Whats the most useful language to know?

judgefudge · 15-04-2012 3:23pm #1

So I'm thinkin of learning a language, branchin out a little.

I was lookin at them Rosetta Stone things and gonna get one I reckon but they're really expensive. Just wondering what would be the most useful language to know, in your opinion?

Clareman · 15-04-2012 3:24pm

COBOL

Mr Simpson · 15-04-2012 3:25pm

English

joolsveer · 15-04-2012 3:25pm

Mandarin then English then Spanish

forfuxsake · 15-04-2012 3:26pm

Engrish.

Fluorescence · 15-04-2012 3:26pm

Rosetta Stone is crap - don't waste your money! You can get all the language resources you need on the web for free. Get a book or two as well and you're sorted.

Pick a language of a country you'd like to visit or just enjoy the sound of. I'm learning Swedish which, while not terribly useful in an international sense, will be most helpful in any Scandinavian country I find myself in

galwayrush · 15-04-2012 3:26pm

English and then Google translator.

Superbus · 15-04-2012 3:27pm

Irish. You know, just in case.

phasers · 15-04-2012 3:28pm

Catalan or Klingon

Stercus Accidit · 15-04-2012 3:29pm

fluorescence wrote: »

Pick a language of a country you'd like to visit or just enjoy the sound of. I'm learning Swedish which, while not terribly useful in an international sense, will be most helpful in any Scandinavian country I find myself in

Was considering Swedish myself, I have a house mate who is a swede so that would work well!

Tonyandthewhale · 15-04-2012 3:29pm

Esperanto

Fluorescence · 15-04-2012 3:29pm

Stercus Accidit wrote: »

Was considering Swedish myself, I have a house mate who is a swede so that would work well!

I would highly recommend it. It's one of the easiest languages for english natives to learn

oppenheimer1 · 15-04-2012 3:29pm

English then Spanish, then take your pick from Chinese (mandarin), French and German.

senorwipesalot · 15-04-2012 3:30pm

Klingon.

Crann na Beatha · 15-04-2012 3:30pm

This post has been deleted.

15-04-2012 3:31pm

C++

smcgiff · 15-04-2012 3:31pm

Foreign languages are overrated, just rock up to johnny foreigner and speak English in a slow, loud and over pronounced voice. Works every time.

Not being able to speak English, lazy buggers.

dr.bollocko · 15-04-2012 3:34pm

Do you aspire to live in a country where the first language is not english?

Which country?

That language.

smcgiff · 15-04-2012 3:35pm

Superbus wrote: »

Irish. You know, just in case.

They'd be better off learning Polish, all the better to communicate with the locals.

IM0 · 15-04-2012 3:36pm

american

gar32 · 15-04-2012 3:38pm

You ask what is the most useful. It depends on you & what you want to do in life. I learn Spanish due to having Spanish friends. No jobs there but you can enjoy your holiday more. The I learnt (Well tried Polish) very hard to learn but still giving it a go as my wife is Polish. Now due to no work in Ireland I am in Germany learning German with is good as I got a job using English mostly.

Think why, when, how and if you will use it in the future so you have a better chance of learning something you can use.

Good luck

twinge · 15-04-2012 3:38pm

I'd go for any of the UN official languages:
Russian
French
Spanish
Mandarin
English
Arabic

Chuck Stone · 15-04-2012 3:38pm

Dolphin.

Lawrence1895 · 15-04-2012 3:38pm

Basque...because Athletic Bilbao will win the Europa League

Stained Class · 15-04-2012 3:38pm

Cork.

Captain_Generic · 15-04-2012 3:38pm

Love

westendgirlie · 15-04-2012 3:38pm

Sign language should be up there as one of the most important languages to learn.

Robdude · 15-04-2012 3:42pm

This is like asking what the 'best colour is'....there is no objective answer.

Unless you intend on moving to a country where English isn't commonly used or making a career out of teaching/translating/working with another language; there is very little practical advantage to learning a second language. There are many, many other more useful things you could do with your time.

If you are planing on moving to another country; obviously the dominate/primary language of that country would be the most useful for you.

Political and economic climates change pretty quick though - so if you look at the countries you are likely to want to go to now, in 10, 15, 20 years - those might be countries you would be unlikely to want to go to. I remember back in the US during the 80s a lot of people were telling children to learn Japanese because they were convinced Japan would be the dominant economic powerhouse in the future.

judgefudge · 15-04-2012 3:44pm

Well I'm stuck in Ireland for the next four years doing a course. I do intend on travelling in the future and living somewhere else, but I haven't settled on any one area.

I'm drawn to Italian and I love Italy, but it just doesn't seem internationally useful...

WoollyRedHat · 15-04-2012 3:46pm

Simlish

How to say hello in Simlish

Ah, van vesua! Cummuns nala.

Skylinehead · 15-04-2012 3:46pm

Deleted User wrote: »

C++

C. Get the very basics down, derivatives like C++ and Java are actually easier as a result

Dilynnio · 15-04-2012 3:48pm

CHINESE ....... The Middle Kingdom will have taken over the world by 2020!

holystungun9 · 15-04-2012 3:48pm

English, Spanish, Cork, Geordie.

ciano1 · 15-04-2012 3:51pm

Scouse..

