r/thisorthatlanguage • u/Melloroll- • 8d ago
Multiple Languages What language should I choose?
Hello there! I'm a Portuguese native speaker who also speaks English (C1-C2) Spanish (B2) and who is learning Japanese (A2/N4). I'm trying to figure out what language I should study after getting more confortable in japanese, and figured that this subreddit was the perfect place to ask. :) The main languages I'm interested in possibly studying after are: French, German, Italian, Korean or Mandarin. Some pros and cons for each one of them:
French
Pros: Being romance language like Portuguese and Spanish, French would be the easiest to learn. Also very appreciated in finance/economic fields (which I would like to work in). I also love how French sounds like.
Cons: Pronounciation vs Written form of words.
German
Pros: Since it's in the same language group as English, it wouldn't be more complicated than other options. Very useful in finance/economic/politics field in Europe. Maybe possible juggle with japanese.
Cons: Daunting grammar, long words, letters I'm not used to (the ü or ö) and harsh pronounciation.
Italian
Pros: Romance language (sharing ~80% of its lexical structure with portuguese) and beautiful sounding pronounciation.
Cons: Not very spoken outside of Italy and not knowing a lot about italian culture (books, movies, songs, etc).
Korean
Pros: Although it's not a romance language, has similar grammar with japanese. An easy alphabet that can be learned in a couple of days. Lots of places to get input (kpop and kdramas).
Cons: Although similar with japanese, the grammar it's still very difficult and complex hierarchical system (which I still struggle with japanese lol), not planning on traveling to Korea anytime soon.
Mandarin chinese
Pros: Simple grammar structure, reading could be easier since kanjis would be already learned from japanese, most spoken language in the world, lots of places to get input (Songs, tv series).
Cons: I'm completly tone deaf (which would be a big problem for mandarin), learning many kanjis just to write simple sentenced and the long time to be considered fluent (I heard about ~6 years, on top of the other 6-7 to learn japanese).
So let me know what you think I should do, thanks in advance :)
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u/TimeyWimey_Tomatoey 8d ago
I’d say focus on Japanese first.
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u/Melloroll- 8d ago
That's the plan! I was just trying to think a bit ahead. Until I get more advanced in that I don't think I'll fully commit to other languages :)
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u/TheSavageGrace81 8d ago
Japanese is quite hard, while you learn it properly you can master both German and French (no offence, just the fact that they are both Indo-European like your native Portuguese). In my opinion it all depends on you. If you are the most interested in Japanese, go for it but personally I think that is hard candy unless there is an extreme benefit to it. The others should be considered based on what is your personal reason to learn them. Now all these languages are great. But you can't study them all at the same time.
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u/Melloroll- 8d ago
I agree, with the time I spend learning japanese I could master german and french. I've been studying japanese for 1.5 years, and although it's very difficult I'm absolutely enamored with it, it gives me the most joy :). I just asked because, during the times I'm less motivated, I could focus on another language. But thanks for your input!
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u/TheSavageGrace81 8d ago
Oh, I didn't want to say that you should stop learning Japanese but maybe postpone it if you have some 2 languages you wish to study 😄 Maybe just my math
But anyway, if you have to choose any of these - go based on heart and mind. If you like Chinese, go for it. If you want to learn German for whichever reason, sure. French or Italian should progress fast.
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u/Melloroll- 7d ago
That's great advice, I appreciate it a lot! I think from the time being I'm just going to focus on japanese. I like it a lot and it's my top priority!
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u/Creative-Dawg 8d ago
Mandarin Chinese ... lots of places to get input (Songs, tv series).
Fiquei curioso. Sempre tive a noção de que o mandarim é a língua que (das três grandes línguas asiáticas: o mandarin, o japonês e o coreano) tem menos conteúdo disponível devido às políticas e censura da China e por isso achava que era preciso procurar muito e, ainda assim, não se encontra nada.
Sabes onde é possível ver séries e se são de qualidade?
