Hello, I am having trouble settling on a decision about which languages to study.

I speak Arabic as a native language and live in the Middle East. I also speak English at a C1 level.

I enjoy the process of improving my linguistic skills by improving my writing, speaking, and refining my syntax, and expanding my vocabulary.

I invested in French and German language courses and apps after they were discounted and I haven't started them, yet.

I do not need to learn any language for work or travel, so it is mainly a hobby/a recreational activity.

In this regard, learning German and French only to not use them/only to use them to consume media I can find dubbed in English seems like a very hard choice.

So, I have thought about instead going back to the languages that I already speak, Arabic and English, and to work so hard at improving them until I reach a very, very high level of proficiency in both of them.

I have paid for an English accent evaluation and received a detailed report on which sounds I sound foreign, and this motivates me to stick to English too.

As for Arabic, I'd love reading novels, watching news and consume content that would develop my written fluency and MSA grammar to absolute perfection.

So, should I learn French and German to a B1 level and sound foreign-ish in them with a thick accent, or work on perfecting my English and native Arabic?

Hi, I'm an English speaker living in Australia, and I'm looking to try out learning a language. Just an idea I had a while ago that stuck and I'm still interested, even if I didn't get far with it I reckon it'd be fun to give it a try.

I speak a tiny bit of Spanish (like high school language level), but I thought it would be cool to try and learn something from my heritage. After looking into my family heritage a little (not really any digging just surface level knowledge from family members etc) I've found my whole family on both sides that I know of so far comes from either England or Ireland. So Gaelic could be an option but it's so rarely spoken that I'm not sure if I should try something else instead.

I'm unsure whether learning another language would be helpful in terms of work or anything, I'm probably not going to leave Australia for a prolonged time for the foreseeable future.

Haven't really got any solid ideas, Gaelic could be an option but not sure. I'm interested in Scandinavian languages too.

Anyone have Irish heritage/similar sort of situation in terms of background to where I'm trying to figure out a language from, or any other suggestions, ways to narrow it down? Particularly narrowing down similar languages or languages from similar regions like Scandinavia?

Hi! I've always had a list of languages I'd love to learn, but I can't figure out how I learn/ have AuDHD and auditory processing issues that make it extra tricky; especially when attempting to hold conversation. I unfortunately find full immersion to be the only way so far, but I live in the US so I'm limited and can't just hop on a train (I'm so jealous! QQ). I'm thinking of trying to find little kid language books to try a different approach; thoughts? I've been trying to get the Hebrew alphabet memorized for ages and it just never sticks long term.

I'm eventually wanting to learn both, but given my troubles I think I want to focus in on one. Hebrew is a "I should" and Yiddish is a "I want to". I go to my Synagogue every week so I hear Hebrew one way or another, even if it isn't full immersion. Most people I know also already know Hebrew to some degree so getting help would be a lot easier. There are also adult classes in it; but I haven't had luck in the past.

Yiddish on the other hand is my preference and part of my family background. Many of the "little old ladies" speak it, but it's not something I hear (sans the occasional word) unless they're chatting. I'll also hear them switch into Hebrew, Russian, or Ukrainian mid convo depending on who's there.... it's fun to listen to but chaotic! That said I also know if I asked they would be happy to chat with me in Yiddish so I could practice. It's also based in Germanic rules so in theory it will be easier for a native English speaker.

What are your thoughts and suggestions? Thanks!!

At the moment I have a good level at Italian and French, as a Spanish native I’ve only studied Romance languages so Ive never exposed me to a foreign family language.

Portuguese: Latin language love the culture love the music, maybe I could live there

Japanese: have amazed me since I was very young as in my country there some animes in the tv and now as I’ve become older I’ve been more interested in it’s culture which I love (almost all)

At the end I think the “urge” or interest of learning Portuguese it’s because a Roman language

What do you think I should do? Lemme know any advice or similar situation you had, thanks!

TLDR: Basically, I feel really torn. I really want to travel and I like world culture and learning languages. Korea has always been at the top of my list because I am Korean-American with Korean family, aspirations to travel there and live there, connections to the culture and food, in a place with Korean speakers, etc.. It is a priority for me to learn it (soon!) and has been all my life, but I also experience anxiety, pressure, and guilt associated with the language and self-study has been really hard and unfulfilling to me. Russian is fun to learn all on its own as a language even though I have little personal connection to Russia or reason beyond just liking the language and thinking the culture is cool. I have an interest in world travel and living abroad, though my career I'm in school for (counseling/social work) makes that more challenging. Advice would really be appreciated!

