Which language?

Hello.
I want to learn another language, however, I am having quite a tough time deciding which one to study. My choice is between French and German. I would appreciate if anyone could respond to my questions:

1) Which one would be easier to learn in terms of grammar?

2) Which language will be more beneficial for a career in law, or just will be more useful overall?

3) Which language takes longer to learn? (I will be quite busy with study so need to know which one requires more dedication.)

Thanks in advance!

1) For me it's German - it's from the same family as English and it's easier to get the pronunciation right but that may be different for you

2) German

3) French probably

I'm assuming you speak German? How was it like to learn for you (if you are not a native speaker, that is!)

Hello.
I want to learn another language, however, I am having quite a tough time deciding which one to study. My choice is between French and German. I would appreciate if anyone could respond to my questions:

1) Which one would be easier to learn in terms of grammar?

2) Which language will be more beneficial for a career in law, or just will be more useful overall?

3) Which language takes longer to learn? (I will be quite busy with study so need to know which one requires more dedication.)

Thanks in advance!

I found French slightly easier, YMMV though

Can you speak it fluently? If so, how did you learn it, and how long did it take?

1) German grammar has lots of things that are pointlessly complicated, but it doesn't have anything mind-blowing conceptually. Word order and the endless irregularity in verbs and nouns are also annoying. I assume French grammar is just the standard Romance language stuff and fairly straightforward.

2) Germany has a strong economy, and Switzerland is good for banking, though I'm not sure whether French of German would be more useful there. It depends on what kind of law you would be practicing really. I've come across loads of German speakers travelling outside German speaking places, not so many French ones though. I reckon culturally French literature cinema etc. are a bit richer, but Germany has plenty of nice writers and philosophers, plus an interesting history.

3) Both will take a long time. How long depends on how much you want to learn. Although French might be 'easier', if you're not motivated German may well be faster to learn.

Yep. It took me around 3 years, though - I started before GCSE

Oh lol no I dropped it after gcse but I learnt both French and German up to year 9 and I just found German easier to pick up and speak

Hello.
I want to learn another language, however, I am having quite a tough time deciding which one to study. My choice is between French and German. I would appreciate if anyone could respond to my questions:

1) Which one would be easier to learn in terms of grammar?

2) Which language will be more beneficial for a career in law, or just will be more useful overall?

3) Which language takes longer to learn? (I will be quite busy with study so need to know which one requires more dedication.)

Thanks in advance!

Haha oh, I appreciate your input anyway, thanks- it was helpful.

1) It depends on your style of learning. German has a different word order and uses cases, which is often a struggle to begin with. French grammar is similar to English and word order is mostly similar. But it has a tonne of irregularities, so it's a lot more tedious than German.

2) French is often linked to law, and I know a lot of law vocabulary originates from French language, so it's lot more adaptable than German to law. But German tends to be better for business.

3) They should take the same time. FSI ranks learning German to be longer than French, but I disagree mostly. If you can tackle the grammar, then the rest flows at a nice pace. French however, with its obscure pronunciation and irregularities, can be time-consuming to learn after the 'honeymoon period' of learning.

In other words...

It's easier to string French sentences together, but it's harder to master.

It's harder to string German sentences together, but it's easier to master.

Both of them are not that difficult though, when you consider much more abstract languages like Icelandic, Japanese or Arabic.

I recommend you try both of them out, one week of German, and one week of French. Then see which one you preferred and which one interests you the most.

If you need any language help and learning tips, feel free to ask.

Thank you, this was very helpful! I like your suggestion of doing one week of each, I think I may just try that. Can I ask you how you would go about learning any of them though? I can get Rosetta Stone but I have heard some rather bad reviews. I would also be able to get a tutor if needs must.