NationStates Jolt Archive

I would like to learn a fourth language. I speak English (duh), French and Spanish (Castellano). I would like to learn a non-European language... I already half-understand Italian, Portuguese, Valenciano and German, so I'd like to try something completely different; a real challenge. Romance and Germanic languages are out.
I'm torn between learning a "useful" language (mandarin, for example) and a language like Ojibwee or Yidish (a geek language that you learn just for the sake of it).
What do you all suggest?

How about Navajo?

I'd go for the less common languages, that is, if you can find a teacher.

Damnit I wish I was good at picking up languages. I'v been learning Mandarin for 10 years now and I'm still not bilingual. Maybe that's because I never really cared for it..

I'd say Russian, as it's pretty useful, but....

i was going to say chinese but navajo is an excellent suggestion. there are many native navajo speakers. you would have to like the desert southwest united states but thats not such a burden.

I would like to learn a fourth language. I speak English (duh), French and Spanish (Castellano). I would like to learn a non-European language... I already half-understand Italian, Portuguese, Valenciano and German, so I'd like to try something completely different; a real challenge. Romance and Germanic languages are out.
I'm torn between learning a "useful" language (mandarin, for example) and a language like Ojibwee or Yidish (a geek language that you learn just for the sake of it).
What do you all suggest?
Actually, Yiddish is related to German. It's Germanic, with Hebrew text.

I suggest you get a list of African languages, cut them into strips, put it into a hat, and pull one out. Learn it.

Learn Nahuatl (Aztec) or Quechua (Incan). They are cool because they are some of the few Native American languages still in use.

Oh, also, How does Klingon sound to you?

Arabic would be useful and interesting. You could talk to Osama! ;)

you could learn... Neapolitan! :D
here's a link if you're interested
http://www.duesicilie.org/Nnapulitano.html

Try a Ugric language.. Like Finnish or Estonian.. Or Possibly the infamous GREENLANDISH!

Arabic would be useful and interesting. You could talk to Osama! ;)

LOL!!!!

Try a Ugric language.. Like Finnish or Estonian.. Or Possibly the infamous GREENLANDISH!
Seconded on the Finnish.
About Greenlandish, do you have any resources? I haven't ever been able to find much information about it.

To Oxwana:
I would recommend Finnish for a challenge, depending on what exactly you are looking for. If by 'European languages' you just mean anything spoken in the area, then I suppose Finnish is out. But if you mean merely the family of interconnected Germanic and Romance languages and relatives, then I would say Finnish falls outside of that, and you might be interested.
It's quite different than French of German or any of that set of language, in my opinion.

A really tiny introduction to a few Finnish phrases to see if you are interested (http://www.gbarto.com/multilingua/ittybitty/blog/2005/02/really-itty-bitty-finnish-lessons.html)

Arabic is a great language for "romance". But Chinese may be more useful.

Arabic is a great language for "romance".

What? Pleaze explain. Sorry, if this is a stupid question.

I'm going to post the language I think you should learn with my nose...

kjm9o90wsew

*tries again*

kmjo00we

*quits*

How about Navajo?My aunt is Ojibwee, and it's taught at a highschool in my town. I find the Navajo history interesting, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to find a single Navajo speaker, let alone one to teach it...

I would like to learn a fourth language. I speak English (duh), French and Spanish (Castellano). I would like to learn a non-European language... I already half-understand Italian, Portuguese, Valenciano and German, so I'd like to try something completely different; a real challenge. Romance and Germanic languages are out.
I'm torn between learning a "useful" language (mandarin, for example) and a language like Ojibwee or Yidish (a geek language that you learn just for the sake of it).
What do you all suggest?romanian?

I'd say Russian, as it's pretty useful, but....I've heard that there are several Russian languages. Do you know which is the most common? Or which you think is the most interesting?

A really tiny introduction to a few Finnish phrases to see if you are interested (http://www.gbarto.com/multilingua/ittybitty/blog/2005/02/really-itty-bitty-finnish-lessons.html)

Finnish Radio news programme (http://www.yle.fi/radiouutiset/uutiset.ram), as a small sample of what the language sounds like. My Finnish sucks, but I think they're talking about a visit by Putin to Finland and about the space shuttle's problems.