So the title sort of explains my situation. Learning Korean to fluency has been a dream of mine since I was a little boy. I am Korean-American. I have a grandparent and various cousins and aunts and such either from Korea here in the US or living over in Korea, as well as a surprising amount of Koreans here in Virginia. I have a friend from Korea too, who's away in college rn. Growing up I heard a good bit of Korean being around family but never learned or understood it beyond a few key phrases.

I've naturally wanted to travel to Korea for many years, and I've really been considering teaching English abroad there if my military enlistment application isn't approved. I'm eligible for the F-4 Overseas Korean visa and have a cousin that owns/runs two schools over in Korea so that could hopefully translate to some kind of benefit down the line if I go that route. If my military application is approved and I am able, I'd be putting Korea at the top of my list and would be living on base there. I'd likely be trying for a slot as a linguist, where you go to the Defense Language Institute and get taught a language for a year or two. Russian and Korean would both be options for this, though part of it comes down to chance whether I get that linguist job or the language I'd want.

Aside from travel/immigration and family and career reasons, I grew up eating Korean food and make it whenever I can now, so that's another important part of my life Korea has covered. I love other cultures and Korea is no different. My 'Korean Dream' has been around my whole life at this point so eventually I will somehow have to find a way to satisfy it, in one way or another.

The issue here is that I've been studying Korean on and off by myself for years and it is just really draining. I can't really afford classes or anything and due to personal circumstances, I can't practice or be taught by any of the Korean speakers I know for one reason or another. Practicing alone just doing Anki and grammar lessons and shit feels like such a chore and doesn't do anything for my social-anxiety, especially in a non-native language. In the same chore-like vein, I do feel guilt often whenever I fall behind in my studies, and I haven't studied Korean in the past few months after a few of semi-consistent study due to depression and stress and other unrelated things that made it hard to really do anything. I sometimes speak in a mix of Korean and English with my grandmother, but that's the start and end of my Korean use.

Enter: Russian. If Korean is the (ex)wife I've been with for 20 years and have a kid with, Russian is a beautiful young woman who I've met a couple times before. I've dabbled a little with Cyrillic before and it was a lot of fun. I love the Russian accent and speaking is just so fun even if it's not always as natural as Korean. I'm an amateur writer and always find myself drawn to Russian and Soviet settings, and I loved learning about the Russian Revolution in school. I've heard good things about authors like Dostoevsky and Nabokov as well. I don't feel the same pressure or weight learning Russian that I do with Korean. Fuck, I mean, I could even fire up Duolingo or a similar app with Russian and not feel like I'm entirely wasting my time. I don't really have a special interest in Russian culture or cuisine (it scares me a little, having grown up on Korean food lol /j) but the language just feels really fun and I don't have any anxiety associated with it.

Being that I'm 18, if I want to go teach in Korea or go live there or whatever, I feel like the pressure is on now since that stuff only becomes exponentially harder the older you get and the more responsibilities and connections you accrue. Leaving a licensed professional career here in the US when I'm 30 or something to go teach in Korea when I'm already old and losing out on the 'young fun' or whatever doesn't seem like a good idea. I want to learn other languages just for travel reasons too, and I took some French in HS. I would love to live and work in another country long-term, though I'm in school for psychology with plans to become a social worker / counselor rn and the career prospects overseas for that look really bleak and slim due to cultural and licensure barriers, so I'd really only be able to do it if I worked remote for Americans or catered to expat communities. That's all just for context tho.

So yeah, any advice on all this would be very much appreciated! Glad to answer any questions or discuss anything in the comments. Thanks.

I’m currently at uni studying German and Portuguese and I can add a third language next year.

The options are: Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, Mandarin Chinese

And maybe: British sign language, Cornish, Korean, Japanese, Ukrainian, Arabic

I’ve mostly been thinking about French, Italian, Russian and BSL

French would be useful because it’s widely spoken and my sister is studying French and wants to practice with me. I’m interested in French history However, I don’t feel very passionate about France as a country but maybe Canadian French or other kinds of French

I really like Italian - the way it sounds, literature, music, cinema, etc. The only thing is that it’s not widely spoken.

Russian is a beautiful language which is quite important politically with interesting history and literature but it might be more difficult and I’m not as passionate as I am about Italian.

With BSL, it would be good to learn to be able to communicate with the deaf and mute community and it’s a unique kind of language. However, I’m not sure how the modules would work as it’s not an official language in the course but it’s offered by the universities language centre instead

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I am a doctor from Iraq, my native language is Arabic and I can speak English almost fluently

I am planning to learn a new language as I have some free time, but I don’t know what to choose, I need a language that would help me in the future too.

