OK, so, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, or German? or maybe Korean?

[Flaxbee]

Poll question: OK, so, Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, or German? or maybe Korean?

I've studied French, Italian and Spanish. Family is mostly German/English (though no one speaks German). I have tons of Russian friends, so I'd have plenty of people to practice with.

What language should I focus on, and why? I'm fluent in none of them - 3.5 years high school French, 1 year high school Spanish, 1.5 years college Italian (a snap after French and Spanish, but no immersion so I've lost a lot of it) and 5 trips to Russia in the last 4 years and many Russian friends. German is fun - the pronunciation of many words cracks me up, and because of family heritage (tho everyone in my family left Germany in the early 1900s) I'm interested in it and a good friend is German and she could help me if I chose to focus on German.

It would be easiest for me to pick up one of the Romance languages again because that's my base education from high school and college. But I don't talk regularly with anyone who speaks French or Italian, and the nice guys at the local Mexican restaurant don't really figure into my daily conversations, so my opportunity to speak Spanish regularly is also limited. Though if anything is considered a second language in the US, I'd think it would be Spanish. Russian would be best for business, and I'd have people to practice with, but it's a bit intimidating to me, new alphabet and all. German would just be a wink to family, and many of the Russians I know also are fluent in German, so it'd be a bridge language.

One day I'd like to learn Korean, I think, but that comes later.

What's your opinion? Or maybe you could just choose according to your favorite salad dressing. :D

[Parche]

1. Hey Flaxee

I picked German!!

:hi: :hug:

[Flaxbee]

4. hiya Parche

How're you? :hug:

Any particular reason why for German?

[Parche]

5. i cant stand french language

russian is way too hard

I am surviving, see my post.....:hi: :hug:

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. I'd go Russian, French, Italian, German, or Korean.

All incredibly beautiful in their own way, though Italian can sometimes have that silly-sounding ugliness of Spanish (unless you are talking real Spanish, and not the Mexican/New-World-ish kind of bastardized psuedo-Spanish).

But really, you should study whichever one you like the best, or have the most interest in.

[Flaxbee]

3. that's the problem. I can't decide

I love languages, and don't want to die until I'm fluent in a second language. I'm also trying to take usefulness into account, and for my circumstances, Russian would be most useful. It's just rather intimidating. But I can get lots of practice. French is lovely, but I feel like Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers, not the abomination that Steve Martin presents) when I try to speak it which offers lots of opportunity for mirth but ... also makes me hesitate.

Thanks :hi:

[Celeborn Skywalker]

15. Oddly enough,

I actually find European Spanish to be an uglier sounding language than Mexican Spanish, although compared to the differences within dialects of the English language, the differences among Spanish dialects are quite minimal.

[HopeHoops]

6. Korean is the easiest with respect reading, I would say Russian is second.

Other than "Stratvootya", which is spelled NOTHING like it is pronounced, Russian is pretty close in phonetics to the written text. Still, Korean is the most organized and rules-based language I've encountered. Each syllable is composed of a lead consonant, vowel, and optional terminal consonant. There is a silent lead consonant. There aren't that many symbols, but the vowels in particular have a nice rule. An "a" is a vertical line with a dash to the right. If you make it two dashes, it is a "ya". The others work that way too. The weirdest part is that lead and terminal consonants with the same symbol don't always have the same sound. A backward "s" is "R" in the lead and "L" in the terminal. So you can spell "rule" in one syllable, but you can't even spell "lure" and a "w" is often used for the leading "l" so you would get something like "wu-reh".

[Jamastiene]

7. Other. Thousand Island.

:P

[deucemagnet]

8. Wow, what a fortuitous Stumble!

Learn 35+ Languages for Free in iTunes

All of your languages are included!

[CTyankee]

9. If it were me, I'd go to Italian. I love a language that you can learn by singing it!

It is so beautiful.

[Flaxbee]

10. ok, kicking for weekday people, if anyone else wants to

offer their opinions... :hi:

[DevonRex]

11. Definitely Russian. You can pick German up much easier on your own.

And, I think Russian is so wonderfully logical, yet complex, that it's just too beautiful to pass up.

[geardaddy]

12. I'd go with Italian

That way Spanish is almost a third language you could be fluent in.

As a Mandarin speaker, I'd say go with that, since it's the easiest grammar.

[ogneopasno]

13. Myself, I would pick Italian or Korean, because I already speak all of the other ones, ranging from

fluent to "can get by."

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. If you want to gain real proficiency in either Russian or Korean

it will take much longer than gaining real proficiency in French, Spanish, Italian, or German.

The US Foreign Service Institute classifies languages on the basis of how long it takes students in their full-time intensive classes to gain "professional competence," which is the ability to function as an adult in a society where the language is spoken, including holding down a job.

For students in French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, the Scandinavian languages, Swahili, and a few other languages, studying six to eight hours a day brings them to professional competence in six months.

German (along with Hindi, Modern Greek, Indonesian, and a few others) takes twelve months.

Russian is grouped with Hebrew, Finnish, Hungarian, Thai, and Turkish as requiring 18 months for professional competence.

Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic require two years, with the second year being in-country.

I have studied Japanese to professional competence and currently work as a translator and can get by as a tourist in French, Spanish, German, and Chinese, with bits and pieces of Russian.

I would LOVE to learn Korean some day, but I have no illusions about ever attaining professional competence in it. I think that for a younger person, a year spent studying in Korea would be a fantastic experience.

With respect to HopeforHoops' comment, Korean has a phonetic alphabet, but its grammar and idioms, like those of Japanese, can be mind-boggling to a Westerner. That's why the Foreign Service Institute considers it difficult.

[BarenakedLady]

16. German

My family is German. My Nana and Grandpa were immigrants. I tried to learn a few times, but it never stuck. I got to visit Germany once. I'd love to go back and see my relatives again.