I think that I will learn both. Spanish is the language of Franco and German is the language of Hitler, my two favourite celebrities.
German or Spanish? (I'm Chinese)
Loong Sun Sep 20, 2009 7:14 pm GMT
Well, you should think about where is spoken the language, and you prefer to go, travel and live:
Loong Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:25 pm GMT
Thanks a lot for your advice. I'll choose German. In my opinion it is much more interesting and Germany has a flourishing economy unlike Spanish speaking countries
Loong Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:25 pm GMT
Thanks a lot for your advice. I'll choose Spanish. In my opinion it is much more interesting and Spanish speaking countries have a flourishing economy unlike German speaking countries
Loong Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:49 pm GMT
I think that I will learn both. Spanish is the language of Franco and German is the language of Hitler, my two favourite celebrities.
====================================================================
Note: Above posts were all not written by real Loong! Except the main post (1st floor) and this one, the replies are all posted by a buffoon (Fake Loong).
Well, you should think about where is spoken the language, and you prefer to go, travel and live:
Loong Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:25 pm GMT
Thanks a lot for your advice. I'll choose German. In my opinion it is much more interesting and Germany has a flourishing economy unlike Spanish speaking countries
Loong Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:25 pm GMT
Thanks a lot for your advice. I'll choose Spanish. In my opinion it is much more interesting and Spanish speaking countries have a flourishing economy unlike German speaking countries
Loong Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:49 pm GMT
I think that I will learn both. Spanish is the language of Franco and German is the language of Hitler, my two favourite celebrities.
====================================================================
Note: Above posts were all not written by real Loong! Except the main post (1st floor) and this one, the replies are all posted by a buffoon (Fake Loong).
Harman Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:04 pm GMT
well i'm spaniard and i need more information to advice you.
Why do you want to learn spanish or german?
what use?
where do you want to work or live or travel? europe or latin american?
===========================================================
well, simply because I've always wanted to be a polyglot, actually the motivation for learning either German or Spanish isn't mostly out of consideration for my job.
well i'm spaniard and i need more information to advice you.
Why do you want to learn spanish or german?
what use?
where do you want to work or live or travel? europe or latin american?
===========================================================
well, simply because I've always wanted to be a polyglot, actually the motivation for learning either German or Spanish isn't mostly out of consideration for my job.
Mr Xie:
Thanks, now I'm using a series of French coursebooks <Reflets>. As to Japanese and German (not yet learned German), I mainly used the most famous coursebooks in Mainland China <中日交流．新标准日本语>, and will use <德语速成> if I choose to learn German, but I'm still hesitating over whether to learn Spanish or German.
Thanks, now I'm using a series of French coursebooks <Reflets>. As to Japanese and German (not yet learned German), I mainly used the most famous coursebooks in Mainland China <中日交流．新标准日本语>, and will use <德语速成> if I choose to learn German, but I'm still hesitating over whether to learn Spanish or German.
European
>>>If I were a Chinese I'd learn Korean or Hindi<<<
Hindi is not such a useful language in India, because many people can speak English instead.
>>>If I were a Chinese I'd learn Korean or Hindi<<<
Hindi is not such a useful language in India, because many people can speak English instead.
well, simply because I've always wanted to be a polyglot, actually the motivation for learning either German or Spanish isn't mostly out of consideration for my job.
=============================================
Well just a cultural issue, so...
1) German is more difficult than spanish, but its phonetics is closer to english and you speak english. English and German are germanic languages.
2) German is the most spoken language in UE but spanish has much more spokers (all americas).
3) Spanish is very similar to Brazilian portugues so you will understand quite enough this language.
4) Deutsche gpd is world 3rd (China 2nd), but spanish speaker countries combinated are higher.
Anyway Loong, whatever language you choose i advice you to watch online foreign tv, dvd (with foreign language subtitles on), listen on line radios, etc...it will boost your learning. Good luck
=============================================
Well just a cultural issue, so...
1) German is more difficult than spanish, but its phonetics is closer to english and you speak english. English and German are germanic languages.
