What language should I learn (NOT japanese or chinese!)?

[Scorp]

I was thinking that I am in the mood to learn something new (as it seems I had an addiction to languages back in the days - learned english and german along with latin simultaneously in school and got good grades for all of them. Now it seems I only use common english and nothing else, so I almost forgot german, as not of much use outside Germany.

So, thinking about learning something. Please suggest lang, but along with arguments, why I should learn it (means, not to have same situation as with german language, when I had no real use for it, so it should be somehow useful - maybe something which is only available in this lang which I must read or something like that).

NOT Japanese or Chinese. 

[bigfatround0]

The most useful at the moment are English and Chinese. Spanish used to be useful but I highly doubt it is nowadays.

[Scorp]

6 minutes ago, bigfatround0 said:

The most useful at the moment are English and Chinese. Spanish used to be useful but I highly doubt it is nowadays.

But I already know english and I do not want either japanese or chinese, why suggest them?

And give some reasons for me, man. I do not want just "learn XXX language", as I want to understand benefits of doing that.

[bigfatround0]

6 minutes ago, Scorp said:

But I already know english and I do not want either japanese or chinese, why suggest them?

And give some reasons for me, man. I do not want just "learn XXX language", as I want to understand benefits of doing that.

My suggestion is Spanish since it's one of the most widely spoken languages. Most Spanish speaking countries are full of crime but they're still beautiful countries with plenty of stuff to see if you ever plan on traveling.

 

This would be a better suggestion if you lived in the US since knowing Spanish can greatly increase your opportunities.

[Scorp]

@bigfatround0 okay, but again, is there anything really interesting apart speaking with spanish people? Like VN/manga/anime is main benefit for lot of people to learn japanese. I have no plans to live in US. And seems only spanish-speaking country I would probably visit is Chile, which could probably not happen at all.

[Funyarinpa]

Arabic, get into Islamic literature. Crazily intricate stuff especially if you're into poems.

[Nashetania]

Spanish or German.

[WinterfuryZX]

for literature?

ancient greek, italian or french

[bigfatround0]

44 minutes ago, Scorp said:

@bigfatround0 okay, but again, is there anything really interesting apart speaking with spanish people? Like VN/manga/anime is main benefit for lot of people to learn japanese. I have no plans to live in US. And seems only spanish-speaking country I would probably visit is Chile, which could probably not happen at all.

There really isn't anything like that.

[Down]

If you want reasons to learn a language maybe you should provide what you think you would use a language for. Are you interested in visiting countries? Do you plan to read literature in its original language? If you learn spanish, there's a long tradition of spanish literature but also chilean or argentinian literature, for example.

[Aizen-Sama]

In my opinion, as a Spanish native speaker, I don't think there are a lot of benefits that Spanish offer right now other than being a widely spoken language (just like VN/manga/anime are benefits that are gained by learning japanese as you stated previously), although I do recommend it if you're into reading Spanish literature, because a lot of masterpieces have been written in Spanish (there are a lot of spanish writers that deserve recognition). But take into account that Spanish is NOT an easy language to learn, a lot of people know the basics and have a general idea on how to speak Spanish, but there are a lot of things that differ from other languages. For example, foreigners have a very rough time learning the spanish verb and tense systems.

Summing up, Spanish, as every other language, has its pros and its cons. I hope I shed some light over the language.

[Novel21]

Why don't you try learn Norwegian, it's very intressing language and I can teach you Norwegian

[Scorp]

20 hours ago, Funyarinpa said:

Arabic, get into Islamic literature. Crazily intricate stuff especially if you're into poems.

I am not into poems in the slightest, I'd rather avoid them at any costs.

 

19 hours ago, Down said:

If you want reasons to learn a language maybe you should provide what you think you would use a language for. Are you interested in visiting countries? Do you plan to read literature in its original language? If you learn spanish, there's a long tradition of spanish literature but also chilean or argentinian literature, for example.

I am probably towards something which would not require me to visit countries. Every country have a long tradition, I actually checked in google and did not found any famous writers apart Cervantes and Markes, who wrote books in spanish. Others authors I never heard about.

19 hours ago, Aizen-Sama said:

In my opinion, as a Spanish native speaker, I don't think there are a lot of benefits that Spanish offer right now other than being a widely spoken language (just like VN/manga/anime are benefits that are gained by learning japanese as you stated previously), although I do recommend it if you're into reading Spanish literature, because a lot of masterpieces have been written in Spanish (there are a lot of spanish writers that deserve recognition). But take into account that Spanish is NOT an easy language to learn, a lot of people know the basics and have a general idea on how to speak Spanish, but there are a lot of things that differ from other languages. For example, foreigners have a very rough time learning the spanish verb and tense systems.

Spanish does not look too hard actually, and not like I am afraid of something complicated  As I told before, I found too few recognized masterpieces by spanish authors, so probably you can show me more? Also what about other oeuvre? Comics/heavy text games/films/whatnot?

