If you could instantly become fluent in any foreign language which one would it be?
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Original post by tazarooni89
English (obvs), French, Spanish, Urdu and Hindi.
(Bits and pieces of Arabic and Japanese as well, but not enough to have a proper conversation. Can only just about read them.)
I think for most of the major languages that I don’t already know, (e.g. Portuguese) I at least know a language kind of close-ish to it (e.g. Spanish) that I could try and learn it if I wanted to. But Mandarin is probably the main one where I don’t stand much of a chance. Russian would probably be next on my list after that.
(Bits and pieces of Arabic and Japanese as well, but not enough to have a proper conversation. Can only just about read them.)
I think for most of the major languages that I don’t already know, (e.g. Portuguese) I at least know a language kind of close-ish to it (e.g. Spanish) that I could try and learn it if I wanted to. But Mandarin is probably the main one where I don’t stand much of a chance. Russian would probably be next on my list after that.
Fair. I mean you know English, French and Spanish so knowing Arabic would make you set in my opinion (because of how many countries speak a type of Arabic)
Original post by mnot
Spanish, german or mandarin.
Id be inclined to say Spanish just as it opens up a huge amount of the world work wise and I see myself more likely to stay & live in “the West” over mandarin which is very centralized on china.
Id be inclined to say Spanish just as it opens up a huge amount of the world work wise and I see myself more likely to stay & live in “the West” over mandarin which is very centralized on china.
i'm chinese
Original post by TheBlackRabbit56
i'm chinese
Would you like a medal?
Original post by mnot
Would you like a medal?
Did it look like i was asking for one?
Original post by JadeEG
Ancient - Linear B as that would really help with my area of specialty
Modern - Welsh as I love the sound of the language
But honestly, it seems every few days I find another language I want to learn
Modern - Welsh as I love the sound of the language
But honestly, it seems every few days I find another language I want to learn
What's your area of specialty that uses Linear B? Out of interest
Original post by max100705
What's your area of specialty that uses Linear B? Out of interest
Classical Archaeology, particularly Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age Greece
So knowing Linear B can be helpful in understanding Mycenaean societies because they're mostly administrative documents
Original post by Talkative Toad
Can include English if English is not your first language.
I'm excluding languages as Lorem Ipsum, sarcasm, punning, slang, trolling etc
Only name one language 🤷🏾*♀️.
I'm excluding languages as Lorem Ipsum, sarcasm, punning, slang, trolling etc
Only name one language 🤷🏾*♀️.
russian sounds pretty cool so that ig
Original post by Talkative Toad
Can include English if English is not your first language.
I'm excluding languages as Lorem Ipsum, sarcasm, punning, slang, trolling etc
Only name one language 🤷🏾*♀️.
I'm excluding languages as Lorem Ipsum, sarcasm, punning, slang, trolling etc
Only name one language 🤷🏾*♀️.
Chinese, either mandarin or cantonese, my relative speak cantonese but I feel like mandarin would be more useful for me
Original post by rhiifuu
Finnish.
My best friend is Finnish and I would love to learn her native language.
My best friend is Finnish and I would love to learn her native language.
what the hell is finnish didnt think the word existed
i wanna also learn ancient greek, as i already know italian, arabic, english fluently but my french isnt that fluent but i know hw to speak it if u get me
I'd choose Spanish as lots of countries speak it
German!
how many languages do you guys know? I know Spanish and English fluently
(Born in Spain, live in England, I love Germany)
how many languages do you guys know? I know Spanish and English fluently
(Born in Spain, live in England, I love Germany)
its a beautiful yet complex language, but I recommend it
Original post by Bookworm524
I'd choose Spanish as lots of countries speak it
Original post by penguingirl18
Maybe Chinese or Japanese if it were learning a language from the beginning.
Really it would be neat to progress instantly from moderate to mother-tongue fluency.
Really it would be neat to progress instantly from moderate to mother-tongue fluency.
Original post by Thisismyunitsr
German, Chinese, Japanese or Korean
Chinese isn't a language, it's a race / ethnicity. The two Chinese languages are Mandarin (spoken in mainland China) and Cantonese (spoken in the south and Hong Kong). Of the two, Mandarin is probably the more useful one as it's spoken by more people. However, many of the British Born Chinese I know all speak Cantonese for some reason.
(Original post by Ozymandias007)
its a beautiful yet complex language, but I recommend it
You say that, but as a native English speaker, I find Spanish is easier to get to grips with than French (Spanish seems a bit more relaxed with the whole Masculine / Feminine malarkey and I find there are no where near as many rules and /or prefixes.
Currently studying French and Spanish... I would also like to learn Portuguese and Italian, as they should be relatively easy once I'm fully competent in Spanish... but not until I've reached a notable standard to avoid confusion and (literally) mincing my words lol
(edited 7 months ago)
Original post by tazarooni89
English (obvs), French, Spanish, Urdu and Hindi.
(Bits and pieces of Arabic and Japanese as well, but not enough to have a proper conversation. Can only just about read them.)
I think for most of the major languages that I don’t already know, (e.g. Portuguese) I at least know a language kind of close-ish to it (e.g. Spanish) that I could try and learn it if I wanted to. But Mandarin is probably the main one where I don’t stand much of a chance. Russian would probably be next on my list after that.
(Bits and pieces of Arabic and Japanese as well, but not enough to have a proper conversation. Can only just about read them.)
I think for most of the major languages that I don’t already know, (e.g. Portuguese) I at least know a language kind of close-ish to it (e.g. Spanish) that I could try and learn it if I wanted to. But Mandarin is probably the main one where I don’t stand much of a chance. Russian would probably be next on my list after that.