Would appreciate some advices.

Hi. I really would like to learn a Slavic language but I can't decide between Croatian or Polish. Here's why I need help picking between those two languages:

Croatian - My favorite rocker speaks Croatian fluently and there are some Croatian films that I would like to be able to watch without needing to rely on subtitles.

Polish - One of my neighbors is a Polish immigrant and while he is about an A1/A2 English speaker, there are a lot more things that I would like to be able to talk to him about.

So i’m a person who tends to frequently pick up a language, maybe try and learn it for a week even a month or more but never pursue it much further. I do truly want to fully learn a language though. But I tend to learn by fixation. For example, french. I have been heavily fixated on learning french for multiple years. Not sure what triggered it but hey here I am now going to be taking a proficiency test to officially be recognized as knowing it. Or hebrew, where it’s a language my family knows as well as I sometimes have the urge to randomly read or watch stuff in hebrew so i gotta know it.

Lots of yada yada context aside- I wanna learn some sorta classical language. But I don’t know which to choose. Sure there’s ancient greek or such but I just don’t think I could truly get myself interested in it. I can enjoy the language but I don’t have a care for classic greek stories.

So basically- what are your thoughts. Any classic languages you think look cool? any interesting stories or time period or uses. i want a language with some semblance of a usage whether it’s reading a story in its original language or maybe just a really interesting history to it. Just try to interest me. I wanna find an interesting old language and actually go and want to learn it.

TLDR: Recommend me some old ancient or classic language. Catch my attention make me want to learn it with some fun fact

EDIT: I know it’s a tall ask but only suggest a language if you have some explanation that can hook me 😭. I want to be hooked into a language and have a goal a reason why to learn it. stuff more interesting to read in an original language, a cool history, or something just interesting as a basis for modern languages

German Is easily my favorite language in the whole world. In spite of that, I have a real problem finding content to immerse myself in. Most of the things I am interested are only accessible on a high level (fuck you, Hegel).

On the other hand, there's French. I tried to learn it a while ago and liked it, but it gets kinda boring since it's a bit similar to my other two idioms. However, there's a lot of easier content of my interest that comes naturally to me (movies/books/graphic novels). Besides, French is the third language with more benefits I could speak.

Which should I focus on first? German would take more time to be useful, but the process is quite fun. French would be more boring, but faster to be useful.

This isn’t really a this or that post. It’s more me asking all people out there who speak both languages included in the title, is it possible/ reasonable to learn both Mandarin Chinese and Japanese at the same time. I know that learning two similar languages at once can become confusing but I used to study Mandarin for two years in school and I’ve just recently started learning Japanese and the pronunciation, vocab etc. does not seem that similar to me. I don’t think I would be that confused. Also even if I were to get confused at first I’m sure I would overcome it and it would be worth it in the end as I would’ve cut down lots of learning time possibly. I actually learned Spanish and Portuguese within the same time frame (I learned Spanish 1 and 1/2 years prior but was still learning) and would get confused between words because they are similar but now they are completely separate in my mind and I rarely ever get the two mixed up. Tell me what you think and anyone who has done this before with these specific languages let me know.

Hi. I am an Electrical Engineering student from Brazil. Portuguese is my native language. I speak English almost fluently (I just don't practice my speaking frequently).

I am looking for a new language to learn after English, but I am undecided. Things that are important for me: engineering, tech and more importantly getting to know a new culture and language. So far, I have wondered about these:

• French: it is present all over the world. Notably in France (Europe) and Canada (America). Has a lot of speakers. I think it is easier to learn than German.
• German: it is present in Europe and has a lot of speakers too. Germany is an engineering power and many engineering multinational companies are based in Germany too. However, it is not as widespread as French and also more difficult.
• Spanish: it is the closest language to my native language (Portuguese) and heavily present in South America. Brazil is the only country there that doesn't speak Spanish (besides French Guiana). Learning it would break language barriers in South America and allow me to talk to many people from many countries next to me. However I don't know if it would be professionally worth it to learn.

Could anyone please give me an advice and tips on how to choose?