Arabic definetly
its the deepest of them all
its the richest in grammer, it effected languages ALL over the world.
english,french,spanish, hindi, hebrew, farsi, swahilian, italian, greek, turkish, have all been effected by arabic

do you know that there are 265 words for the simple word (horse)
and another 100 for lion, and 1o for month, etc...

plus it will become very handy, because where ever you go there will be a muslim or an arab , and the arab media is now the third best after the american and the european... and there are 300 million arabs in the world, and it is one of the 6 languages that are recognized in the UN...

http://www.sr.se/ekot/index.asp

Click on "Senaste Ekot" for a Swedish news broadcast, just to see how different Finnish and Swedish are.

What? Pleaze explain. Sorry, if this is a stupid question.
Well, arabic is an ancient, very foreign language. It depends on how you look at it.
When many people talk about "Arabs", they think of people with towels on their heads that live in slums and blow themselves up sometimes (sorry but it's true that many people think that).
I reckon they had one of the most advanced empires and cultures for near on a thousand years, they wrote thousands and thousands of great ballads, stories and tales. And as always, learning a language does a lot to learn about a culture.

"The best answer comes from the man who isn't angry."
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arabic_proverbs

plus its a very fancy language, it is not easy to get special sounds in it, there are letters that are not found in ANY other language in the world..
lika a very heavy "D" "kh" "gh"...but ofcourse you have no idea what im talking about...
anyways,,, if you want any information about arabic teachings and stuff, u know how to contact me.

Actually, Yiddish is related to German. It's Germanic, with Hebrew text.Damn.

I suggest you get a list of African languages, cut them into strips, put it into a hat, and pull one out. Learn it.I'm leaning toward Swahili, just because it's so commonly used... Or Yoruba (sp?) for the same reason. "Laal" is spoken by about a hundred people, reason enough for me to want to learn it, but I have no one to teach it to me, obviously. "Baule" is one of the languages of the cote d'Ivoire, where my mother lived when she was young, but I'd probably have to go to the Cote d'Ivoire to learn it, and... Well, white people die a lot in that country right now. :(

My aunt is Ojibwee, and it's taught at a highschool in my town. I find the Navajo history interesting, but I'm not sure if I'd be able to find a single Navajo speaker, let alone one to teach it...

Neat!
As I understand it, there are somewhere around 7,000-10,000 fluent speakers left, but (as I'm in Connecticut and not a native), don't quote me. :)

well im an arab
(blow themselvs off?????????????????)

ok...so because ,...lets say a 1000(which is a huge no#)...(and are considered terrorrists in the arab world).... blew themselves up... u just make up ur opinion that the rest of the 300 million(excluding the thousand) are maniancs that walk with guns in the streets and tnt belts around there waist

god, i cant belive how naive u r....

the death rate in the arab world is among the lowest in the world, and guess what im in egypt, with a laptop,(your media sucks dude...they are teaching you wrong stuff)
i hate that....
so u thinkn we live in slums....oh yeah i forgot im plugging my laptop in my camels ASS, (R U REALLY THAT SILLY)

ps: being from a 1st world country doesnt give you the right to call us uncivilized, and stupid... talking about uncivilized, coming from a country that was established 7000 years ago, with arab neighbors from the same period....

when was your country established.....


what your saying is just racist and plain sick

you could learn... Neapolitan! :D
here's a link if you're interested
http://www.duesicilie.org/Nnapulitano.htmlIt's a Romance language, and I've decided not to learn any more of those (fluently) unless I move to a place where one is spoken. It's just not as challenging any more... I can understand a lot of written Napulitano already, and I've never seen it before. My cousins are Italian, anyway, so I'd be learning standard Italiano if I were to learn it at all, just because I'd have people to practise with.

Try a Ugric language.. Like Finnish or Estonian.. Or Possibly the infamous GREENLANDISH!
About Greenlandish, do you have any resources? I haven't ever been able to find much information about it.
Whoa, I've found some information on Greenlandic/Kalaallisut. And it is some seriously different stuff.
Check this out. (http://www.oqaasileriffik.gl/)
It's interesting stuff.

EDIT:
Wikipedia comes in Kalaallisut! (http://kl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)
Well, the main page at least.

-snip-
Calm down. I meant it's true that many people think that.
If you kept on reading, you would've read what I think about Arab culture and language. I'm a fan.

