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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

which languages to learn and why?

137 replies

JupiterJan · 21/10/2023 06:59

AIBU to say everybody should be able to speak a few words of Mandarin and Hindi? AS these are two of the 3 most spoken languages in the world.

I want to learn another language now, partly for fun, but also for possibly travel and career opportunities. Should it be one of these? Or is there another language you would recommend, and why?

I am expecting people to say no to everyone learning a bit of Mandarin and Hindi, but I am interested in why we don't as it seems logical that we should

OP posts:
EBearhug · 21/10/2023 11:39

In many parts of the world, growing up monoglot is quite unusual. Many people grow up learning more than one language.

It depends what you want to do with learning a language and why. Your options may be limited by opportunity - at school, we all had to do French, and to start with, that was the only MFL on offer.

As a child, I lived Roger Lancelyn Green's Tales of the Greek Heroes, and it led me to read other myths, so I knew I'd find Latin interesting, and at secondary, I had the choice of Latin or German. I knew German would be much easier to do as an adult (my mother was quite heavily involved in adult education, so I knew they did lots of things like that,) so Latin it was - right through to A-level. I did start doing German at evening classes, because I'd also told myself I would, so I did that to AS-level (as far as I could go with evenings.) Also had a German boyfriend through part of my 30s, which helped, though he was fluent in English.

Then because I could read some Spanish because of having French and Latin, I did that to AS-level in evening classes, too. I find I can understand some Italian, but as yet have not found time for learning it, and wouldn't be able to speak it. As I got to a point where I couldn't take German or Spanish further at evening classes, I signed up for Russian (have done quite a bit of Russian history in the past,) but they didn't get enough people enrolling to run it, so I ended up doing Welsh instead, which I'm still doing, around B1/B2 CEFR level, with classes now online rather than in person as they started.

I'm doing all those on Duolingo to keep my hand in, but I find it frustrating to learn from scratch there, as I'm doing with Dutch, which is mostly to prove a former colleague wrong about no one ever bothers learning it... I'm finding it fairly easy with knowing German and English, but Duolingo is rubbish at explaining grammar, so I've bought a grammar guide alongside so I know what it's trying to teach me.

I also have a tiny bit of Malay from having spent some months in Malaysia. Couldn't do more than get round a food menu these days, though. Boyfriend has Mandarin after living in China for 6 or 7 years.

I worked in IT for about 30 years, and that was partly because it was like learning another language.

I like languages, particularly the patterns and etymology and links between them. I've always known why I chose each language I've learnt. I don't speak any fluently. But the interest makes me quite a good learner. Opportunity is important - less so now we have the Internet (which we didn't in my childhood and 20s.) I know there have always been teach yourself books, and sometimes tapes/CDs, but that is nothing like being with a real, interactive teacher. Learning languages is much easier these days in terms of available resources (apart from funding for adult education, which is dire these days.)

But you need to have some reason to motivate you to learn. For many people, finding language generally interesting isn't enough. There needs to be travel, work, love or something to be a motivation. It takes time, which can be challenging when you have a job to bring in money, a house to run, etc. Had i more time, I've a list of other languages I'd learn...

Opportunity is key - not everything is on Duolingo etc, there may not be evening classes or tutors (real or online) available. A school can't offer a language thry don't have a teacher in - and just knowing a language doesn't mean you can teach it. It helps to have real speakers to talk to for practice, which may not be possible.

But I think choosing a language because it might be useful, and then never having an opportunity to use it isn't likely to result in much learning unless you are the sort to enjoy language learning for its own sake.

EmpressaurusOfCats · 21/10/2023 11:46

I did Italian on Duolingo for a few years (family reasons) but what made the really big difference was signing up for actual classes, with a teacher & people to talk with.

Melassa · 21/10/2023 11:53

RosaGallica · 21/10/2023 10:30

Travel is the preserve of wealth and therefore the elite. You clearly have never lived in poverty.

Oh but I have. My DM was a single mum on income support in the 70s. I used to go shopping at the end of the month when the money had run out because shopkeepers would let a kid off if I was a few pence short but not an adult. We only got new clothes and winter coats as hand me downs from friends and neighbours. We never went on holiday anywhere, not even the U.K. we had one trip to see my DM’s family but that was saved up for over 4 years to afford the flights and we stayed with family. So don’t make sweeping assumptions.

nothing wrong with having ambitions and finding ways to achieve that goal. Languages were not my way out but they have been hugely beneficial in my career, as I took advantage of freedom of movement and travelled, doing minimum wage jobs to support myself. So no, not holidays. Such a Brexshit mindset ascribing languages to holidays in St Tropez.

