French, Spanish, or Czech?

Question

Which language do you think would be the most useful to learn? I don't plan to live in the US when I am older, so don't take that into account. I am going to live in Europe. I know all three languages, but SPanish the best, which do you think would be the best to learn though? also, why? which language has the most interesting/"best" (in your opinion) people? Thanks!!!

Answer 1

It might seem like a tossup but France's economy is about twice the size of Spain and more of France's neighbors speak something like French than the other way around (look at a map to see why). If you know both French and Spanish, I see no reason to ignore one but if you did, I'd stick with French. Czech? There are better Slavic languages, in my opinion (Russian!).

Answer 2

I'm a Czech speaker and while it's a beautiful language I wouldn't recommend it.
Of course if you plan on learning Slovak languages such as Polish, Russian or Serbian this will give you a solid base. I speak Czech and understand Polish, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian and some I probably never heard.

If you are sure about Europe, go with French. Otherwise pick Spanish.

Answer 3

While Spanish is probably most helpful if you are going to stay in the US, and is probably most helpful to learn in general, for your particular case of wanting to live in Europe, of the three languages you mention, I would actually recommend French to go with your English (or expanding your scope, German to go with your English). French would be useful in France (of course), and some parts of Switzerland, and in Belgium and Luxembourg. Spanish would really only useful in Spain, and possibly Portugal and Italy (when I was in Europe, i could speak Spanish to Italians and they would mostly understand me, but when they spoke Italian back, I was lost.) German would help in Germany, Austria, and some parts of Eastern Europe. Czech is really only useful in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

However, if you want to broaden your understanding of language, perhaps go with Czech - it is not a Romance language (Latin-derived language), so the pronunciation, vocabulary and structure would be something new. I visited Prague in 2004 and found it to be a wonderful city and would want to return there someday. The people there were more friendly and helped teach me a few words in Czech. I haven't been to the French or Spanish speaking parts of Europe so can't really compare the Czechs to the other language speakers you mentioned.

Answer 4

I am really impressed with ANYONE who actually knows how to speak and read three languages! Here in America, that's not even the case. (sometimes we can barely speak our native tongue correctly) Well, I live in Southern California, about 40 miles away from the Mexican border so I would definitely have to say that Spanish is the most important language to know here- it's practically a requirement for anyone searching for a job to be bilingual- and if one knows Spanish fluently, it's a BIG plus. Also, I think French would be really interesting to learn. It's got such a reputation here in America for being a really tough language and everyone's heard the urban legends about going to France, and trying to speak French, and basically being ignored by the natives. French definitely intimidates me!

Answer 5

Spanish

Answer 6

Personally, I would choose spanish.

Reasons:
1. one of the most spoken languages in the world, with English and Mandarin.
2. once you know spanish you can easily learn italian and portuguese. You actually understand those languages pretty well by just knowing spanish.
3. in addition to that, since you already know english, once you learn spanish, you can easily learn French. French has many of the words we use in english and spanish.

Answer 7

I would say spanish is the most commonly used other than english...but i took 4 years of french in high school. it was a lot of fun and very interesting! but i had an awsome teacher! i would say it is completely up to you! which one would you like to learn? if your plans are to live in europe i would say french is best...but you never know your plans might change!! if you feel optimistic...learn all 3!!!why not it would look great on a resume...shows dedication

Answer 8

Probably Spanish since it is becoming one of the most spoken languages in the world.

Answer 9

French

It has traditionally been an European lingua francae, and it's also the second most widely learned langauge (after English). Globally, there'd be a lot more people you'd be able to talk to. There's also a LOT of history and culture -- knowing French would be a great cultural assest.

Answer 10

i will support with Spanish names! Santiago Manuel Javier Julian Juan Carlos Luis for boy and Alba Paula (suggested pow-oo-los angeles) Clara Marina Elsa Raquel Consuelo Blanca Lidia Maria Lucia Leyre Marta Thats only some! Haha we host youngsters from spain and thats one of the vital names.