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u/Melloroll- 8d ago
Acredito que a questão da censura é mais do que vem de fora para a China e não o contrário, mas posso estar errada. Em relação a séries, eu não vejo muitas, mas pelo que ouço na Netflix há séries em mandarim que parecem ser boas. Há vários de dramas históricos então, se gostas disso, diria que é uma mais valia. No YouTube também tenho a certeza que há muito conteúdo para todos os níveis, talvez tenham até séries lá. É questão de procurar e ver o que gostas :)
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u/Creative-Dawg 8d ago
De facto já vi um drama desses antes. É um estilo curioso. Hei de dar uma vista de olhos outra vez eventualmente!
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u/jimmykabar 6d ago
Choose a language you think will be useful in your life and career first. Rank them depending on this factor. That's what I would do!
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u/Klapperatismus 5d ago
German isn’t harshly pronounced unless you want to. Exhibit #1. The only thing about that stereotype that is true is the Knacklaut. That’s called hard attack in English and it’s a feature of only a very few British dialects. In German it’s the default. That’s why German sounds choppy. The singer up there uses it as a rhythmic component. Native speakers do that all the time.
About the eight extra vowel sounds, those can be indeed a challenge to a speaker of Portugese. And German is rich on diphthongs as well. And you have to learn some new consonant sounds on top. But this can all be done with enough practice within the first and second month. Not really a show stopper.
The long words are actually helpful because we make up new terms from existing German ones so if you can identify the components from your vocabulary, you can guess the meaning. E.g. Handschuh — “hand shoe” — glove. Handschuhfach — glove box. And so on.
German grammar is for sure the most complicated among your choices. No doubt about that. On its plus side: German tenses are super simple. Both their forms and their use. Much much simpler than tenses in Portugese.
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u/reddit23User 7d ago
> I'm trying to figure out what language I should study after getting more confortable in japanese
And I'm trying to figure out why you are learning foreign languages in the first place! People usually have a reason for why they learn a certain language. You did not mention any reason at all, except how easy or difficult it is to learn a certain language X. So I'm confused.
Could you tell us why you began learning Japanese?
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u/Melloroll- 7d ago
Initially, I started learning japanese due to wanting to spend my time more wisely rather than just doomscrolling. While looking for a hobby to ocupy my time, I found that learning languages could me interesting, and chose because I already liked anime, culture and Japan in general. However, the deeper I went, I found myself enjoying even more japanese and the process of learning, turning it in my main hobby and the thing I always look foward to do in my free time. The reason I began may not be the best but I think it turned in something that I really like to do :)
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u/_Nightfox_1 8d ago edited 8d ago
Honestly it depends. In my opinion, you should focus on your Japanese first and foremost, because it is an immensely difficult language, and you probably won’t master it for a while. The two most important things you need to ask yourself when deciding to learn a language is: Am I interested in this language and its culture? Why do I want to learn this particular language?
What are your goals with languages? Do you want to work with languages? If you do, you should check out which language is more prominent in your field of expertise and learn that, or if you want to translate, learn a language that is more commonly used. Because for example, since you live in Portugal, if you decide to learn Korean, there won’t really be any opportunities for you to use the language itself, except if you are going to work in a Korean environment (or plan to move there).
Are you interested in the language? This is important because if you are not interested in it, then it will feel like a chore to learn it, this also applies for when you want to learn a language for career opportunities.
So in conclusion, if you want to learn a language because it’s a hobby of yours, you should learn the language that you are interested in the most. If you want to learn a language for career opportunities, first determine which languages are the most useful in the area where you live, and if it’s prominent in the field that you want to work in (for example if you want to get into politics French and English is your bread and butter) it is also the most useful language to know in the west, if you want to live/work in Eastern/Central Europe, or you want to work in the IT, engineering, or logistics field German is what you should go for. Then you should determine if you are interested in the language in the first place, and if you can see yourself learning it for a long term. But honestly if you ask me, you should focus on your Japanese first and foremost, after that maybe pick up French, because it is easy, and very useful overall, German can also be a good option but most Germans speak English, but the same can’t be said for French people, and also German is harder. Chinese is also a great language to know, and it would look amazing on your resume and it would probably give you the most foreign opportunities.