LoreleiG · 21/10/2023 11:58

I learned French, German, Spanish and Italian, three to degree level. They have been next to useless work wise but I enjoyed it and visit these countries for pleasure - whereas I can’t afford to go on holiday to China.

AllProperTeaIsTheft · 21/10/2023 12:12

Really. How do you think learning languages has benefitted my job prospects? As I explained it has been of little value at all. The only times they were called for at work brought no extra pay nor prospects: we’re supposed to take on extra work and responsibility for fun nowadays.

Just because it didn’t benefit you, that doesn't mean it doesn't benefit anyone who isn't 'elite', whether in their jobs or in terms of enjoyment or culture. God forbid we try to preserve a broad curriculum that offers more than just the basics to create the next generation of workers.

MrsSkylerWhite · 21/10/2023 12:13

Agree. Easier said than done, though! (As someone who struggled and gave up with French and German 😁)

faw2009 · 21/10/2023 12:14

I'm learning Spanish, I love it. We travelled to a Latin American country and most people did not speak English and so it was lucky I had some Spanish!

Also the resources available now are crazy! Youtube, online classes (look at Babbel or Lingoda), apps, netflix, books on Kindle with inbuilt foreign language dictionary (at least in most common languages). Check out different ways of learning e.g. conprehnesible input.

I do speak Chinese too due to heritage. It's a very different language to learn. I've known people adept at a 6 or 7 European languages to give up on Chinese.

magicmole · 21/10/2023 12:41

It depends on what you hope to do with the language. To use on holiday? For work? For the love of learning? To challenge yourself? Read books/watch films in that language? If I liked K-pop I'd learn a bit more Korean than the few phrases I know. If I liked Bollywood films I'd want to learn Hindi-Urdu.

I studied Mandarin to degree level and still do translation work/listen to the radio to keep my hand in but I've forgotten so much because I don't get to speak it regularly. It gets attention on a c.v. but apart from my first job out of university I've rarely actually used it in work.

My French A-level from decades ago has been FAR more useful for that. Plus I'd still like to retire to France if I can afford it (Brexit makes that much harder) and you need a reasonable standard of French for citizenship. I reckon that's a good reason to keep learning any language!

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 21/10/2023 13:44

Melassa · 21/10/2023 11:53

Oh but I have. My DM was a single mum on income support in the 70s. I used to go shopping at the end of the month when the money had run out because shopkeepers would let a kid off if I was a few pence short but not an adult. We only got new clothes and winter coats as hand me downs from friends and neighbours. We never went on holiday anywhere, not even the U.K. we had one trip to see my DM’s family but that was saved up for over 4 years to afford the flights and we stayed with family. So don’t make sweeping assumptions.

nothing wrong with having ambitions and finding ways to achieve that goal. Languages were not my way out but they have been hugely beneficial in my career, as I took advantage of freedom of movement and travelled, doing minimum wage jobs to support myself. So no, not holidays. Such a Brexshit mindset ascribing languages to holidays in St Tropez.

Agree totally.

@RosaGallica it can also be for cultural enrichment and Duolingo is free. You might take up knitting or water polo or watching soaps in your free time. Others learn languages.

The OP didn't ask "which language will make me rich?" btw.

(I'm also the daughter of a single mother who qualified for free school meals and was the first in my family, and the only person in my year at school to go to university - none of which is remotely relevant to the OP but which seems to fit in with your race to the bottom "I eat coal sandwiches" merail. )

girlfriend44 · 21/10/2023 14:45

Everyone speaks English everywhere you go anyway.

Parakeetamol · 21/10/2023 14:53

Python, c++ maybe?

cariadlet · 21/10/2023 14:54

girlfriend44 · 21/10/2023 14:45

Everyone speaks English everywhere you go anyway.

No, they really don't.

There are many places where people who come into regular contact with foreign tourists (eg guides, hotel staff, waiters etc) speak some English but where many other local people speak none.

BIWI · 21/10/2023 15:05

girlfriend44 · 21/10/2023 14:45

Everyone speaks English everywhere you go anyway.

That's such a narrow-minded thing to say.

... and also not true.

JupiterJan · 21/10/2023 15:06

o thankyou for all your suggestions, I already have French and BSL. I am wavering between Dutch and Arabic now, after reading all this - Dutch because it might help my chances of getting into the renewable energy industry, and Arabic because it seems to be quite widely spoken, and someone on here mentioned it being relatively easy....