I have been wanting to study one of these for a while but not sure which to pick, I would much rather live in Japan but I do mostly face Korean culture in my day to day life my living area is mostly Koreans. I like anime and manga but i also like Korean shows and wouldn't mind some books. If I were to consume any media it would probably just be YouTube I also am kind of intimidated by Japanese but anyways please give me some suggestions and explanations, thank you

I speak fluently English and Spanish and I have been learning Dutch since January with Duolingo an occasional movie. I am wondering should I continue learning Dutch or should I choose a different language to learn? I have a relatively good knowledge of Latin since I learn Spanish fluently and I don’t know if I should continue with touch. The only reason why I started learning Dutch because I wanted to be training and I liked how Dutch sounded and how similar it is to English

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The language school that I learn German at gave me a member's discount where I can choose 2 additional languages (A1/A2) levels for the price of one, $75.

I don't know if I should pass on this offer or take it.

They offer: German (already taking), French, Russian, Italian, Spanish, and Turkish.

Which two languages should I choose, if I should take that offer?

I am a native Arabic speaker, and my English proficiency is at a C1/C2 level, although I occasionally make small mistakes. I started learning German, and I am currently at an A1 level. So I speak three languages in total, incl. my native language.

I've read that the maximum number of languages a normal/average person can master at a C2 level is usually between 4-6. So, based on this, assuming I am average... I could potentially learn two to three additional languages.

My question is that whether adding two to three more languages is truly worth the effort? I chose to learn German because it aligns with both my interests and its practical utility, and I found the process enjoyable. I would use the same criteria (interest and utility) if I decide to take on additional languages.

If I do choose to learn more, I will select up to three languages from the following list: French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Swedish, Dutch, and Norwegian.

While you are at it, could you please choose which languages from this list would be the most useful to know and have the most utility? I like them all the same, believe it or not.

i can’t decide between Greek, Russian, or some other language i haven’t considered. i want to get to enjoy a beautiful culture and literature; i especially want to be able to access good science literature and maybe contribute someday. idc how hard learning will be. both of these languages have absolutely beautiful cultures, beautiful literature, and amazing scientific and philosophical works. i want to travel for work someday, but usefulness isn’t the main factor because i plan to learn other languages as well.

• Greek could let me read the bible in a tongue closer to the original writings or the poems of sappho. the option to go to college here is also a massive factor. there is also amazing literature on astronomy and philosophy as well from what i hear.

i’d love the visit greece someday, even if it is warmer than i prefer.

• Russian has a lot of good scientific literature and incredible cultural literature from what i’ve heard. i like russian for a similar reason as greek, i adore how it sounds and feels to speak. the whether is much closer to what i prefer as well. there are some college opportunities i’d be interested in but in general it would be harder for me to visit much considering the current political climate.

the only reason i don’t just learn both of these is because i already am planning on learning German, French, Latin, and Norwegian, and i want to reach higher levels of fluency, so ima need to limit myself a bit because this is already gonna be a lot to do for a long time.

I can speak Spanish (N), English and German, but I want to learn a new language.

I was thinking on picking:

- Bulgarian (because is the easiest slavic language, also is spoken in an EU country) and I want to visit Sofia in January 2025.

-Italian because of ancestry

-Greek because sounds A LOT similar to Spanish, also we have many words with hellenic roots

-Romanian because my girlfriend is a Romanian-born in Spain (but we talk in Spanish each other tho)

-French because they´re neighbours and its widely spoken, also I love french/belgium/swiss villages, but I dont like the sound of the language tbh (but I like to see written French)

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First of all, good day. I'm a Spanish speaker and my second language is English. I do not start to learning En in the normal way, but I learn with music and other things. I'm don't feel confident with my English Level right now (my level was/is intermediate and I can start a conversation and follow it easily), but I don't feel really sure 'bout leave the English and jump right to the Japanese.

I was learnin' some Hiragana's but I don't know if I wanna keep learning Jap. I wanna start to learn because THE DOUJINS, but, ¿What do you recommend me?

I have a 260 day streak in duolingo on german in section 2 unit 10. But I have been feeling quite bored, I just realize I probably wouldn't use german in the future since im probably not gonna go to college or work there(but I do feel interested in living in switzerland), I learn german simply because I like learning about ww2, and watched some movies about that.

My first thought was that maybe I should learn something else, im thinking of italian. Maybe you guys could help or give advise.

And sorry for maybe a grammar mistake or bad english, im indonesian and english is my second language.

As the title says, Ill be doing a German exam for B2/C1 category next Wednesday and since my German classes will be then over, I thought Ill have more time to learn a new language. My choices are:

Swedish- Picked it up last year due to a Sweden trip, but later I didn't have much time for it anymore so it stayed there. Otherwise I have a good textbook and even a wordbook with pictures. I also like one Swedish band and Ill be visiting Stockholm for 7th time in December due to a class trip.

