I'd like to learn a language.

[Espeon]

I've been thinking about whether I should or not for a while however, while the idea of being completely fluent in another language really captivates me, I really need to decide on one language and dedicate myself to this one language. I usually decide I'll learn something, give up halfway through, then I'll pick up another language. I just end up knowing a couple of random sentences in other languages as a result.

One of the main problems I find is that I often lack opportunities to practise speaking the said language I want to learn. I had thought about learning Norwegian but, with no-one to practise it with and with no connection to the country, I'd probably lose motivation very quickly.

Which language should I learn?

 

[Ruby]

Not Norwegian.

 

[Espeon]

Why not Norwegian?
And what would you suggest alternatively then?

 

[Barubu]

I'd go with spanish.

 

[Espeon]

Spanish would be a better option were I living in the US. I live in the UK so it's probably better to learn French but, I did French at school and it's really put me off of that language for life.

Plus Spanish, along with German and French, were the three bog standard languages offered at school.

 

[Barubu]

German?

 

[1. Luftballon]

chinese. but don't let anyone get into the peculiarities of the dialects related languages without army and navy.

it's an interesting experience.

 

[Espeon]

An interesting experience is what I'd be looking for. Chinese sounds fun, but weve stopped getting Chinese lodgers. :(

I'd probably learn Mandarin if any form of Chinese.

 

[Diz]

I'd suggest Spanish as well, because it is pretty easy for English speakers to learn, if you understand the idea of conjugating verbs. Also cognates.

If you have some background in French from school it is even easier because the two are very similar.

 

[departuresong]

Well, what do you want to accomplish? German or a Romance language would be easy, sure, but you wouldn't really be pushing yourself very much.

 

[Music Dragon]

I think Mandarin seems like a good idea, actually. Challenging, different, and very useful.

Also, if school put you off French for life, you might be glad to know that Chinese is basically its exact opposite. Grammar is, for the most part, ridiculously simple; pronunciation and vocabulary are what you'll have to work on.

 

[Tarvos]

Try Russian.

 

[Fireworks]

German or a Romance language would be easy

I find it ironic you say German is easy when you've claimed you had been studying it for 4 years, yet after I had posted in German on your lastfm you said you're still shit at writing in that language. (no offense, just couldn't resist)

Speaking from personal experience, German isn't really easy to learn at all, but it can pay off well since it's one of the most used languages in Europe besides English, so it can be very useful when looking for a job, and it's likely to come in handy more often than knowing Norwegian or something; it's also much easier to find practice partners, and it's even a quite beautiful language tbh. Since you dislike French, I'd say go for German.

 

[goldenquagsire]

Plus Spanish, along with German and French, were the three bog standard languages offered at school.

with all due respect, none of those are 'bog standard languages'. they're three of the most widely-spoken Western languages (whether as a first or a second language). they're also probably the most relevant to a British student - it's a fair bet that the majority of your classmates will encounter situations when those three languages would be useful (whether on holiday, studying abroad or through emigration) rather than something like Hindi or Swahili.

 

[Sage Noctowl]

Greek? It doesn't seem too hard since you already know a ton of English words coming from Greek.

 

[Storm Earth and Fire]

Try Russian.

I tried Russian once, and it was actually fun. Now I just need to find a formal class, they always claim to offer them at the local community college and then they disappear. But yeah, Russian isn't a bad choice.

Speaking Chinese is really easy (coming from a native speaker here), but writing Chinese is not so easy.

Spanish is easy. If it were up to me, I'd learn something crazier.

I am learning Japanese right now, and it's not too bad so far. The alphabet is throwing me, but I think that's because I'm old. I found the vocabularly and pronounciations easy enough.

Anyway, just find something you like. I personally don't pick languages I want to study because they're useful, I pick them for completely arbitrary reasons.

 

[hopeandjoy]

Basic Japanese isn't too bad. Most of my problems with it stem from pronunciation and not speaking fast enough, but those can be practiced.

Of course, who knows what will happen once I get to Kanji and complex grammar.

Basic Latin also isn't too bad and you already know some words without realizing it. Where it gets funky is the fact that not only do you have to conjugate verbs, but you also have to decline nouns, pronouns, and adjectives.

And I mean more than just dealing with plurals here. Here's a sample of declension # 1 using the word puella, "girl":

|S | Pl
nom |puella | puellae
gen |puellae | puellarum
dat |puella (long a)| puellis
acc |puellam | puellas
abl |puella (long a)| puellis


That's not everything, mind you. And there's four more.

 

[goldenquagsire]

if you do learn Japanese then for god's sake don't tell anyone about it until you're near-fluent. otherwise you will be branded as a weeaboo.

also do remember that there is an entire body of history, literature, music and culture utterly distinct from anime and manga in the same way that no-one would base their knowledge of American culture off Batman.

 

[departuresong]

I find it ironic you say German is easy when you've claimed you had been studying it for 4 years, yet after I had posted in German on your lastfm you said you're still shit at writing in that language. (no offense, just couldn't resist)

Now just think about what it would be like if I were learning Mandarin or Russian!

 

[goldenquagsire]

also, forgot to mention but

I did French at school and it's really put me off of that language for life.

a teacher can make or break a language. I loved German until last year, when we got the most appallingly horrible man for a teacher. although he clearly loved his subject and taught us to a very high standard, he was such an unpleasant person to be around that I've given it up for my final year.

conversely, a series of uninspired French teachers made me dislike the subject until I got my last teacher for GCSE, who was pretty awesome and made it more interesting to study and meant that I was rather sad when I had to give it up for AS-level.

moral of the story: don't totally write off French just because of a bad experience in school!

and honestly, French is a very useful language. it's easier to find people to practice with in this country, France is our closest neighbour geographically, and French has such a utility - not just in the developed world (Canada, France, Switzerland, etc.), but if third world countries are your thing then it's widely-spoken in Africa, Asia and, iirc, some parts of the West Indies. by comparison, learning Russian, Mandarin or Japanese would bring pretty limited benefits.