2) German is the most spoken language in UE but spanish has much more spokers (all americas).
3) Spanish is very similar to Brazilian portugues so you will understand quite enough this language.
4) Deutsche gpd is world 3rd (China 2nd), but spanish speaker countries combinated are higher.
Anyway Loong, whatever language you choose i advice you to watch online foreign tv, dvd (with foreign language subtitles on), listen on line radios, etc...it will boost your learning. Good luck
Harman
OK, it's very kind of you, and I'll make my final decision by next week. Gracias!
OK, it's very kind of you, and I'll make my final decision by next week. Gracias!
If you study English and French, I would choose, Spanish, of course
In Spanish the plural is in -s, like in English and French. In German is more difficult.
Another important problem (very important if you don't have a good memory) is the gender problem. If something is femenine in French, in German can be masculine or neutral, and also the opposite.
On the other hand, Spanish and French are always the same. If in French is femenine a word, it is also femenine in Spanish. The grammatical genders (3) is very, very difficult if you have not good memory.
Finally, German has 4 cases: nominative, genitive, accusative and dative. It is very, very difficult. It is like in Latin and other languages.
In English, Spanish and French there are not cases.
In short, if you compare the 4 languages, German is the most archaic and less evoluted of them.
In Spanish the plural is in -s, like in English and French. In German is more difficult.
Another important problem (very important if you don't have a good memory) is the gender problem. If something is femenine in French, in German can be masculine or neutral, and also the opposite.
On the other hand, Spanish and French are always the same. If in French is femenine a word, it is also femenine in Spanish. The grammatical genders (3) is very, very difficult if you have not good memory.
Finally, German has 4 cases: nominative, genitive, accusative and dative. It is very, very difficult. It is like in Latin and other languages.
In English, Spanish and French there are not cases.
In short, if you compare the 4 languages, German is the most archaic and less evoluted of them.
People always quote statistics about numbers of speakers and geographical spread when the "what language should I learn" question crops up, usually to prove that their favourite language is more "useful" than another.
But at the end of the day, we all have our own reasons for learning a language, or perhaps no particular reason at all. Some people would class Hungarian as a useless language but I learned a little in order to oil the wheels of business trips to Budapest and it certainly made my life easier.
So learn the language you want to.
But at the end of the day, we all have our own reasons for learning a language, or perhaps no particular reason at all. Some people would class Hungarian as a useless language but I learned a little in order to oil the wheels of business trips to Budapest and it certainly made my life easier.
So learn the language you want to.
I guess there are again some anti-German 小朋友 impersonating you, Loong... so if possible you can post a bit of Chinese to show your real ego. I'm serious.
>>Mr Xie:
Thanks, now I'm using a series of French coursebooks <Reflets>. As to Japanese and German (not yet learned German), I mainly used the most famous coursebooks in Mainland China <中日交流．新标准日本语>, and will use <德语速成> if I choose to learn German, but I'm still hesitating over whether to learn Spanish or German. <<
(Such as these titles. I know their existence too. So I see this poster is really you, Loong.)
I heard of all the titles before. As long as they introduce grammar properly, they're alright. Most textbooks from China work in this way, such as 大学德语 (高教社). However, I relied more and more on English books as I moved on with German, and ultimately now I'm almost reading entirely in German. Assimil German with ease (English version from the 1980s) is a good one, although with occasional typos and the like. Well, anyway, I tried multiple textbooks/courses especially during the first year of study.
Well, in general, I hope I can offer better advice since I'm also Chinese. German is truly Germanic, even more so than English, and their grammar is rather similar. Of course, people say German has cases, but cases are helpful sometimes. Cases can distinguish between pronouns of different roles (you'll see in any language; Chinese also assigns cases through the use of word order. Dative, accusative... they must appear in some fixed places) more easily than if there are none. But other than that, I find the syntax and the verb system more significant in German grammar, and knowledge of English grammar helped me a lot, since both are just similar.
