What Language Should I Learn?
 

No, not a programming language. A spoken one. :)

I'd like to pick up another language, preferably one not that stems from Latin. I've tried Spanish (no real interest in it) and Latin (not bad ATM, need some work), but I want something different to try out.

I've been thinking about maybe Japanese or Euskara, but I'm not sure.

Any websites or books you guys can recommend would be great.

Thanks!

Arabic is purposed to be very poetical,

Japanese is good, only reason i try-ed to learn it is 1) Aime! and 2) its supposed to be easy

if you want hard, i hear German is hard (actually English is harder i hear)

soo many choices, hmm try Gothic,they probably don't teach it in school, but thats why there Internet!, so we can learn stuff, while school can make us all dumber

I had a quick look at Arabic, and wasn't too impressed.

I'm starting to lean a bit more towards Euskara (Basque) or Gaelic. Does KDE (and Linux in general) have those languages available to use? What about Latin (since I really need to brush up)?

Don't learn Arabic, Euskara, or Gaelic. Come one give me a break. I could understand Arabic, but what percent of the world lives in the Basque region, it's such a small area, that the language is abosolutely useless world wide. If you want to learn a useful language, learn Spanish. Spanish only starts out boring, it gets much easier and practical. I suggest you learn Latin if you plan on specializing in Romance languages, like French, Italian, etc. But learn Spanish first.

I tried learning Spanish during junior high and high school, and it never really stuck. Maybe it's because most people who speak Spanish speak WWAAAYYYY too fast to be understood, and maybe it's because I was practically forced to take Spanish classes during that time.

I've spent two years learning Latin, and remember enough of it to be really good at crossword puzzles (:)). I intend to go back soon and brush up on it, but right now I want to try something different.

Why are you grouping Arabic in with Gaelic and Euskara? Do you know how many countries Arabic is spoken in? The Qu'ran was also written in Arabic, so it is even important in many countries where it is not spoken (Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, for example)

What characteristic are you looking for in a language you want to learn?

Have you thought of Turkish, Magyar (Hungarian), or Korean? How about Cantonese?

I'm not grouping Arabic with Euskara or Gaelic at all. Where'd you get that idea?

I've also thought about an Asian language, as well. I remember a few years ago hearing a woman I worked with speak Tagalog with one of her friends. That is one of the most beautiful languages I've ever heard. Though the fact that I had (and still have, to a small degree) a HUGE crush on said co-worker probably left me a bit biased. :)

Dude - what's your purpose in learning a new language? If it's only so that you can say "I'm bilingual" then it really doesn't make any difference what the second one is. Seriously. That seems like a collosal waste of time though, so I assume that you must intend on using that second language for some purpose. What is it? If it's to move to another country, then pick that country's language. If it's to get a different job, then pick whatever language is dominant at the companies you'd want to work at. If it's to impress a date by being able to speak to the waiters at ethnic restaurants, then pick the one that features your favorite style of food.

Sorry man but asking "what second language should I pick" is sort of like asking "what kind of tattoo do you think I should get". These should be personal decisions, based on what _you_ want to do with your life, not what other people suggest you do with your life. -- J.W.

Mandarin Chinese if for business (a lot easier IMO than Cantonese)
Thai for fun
Arabic for understanding

For Tagalog, learn Spanish first: they are remarkably similar (colonialism and all that) and for a real challenge Welsh or another of the esoteric European native languages.

JMHO,
mark

Learn Korean, Mandarin or Cantonese,...
Maybe Japanese.

THOSE are usefull.

I know a small amount of Korean, and it's not a typical Asian language. It's more based on Kurdish than Chinese in grammar and construction.

I agree. You should pick a language you'll actually have use for. Either because you have friends/family who speak it, or have business to do in other countries, or because you think it'll get you somewhere. I'm learning Spanish because, well, I want to have an advantage in getting a job in the U.S. since Spanish is the second language there and most non-Hispanic Americans don't speak it. And I was referring to Squall who seemed to be grouping Arabic with Gaelic and Euskara.

What is it about Arabic that doesn't "impress" you?

:scratch: :newbie:



There are some regions in which Spanish is spoken fast. My parents are central and south american and thier spanish is slow and more formal. If you compare it to the dialect spoken in the carrabian (Cuba, Dominican Rep., or Puerto Rico) you will notice its spoken alot faster and with more slang. (LOL...believe me on this one!).:p I took French for 3 years and then my last year of high school I took it easy with Latin 1.

In my opinion I would take Latin becuase all the "romance languages" such as Italian, Spanish, Castillian, and French originated from Roman languages. The difference in words and form of speaking are really similar. Plus it helps out score big on your SAT's. Right now I am learning conversational Arabic through some CD's that I bought at B&N for 30 bucks....and well worth the money!

Although you said you didn't want to learn a Romance language, I recommend French. Why? It's relatively easy to learn for native English speakers; there's plenty of interesting stuff published in this language; there are plenty of living native speakers in the world; and it enables you to use such excellent pickup lines as "Pardon, Mlle Putain, mais est-ce que tu veux voir l'interieur de ma chambre et ben tu sais quoi?"

Although it's true French, Spanish, Italian, and the other Romance languages derived from Latin, they've all changed considerably since when Classical Latin was spoken. From what little Latin I have learned, it's not borne much closer a resemblance to French than to English. Linguistic change is huge over millennia.

Another myth is that Spanish is spoken faster than English. It only seems that way because you don't know the language very well. All languages will tend to express the same idea in approximately the same amount of time.

French!
and dont learn latin, its way different from the actual languages! Yeah its the "base" of many languages but hey, they taught us this language to make us think about grammar, how to conjugate the words and verbs, not for speaking everyday ;-)
oh.. unless u want to read old ancient greek plays.. but hey, I can read Oedipus or Medea in these nice english translations!