Languages

[austinap]

I'm just wondering what you guys think are the most useful/most interesting/etc languages are? I've always liked languages and just wanted to hear what everyone else thought?

Also, what are some of the best ways to pick up a new language (other than immersion, which isn't always possible)? I've had good luck combining audio lessions, news websites, and the occasional radio show.

[Courk]

The most useful language to know in the US is probably Spanish, or maybe even sign language, if you want to count that separately.

I like French as a language. It's pretty and is more-or-less easy to learn. It's easy to make some sort of association to english words. It's also somewhat fun (compared to Russian, but then again, Russian moved waaaay to slow, so maybe boredom/senioritis contributed to my dislike of it).

[wordcross]

It's easier to learn languages with the same character base. After that, languages with the same writing direction.

As far as picking up a language, I'd say taking a class would be very good, and from there trying to read as much material from that language as possible. Fiction, non-fiction, news, whatever. Reading is probably the next best thing to total immersion.
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Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

[wordcross]

We used to have a few resident polyglots, but they all seem to have abandoned us
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Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

[austinap]

The same character base definately makes things easier, and I guess I would assume that the same writing direction would also, but I havn't learned any amount of a language not written left to right (besides a few words... ). I definately didn't make much progress with Russian, but I also didn't put much effort into it due to the fact I was overwhelmed with other coursework at the time. Ive found italian is an easy language to pick up, Ive been studying it for ~6 months and can communicate decently... I still have a ways to go until fluency though.

[Antrax]

I think Latin is one of the most useful languages to learn. What little I learned in highschool helped me when I was in France, strangely enough.
Oh, and I don't think the direction of writing is such a big issue.
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After years of disappointment with get rich quick schemes, I know I'm gonna get rich with this scheme. And quick!

[Agamemnon]

I'll give Zesty a call

[Zesty Spanker]

all languages are easyest to learn when listening and being with the the country of the language. here in Europe we have many languages right next to each other in a small area compared to USA so its easyer to become acustomed to them and to learn them first hand.
personly Ive found Spanish to be the most useful as once you learn it you can diverse it to French, Italian and some Slavic and Romanic types.
For here in Europe, German is too good aswell as it is the main base for German, Dutch and scandanavian types.

in my experience I find that being in a group is easyer to being one to one with a language you are trying to learn. this way you get different aspects and diversities instead of just one persons view. audio tapes are good for basics but to practise them in the real life gets misleading as dialiects and slang are not catered for. books and phrase books are also good to the point of telling you in your own language how to pronounce a word properly, and there are some internet sites where you can play certain words in different dialects to hear the full saying.

in short, you really cant beat being with speaking people to learn the language. its better too as they can correct you politely and coach you in better ways to pronounce words and sentances.

[Vinny]

Zesty, it's sentences.j/k! senorita!

[Veg]

I've found English pretty useful.

[RequiemEternam]

American Sign Language (ASL), and sign languages from other nations, are indeed separate languages. There is a lot of linguistic evidence that suggests the non-audio information operates on fundamental principles of language. Lots of it. Google it for yourself, or e-mail me to get the laundry list of journal articles I'm required to read on this topic. Very interesting stuff.

For me, learning languages has always been a talent, but taking introductory linguistics courses helped increase that ability tenfold. Being able to apply phonological, morphological and syntactic rules, rather than have to memorize "rules of grammar" and irregular verb conjugations made learning easier. It is, after all, the way children supposedly acquire language. (Spelling and scripts obviously still require memorization, but that's much easier than learning the language.)

[Bicho the Inhaler]

Perl is a very useful language because it makes programs easy to write. C++ is also very useful because it is so powerful, even if it is not so elegant. Lisp and ML are quite interesting. They are both largely functional, but they are basically polar opposites when it comes to classification of data. [/obligatory]

[austinap]

[tinman]

Anactdote: In all the World (earth) the fight control for planes is by law in English because we are dominate in flight area.
Thats international law...for flight control conventional air frame aircraft. To be a controller in Dakar Africa you have to speak English.

But they dont most of the time but who checks it After all its just the law.


Tinman
ideas about subject I think English....

[Beartalon]

I am fluent in English, can read and write moderately in French, and can pull on both languages plus a good ability to pull apart words into Latin and Greek roots phonemes to understand a lot of simple Spanish.

However, if you want to learn a language that will allow you to speak to large groups for practice, try Cantonese or Mandarin. Every large city has a Chinatown - lots of places and participants to assist. Hindi and Arabic also come to mind.

[MatthewV]

Russian is the cyka of all languages.

[casinopete]

Ou-yay are-ay all-ay ools-fay. Ere-thay an't-cay eally-ray e-bay any-ay isagreement-day as-ay o-tay ich-way anguage-lay is-ay est-bay!

[Quailman]

[Mr Stoofer]

If you are a linguist, perhaps you can answer the question I asked in this thread.

[groza528]

I would say that in the United States, Spanish is the most useful language to know, apart from English. This is because of the high volume of immigrants from Mexico, Cuba, and other nearby countries. As I like to say, but will likely be flamed for, "Spanish is the language spoken by the most Americans who don't know (conversational) English."
That being said, I never had any desire to learn Spanish, and am a French and German scholar myself (moreso the former than the latter, by far.)

[Digit Ne]

Classes are completely useless if you never use it outside of class. I took two years of Spanish and can only communicate in fits and starts.

Taflinel is a polyglot. He's got English, Greek, and I think French and Italian. And Morse Code.

[groza528]

(Digit: I spent upwards of 6 months near Toulouse... So I'm pretty good with my French )

[Digit Ne]

Mmm. French.

[jesternl]

It sort of depends what part of the US you're in. Here in the north I hardly ever hear Spanish, but French is handy sometimes.

I have experience with both Dutch Sign language and ASL, and they *are indeed different.
We taught our daughter sign language to help her communicate, and it has had great benefits, it's far easier for a 1.5 year old to use signs than it is to form words.

She's 2 now and understands Dutch and English, although she uses English more than Dutch. She's at the point that she is speaking Dutch to me first, and English to my wife.

Number 2 child we'll probably go the same route, it'll be interesting to see what language they will pick to talk to eachother with.

[Guest]

[Jedo the Jedi]

I think Latin is the most useful because many languages are derived from it, thus you could understand at least a little when visiting other countries. Plus, if you have a 300-word SAT vocabulary test, Latin might help you to derive the meanings of some of the words.
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Paragon Tally: 18 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[groza528]

I would agree with that. And Greek for the same reason. I studied Greek and Latin roots in my advanced math class (!) when the teacher ran out of other stuff for me

[jesternl]

When does one qualify as polyglot?
I fluent in English, Dutch, and German, speak French (although French is rusty), I can read a little Italian, and I studied Greek and Latin in highschool. And I know a little ASL.

[Zesty Spanker]

Dutch, German, Danish, French, Italian and English fluent. Spanish, mixed scandanavian, Portugese fairly good for conversation. learning now Russian and Finnish.

[jesternl*]

Shut up! hou je mond, halt den mund, ta gueule