Quick! French, German, or Japanese?

[latteromden]

Registering for next year's classes at the last minute. I'm already taking Chinese - have an open space for another language, so it's between French, German, and Japanese. Suggestions?

[LynzM]

1. German...

Just 'cause I'm partial to it, having learned it and lived there. I found it to be easier than French, particularly in terms of pronunciation. And since you already take Chinese, that means that theoretically you could at least read Japanese, right?

[latteromden]

11. And I've taken hiragana/katakana courses in the past. So Japanese seems

to be out. Hm.

[sakabatou]

27. So

Kanji should be a cinch, né?

[daydreamer]

16. Japanese

is a mixture of the old unsimplied Chinese characters and Japanese characters.

[arwalden]

2. Where Would You Most Like To Visit? Japan, France, or Germany?

[latteromden]

6. Germany - but I'd also like to go into translation/interpretation someday,

meaning that French and Japanese would probably be handy.

[jmm]

15. Study Japanese

If you've ever seen engrish then you know that you don't need to be very good to work as a Japanese translator ;-)

[Lautremont]

3. I say French.

It's spoken in many countries due to their imperialistic mania. Plus you can piss off RW France-haters with it.

[Ravenseye]

14. Yeah French

You'll be able to communicate with more people worldwide if you pick up French as well.

If you have English, French, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic you can pretty much talk to anyone.

[On the Road]

4. Japanese Would be a Lot Easier

since you have a head-start on the Kanjii.

Personally, I like French and German. German is harder to learn fluently, but has more English cognates.

Strangely enough, I know a little of all those languages. I would trade in all of that to be able to speak one language even half-fluently.

[Xipe Totec]

5. French

You already speak English, which is kin to German. You're taking Chinese, which is related to Japanese, so French is the one with the least overlap.

Good luck, and enjoy!

[egoprofit]

10. FRENCH!! for the ladies

[Kickin_Donkey]

22. Japanese is not related to Chinese ...

although the Japanese language has borrowed some writing characters from Chinese.

Japanese is not part of the Sino-Tibetan language group. When I studied linguistics years ago, theory at that time hadn't definitively linked Japanese to another language, but there were inklings that it was part of the Turkic group.

That was 20 years ago; there have probably been research advances since.

[Xipe Totec]

33. Not closely related to Chinese

Japanese is a relative of other Asian languages. This theory maintains that Japanese split from - or had large influences from - other East Asian languages such as Korean (and possibly the Sino-Tibetan languages).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_language#History_and_classification

All I meant to say was that Japanese and Chinese (Mandarin) are more closely related to each other than they are to French or German.

In the same manner, English and German are more closely related to each other than they are to Japanese or Mandarin, And Spanish is related more closely to French than to etc., etc.

[hippiechick]

7. German !!!!!!!!

Es macht mir spass, und ist auch nicht so gefahrlich wie franzozish <?> ist.

[latteromden]

9. Deutsch macht spaß, ja, I studied it for 5 years in the past and loved it,

but never really picked it up.

[hippiechick]

19. Really ?

I had 4 yrs in HS, and 2 in College, and sometimes still dream in German.

I think I either have a natural propensity for it, or am a reincarnation of one of my great-grandparents, who were emigre's at the turn of the century.

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

34. Oft traum ich auch auf Deustch .

I often dream in German too :)

[Book Lover]

8. Japanese

You already have a head start learning Chinese, I say learn the two close languages first.

[Kokonoe]

12. Put me down for Japanese. n/t

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

13. Japanese

[Hand]

17. Definitely Japanese!

Western languages you can pick up just about any time, formally or informally, but Japanese is a different story--as you undoubtedly know from learning Chinese.

Besides, it's a VERY interesting language--doesn't really use plurals, all verbs are impersonal, doesn't use tones, and hardly uses gender. Really a completely "different" language.

:hi:

[latteromden]

18. All right - finished registration.

Chinese
German
Japanese, first alternate
French, second alternate
Spanish, third alternate

And I'll end up learning them all one way or another. I'm apparently on a mission to leave no language unlearned.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

20. Just out of curiosity, what school do you go to?

I recall your saying that you're still in high school...

Or was I thinking of someone else?

[Zech Marquis]

21. nihongo wo erande kudasai!

You can use it for watching anime dvds withou the subtitles, and te girls are pretty cool as well :evilgrin:

[progmom]

23. french is such a beautiful language

[Az]

24. Japanese: All the best entertainment is coming from there

So learn the language so you don't have to keep reading the subtitles.

[amazona]

25. I'll vote French

Very useful language since it is used quite a bit in Africa as well as the usual places. But any of them would be good. I wish I had your gift for language.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

26. French

Fairly easy to learn. I did better in German, though. May I suggest you read Mark Twain's essay, "The Awful German Language." Very funny stuff!

[Hand]

28. He had a few differences with French, too...

I forget which essay it was, but it was right up there with "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" for sheer savage hilarity.

:toast: to the greatest American author! :yourock:

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

29. Oh, that Fenimore Cooper one is hysterical, too!

:toast:

[Hand]

32. Here's a link for those unifamiliar with this great work!

Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses

[Behind the Aegis]

30. Spanish!

I saw in your list it was the 3rd alternate. Spanish is VERY easy and it is spoken widely in the US so you can get a type of immersion (although it may play havoc on your accent). Also, if you learn Spanish, the other romance languages will be that much easier to learn. I started with Spanish (have a degree) and can speak Italian, Portuguese, French and can read some Latin, Romansh, and Romanian. So, for one language you can get a huge start on 6 other languages!

[latteromden]

31. Oh, definitely, if not formally - I already have a head start, because I

speak Italian and Romanian. :) But Spanish is certainly something I've got to learn.

[Behind the Aegis]

35. wow!

If you already speak Italian, Spanish will be a BREEZE! As a matter of fact, when I was learning Italian, my professor would teach me Italian grammar in Spanish because I could learn easier that way,as opposed to learning the grammar in English. Romanian is slightly different in the grammar area and even the writing, to some extent, but the sounds are pretty much the same! Maybe you shouldn't take Spanish (I am biased anyway), sounds like you could learn it on your own quite well!