I might edit that so that it's not as easily misunderstood.

well im an arab
(blow themselvs off?????????????????)

ok...so because ,...lets say a 1000(which is a huge no#)...(and are considered terrorrists in the arab world).... blew themselves up... u just make up ur opinion that the rest of the 300 million(excluding the thousand) are maniancs that walk with guns in the streets and tnt belts around there waist

god, i cant belive how naive u r....

the death rate in the arab world is among the lowest in the world, and guess what im in egypt, with a laptop,(your media sucks dude...they are teaching you wrong stuff)
i hate that....
so u thinkn we live in slums....oh yeah i forgot im plugging my laptop in my camels ASS, (R U REALLY THAT SILLY)

ps: being from a 1st world country doesnt give you the right to call us uncivilized, and stupid... talking about uncivilized, coming from a country that was established 7000 years ago, with arab neighbors from the same period....

when was your country established.....


what your saying is just racist and plain sick

I agree with you. Well said. :goodjob:

Try a Ugric language.. Like Finnish or Estonian.. Or Possibly the infamous GREENLANDISH!Ugric. Hmmmm...
Interesting.
Foreign enough to be challenging, Germanic enough to make learning it a little easier... No new alphabet (big plus)...
Thanks for the heads up. I'll consider it. I honestly hadn't thought of it before.
Now which one would I learn...?

Learn Inuktitut, just because it looks soooo cool written down.

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/inuktitut.htm

(your Greenlandic is on that page too btw)

Learning to read/write chinese is almost trivial, and has the extra bonus that there are only two writen languages traditional and simplified, and the only one you really need to know to get along is simplified.

Speaking it, yeah..... I can't really make those extra sounds not present in english, so I'm sure I sound like a retarded southerner with rocks in my mouth.

It can be a little hard to keep up with someone speaking it, particularly if they're excited, but it's not too bad.

There's also the extra bonus of being able to completely freak chinese people out of their shoes. It's not uncommon for a couple of chinese people to either use both english and chinese freely in a coversation, or just switch to chinese when they don't want someone who looks like me to overhear. That can be fun.

Calm down. I meant it's true that many people think that.
If you kept on reading, you would've read what I think about Arab culture and language. I'm a fan.

I might edit that so that it's not as easily misunderstood.

well sorry if i got all my anger on you.... but ive been reading that alot nowadays... people think we are terrorristst... :headbang: they dont realize that we get bombs too, like in iraq, saudi arabia, beirut, cairo, sharm, taba... etc...
like the london and madrid bombings.....
just because the fanatics are muslims, doesnt make islam bad either.... i mean there are lots of strange fanatic christian and jewish beliefs.. and are practiced in egypt,,, but our religion(islam) tells us NEVER interfear on what they are doing (unless they are sacrificing people... which they dont thank god)

anywayz.... i still think you should learn arabic, or a familiar language, like farsi(iran)-urdu(pakistan)-etc....

I would recommend Finnish for a challenge, depending on what exactly you are looking for. If by 'European languages' you just mean anything spoken in the area, then I suppose Finnish is out. But if you mean merely the family of interconnected Germanic and Romance languages and relatives, then I would say Finnish falls outside of that, and you might be interested.
It's quite different than French of German or any of that set of language, in my opinion.Agreed.

A really tiny introduction to a few Finnish phrases to see if you are interested (http://www.gbarto.com/multilingua/ittybitty/blog/2005/02/really-itty-bitty-finnish-lessons.html)Thanks for the awsome resource. I think I'll be using it a lot.

Well, here's some of the least known ones I suggest. We need more people learning the Native American ones, because not many people speak them, and they need to be revived back to being important.

Nahuatl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuatl)

Mayan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_language)

Quechua (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quechua)

Navajo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_language)

People are even speaking Klingon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klingon_language)

Arabic is a great language for "romance". But Chinese may be more useful.I will most definitly learn Arabic. It will most definitly not be my fourth. A little too challenging... But just as useful as Chinese, I would argue. A lot of my friends speak Arabic as a first language, and I just really think it's an incredibly beautiful language. It is on my list of 4-5 languages to learn before I'm 25, but I'm not up to it at this point.

I'm surprised no one has said Gaelic. That's my vote anyways. Then you can run through the forest wearing nothing but a kilt with bagpipes playing, when you get kidnapped by English people and while you have your guts torn out cry, "FREEDOM!!"
That and it's sexy.

Hey, with that, who needs civilized languages.

It is on my list of 4-5 languages to learn before I'm 25, but I'm not up to it at this point.

