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So you want to learn 10... | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| robsolete Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5330 days ago 191 posts - 428 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French, Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin | Message 257 of 346 23 April 2010 at 9:40pm | IP Logged | |||||
I'm somewhat shameful in that my six "realistic" languages (those that I actively wish to reach an advanced level in over the course of my life) are the six U.N. languages and probably the most "obvious": English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian, and Mandarin. These six really do seem to show up on almost every list. I guess the question is about an individual's priorities and tastes. But it definitely shows who the best linguistic conquerors/preachers have been over the last few centuries. With these six languages you are pretty much assured that in all but the most remote corners of the world, you will have access to a person who speaks at least one of these. As far as just English, French, and Spanish go, I'm not so sure. Central and East Asia would strike me as large exceptions. And while French certainly has a long reach in the Middle East, I don't know if it would go quite far enough to eliminate the need for Arabic. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| lichtrausch Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5905 days ago 525 posts - 1072 votes Speaks: English*, German, Japanese Studies: Korean, Mandarin | Message 258 of 346 23 April 2010 at 9:41pm | IP Logged | |||||
Only if you define "communicating with the rest of the world" very narrowly. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| apatch3 Diglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 6130 days ago 80 posts - 99 votes Speaks: Pashto, English* Studies: Japanese, FrenchA2 | Message 259 of 346 23 April 2010 at 11:21pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I wouldn't want to learn 10 languages, since I know it'd be impossible to achieve native fluency in every single one (which is a goal i set my self when I take up a language). Also I wouldn't be able to encounter each one on a regular basis, I do enjoy learning about foreign customs but taking up a language really means immersing yourself in their society through people/media/books etc right now I just want to be able to speak perfect french and Japanese in four years time. Don't want to plan any further ahead.
As far as the topics concerned It makes sense to mention every UN language as well as urdu/hindi, the remaining 3 slots can be filled by personal choices 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| noriyuki_nomura Bilingual Octoglot Senior Member Switzerland Joined 5285 days ago 304 posts - 465 votes Speaks: English*, Mandarin*, Japanese, FrenchC2, GermanC2, ItalianC1, SpanishB2, DutchB1 Studies: TurkishA1, Korean | Message 260 of 346 24 April 2010 at 12:32pm | IP Logged | |||||
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French and Spanish are definitely not really useful in Asia. Even in its ex-colonies such as Cambodia and Vietnam, French has already given way to English, which is seen as a passport to better jobs, a more international and definitely trendy language among the young there. Furthermore, I think Chinese is gaining ground in Asia as a whole, while Japanese manages to still retain its edge due to the presence of its MNCs in the region. And I certainly do not think that French and Spanish have any impact at all in Central Asia.
At the end of the day, the 'usefulness' of a language really depends on the environment you are in, your interest and motivation... 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| s_allard Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5375 days ago 2704 posts - 5425 votes Speaks: French*, English, Spanish Studies: Polish | Message 261 of 346 24 April 2010 at 2:15pm | IP Logged | |||||
Oops! I think I misspoke. I didn't mean to say that everybody speaks English and then French and Spanish. My idea was more that if everybody is learning these three languages, you can communicate with more people geographically speaking than with any other languages. We all know that the entire world is learning English. If you walk into a large hotel or store in any non-English speaking city in the world today, the first foreign language spoken is English. In other words, with the top three languages you will get very far. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Khublei Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Yugoslavia homestayperu.net Joined 5292 days ago 90 posts - 141 votes Speaks: English*, Irish*, Spanish Studies: Russian, Khasi, French, Albanian | Message 262 of 346 24 April 2010 at 5:56pm | IP Logged | |||||
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If I could speak 10 they would be (including those I'm already stumbling along with):
English Irish Spanish Russian Khasi Hindi Bengali Romanian French Albanian 3 Indian languages in there, as I spend a lot of time in India. French is only there for work purposes, I don't think I enjoy it enough to ever get good at it. Also, Albanian is just because I'm moving to that part of the world soon. My language learning all depends on where I am, and the people I meet. So that list could be very different in 30 years time. Either way, I hope when I'm 50 (currently 24) I'm not at the same level I am now. Edited by Khublei on 24 April 2010 at 5:57pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| mirab3lla Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom lang-8.com/220477Registered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5388 days ago 161 posts - 229 votes Speaks: Romanian*, EnglishC2, German Studies: Spanish, FrenchB1, Mandarin | Message 263 of 346 24 April 2010 at 6:13pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Hmm, if I could speak 10 languages (and I hope that I will, because I am only 15, so I have a life full of learning in front of me), those would be:
Romanian (native) English (already b2+ -> c1 level) German (already b1 level) French (I can understand a bit, but I still can't write) Spanish (I understand it and I can speak a few words, but my writing is just odioso) Italian (I understand a bit, Romanian and Italian are just sooo alike) Portuguese ( the same as for Italian) Arabic ( just a future hit on my list) Japanese (the same as for Arabic) Mandarin Chinese (the same as for Arabic and Japanese) And I would also add Russian, because French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese are already partly acquired because of the transparency between them and Romanian . I hope that I'll manage to complete my life-goal of learning as many languages as possible ! 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Valtiel Triglot Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5449 days ago 3 posts - 3 votes Speaks: French*, English, Italian Studies: Japanese, German | Message 264 of 346 24 April 2010 at 9:35pm | IP Logged | |||||
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The ten languages I would recommend to learn are the one almost everyone has already mentionned:
1) English (of course) 2) Spanish 3) German 4) French 5) Mandarin 6) Russian 7) Portuguese 8) Arabic 9) Japanese 10)... Esperanto ? Or maybe Turkish. And the ten languages I would like to learn and know quite well: 1) Lithuanian 2) Japanese 3) Polish 4) Icelandic 5) Swedish 6) Portuguese 7) Hungarian 8) Serbian 9) Slovak 10) Korean I can't wait to get started with Lithuanian ! Edited by Valtiel on 24 April 2010 at 9:36pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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