[Diamon]

May I argue in favor of French then? It has one of the most extensive litterature you could find, probably only second to english. Very famous authors (Victor Hugo / Emile Zola / Proust) and philosophers as well (Descartes / Voltaire / Rousseau). Problem is that most of this stuff is actually quite hard to read, and is only truly interesting if you like philosophy or litterature. As a piece of interesting trivia, I think that the UN official language is french (might not be the case anymore). From a more recent perspective, french language shines a bit less, though I can think of a few original series in french really hilarious to watch (Kaamelot, a parody of the round table knights) and quite a few comics (Tintin / Asterix / Spirou) if you like reading those (very accessible for a beginner learner)

[Scorp]

44 minutes ago, Novel21 said:

Why don't you try learn Norwegian, it's very intressing language and I can teach you Norwegian

What I would do with this knowledge? Show me some benefits, not just tell "learn it, because I know it".

[Yuuko]

16 minutes ago, Scorp said:

and not like I am afraid of something complicated  

Learn Finnish  

Too bad there is nothing to gain from it so it's out.

[Dergonu]

48 minutes ago, Novel21 said:

Why don't you try learn Norwegian, it's very intressing language and I can teach you Norwegian

 

3 minutes ago, Scorp said:

What I would do with this knowledge? Show me some benefits, not just tell "learn it, because I know it".

Do it for the polar bears

[Scorp]

19 hours ago, Diamon said:

May I argue in favor of French then? It has one of the most extensive litterature you could find, probably only second to english. Very famous authors (Victor Hugo / Emile Zola / Proust) and philosophers as well (Descartes / Voltaire / Rousseau). Problem is that most of this stuff is actually quite hard to read, and is only truly interesting if you like philosophy or litterature. As a piece of interesting trivia, I think that the UN official language is french (might not be the case anymore). From a more recent perspective, french language shines a bit less, though I can think of a few original series in french really hilarious to watch (Kaamelot, a parody of the round table knights) and quite a few comics (Tintin / Asterix / Spirou) if you like reading those (very accessible for a beginner learner)

Lets say most of these works were already translated in english. And after reading Les Misérables and La joie de vivre I actually was not really fond of either of them (not my fav read). Comics you mentioned I saw, but I am too old for them it seems, need something more mature.

 

18 hours ago, Dergonu said:

Do it for the polar bears

In this case I should learn russian lol  

[Amuzie]

Learn Swedish. Apparently we have beautiful women so you could use your new found language knowledge on them. If you have an accent even better.

[Diamon]

32 minutes ago, Scorp said:

Lets say most of these works were already translated in english. And after reading Les Misérables and La joie de vivre I actually was not really fond of either of them (not my fav read). Comics you mentioned I saw, but I am too old for them it seems, need something more mature.

There are some audio series that are really good and funny to listen to as well (Naheulbeuk, Aventuriers du survivaure, Reflets d'acide), and a few webseries as well (Noobs, le visiteur du futur) that are very nice to watch. But then again, I don't doubt that stuff similar to this exist as well in english. So it's for you to decide if it's worth for you to learn a language just for this, but english is just so prominent that it's difficult for us to find something exclusive to our language that could be a good enough motivation. And even in the case it is exclusive, there's a good chance something with a similar concept already exists in english (except if you look for another culture, but you already crossed out chinese and japanese). Though french cinema tends to be quite different from hollywood movies, they are often more realistic and focus on social problems and interpersonal relationships, whether it is comedy or drama. Though french cinema definitely has some of the best comedy (De funes)

[Aizen-Sama]

1 hour ago, Scorp said:

I am probably towards something which would not require me to visit countries. Every country have a long tradition, I actually checked in google and did not found any famous writers apart Cervantes and Markes, who wrote books in spanish. Others authors I never heard about.

Spanish does not look too hard actually, and not like I am afraid of something complicated  As I told before, I found too few recognized masterpieces by spanish authors, so probably you can show me more? Also what about other oeuvre? Comics/heavy text games/films/whatnot?

This is what people is taught about Spanish literature (just a few writers like Cervantes), when in reality there are lots of them that deserve recognition. I'll put examples and some of their works in spanish. I'll mix authors from different generations and I'll be mixing between novels and theater too;

Pío Baroja - "El árbol de la ciencia" (an all time favorite of mine actually, I highly recommend reading this one).

Miguel de Unamuno - "San Manuel Bueno Mártir" (writer and philosopher)

Ramón María del Valle-Inclán - "Luces de Bohemia" (he's written theater as well as novels)

Antonio Machado/Manuel Machado - "Las Adelfas"/"El amor y la muerte" (these two brothers have a very interesting story, you should check them out)

Francisco de Quevedo -"Historia de la vida del buscón llamado don Pablos, ejemplo de vagabundos y espejo de tacaños." 