I have a list of languages I want to learn by 25 too! :D

That or learn Shyriiwook, the Wookiee language.

romanian?Romanian really appeals to me, but I have seen it refered to as an "Eastern Romance language", and I kind of have to agree. I think it'd be too easy; a little vocabulary and some grammer basics and I'd understand it all. It's on the list. Maybe someday.

Arabic definetly
its the deepest of them all
its the richest in grammer, it effected languages ALL over the world.
english,french,spanish, hindi, hebrew, farsi, swahilian, italian, greek, turkish, have all been effected by arabic

do you know that there are 265 words for the simple word (horse)
and another 100 for lion, and 1o for month, etc...

plus it will become very handy, because where ever you go there will be a muslim or an arab , and the arab media is now the third best after the american and the european... and there are 300 million arabs in the world, and it is one of the 6 languages that are recognized in the UN...Awsome. I didn't know a lot of that. Now I want to learn it even more. Hmmm...
Maybe.
Are you Arab?

Go for the ultimate in challenging languages. Learn Basque.

what about amharic(ethiopia)
i find this language as a very hidden language...only used by ethiopia, also one of the old languages...with its own letters and sounds
not under any family,,,it has its own. :rolleyes:

Awsome. I didn't know a lot of that. Now I want to learn it even more. Hmmm...
Maybe.
Are you Arab?


yea i am an egyptian arab

i found this website i think it will come in handy, it includes over 3000 languages worldwide... http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/lmd/cals.htm

good luck completing 10 languages before you turn 30

People are even speaking Klingon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klingon_language)
tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhaH
:D

well im an arab
[.......]
god, i cant belive how naive u r....

the death rate in the arab world is among the lowest in the world, and guess what im in egypt, with a laptop,(your media sucks dude...they are teaching you wrong stuff)
i hate that....
so u thinkn we live in slums....oh yeah i forgot im plugging my laptop in my camels ASS, (R U REALLY THAT SILLY)
[.......]
when was your country established.....

what your saying is just racist and plain sickLMAO!!!
Watch out! Fiesty Arab Alert!
You tell them.
"im plugging my laptop in my camels ASS"... I almost died laughing.
You honestly just made my day. :fluffle:

Go for Gujarati. Now that's a language.

"im plugging my laptop in my camels ASS"
Who needs cold fusion if we could just breed camels. :D

I would like to learn a fourth language. I speak English (duh), French and Spanish (Castellano). I would like to learn a non-European language... I already half-understand Italian, Portuguese, Valenciano and German, so I'd like to try something completely different; a real challenge. Romance and Germanic languages are out.
I'm torn between learning a "useful" language (mandarin, for example) and a language like Ojibwee or Yidish (a geek language that you learn just for the sake of it).
What do you all suggest?

If you want something REALLY challenging, you should try Hungarian or ancient greek! Or, for something with an oriental style, try Korean, or maybe Mongolian if you want it for kicks!

LMAO!!!
Watch out! Fiesty Arab Alert!
You tell them.
"im plugging my laptop in my camels ASS"... I almost died laughing.
You honestly just made my day. :fluffle:

well, we do have a good sense of humor but its a secret....

seriously..,. study arabic...ull discover alot more then you think...and if arabic is hard for you in this stage then at least study the culture so you wouldnt fall for anything the media says.....
and goodluck

tlhIngan Hol vIjatlhaH
:D

What does that mean?

Parthini']I'm surprised no one has said Gaelic. That's my vote anyways. My family is of Scottish descent, by way of Cape Breton (there are more Gaelic speakers in the Canadian Maritimes than there are anywhere else in the world. yay). Trust me, it's on the list.

Then you can run through the forest wearing nothing but a kilt with bagpipes playing, when you get kidnapped by English people and while you have your guts torn out cry, "FREEDOM!!"But I can do that in any language... I do have an almost primal urge to paint myself in woad sometimes, though...

That and it's sexy.I dunno... I'm already pretty sexy. It might be dangerous for me to be any more so... I'll take my chances. ;)

Hey, with that, who needs civilized languages.Civilization is overrated.

well, we do have a good sense of humor but its a secret....I won't tell.

seriously..,. study arabic...ull discover alot more then you think...and if arabic is hard for you in this stage then at least study the culture so you wouldnt fall for anything the media says.....
and goodluckDone. Don't worry, I like arabs way more than white people (in general, not to generalize :D )... and Islam is my least-hated of all organized religions.

