What language would you recommend I learn?

I am interested in learning a new language. I have considered both Spanish and Chinese, but am curious which language everyone would recommend as being the most useful to learn and why?

Hi, Annata,

For specific articles on learning Chinese, try reading Learn Chinese or Learn Mandarin Chinese.

For learning Spanish, we have an article looking at which is easier to learn, Spanish or German, and an article on why learning a foreign language (Spanish) is important in economic bad times.

If you do decide to learn Spanish, there are a great many free resources on the Language Learning channel at Bright Hub which will cost you no more than the time you spend to read the articles.

Spanish is probably the 3rd most spoken language in the world today. It is spoken in countries all over the world, and is becoming more and more important to know in parts of the United States.

China has more people, and therefore more people speaking Mandarin Chinese, than any other language in the world. China is becoming a more and more important economic force in the global economy. Knowing Chinese could be very helpful in your future career.

Think about where you are going in your life, and where you would like to be in ten years. Do you think either Chinese or Spanish will help you get there?

Whichever language you decide to learn, enjoy the process!

Excellent information, thank you very much!  I figured Spanish was popular, but did not realize it was the 3rd most spoken, that is good to know.

Annata Terranova:

I am interested in learning a new language. I have considered both Spanish and Chinese, but am curious which language everyone would recommend as being the most useful to learn and why?

I'd recommend that you learn Spanish, especially if you're living in North America or Europe.

Here in the U.S., Spanish speaking communities aren't restricted to the Southwest, Florida, New Jersey, and New York City. These communities have spread throughout the southern part of the U.S., and are working their way further north.

This means that many service related jobs, as well as construction, are seeing more Hispanic workers.

Imagine walking into a Hispanic themed restaurant to order an ice creamed based "Golden Cadillac" drink. You see the cone shaped galiano bottle in the bar, which is one of the ingredients. In response, the bartender asks, "martini?" Speaking Spanish to them would allow you to spend more time finding out if that recipe is available, and less time trying to bridge the language barrier with statements like this: "Galiano! Ice cream! Me no want martini, no!"

If you decide to go on a multiple-country trip south of the Rio Grande, you won't need to learn a third language. Spanish would get you through; even if you're in Brazil, where they speak Portuguese. Simply speak Spanish to them, and let them speak Portuguese to you. Many Brazilians also speak Spanish.

Either way, the language barrier would be minimal to none. Picture this. You're partying at Ipanema, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. You're speaking to a Brazilian in Spanish, and the Brazilian is speaking to you in Portuguese. In the middle of the conversation, the Brazilian compliments your Portuguese.

You could also use Spanish in Western Europe. Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian evolved from Latin. Even though they've deviated, you could still hold a conversation with someone in France, Italy, and Portugal without speaking their native language.

Imagine another scenario. You're talking to a French woman who's speaking Italian; you guys are in Italy. You make a comment, in Spanish; that it's neat that you guys could converse with each other despite speaking different languages. She responds, in Italian, that there's no way you could do that.

That's ironic, but both scenarios are based on actual experiences.

Paboreal:

Annata Terranova:

I am interested in learning a new language. I have considered both Spanish and Chinese, but am curious which language everyone would recommend as being the most useful to learn and why?

You could also use Spanish in Western Europe. Spanish, Portuguese, French and Italian evolved from Latin. Even though they've deviated, you could still hold a conversation with someone in France, Italy, and Portugal without speaking their native language.

Imagine another scenario. You're talking to a French woman who's speaking Italian; you guys are in Italy. You make a comment, in Spanish; that it's neat that you guys could converse with each other despite speaking different languages. She responds, in Italian, that there's no way you could do that.

That's ironic, but both scenarios are based on actual experiences.

Here's a second installment of what I mean.

"Terranova" isn't Spanish, but I could use Spanish to translate that to mean "new land." In Spanish, that'd read, "Tierra Nueva." Tierra and Terra means land or earth. Nueva and nova means new.

In Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of the Christ," people in the audience, who spoke one of the Romance languages, were able to pick out some of what the Romans were saying.

Everybody understood what "idiota" meant, when one Roman reprimanded the second one for not seeing that trouble was about to brew. It's close to the English word with the same meaning. French uses "idiot" while Spanish and Italian uses "idiota." When he looked at the second Roman and commanded him to go, he sternly said, "ir!" in Latin. In Spanish, "ir" is "to go."

And speaking of Latin, learning Spanish opens another door. "Musca Domestica" is the scientific name for housefly. In Spanish, it's "mosca domestica." Mosca means "fly," and domestica is similar to the English word, "domestic."

Spanish also helps with legal language. The Latin phrase, "Habeas Corpus" literally means "Have Body." That sounds like Spanish's "Haber Cuerpo."

The Senior Cardinal announced Pope Benedict XVI, in Latin by saying, "Habemus Papam." It literally means, "we have father." In Spanish, that'd be "Habemos Padre," or "Habemos Papa." Other terms are are "hemos," or "tenemos."

The Vatican's webpage shows these romance languages together, and you'd be able to see the similarities.

Rebecca Scudder:

China has more people, and therefore more people speaking Mandarin Chinese, than any other language in the world. China is becoming a more and more important economic force in the global economy. Knowing Chinese could be very helpful in your future career.

As the Chinese increase their participation in the global economy, their quest to learn English gets stronger. There's a demand, in China, for people that are interested in going to China to teach English. That thirst for learning to speak English is no accident.

I remember when I was in Thailand, highway signs had both, English and Thai words. About a year and a half before that, they were just in Thai. This is important, as Thailand is part of ASEAN, which signed a free trade agreement with China a few years ago.

It wouldn't hurt to learn Chinese though, but I'd chose Spanish over Chinese.