Next year will be our year, I can feel it!

Fluorescence · 15-04-2012 3:52pm

Skylinehead wrote: »

C. Get the very basics down, derivatives like C++ and Java are actually easier as a result

C is horribly outdated. Java is very easy to pick up as a first language anyway.

token101 · 15-04-2012 3:55pm

judgefudge wrote: »

So I'm thinkin of learning a language, branchin out a little.

I was lookin at them Rosetta Stone things and gonna get one I reckon but they're really expensive. Just wondering what would be the most useful language to know, in your opinion?

If you already know English, I would say Spanish. But in Ireland, I would nearly say Polish. But, as an aside, forget Rosetta Stone!! Rip off!! There's a site called Babbel, you can learn any language you like for 7 quid a month. You get access to the entire website for that, grammar, verbs etc. They have 10-12 languages available. Great site, you can chat to other people who are natives and you help them learn as well. Rosetta Stone is a sham, I, eh, acquired it, through a friend and it wasn't worth half what they look for. You have to pat a fortune anytime you want another language pack.

ejmaztec · 15-04-2012 3:57pm

Mime

Skylinehead · 15-04-2012 4:03pm

fluorescence wrote: »

C is horribly outdated. Java is very easy to pick up as a first language anyway.

Yeah I learned Java first, was easy enough. C is harder to learn and as a result is the most useful to know (not learn) as you can easily get other languages from what you know of C.

As for outdated, it's still the most used language, and the Linux kernel is written in it, making it extremely useful to know

15-04-2012 4:12pm

For me, the question is what language is useful to learn that will be useful to you in your life, and with opportunity to practice. e.g. Learning German is semi-useful because it's a business language, but many Germans have a high level of English, so it's practical use is not so great unless you're living in a German speaking country.

Here's a list of total speakers of various languages:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_total_number_of_speakers

Spanish would get my vote. Useful in Spain, and latin america and will help in Italy, also many people's English is not very good in Spanish-speaking parts of the world. After that, French is useful, also handy for visiting France, and parts of Africa, and some parts of Asia. Also, French is a common second language studied throughout the world so can be a bridge language. Arabic also very useful, but harder due to the script. People often suggest Mandarin, but i'm not sure, due to it's lack of usage outside of China, though that may change in Asia overtime.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 15-04-2012 4:12pm

Klingon.

krudler · 15-04-2012 4:21pm

Jawa

"utini!"

Evie90 · 15-04-2012 4:22pm

German or Spanish

batistuta9 · 15-04-2012 4:22pm

westendgirlie wrote: »

Sign language should be up there as one of the most important languages to learn.

which sign language would you learn though?

Elvis_Presley · 15-04-2012 4:40pm

Robdude wrote: »

Unless you intend on moving to a country where English isn't commonly used or making a career out of teaching/translating/working with another language; there is very little practical advantage to learning a second language. There are many, many other more useful things you could do with your time.

Typical US attitude. Learning a language is one the best things you can ever do with your time. It gives you the ability to see things from another perspective, to communicate properly with people from other cultures and to understand other cultures. It allows you to communicate with so many other people. It expands your mind, the skills acquired from pushing yourself to learn a language are useful in many other areas. And foreign women are hot.

Biggins · 15-04-2012 4:41pm

judgefudge wrote: »

...Just wondering what would be the most useful language to know, in your opinion?

Better make it French, German or Chinese.

Learning Chinese and Japanese myself.

later12 · 15-04-2012 5:05pm

No mention of Mathematics? It's the only universal language. You can talk about abstract ideas with people from all walks of life at any time, without having to open a single page of a dictionary.

As for the more traditional languages, people claim that Chinese languages are important than English. I find that hard to credit given the ingrained nature of the English language and the importance that the Chinese are placing on English, which is well established as the language of business and economics.

plein de force · 15-04-2012 5:11pm

Probably mandarin chinese

but that could be extremely difficult for a native english speaker to learn

so Spanish is really widely spoken, German is from the same language family as english
and i speak french, found it easy to learn but not as useful as spanish so id go with that

BornToKill · 15-04-2012 5:20pm

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Esperanto

Already speak it like a native.

gubbie · 15-04-2012 5:23pm

If you're going to be travelling close to home: French/Spanish
If you're looking for a new line of work near home: German
If you're looking for work at home: Polish/Russian
If you're looking to go to China and become crazy wealthy: Chinese

Look at your friend set. Have you any that speak a particular language? Go for that. You could talk to them in that language. Have a bro-club

latenia · 15-04-2012 5:28pm

Latin. I've never had an Italian, Spanish or Romanian lesson in my life yet I can pick up a newspaper in any of those languages and understand it no problem.

Grayson · 15-04-2012 5:31pm

I'm learning french and spanish from audio cd's and books I downloaded from the internet. I'd recommend the Michel Thomas method. I should add, of the 100 ppl on my floor in work, there's about 10 native english speakers. I sit directly in front of a french team and next to a spanish one so I have plenty of opportunity to practice/get laughed at.

If you're looking for a handy languare to go traveling with, go with spanish. If you go with something like italian, you'll only ever get a chance to use it in italy. Whereas there are far more spanish speaking countries.

Whats the most useful language to know?

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