What language should I learn (NOT japanese or chinese!)?

[kyrt]

Let's see you could always learn cuneiform or sign language because I don't think those have been suggested yet. Honestly though ancient languages while interesting are not exactly the most useful...try and stick with something of the modern world (unless you want ancient). The majority of jobs you will be able to get actually won't care what secondary language you know...most colleges though will request you learn at least one for reasons. Considering the amount of exclusive anime/games/novels/history/etc are likely to be found in Japan I still think Japan is the proper way to go about it both from an entertainment and entrepreneurial standpoint. The amount of jobs available to you if you know Japanese and English is likely going to be greater than if you knew any other languages.

[Scorp]

46 minutes ago, kyrt said:

Let's see you could always learn cuneiform or sign language because I don't think those have been suggested yet. Honestly though ancient languages while interesting are not exactly the most useful...try and stick with something of the modern world (unless you want ancient). The majority of jobs you will be able to get actually won't care what secondary language you know...most colleges though will request you learn at least one for reasons. Considering the amount of exclusive anime/games/novels/history/etc are likely to be found in Japan I still think Japan is the proper way to go about it both from an entertainment and entrepreneurial standpoint. The amount of jobs available to you if you know Japanese and English is likely going to be greater than if you knew any other languages.

As I already told, my field of work it does not touch language aspect in the lightest and I graduated from college more than a decade ago... So I only want something to be useful in real life and get the most benefits I can in terms of untranslated books/games/films, so entertainment aspect in first case.

1 hour ago, Bolverk said:

Exactly. That's why you should learn Fapanese! So you can enjoy freedom without murica (English) in porn novels. Because if you read fapnovels regularly. Why not do it in fapanese! 

More seriously though. You should learn Icelandic. That way you can read the Edda saga and Norse mythology in the original language. This is very interesting stuff (Because then you can read いつか、届く、あの空に and actually understand what is going on it.)

Cannot say that I am fan of porn novels. I read mostly serious and plot-driven VNs, which have quite a few fap content. Also I cannot fap on mosaics, so only uncensored releases fit. I do not like comics or manga that much (read like 10 comics in total in my whole life). So no, fapanese is not for me.

I read Eddas in translation years ago. I am not fond of poetic language (like I already told), so read them in original seems redundant.

[OriginalRen]

I'd learn French to be honest. It is spoken in many countries over the world, and is one of the 2nd most used international languages. French can also pave way for the other romance languages (Spanish/Italian).

[frc_]

You say you don't want to learn Japanese, but given the forum you're posting in it's the most obvious choice. Even disregarding its use for reading VN's and other kinds of Japan-specific material (and thereby being able to pick up details that were lost in translation), it's an interesting language simply because it's so different from English. (Then again that goes for many languages )

What makes you turn it down right from the start? Overwhelmed by kanji?

[sanahtlig]

6 hours ago, Aizen-Sama said:

 But take into account that Spanish is NOT an easy language to learn, a lot of people know the basics and have a general idea on how to speak Spanish, but there are a lot of things that differ from other languages. For example, foreigners have a very rough time learning the spanish verb and tense systems.

No, Spanish is indeed a pretty easy language to learn.  I took a few classes and that was good enough to understand public announcements unaided.  I didn't put much effort into it and years later I still remember much of what I learned.  You know how much Japanese I could read after an equivalent education?  Zero.

[Scorp]

1 hour ago, frc_ said:

You say you don't want to learn Japanese, but given the forum you're posting in it's the most obvious choice. Even disregarding its use for reading VN's and other kinds of Japan-specific material (and thereby being able to pick up details that were lost in translation), it's an interesting language simply because it's so different from English. (Then again that goes for many languages )

What makes you turn it down right from the start? Overwhelmed by kanji?

This sub-forum is named "Colosseum of chatter". What's wrong with it? I do not want to learn japanese (as I see no use for myself, I like only very specific VNs and anime, I am not an otaku in any way) or chinese (this because it is almost impossible to learn without good teach). So lets stop this discussion right here, japanese and chinese are out of question and should not be mentioned.

[Einher]

I'd second the suggestion for learning Spanish. You gotta remember there's the whole vast Latin American culture to explore. In literature, three of the best writers of the past century (two Nobel laureates) are from South American spanish-speaking countries: Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa and Jorge Luís Borges, not counting all the others from the whole Latin American Boom of the 60's and 70's. Apart from that, in movies there is Pedro Almodóvar, like it was said before, with a really vast and really beautiful filmography.

[frc_]

1 hour ago, Scorp said:

This sub-forum is named "Colosseum of chatter". What's wrong with it? I do not want to learn japanese (as I see no use for myself, I like only very specific VNs and anime, I am not an otaku in any way) or chinese (this because it is almost impossible to learn without good teach). So lets stop this discussion right here, japanese and chinese are out of question and should not be mentioned.