Learning to read/write chinese is almost trivial, and has the extra bonus that there are only two writen languages traditional and simplified, and the only one you really need to know to get along is simplified.

Speaking it, yeah..... I can't really make those extra sounds not present in english, so I'm sure I sound like a retarded southerner with rocks in my mouth.Yeah... My Chinese friends laugh at me when I say "hello". It's bad.

It can be a little hard to keep up with someone speaking it, particularly if they're excited, but it's not too bad.

There's also the extra bonus of being able to completely freak chinese people out of their shoes. It's not uncommon for a couple of chinese people to either use both english and chinese freely in a coversation, or just switch to chinese when they don't want someone who looks like me to overhear. That can be fun.You have no idea how encouraging it is to talk to another whitey who has managed to learn it. It is (as of now) on the list.

yey...


we finally broke the wall of 300 million, now we are 300 million and 1(and a very special one)


anywayz if you need any help just tell me...i can try to arange you websites or cd's, or even books..

good luck

btw:arabs are considered white race(if not a race of there own)

good luck again

Another hard language in my opinion, in addition to Basque, is Finnish. Also, Persian Farsi might be good to know.

Parthini']That or learn Shyriiwook, the Wookiee language.Sorry. I'm a trekkie. I'll learn tlhIngan Hol first.
Maybe, if I run out of human languages...

I just watched the movie hidalgo. Bad movie (in my opinion anyway) but damn, were they speaking arabic in it? If so, that is one HOT language!!!

Go for the ultimate in challenging languages. Learn Basque.I probably will. I have French family.

im learning arabic, well the alphabet at least. I havent got a teacher yet, but the few arabs (Bahrainis) ive talked to have said my pronounciation is pretty good for someone who didnt grow up speaking it. As to the alphabet, its a bit of a weird transition at first, but once you get past that, its not that hard, even though it is pretty weird compared to english.

well i guess ALL languages are cool to study... just never mind which you will learn first, take them in alphabetical order....untill you reach to Z

and the similar languages can be studied with each other(although that might cause a small confusion)

anywayz why not study an amazonian languages, always wanted to know what the strange names in survivor were... hehehe :D

what about amharic(ethiopia)
i find this language as a very hidden language...only used by ethiopia, also one of the old languages...with its own letters and sounds
not under any family,,,it has its own. :rolleyes:I had never heard of it before. Thanks for the heads up. It looks very interesting.

If you want to connect to the largest number of people, instead of learning those languages than nobody else knows, and it has to be non-European, try Arabic (as someone said) or Chinese.

These languages, however, should be much harder to learn than your usual Romance.

what about something dead/dying, latin is the obvious one, i learn that, but what about Assyrian or something. You could be one of the only speakers on the planet. Although you'd need to find someone who speaks ancient Assyrian

Sorry. I'm a trekkie. I'll learn tlhIngan Hol first.
Maybe, if I run out of human languages...

If you run out of human languages, learn Quenya (high elvish). It's pretty. :) And it'll be easy if you've already learned Finnish (which suggestion I heartily second or third or whatever - it's high on my own list of languages I really want to learn).

what about something dead/dying, latin is the obvious one, i learn that, but what about Assyrian or something. You could be one of the only speakers on the planet. Although you'd need to find someone who speaks ancient Assyrian

ha ha ha
are you seriuos.... assyrian died thousands of years ago... there is absolutly no need to bring it back to life...if you said hiroglephics i wouldv agreed, at least he can read all the marks on the tombs and temple if he visits egypt, but assyrian.....did they even leave pottery behind....
:gundge:

Go for Gujarati. Now that's a language.Gandhi's language. Awsome. Any particular reason you recommended it? And which dialect do you speak?

i found this website i think it will come in handy, it includes over 3000 languages worldwide... http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/lmd/cals.htm

good luck completing 10 languages before you turn 30I'm aiming for five more in the next eight years. One more in the five after that shouldn't be a problem. :)

anywayz if you need any help just tell me...i can try to arange you websites or cd's, or even books..wow
Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.

btw:arabs are considered white race(if not a race of there own)I don't believe in race, so it's all good. I just use physical description, and I've never met you, but I'd guess that I'm paler than you (scary white; I don't see the sun eight months of the year).

good luckThanx.