That's pretty good going.
IMHO, there are 5 PRIMARY languages... which if you know them, pretty much the world is your oyster
1) Chinese (Mandarin):- With China now a superpower and the most populated country on earth, I think it's obvious this would be a good one.
2) Spanish:- As well as Spain, it's spoken in almost every country in Central / South America... Also some US cities have a large Latin / Hispanic population (e.g. Los Angeles, Miami etc), you can get by speaking only Spanish.
3) English:- The most widely spoken language, and very much (unofficially) a universal languag
4) French:- As well as France (over 4 times the size of the UK), it's spoken in another 30-40 countries that make up the Francophone world (basically the French equivalent of the commonwealth
5) Arabic:- Spoken to some degree throughout the Islamic world (e.g. almost every country between Morocco and Bangladesh will have some knowledge of Arabic).
Some of you may have already seen this... but this kid will probably put everyone here to shame. She's was only 4 years old and can speak all these languages. I swear one day she's gonna rule the world
Original post by Old Skool Freak
That's pretty good going.
IMHO, there are 5 PRIMARY languages... which if you know them, pretty much the world is your oyster
1) Chinese (Mandarin):- With China now a superpower and the most populated country on earth, I think it's obvious this would be a good one.
2) Spanish:- As well as Spain, it's spoken in almost every country in Central / South America... Also some US cities have a large Latin / Hispanic population (e.g. Los Angeles, Miami etc), you can get by speaking only Spanish.
3) English:- The most widely spoken language, and very much (unofficially) a universal languag
4) French:- As well as France (over 4 times the size of the UK), it's spoken in another 30-40 countries that make up the Francophone world (basically the French equivalent of the commonwealth
5) Arabic:- Spoken to some degree throughout the Islamic world (e.g. almost every country between Morocco and Bangladesh will have some knowledge of Arabic).
Some of you may have already seen this... but this kid will probably put everyone here to shame. She's was only 4 years old and can speak all these languages. I swear one day she's gonna rule the world
IMHO, there are 5 PRIMARY languages... which if you know them, pretty much the world is your oyster
1) Chinese (Mandarin):- With China now a superpower and the most populated country on earth, I think it's obvious this would be a good one.
2) Spanish:- As well as Spain, it's spoken in almost every country in Central / South America... Also some US cities have a large Latin / Hispanic population (e.g. Los Angeles, Miami etc), you can get by speaking only Spanish.
3) English:- The most widely spoken language, and very much (unofficially) a universal languag
4) French:- As well as France (over 4 times the size of the UK), it's spoken in another 30-40 countries that make up the Francophone world (basically the French equivalent of the commonwealth
5) Arabic:- Spoken to some degree throughout the Islamic world (e.g. almost every country between Morocco and Bangladesh will have some knowledge of Arabic).
Some of you may have already seen this... but this kid will probably put everyone here to shame. She's was only 4 years old and can speak all these languages. I swear one day she's gonna rule the world
Not a wide amount of countries speak Chinese though (unlike the other languages listed) despite mandarin having a large native population. I.e the language cannot be used in a lot of countries.
List of countries that speak Spanish:
https://www.mondly.com/blog/spanish-speaking-countries/#:~:text=Formally%2C%20Spanish%20is%20the%20official,Uruguay%2C%20Venezuela%20and%20Puerto%20Rico.
List of countries that speak French:
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/french/french-speaking-countries/ (There’s also places like Morocco, Tunisia etc despite it not being an official francophone country I think)
List of countries that speak Arabic (I’m aware that there are different dialects of Arabic):
https://istizada.com/complete-list-of-arabic-speaking-countries-2014/
List of countries that speak English:
Lots of countries
List of countries that speak Mandarin:
https://www.wordspath.com/countries-that-speak-mandarin/#:~:text=Mandarin%2C%20as%20the%20most%20widely,Singapore%2C%20Malaysia%2C%20and%20Indonesia.
This isn’t to bash Mandarin but more to point that it doesn’t look like it’s spoken in a wide amount of countries (to the point where a large chunk of the population or you average inhabitant would be able to understand the language). Still a useful language to learn but just wanted to point this out but I completely agree with your list.
Original post by Talkative Toad
Not a wide amount of countries speak Chinese though (unlike the other languages listed) despite mandarin having a large native population. I.e the language cannot be used in a lot of countries.
This isn’t to bash Mandarin but more to point that it doesn’t look like it’s spoken in a wide amount of countries (to the point where a large chunk of the population or you average inhabitant would be able to understand the language). Still a useful language to learn but just wanted to point this out but I completely agree with your list.
This isn’t to bash Mandarin but more to point that it doesn’t look like it’s spoken in a wide amount of countries (to the point where a large chunk of the population or you average inhabitant would be able to understand the language). Still a useful language to learn but just wanted to point this out but I completely agree with your list.
Maybe not now...but who knows where we'll be in, say, 20-30 years time? You have to think about big and fast the Chinese economy has grown in the past 20 years alone (e.g. at the start of the Millennium, their automotive industry was pretty much the laughing stock; now, with BYD in particular, they're leading the world for electric vehicle manufacture) .
China is well on course to becoming a single superpower to rival USA; so it would make sense to learn Mandarin from business perspective & there are even celebrities whom you wouldn't typically associate with the language now learning / speaking it including:- Mark Zuckerberg; Kevin Rudd; Vanessa Branch; Mira Sorvino and Mark Henry Roswell
(edited 7 months ago)
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