Learning another anguage

[EngDesigner]

Hi,

Right then. I've decided to learn another language, but I can't make up my mind which one to learn. I doing this to increase my job options. What the most useful language to learn, other than English?

Should I learn;
German
Italian
Swedish
(possibly) Chinese

Do any of you lot speak another language? (apart from Klingon)

[russell]

Hi,

Right then. I've decided to learn another language, but I can't make up my mind which one to learn. I doing this to increase my job options. What the most useful language to learn, other than English?

Should I learn;
German
Italian
Swedish
(possibly) Chinese

Do any of you lot speak another language? (apart from Klingon)

You still haven't got the hang of English "anguage" yet, I would stick to that.

[dang65]

It all depends where you fancy going to work. It would take a lot of dedication to learn a new language to the point where you could actually use it for work, but for socialising after work it's possible.

Of the languages I've had a crack at (though not much more than beginner):

German - Almost pointless because the Germans will nearly always default to English as soon as you open your mouth to speak. Being forced to use a language is the quickest way to learn it, and they will never force you.

French - Useful but mostly unfulfilling because the French expect you to speak French anyway and just look bored if you struggle.

Italian - This is a winner for me because the Italians really appreciate it when you have a go at their language. It also follows a fantastically organised syntax, with only occasional irregular words. Learn the rules and you've basically learned the language. Vocabulary is often quite easy as well because we recognise so many of the words from the Latin source which we use so much ourselves anyway. Pronunciation is mostly just a matter of putting on an Italian accent (not so easy with French and German).

[EngDesigner]

Oops, I forgot the 'L' in Language.

[EngDesigner]

It all depends where you fancy going to work. It would take a lot of dedication to learn a new language to the point where you could actually use it for work, but for socialising after work it's possible.

Of the languages I've had a crack at (though not much more than beginner):

German - Almost pointless because the Germans will nearly always default to English as soon as you open your mouth to speak. Being forced to use a language is the quickest way to learn it, and they will never force you.

French - Useful but mostly unfulfilling because the French expect you to speak French anyway and just look bored if you struggle.

Italian - This is a winner for me because the Italians really appreciate it when you have a go at their language. It also follows a fantastically organised syntax, with only occasional irregular words. Learn the rules and you've basically learned the language. Vocabulary is often quite easy as well because we recognise so many of the words from the Latin source which we use so much ourselves anyway. Pronunciation is mostly just a matter of putting on an Italian accent (not so easy with French and German).

Italian was my first choice, It just sounds good. But I just thought If I tried German, it would open up a lot more opportunities, because it's the second mostly widely used language in Europe. Also I've just downloaded a German language course.

[doodab]

Mandarin. Language of the future. Allegedly.

[chef]

Just a heads up, German grammar is f@c#ing difficult, frustrating and complex, however, once you've mastered it you're home free.. he hopes

[VectraMan]

Just a heads up, German grammar is f@c#ing difficult, frustrating and complex, however, once you've mastered it you're home free.. he hopes

I'm starting to get to the hang of adjective endings now; there's only 49 possibilities.

French has to be the easiest; if you don't know the word just say the English word in a French accent and you'll probably be right. And the word order is roughly the same as English too.

[Mushroombump]

Spanish would be pretty useful

[Jason Mitchell]

I learnt German in like 6 months. I recommend you join a German language course.