good luck againThanx again. :)

what about leaning the language of jesus... what was it called in the passion of the christ...aramic was it????

ok i have to go to sleep now coz its 5:45 am and i havent sleep for 48 hours i have no idea how i made it...anyway hope i have helped you and not distracted you....

goodnight thread=Tesbah ala kheir

what about leaning the language of jesus... what was it called in the passion of the christ...aramic was it????I'm not sure of the spelling, but yeah. That'd be cool to learn. I love the ancient languages. Latin would be the obvious choice, but it'd be super easy now that I know Spanish.

well i have to sleep now
its 5:50 am cairo time
goodnight thread=tesbuh ala kheir

well i have to sleep now
its 5:50 am cairo time
goodnight thread=tesbuh ala kheirNight. Thanks again for your help.

I've heard that there are several Russian languages. Do you know which is the most common? Or which you think is the most interesting?

There are different dialects, which I wouldn't call different languages. Right now I'm learning the dialect spoken in Moscow.

It is a beautiful language from a country with a lot of history. Plus, it's in wide use on the internet. If you learn Russian almost all of Eastern Europe opens up to you, though I know you didn't want to learn another European language. But it's a different language family than the others you learned.

Estonian and Ukrainian, as I've heard, are also beautiful. So is Georgian.

I would like to learn a fourth language. I speak English (duh), French and Spanish (Castellano). I would like to learn a non-European language... I already half-understand Italian, Portuguese, Valenciano and German, so I'd like to try something completely different; a real challenge. Romance and Germanic languages are out.
I'm torn between learning a "useful" language (mandarin, for example) and a language like Ojibwee or Yidish (a geek language that you learn just for the sake of it).
What do you all suggest?

Farsi, seriously, its both useful, and not so commonly used.

There are different dialects, which I wouldn't call different languages. Right now I'm learning the dialect spoken in Moscow.

It is a beautiful language from a country with a lot of history. Plus, it's in wide use on the internet. If you learn Russian almost all of Eastern Europe opens up to you, though I know you didn't want to learn another European language. But it's a different language family than the others you learned.

Estonian and Ukrainian, as I've heard, are also beautiful. So is Georgian.Awsome. Thanks for clearing that up for me. I'd really like to learn Russian.

For usefullness, it would be

Mandarin Chinese (there's a lot of Chinese people)

Indian language (Gujarti?)- there's a lot of Indians too

Arabic- every Muslim knows Arabic, even if it's not their first language

Swahili- for the African continent


But for sheer coolness, my vote goes to Russian.

im learning arabic, well the alphabet at least. I havent got a teacher yet, but the few arabs (Bahrainis) ive talked to have said my pronounciation is pretty good for someone who didnt grow up speaking it. As to the alphabet, its a bit of a weird transition at first, but once you get past that, its not that hard, even though it is pretty weird compared to english.

Wow, what a coincidence! I'm learning Arabic too, but only the numbers.

For usefullness, it would be

Mandarin Chinese (there's a lot of Chinese people)

Indian language (Gujarti?)- there's a lot of Indians too

Arabic- every Muslim knows Arabic, even if it's not their first language

Swahili- for the African continent


But for sheer coolness, my vote goes to Russian.Well, I am a commie....
I'm leaning towards Russian. Chinese and Arabic are on the list.

Either Greek or Aramaic for the purpose of religious debates, or Latin for sheer coolness. :D



Edit: Oh, and either Mandarin or Arabic. We're all going to be speaking one or the other at the rate the world is going now ;)

Either Greek or Aramaic for the purpose of religious debates, or Latin for sheer coolness. :D



Edit: Oh, and either Mandarin or Arabic. We're all going to be speaking one or the other at the rate the world is going now ;)Probably Mandarin and Arabic and English. Everyone is learning English, don't discount it. I'm just happy that English is my first language. Apparently it's hella hard to learn...
btw, props to all the ESL NSers.
Night all.

Oh, also, How does Klingon sound to you?

There's even a $500 schollarship to learn
http://www.kli.org/scholarship/

how about japanese you have three apabets

These languages, however, should be much harder to learn than your usual Romance.
I'm going to go ahead and disagree with that, the pronuciation of the yu vowel and making your intonations quick and clear can be brutal. But in my experiance, if you're white and speak any chinese, chinese people have no end to their enthusiasm for that. So even if you sound like stroke victim with a rock in your mouth it's not much in the way of a handycap if things are casual. Gramatically, it was really easy to learn, and one of the primary reasons I chose it over romance languages. The writing of it was pretty easy, each character and the relations of the characters in a word tell a kind of story about the word (see the movie "Hero").

