"French and Italian"? or "French and Spanish&

Dreamer   Sat Aug 29, 2009 6:47 am GMT
Would anybody kindly help me make a wise decision?

Which combination seems more important for an Asian?

"French and Italian"? or "French and Spanish"? (Not both Italian and Spanish)

Please don't talk rubbish (for example: abuse, taunt, prejudice).
/*-   Sat Aug 29, 2009 6:52 am GMT
In my opinion: French and Spanish,but if you can, you learn the three.
Harman   Sat Aug 29, 2009 7:16 am GMT
First question is: what will be the use of your new languages? or why do you want to learn new languages?
Dreamer   Sat Aug 29, 2009 7:25 am GMT
Harman<<<First question is: what will be the use of your new languages? or why do you want to learn new languages?>>>

Because I personally love learning foreign languages, and Romance group is my perferred option, compared with Germanic (except English), Slavic, or other groups.
a demotivator   Sat Aug 29, 2009 7:34 am GMT
Don't learn either. Just play computer games or something instead.
Sorinescu Ceausescu   Sat Aug 29, 2009 2:03 pm GMT
I suggest you learn Romanian.
Caspian   Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:24 pm GMT
While Spanish is probably more useful than Italian, Italian is (in my opinion) a more beautiful language. Also, if you are learning French, and I think this is a very good idea by the way, then Italian is closer to French than Spanish is. For example:

French: Manger (to eat)
Italian: Mangiare
Spanish: Comer

French: Parler (to speak)
Italian: Parlare
Spanish: Hablar

French: Vouloir (to want)
Italian: Volere
Spanish: Querer


Of course, there are also many examples where Spanish and French are the same, and Italian differs, and also where Spanish and Italian are the same, and French differs. I'm just saying that in my personal experience, Italian seems closer to Spanish, and should be relatively easy to learn at the same time as French.

Also, all letters are pronounced distinctly in Italian, with their own pronunciation, and all the sounds in Italian also exist in English, whereas in Spanish, there exist sounds which do not exist in English, and also it can be confusing because 'b' and 'v' have the same pronunciation, and 'c' can have the English 'th' sound in Spanish from Spain.

So my personal advice would be: Italian
Guest   Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:46 pm GMT
<<Also, all letters are pronounced distinctly in Italian, with their own pronunciation, and all the sounds in Italian also exist in English,>>

GN and GLI don't exist in English.
User   Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:16 pm GMT
Perhaps, you should think in the countries and areas you can go and travel, and the people you will understand around the World.

Italian:

Italian Peninsula. 65 million people.


Spanish:

North America, Central America, Caribbean, South America, Spain, Canary islands, North and Equatorial Africa, some minorities in Asia and Oceania. Some 500 million people.
Harman   Sun Aug 30, 2009 12:35 am GMT
Well if you just wanna learn a language to have a good time... read, listen some of them on internet and them choose it.
At wikipedia you have a good intro about how these languages are.
Ask people and so on.

Good luck and enjoy yourself.
Dreamer   Sun Aug 30, 2009 4:13 am GMT
In São Paulo, could Brazilians understand Italian better than Spanish or not?
*/   Sun Aug 30, 2009 4:52 am GMT
French: Fils (English: Son)

Italian: Figlio

Spanish: Hijo
Domine   Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:41 am GMT
Learn French if you like the: arts, elite fashion, music and posh life.
Learn Italian if you like the: suave attire, cool cars, culture, good food, beautiful girls and Roman history.


The choice is yours!
*/   Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:01 am GMT
Learn Spanish if you like the "What"?
Invitado   Sun Aug 30, 2009 8:36 am GMT
Learn Spanish if you like:

The easiest language. Written Spanish is almost completely phonetic. Look at almost any Spanish word and you can tell how it is pronounced. It is easier than French or Italian.

Employment opportunities. If you go to United States, it is a second language there. In a lot of jobs it will be a plus. The same in European Union.

Hispanic music (Shakira, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Juanes, Placido Domingo, Julio Iglesias, Jose Carreras, Paulina Rubio, Nelly Furtado, Jennifer Lopez, Luis Miguel, Chayanne, etc). At this moment it is the second most important World music.

travel around the World (Acapulco, Miami, Barcelona, Canary islands, Los Angeles, Majorca, Caribbean, Madrid, Andorra, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima, Baja California, Manila, Casablanca, Malabo, etc).

A business language. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to offer your product or service to the 450 million people whose mother tongue is Spanish? Brazilian and Portuguese people will understand you too.

Arts. From the royal portraits of Goya or Velazquez to the surreal depictions of Picasso or Miro, Spanish influence on the fine arts has been substantial.

Literature. From Miguel Cervantes to Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Hispanic literary contributions are monumental.

Movies. Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz, Almodovar, Salma Hayek, Benicio del Toro, Jimmy Smits, Eva Mendes, Marc Anthony, Robert Rodriguez, Cameron Diaz, John Leguizamo, Mia Maestro or Javier Bardem are a good example of Latinos in Hollywood. Besides, a lot of American actors speak Spanish as second language. It is the second most important language in the film industry.

And let's not ignore gastronomy! Learning Spanish can be the perfect excuse for enjoying the cuisine of Spanish speaking peoples. Burritos, tamales, paella, papusas, arroz con frijoles, ceviche, --- the list goes on and on, and is a delicious indicator of the vast diversity of Hispanic culture
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