Compared to French, German verbs are "easy" because I knew English before I started with German. In fact, if I may, I can even say that the number of verb endings in French is comparable to the case endings in German. But French is even worse because, while German endings are clear always pronounced, French endings always carry a bunch of silent letters, only discernible by spelling and pronoun.
But there are other pros and cons. For French, since English already has a lot of Latinate/French vocab, in many cases you only need to know the French version of an "English" word, rather than to learn a new one as in German. But in German, though, German words often explain other German words, which isn't always the case in French/English.
>>4) Deutsche gpd is world 3rd (China 2nd), but spanish speaker countries combinated are higher. <<
Again, it boils down to: so what?
I'm Chinese and I have no need at all to learn Chinese - at least, a native speaker will never have the same worries about their native language as learners have with the same language.
But so what? Say if I want to do post-grad, I can say for sure that China, Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong all suck. It's not that I don't like them, but they simply can't offer me the right opportunities. In fact, as of now, if you definitely want to gain a degree in a Chinese place, Hong Kong would be one of the top choices, even for many elite students from China - they're now studying with me! They gave up offers by PKU, Tsing-hua, etc, in order to study in Hong Kong.
But that's not the same for Hongkongers - they generally know that Hong Kong employers prefer graduates from UK/US/ overseas Chinese/etc. So for me, all Chinese places are at large pointless for a degree. Of course, if I had the money, I wouldn't even be studying in Hong Kong at all.
I'm exactly from this country, but if you ask me, China's GDP is worthless for studying purposes, when the UK/US, etc, are still far superior for those.
>>[...] Finally, German has 4 cases: nominative, genitive, accusative and dative. It is very, very difficult. It is like in Latin and other languages. [...]<<
Hardly convincing.
My idea: since I've been learning German for 2+ years, French only briefly since last year, and NO Spanish at all,
German is now easier than French, and French easier than Spanish.
I truly find French less transparent than German, given my background in English.
In the long run, all languages are just of the same difficulty. If you're still dwelling on the level of learning grammatical rules, you must have really low proficiency in this language, and it's going to help you in any way, whether you want to get a job for this language, or to read a magazine in it, or to do anything else.
>>Mr Xie:
Thanks, now I'm using a series of French coursebooks <Reflets>. As to Japanese and German (not yet learned German), I mainly used the most famous coursebooks in Mainland China <中日交流．新标准日本语>, and will use <德语速成> if I choose to learn German, but I'm still hesitating over whether to learn Spanish or German. <<
(Such as these titles. I know their existence too. So I see this poster is really you, Loong.)
I heard of all the titles before. As long as they introduce grammar properly, they're alright. Most textbooks from China work in this way, such as 大学德语 (高教社). However, I relied more and more on English books as I moved on with German, and ultimately now I'm almost reading entirely in German. Assimil German with ease (English version from the 1980s) is a good one, although with occasional typos and the like. Well, anyway, I tried multiple textbooks/courses especially during the first year of study.
Well, in general, I hope I can offer better advice since I'm also Chinese. German is truly Germanic, even more so than English, and their grammar is rather similar. Of course, people say German has cases, but cases are helpful sometimes. Cases can distinguish between pronouns of different roles (you'll see in any language; Chinese also assigns cases through the use of word order. Dative, accusative... they must appear in some fixed places) more easily than if there are none. But other than that, I find the syntax and the verb system more significant in German grammar, and knowledge of English grammar helped me a lot, since both are just similar.
Compared to French, German verbs are "easy" because I knew English before I started with German. In fact, if I may, I can even say that the number of verb endings in French is comparable to the case endings in German. But French is even worse because, while German endings are clear always pronounced, French endings always carry a bunch of silent letters, only discernible by spelling and pronoun.
But there are other pros and cons. For French, since English already has a lot of Latinate/French vocab, in many cases you only need to know the French version of an "English" word, rather than to learn a new one as in German. But in German, though, German words often explain other German words, which isn't always the case in French/English.
