learn Japanese. Language, especially if you're older than the age of, say, 10, is very often a "use it or lose it" sort of acquisition. I teach reading in Spanish to children who speak Spanish as a first language, and I'm normally very fluent in Spanish, but during times like summer break I have to deliberately seek opportunities to use my Spanish or I get back to school in the fall and I'm stammering like a first year student (which is why I bought a season of "Rebelde" on DVD so I'd have some Spanish to listen to).

Back to my original point, select a language you will have use for. It is *extremely* difficult to learn a language if you've no one to practice with.

Answer 9

For practical reasons, I think Spanish is the best language to learn. There are many Spanish-speaking Americans and therefore more job opportunities for those who are bilingual in Spanish and English. I found Spanish to be fairly easy to learn, since there tends to be more exposure to it already in our media and entertainment. Plus, it would give you some wonderful places to travel to where you could converse in your newly acquired language! Best of luck.

Answer 10

Depends on what you're looking for, for instance if you're needing to learn it to use it frequently, you may want to try something common like Spanish or French. However, if you're learning something just for the sake of learning and want something completely different, try something fun like Swahili.