Korean: Well, I listen to K-Pop, I watch K-Dramas sometimes, I like how the language sounds. Not ttomention I'd like to visit South Korea someday. I also go to dance classes, where we learn K-Pop choreos.

Finnish: It's kinda easy language for me bc my native language is Estonian. They're bit mutually comprehensible in grammar, but not in vocabulary. I started with it in 2015, got the books and all, but after few months I gave up.

Mandarin Chinese: I had a short time affair with it. It seemed so fascinating and fun to learn actually. Memorizing the characters is hard, but I think I'll do just fine. Chinese also sounds nice to my ear.

Vietnamese: I bought a book for self-learning Vietnamese and I have a friend, who is Vietnamese. However, the book I have teaches Northern dialect and she's from Southern Vietnam, so idk how much would I understand her, but I'd have more help then.

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If I live in Spain and know Spanish, English and German. Which language would be the most rewarding between Greek 🇬🇷🇨🇾, Portuguese 🇵🇹, Italian 🇮🇹, French 🇫🇷, Dutch 🇳🇱, Russian 🇷🇺?

I study a university career related to Biology and Chemistry, so maybe the most useful here would be greek (for words like Hydrogen, Mitosis...), Dutch because Netherlands is very developed on this area, and French because many resources are only in French

Also I was thinking of Portuguese because they're our neighbours, but that language is very similar to Spanish

Also Russian, because I really like the sound of the language, and it can open you doors to other Slavic languages, but I feel it's not that important in EU countries because of the war :-( (and many eastern European Won't like to speak in Russian)

And Italian because of ancestry roots

Hi! I'm native Burmese speaker trying to learn fellow Southeast Asian languages. And I can't decide whether I should learn Malay or Bahasa Indonesia or Tagalog. My main purpose is for further studies and possible immigration.

Malay sounds attractive for immigration and it has got fascinating history. And it is rich. However it is not as significant as the other two.

Bahasa Indonesia has biggest speakers, economically strategic and I want to study and live in Indonesia. And many resources too. But it has got too many dialects tho.

Tagalog is very attractive for me too. I love their history and culture. Always imposed to several Filipino series and I already know Spanish too. Have a plan to move there possibly. What should I learn? Any advices are welcome!

Hi everyone, how are you? I'm Brazilian and my native language is Portuguese. I speak English B1 and a little Spanish and Italian, and I'm thinking about learning a new language to use at work and to live in Europe in the future. I'm a little undecided between French and German, which one is more used/spoken in Europe? Maybe both?

I want to learn Chinese just because of sheer interest for the culture and it would unlock a LOT of content I can't have access to in English. It would be mainly for entertainment. On the other hand I'm contemplating studying in Germany since even though its economy is currently in a decline it is still the most powerful one in Europe and it may benefit me since I'm next-door (I'm French). But what is deterring me from making a decision is that Germans are apparently very good in English and there are many dialects spread over Germany so it makes learning it less motivating. Whereas I wouldn't get more professional opportunities if I learn Chinese, even though I prefer this language over German since it looks way more exotic to my eyes.
In view of my circumstances, which one would you recommend to learn?

is it real that learning English is enogh for most fields of knowledge, and if I want to learn third language, it may be better for me to improve my English instead?

I'm interested in Persian culture and its language. I've read about the Mughal Empire and have some experience with Hindi/Urdu, so I already know some of the vocabulary.

However, I don't see myself ever traveling to Afghanistan, Iran, or Tajikistan. It doesn't seem like it will be safe to travel to any of them over the next few decades.

Has anyone else had experience learning a language without traveling to the place it's spoken? I know of some Persian speakers where I live, but the population is much smaller than that of the diaspora in Los Angeles.

Looking to absolutely SHOCK some natives in Vrchat (too socially anxious to do it IRL) and wanted to know what the best language would be that would totally surprise a native speaker. Obviously the qualities must be a large enough language that I can find someone in a video game, but sorta rare seeing a native English speaker speak it and bonus if its not likely they speak English either.

I decided I will attempt a classical language, and I need help deciding which

It is worth noting that my goal is reading, to read and engage with the texts in these languages, and to understand the linguistic nuance of them, rather than a lot of conventional language learning goals like actually talking to people

As for the selection of these five, I struggle to explain why, but it comes down to interest in translated versions of their literary canons, interest in their respective cultures and liking their linguistic features. Considering my goals, Classical Chinese would be very interesting due to its writing system, while Old English is the one that I have the most cultural and literary familiarity with. How much I end up enjoying this will come down heavily to how much I enjoy their literary canons as well as availability of resources and ease of features.

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