Basque! The only remaining native European language from before the Indo-European invasion. It has no linguistic relations to any other language in the entire world. Should make it a nice challenge.

Basque! The only remaining native European language from before the Indo-European invasion. It has no linguistic relations to any other language in the entire world. Should make it a nice challenge.
Well, they say it's got sino-tibetan-ish roots.

I'd go for Russian. I've just started studying it (to improve my university application in it), and it's pretty damn awesome.

I'd like to learn French... so many good books written in it! :)

I would like to learn a fourth language. I speak English (duh), French and Spanish (Castellano). I would like to learn a non-European language... I already half-understand Italian, Portuguese, Valenciano and German, so I'd like to try something completely different; a real challenge. Romance and Germanic languages are out.
I'm torn between learning a "useful" language (mandarin, for example) and a language like Ojibwee or Yidish (a geek language that you learn just for the sake of it).
What do you all suggest?
You could try Indonesian, I learnt that for a few years and It's pretty easy

I'd like to learn French... so many good books written in it! :)
And it's pretty easy if you know english.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am now slightly less intimidated by the prospect of learning Chinese than I was before. For my fourth language, I'm leaning towards Russin, though. Then Arabic, I think. Basque when I'm in Europe, probably...
Then an African language, probably Swahili. Then a Native American one, probably Ojibwee...
Well, that'll make ten, anyway. I'm gon be a busy girl.
Oh, and I have to learn Gaelic. :D
I'm gon be a busy girl.

I would like to learn a fourth language. I speak English (duh), French and Spanish (Castellano). I would like to learn a non-European language... I already half-understand Italian, Portuguese, Valenciano and German, so I'd like to try something completely different; a real challenge. Romance and Germanic languages are out.
I'm torn between learning a "useful" language (mandarin, for example) and a language like Ojibwee or Yidish (a geek language that you learn just for the sake of it).
What do you all suggest?

Latin. Latin is the best in the world. I studied it for 6 years and I loved it.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am now slightly less intimidated by the prospect of learning Chinese than I was before. For my fourth language, I'm leaning towards Russin, though. Then Arabic, I think. Basque when I'm in Europe, probably...
Then an African language, probably Swahili. Then a Native American one, probably Ojibwee...
Well, that'll make ten, anyway. I'm gon be a busy girl.
Oh, and I have to learn Gaelic. :D
I'm gon be a busy girl.
Well, if you're going for each continent, you should try for Arrernte or Nyungar, two of the few surviving Australian Aborigine languages.

I'd learn some kind of Middle Eastern Language, or perhaps Chinese and/or Japanese.

Latin. Latin is the best in the world. I studied it for 6 years and I loved it.Latin is definitly a romance language, to my mind. It's out. I want a challenge.

Well, if you're going for each continent, you should try for Arrernte or Nyungar, two of the few surviving Australian Aborigine languages.It had never occured to me to try and learn a language from each continent, but looking at my choices, I can see how you might think that. I have family from each of the continents on my list of languages to learn, and a means to learn them all. I think I might have trouble finding someone to tach me Arrernte or Nyungar, though it would be interesting... Maybe someday. I have always wanted to visit Australia. Actually, my Nana is from New Zealand. Are either of those languages spoken there? Or are there seperate Maori languages?

plus its a very fancy language, it is not easy to get special sounds in it, there are letters that are not found in ANY other language in the world..
lika a very heavy "D" "kh" "gh"...but ofcourse you have no idea what im talking about...
anyways,,, if you want any information about arabic teachings and stuff, u know how to contact me.


Just curious, but the Arabic script is quite similar to Urdu and Punjabi script. 28-letter alphabet? Some of the consonant formations are almost impossible for a non-native speaker to reproduce.

Very interesting language, and written, a very different way of looking at the world.

french :eek: :fluffle:

Come learn Bahasa Melayu. You can impress your friends with that, and speak to about 30 million people in the world with that language. Maybe slightly more, but depends, Bahasa Indonesia is a bit different. Well, heck, Learn bahasa Indonesia as well and you can speak to about 300 million other people.

french :eek: :fluffle:Je parle francais deja. C'est mon deuxieme langue. J'ai le dit dans ma premiere post en cette thread.
Je parle francais, anglais et espagnol, et je ne veut pas apprendre un autre langue Romantique ou Germanic.