By forum I meant Fuwa in general - your very presence here indicates at least some degree of interest in Japanese things. But as you wish.

[Clephas]

Russian.  There are lots of interesting Russian writers I'd like to read in the original language...

[Darklord Rooke]

5 minutes ago, Clephas said:

Russian.  There are lots of interesting Russian writers I'd like to read in the original language...

Seconded. Also globally, almost as many people speak Russian as Spanish.

[Scorp]

Interesting russian authors... Means Dostoevsky, Tolstoy or someone else? As I tried to read them - first one put me into depths of despair and second into the pit of boredom... Globally I never met too much russians when I visited Europe. Seems they mostly concentrated in Russia and Ukraine 

[Darklord Rooke]

Dostoevsky is definitely a must. 'Dead Souls' by Gogol is interesting reading. 'Fathers and Sons' by Turgenev is likewise. 'Mother' by Gorky and etc.

I've always found Russian literature to be compelling in ways other countries' literature just isn't. Russia's home to some of the greatest novelists in history.

[Keinart]

So not trying to sound cynical here but you ask people to give you reasons to learn a language but then: you don't wanna travel so you don't need languages to visit places, if the literature/comics/movies is translated (nowadays all the classics and great pieces for every language are translated at least into english) then you don't need it either, you don't really wanna join communities from people interested in X language or learn their culture either, and if it's a language that's not VASTLY used then you don't care because it's not useful.

Man, I don't know, it's like wanting to learn to drive without even thinking of getting inside a car. What's the point here? People is trying to give you reasons and you are just saying that all of them suck. You learn to drive for transportation and/or for love for cars, and you learn a language for communication and/or for love for their culture. If you just wanna learn a language but don't really have any purpose other that just learning then pick one randomly and go for it, it's not like it matters at the end anyways.

[Deep Blue]

Don't learn spanish, don't waste your time, the best things from here are already translated (borges for example, almafuerte-pedro bonifacio, etc etc) 

Spoiler

 

Spanish as a language sucks (and the many many variations it has) and spanish speaker people are the worst kind (most of them probably 80%), south and central america is shit, don't waste your time learning this language...  spain is almost the same...maybe guinea is different? lol

source: I'm from Argentina, I know chile, bolivia, peru, uruguay, paraguya, I know a little bit of mexico some parts, venezuela, colombia, i loath the culture around us spanish speakers, their people, yes I have some strong hate toward my people and you need to live here to being able to understand why i hate them, one thing is to see something on tv or spend a vacation in a place, another thing is to live with the same people.

 

 

[Scorp]

@Keinart  so why you even bother to reply?  If you do not feel like suggesting - do not suggest, that's simple.

By now it seems I incline towards learning spanish. French is my second choice.

@Deep Blue I know two guys from Argentina and even visited Brazil and Argentina back in the days. Guys whom I know both are good guys, cannot complain about them. Things related to mentality... Well... Hard to judge, I know too little about that matter.

[Deep Blue]

10 minutes ago, Scorp said:

@Keinart  so why you even bother to reply?  If you do not feel like suggesting - do not suggest, that's simple.

By now it seems I incline towards learning spanish. French is my second choice.

@Deep Blue I know two guys from Argentina and even visited Brazil and Argentina back in the days. Guys whom I know both are good guys, cannot complain about them. Things related to mentality... Well... Hard to judge, I know too little about that matter.

if you remotely want to understand a little bit of how argentina and some parts of latin america is enter Taringa (or at least some of its population 15 to 35 years old) 

[Scorp]

16 minutes ago, Rooke said:

Dostoevsky is definitely a must. 'Dead Souls' by Gogol is interesting reading. 'Fathers and Sons' by Turgenev is likewise. 'Mother' by Gorky and etc.

I've always found Russian literature to be compelling in ways other countries' literature just isn't. Russia's home to some of the greatest novelists in history.

I have a problem with classic russian authors. They usually develop themes, which center on depicting life's ugliness and hardships. So they all are about characters and "dat feels!". So plot twists or similar things are not needed, you just going with the flow. Having in mind that I every day see same picture in the streets (like in The Brothers Karamazov for example), reading such things depress me even more. I never heard about any cheerful russian classic prose, is there exist any?

[Darklord Rooke]

Unfortunately, Russian literature doesn't tend toward happy, happy stuff. Usually it is about the ugliness of life.