Camilo José Cela - "La Colmena"

Federico García Lorca - "Bodas de sangre" (He actually wrote a lot of theater plays, should check them out)

"El Lazarillo de Tormes" - Unknown author

This is not even 1% of the total authors and books that are remarcable in the spanish culture. I'm not even mentioning the Latin American Literature Boom, also called "Realismo Mágico" or literally "Magical Realism" in english (with authors like Pablo Neruda). If you have questions about the plots of the pieces I mentioned or the authors I'll gladly answer any of them.

About comics, as weird as it sounds, Spain has a lot of comic culture ( although not as much as the french or belgian people). But we possess a very unique style and lots of authors that could definitely interest you, like Ibáñez (Known for the "Mortadelo and Filemón" series, but he has hundreds of other characters and comics that you definitely should check out). Manuel Vázquez is my all time favourite comic writer and illustrator, his comics usually have him as the main character (In Spain, it is known that he was a debtor, but a very big one, he basically owed money to a lot of people in Madrid, a LOT), and they are hilarious imo. And I should mention Jose Escobar Saliente too, he has done a lot of works like the "Zipi y Zape" or "Carpanta" comic series.

Unfortunetaly, I know nothing about the spanish game industry, and thus, cannot give you any reference for it. Although I could look for it.

About the spanish filming world, it's very difficult to give examples because of two main reasons, those reasons being:

1- The fact that a lot of Spanish films have as the main plot the Spanish civil war (which sucks, just as much as watching American civil war movies).

2- The majority of the spanish movies, no matter if they're good or bad, need the viewer to understand the Spanish culture and way of thinking, as well as how politics work around our country (a lot of spanish movies have as reference political themes, either satire or criticism towards it). Also, having in mind the state of the country talking about relations between our people (keep in mind that we're in the middle of a crisis right now, with the Catalonian and Vasque nationalisms and their desire to separate themselves from Spain).

With that being said, I can give you two well known examples of film directors: Pedro Almodóvar, with his known film "Todo sobre mi madre" and Alejandro Amenábar with "Abre los ojos" or "Los otros". Other spanish movies that were liked a lot in Spain were "Siete apellidos Vascos" and "Siete apellidos Catalanes" (these two need the second requirement I stated earlier).

"La isla mínima" is a very good movie, as well as the horror film genre, that surprisingly is very good in the spanish film industry.

[Novel21]

I'm not sure what I'm going to say about Norwegian  

[Nosebleed]

As someone who really enjoys learning new languages, my best tip is: don't ask the internet what you should learn.

If you don't know anything about a language or the culture it comes from, you have a high chance of not really enjoying the learning process.

Now I'm not saying experimenting is bad, but you should really only learn something you find interest in. You can learn a language because you like how it sounds, or maybe for a job you just got in. But asking random strangers what language you should learn doesn't seem like a very clever idea.

Most responses you're going to get are either a) the culture/country is awesome or b) you can get a good job with it. But this applies to the person speaking, not you. You're the one that should decide these matters. Every language has merits, but they will ALWAYS be relative to your criteria, not other people's criteria.

I always thought German is a pretty cool language, but I do not see how learning it would be useful to me and so I am not spending years learning it and am instead investing my time in things I know will be useful either right now or in the future. You can argue learning something is always useful, but languages take a lot of time to master, and you can never learn all of them, so you'll always have to make a choice of what matters most to you.

So yeah, think about a language you personally find useful to know, otherwise I think you're likely wasting your time. Unless that was exactly your goal, in which case I suggest learning ancient Greek.

[Bolverk]

This is such a weird thread. The most important thing that makes you choose what to learn is practicality and interest. If you those are your only requirements and interests we will just say some random languages. You might choose one to study some and drop later, prbly never using the language again. Wouldn't you like to use your time more beneficently?

18 minutes ago, Nosebleed said:

I always thought German is a pretty cool language, but I do not see how learning it would be useful to me and so I am not spending years learning it and am instead investing my time in things I know will be useful either right now or in the future. You can argue learning something is always useful, but languages take a lot of time to master, and you can never learn all of them, so you'll always have to make a choice of what matters most to you.

Exactly. That's why you should learn Fapanese! So you can enjoy freedom without murica (English) in porn novels. Because if you read fapnovels regularly. Why not do it in fapanese! Thus getting nice fap material all meanwhile enjoying learning the language at the same time. Yay! Peace Peace!

More seriously though. You should learn Icelandic. That way you can read the Edda saga and Norse mythology in the original language. This is very interesting stuff (Because then you can read いつか、届く、あの空に and actually understand what is going on it.)

[Scorp]

54 minutes ago, Nosebleed said:

As someone who really enjoys learning new languages, my best tip is: don't ask the internet what you should learn.

So yeah, think about a language you personally find useful to know, otherwise I think you're likely wasting your time. Unless that was exactly your goal, in which case I suggest learning ancient Greek.

Lets say 2 things: my field of work is already established in a field which have no relation to any language at all, and second - as I told in first post - I am just in mood to try learning something. So this is just a whim of mine, which could (or could not) transform into something real. I doubt I would get any benefit in learning Ancient Greek, as I already read Homer and greek myth in translation.