Come learn Bahasa Melayu. You can impress your friends with that, and speak to about 30 million people in the world with that language. Maybe slightly more, but depends, Bahasa Indonesia is a bit different. Well, heck, Learn bahasa Indonesia as well and you can speak to about 300 million other people.Ah.
Malay. I was a little slow there. Had to google it. I already know how to count to three (childhood friend), so I'm halfway there!
Right?
It's interesting. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to it, but I'd love to learn. Indonesian may be a little more practical.

learn gaelic irish people rock

For a really easy "language" try Ulster-Scots

I would like to learn a fourth language. I speak English (duh), French and Spanish (Castellano). I would like to learn a non-European language... I already half-understand Italian, Portuguese, Valenciano and German, so I'd like to try something completely different; a real challenge. Romance and Germanic languages are out.
I'm torn between learning a "useful" language (mandarin, for example) and a language like Ojibwee or Yidish (a geek language that you learn just for the sake of it).
What do you all suggest?

Learn Welsh. You could speak to a dozen inbred sheep-farmers called Idwal, all of whom glare at you because you are one of them blasted incomers.

I would like to learn a fourth language. I speak English (duh), French and Spanish (Castellano). I would like to learn a non-European language... I already half-understand Italian, Portuguese, Valenciano and German, so I'd like to try something completely different; a real challenge. Romance and Germanic languages are out.
I'm torn between learning a "useful" language (mandarin, for example) and a language like Ojibwee or Yidish (a geek language that you learn just for the sake of it).

What do you all suggest?

If you are American, LEARN SIGN LANGUAGE. If you are not American, try Chinese, Arabic, or Russian.

Greek? Greek has always interested me.

I know you don't want to learn European languages, but you should learn Scotch Gaelic, and then translate the most beautiful song in the world for me (it's called "Cha D'fhuair Mi'n Cadal", by Dochas - I think it means 'we hate your throat very very much), whose lyrics I have always wanted to but never been able to understand.

After that, go and learn some ancient Native American language before it dies out. Then you'll be able to conjure their spirits for a rain dance. Which, come Thursday, might be very useful.

Hey I speak a fair bit of Welsh and I'm not a Farmer... or Welsh for that matter.

Uhh yeah, don't learn it though.

Learn Mandarin, Arabic or Klingon.

All three are useful when dealing with foreign cultures.

Russian. It's totally different from all those, and it'll keep you busy for a while. Plus it has a good supply of music :)

-Tomás

Seeing as how China is quickly progressing to become a superpower, learn Mandarin-Chinese. Some people find it difficult,but you've managed to get the feminine-masculine thing down, so the millions of different words for 'a' shouldn't be a problem. The writing could be a problem, though. That's always the trickiest bit.

But it's interesting,really. You can laugh atsilly things like Chinese character patterns. I saw at Claire's while picking something out for a friend. My sister and I were laughing for a full five minutes at the absolute bogus.

ASL is a great idea, but utterly useless outside of the USA. I know the alphabet!

I don't like Arabic. The pharyngeal consonants (and there are plenty) strike me as very ugly. I'm teaching myself Japanese, which I find sounds very nice and the grammar is quite regular, though very different from English in many ways. The writing system is a real pain, though.

There are no less than three writing systems in one (hiragana, katakana, and kanji), two of which write syllables (which isn't too bad as Japanese has a very limited number of syllables compared to English), while the kanji are the "picture" writing (actually, that description is quite inaccurate).

For a really easy "language" try Ulster-ScotsAh. Low-lands Scottish. Any particular reason you recommended it?
My family is from the high-lands. I'm already going to learn Gaelic.

Greek? Greek has always interested me.hmmm...
Hadn't considered that one. My Spanish teacher is Greek, too, so I'm surprised. Maybe I'll try to get a few extra-curricular lessons out of her this semestre.

...while the kanji are the "picture" writing (actually, that description is quite inaccurate).

I believe you will have to learn the history of the characters to understand that description. People say the same thing about Chinese characters (which connects with Japanese,seeing as how they stole Chinese characters and all), and the only character I have a problem with is the second character of 'turtle'. The original looks nothing like a turtle.