[Einher]

2 hours ago, Deep Blue said:

Don't learn spanish, don't waste your time, the best things from here are already translated (borges for example, almafuerte-pedro bonifacio, etc etc) 

  Hide contents

 

Spanish as a language sucks (and the many many variations it has) and spanish speaker people are the worst kind (most of them probably 80%), south and central america is shit, don't waste your time learning this language...  spain is almost the same...maybe guinea is different? lol

source: I'm from Argentina, I know chile, bolivia, peru, uruguay, paraguya, I know a little bit of mexico some parts, venezuela, colombia, i loath the culture around us spanish speakers, their people, yes I have some strong hate toward my people and you need to live here to being able to understand why i hate them, one thing is to see something on tv or spend a vacation in a place, another thing is to live with the same people.

 

 

Wow dude, that's a very strong hatred you've got there. Well, I can absolutely see where you're coming from, every place and its people have problems, and Latin America is no exception to the rule, but I really think that a lot of stuff is just relative. Spanish was - together with japanese - the most beautiful language I learned; I'm a big enthusiast of Latin American literature and would say that there are many fantastic authors that don't have their complete work completely translated yet; and finally and most important, I'd really think twice before saying that South/Central America is shit. First of all, as a matter of respect, and second, at least in my opinion, we have a a very compelling history behind us and a promising or at the very least intriguing future ahead. We have many problems, just like any set of developing countries, but even the most hostile land has something to offer.

[Deep Blue]

33 minutes ago, Einher said:

Wow dude, that's a very strong hatred you've got there. Well, I can absolutely see where you're coming from, every place and its people have problems, and Latin America is no exception to the rule, but I really think that a lot of stuff is just relative. Spanish was - together with japanese - the most beautiful language I learned; I'm a big enthusiast of Latin American literature and would say that there are many fantastic authors that don't have their complete work completely translated yet; and finally and most important, I'd really think twice before saying that South/Central America is shit. First of all, as a matter of respect, and second, at least in my opinion, we have a a very compelling history behind us and a promising or at the very least intriguing future ahead. We have many problems, just like any set of developing countries, but even the most hostile land has something to offer.

If you don't mind can you tell me where are you from?

[Keinart]

3 hours ago, Scorp said:

@Keinart  so why you even bother to reply?  If you do not feel like suggesting - do not suggest, that's simple.

By now it seems I incline towards learning spanish. French is my second choice.

@Deep Blue I know two guys from Argentina and even visited Brazil and Argentina back in the days. Guys whom I know both are good guys, cannot complain about them. Things related to mentality... Well... Hard to judge, I know too little about that matter.

Why would you even bother creating a thread about something you will always say no to everything? I could use the same argument here man, don't go to the defensive because nobody here is trying to attack you.

My suggestion precisely was as simple as to don't learn a language due the numbers of reasons I gave you, but it seems impossible to talk with you since you take everything as an attack and no reply is good enough. Good luck then.

[Scorp]

3 hours ago, Keinart said:

Why would you even bother creating a thread about something you will always say no to everything? I could use the same argument here man, don't go to the defensive because nobody here is trying to attack you.

My suggestion precisely was as simple as to don't learn a language due the numbers of reasons I gave you, but it seems impossible to talk with you since you take everything as an attack and no reply is good enough. Good luck then.

You seems do not read the thread at all. Good luck.

[ittaku]

How about giving us an idea of what sort of literature/art etc. you are interested in? Korean is another choice if you want something that provides unexplored untranslated anime, manhwa, visual novels etc. though I suspect if you're against Japanese and Chinese for that particular art form then perhaps Korean falls into the same category.

[Scorp]

1 hour ago, ittaku said:

How about giving us an idea of what sort of literature/art etc. you are interested in? Korean is another choice if you want something that provides unexplored untranslated anime, manhwa, visual novels etc. though I suspect if you're against Japanese and Chinese for that particular art form then perhaps Korean falls into the same category.

Korean... From what I got from the web, korean is hard to learn without proper tutor (in this it is similar to chinese and thai), because of all these nuances in pronunciation. Another thing about Korea is that they are quite closed, so every site I remember which had korean manhwa/vns was required to be logged-in using korean passport or sort of that, which I do not have, obv. So seems it would be too tricky to get all the benefits you speak about. And why I am "against art form"? I never told I am against (if I was against, why would I even be here), I just have very specific taste and thus do not like 95% of the anime/VN/manga production. I am on infinite quest to find something which would amaze me in VNs, actually.

Sort of literature... Something with good plot, but without centering on "dat feels", with philosophical touch and good plot twists/mind screws. Or something about things I like (for example I enjoyed korean manhwa Peak, mostly because most of the things portrayed there I experienced first hand), but as this is very specific and I cannot give you a list, seems no point to speak about them.

[kingdomcome]

I was going to say German, but it seems you already attempted it? I liked the language because it was relatively easy to learn and it just made sense with how it's structured. 

Americans like to suggest Spanish, but outside of the USA you never really come across it.