OP posts:
Normalsizedsalad · 21/10/2023 15:12

Well Arabic is top 5 most difficult languages+ has lots of variants as pps said

Papyrophile · 21/10/2023 15:14

English mother tongue, studied French to A level, Latin and German to O level, and finding the acquisition of rudimentary Spanish quite straightforward, using a free TikTok app called Language Transfer. From this, I shall probably tackle a bit of Portuguese because I like the country and its people and feel awkward having to depend on everyone speaking some English. The Latin O level is probably the most useful element in all of this because so many European languages have Latin roots, which makes the written languages relatively easy to guess at, if not terribly accurately.

Ducksinthebath · 21/10/2023 15:35

StamppotAndGravy · 21/10/2023 09:14

@Ducksinthebath sustainable energy, niche bits of financing, everything argitech, quite a few bits of normal tech, high level engineering, everything with computer chips, machines that make croissant, everything with water managing, beer...

Can you tell I'm a Dutch engineer? Grin

Ah, very interesting @StamppotAndGravy thank you for satisfying my curiosity.

P.S. I love stamppot - great username!

sausagepastapot · 21/10/2023 15:54

Zonder · 21/10/2023 10:09

Very few deaf people use BSL so it isn't that easy to practise with someone proficient.

Not true at all, and there are plenty of places and ways to practice BSL. Great career prospects too if that's what you're into. Otherwise it's a brilliant way to be able to chat to Deaf BSL users! (There are plenty I can assure you!)

Faydi · 21/10/2023 16:12

Dutch and German are so close that I (German A level, native English speaker) understand (a fair bit of) Dutch, without ever having been taught it. So, for English speakers, learn one and you have the other. But German is more widely spoken, so that’s why I’d recommend German.

Ive tried hard to learn Arabic, but it was very hard, and I didn’t get along with it. But that was about 20 years ago, at evening class. Maybe now in the era of DuoLingo etc it would be easier.

Faydi · 21/10/2023 16:14

@Papyrophile (good name :-) agree that Latin is really useful. And much undervalued these days.

JaneyGee · 21/10/2023 16:18

Languages are a bit of hobby. Actually, I'm a frustrated classicist (I wish I'd done an A-Level in Latin and then done a degree in classics). I can just about read a book in French, and have basic Italian and German. Greek is the language I really want to learn, but I'm also dabbling in Russian and Japanese.

I'm reading a book on Tolkien atm. It's fascinating. He could read 20 languages, including flippin Gothic ffs! His first love, however, was the literature of Anglo-Saxon England and Viking Europe. He could read the Icelandic sagas in Old Norse and translated Beowulf himself. In fact, the main reason he wrote Lord of the Rings was so he could invent his own Elvish language.

Meredusoleil · 21/10/2023 16:33

MrsMoastyToasty · 21/10/2023 07:26

I would suggest Spanish. It's widely spoken outside Spain and is easy to learn (no silent letters, unlike English).

Except the 'h' !

gotomomo · 21/10/2023 16:43

Hindi isn't really that useful because there's so many languages in India and English is widely spoken - in fact those who speak Hindi which more commonly their second language are also likely to be English speakers.

There are many languages in China too.

The most useful language for most British people to learn would be Spanish as it's very widely spoken as a first language and it is spoken in countries we are more likely to visit. I personally speak French well, German ok plus a little Spanish and Italian. This makes pan European travel fairly easy

cariadlet · 21/10/2023 16:46

I'm learning Spanish at the moment.

I'd say the complexity levels for grammar in English and Spanish are very similar but English has a far more complex spelling system.

I went on a phonics course once where the course leader compared the number of ways sounds can be represented and the number of sounds which can be represented by different graphemes (letter or group of letters) in the 2 languages. English is more complex by an order of magnitude.

For example, the sound igh can be represented by the graphemes igh, ie, y and i (and probably by others that I can't think of off the top of my head).

The grapheme ough represents different sounds in though, tough, plough, thorough and bought.

That's one aspect which makes Spanish one of the more straightforward languages to learn.

wombat1a · 21/10/2023 16:54

I would avoid Mandarin, I speak some and it is a language that you really need to immerse yourself in to learn. Lessons are not enough, although I am sure someone will pop up to day they a fluent in it after just having lessons. I personally don't know anyone fluent in it unless they did classes every day for a year (or more) or they did weekly classes but lived with other Mandarin speakers during the week to learn/practice.

I would suggest Spanish as to my mind if you can speak English and Spanish you can speak to a good percentage of the world population.

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