>>4) Deutsche gpd is world 3rd (China 2nd), but spanish speaker countries combinated are higher. <<
Again, it boils down to: so what?
I'm Chinese and I have no need at all to learn Chinese - at least, a native speaker will never have the same worries about their native language as learners have with the same language.
But so what? Say if I want to do post-grad, I can say for sure that China, Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong all suck. It's not that I don't like them, but they simply can't offer me the right opportunities. In fact, as of now, if you definitely want to gain a degree in a Chinese place, Hong Kong would be one of the top choices, even for many elite students from China - they're now studying with me! They gave up offers by PKU, Tsing-hua, etc, in order to study in Hong Kong.
But that's not the same for Hongkongers - they generally know that Hong Kong employers prefer graduates from UK/US/ overseas Chinese/etc. So for me, all Chinese places are at large pointless for a degree. Of course, if I had the money, I wouldn't even be studying in Hong Kong at all.
I'm exactly from this country, but if you ask me, China's GDP is worthless for studying purposes, when the UK/US, etc, are still far superior for those.
>>[...] Finally, German has 4 cases: nominative, genitive, accusative and dative. It is very, very difficult. It is like in Latin and other languages. [...]<<
Hardly convincing.
My idea: since I've been learning German for 2+ years, French only briefly since last year, and NO Spanish at all,
German is now easier than French, and French easier than Spanish.
I truly find French less transparent than German, given my background in English.
In the long run, all languages are just of the same difficulty. If you're still dwelling on the level of learning grammatical rules, you must have really low proficiency in this language, and it's going to help you in any way, whether you want to get a job for this language, or to read a magazine in it, or to do anything else.
It's been so pathetic for some "mainstream" experts and laymen alike to label "more inflected language, i.e. with extensive morphological patterns" as "more complex morphology, hence more difficult morphology", and then simply "more difficult".
But if you ask them about Chinese, they disregard the "more difficult" syntax of Chinese and say Chinese grammar is a piece of cake. But then, owing to how is it written, Chinese is too labelled difficult.
If German, Russian, Chinese, etc, became languages of the strongest powers and beat the USA and the UK by far, people would say all the three are very easy and English would be getting far more difficult than it used to be.
People need some lessons in syntax instead of "thinking about morphology without studying it".
But if you ask them about Chinese, they disregard the "more difficult" syntax of Chinese and say Chinese grammar is a piece of cake. But then, owing to how is it written, Chinese is too labelled difficult.
If German, Russian, Chinese, etc, became languages of the strongest powers and beat the USA and the UK by far, people would say all the three are very easy and English would be getting far more difficult than it used to be.
People need some lessons in syntax instead of "thinking about morphology without studying it".
<<German is now easier than French, and French easier than Spanish.>>
Xie, you are completely pro-German, radically biased and radically against French and Spanish.
If you read 25 webpages where French and Spanish are more important than German, you say: but so what? All of them are wrong
If all people in the World say that German is more difficult than French or Spanish, you say: all of them are wrong.
<<Cases are helpful sometimes>> Incredible! The cases are very, very difficult. Well, perhaps, they are useful if you want a headache:)
It is your opinion, and we should respect all opinions, but you are too much pro-German.
Xie, you are completely pro-German, radically biased and radically against French and Spanish.
If you read 25 webpages where French and Spanish are more important than German, you say: but so what? All of them are wrong
If all people in the World say that German is more difficult than French or Spanish, you say: all of them are wrong.
<<Cases are helpful sometimes>> Incredible! The cases are very, very difficult. Well, perhaps, they are useful if you want a headache:)
It is your opinion, and we should respect all opinions, but you are too much pro-German.
>>>so if possible you can post a bit of Chinese to show your real ego. I'm serious. Such as these titles. I know their existence too. So I see this poster is really you, Loong.<<<
謝生，我姓龍，好開心喺度識得你。其實我唔識講粵語，咁我哋傾偈時講國語好唔好？
謝生，我姓龍，好開心喺度識得你。其實我唔識講粵語，咁我哋傾偈時講國語好唔好？