French vs German vs Spanish? Difficulty & Usefulness?

I am tri-lingual and I speak German, English, and Portuguese. I am currently learning spanish in school though.
I think that if you are just learning a language because you have to in school or somthing, then definetly choose spanish. It is extremly logical and i've only been learning it for 3 weeks , yet I can communitcate pretty well with a spanish-speaking person.
If you are a person who is actually interested in learning a language, then definetly choose german. I grew up learning german, english, and portuguese and I would say words in german mainly because I loved the thrill of speaking it. German and English are both from the Germanic branch of languages, so they are very closely related. Alot of english words are the same in german , just pronounced differently.
Do not, i repeat, do not waste your time on french. I tried to learn it, I spend weeks and weeks working on it, and I barely knew anything new.
Portuguese wasn't on your list, but it sounds soooo beautiful.
Adios!
or
Auf Wiederhesehen
or
Good Bye!

To our friend from Spain,

You write extremely well in English, so my compliments to you on that...but please rethink your countries contributions to the America's...yes, there were many European colonies around the world...but Spain left very little positive in its colonies. The Spaniards left their language and religion and not much else positive. The Spanish legacy is a sad one. All of its former colonies suffer from corruption, rigid class structure and no respect for education. I'm not an Anglophile, but you must say the British left democracy, educational institutions in addition to their language and faith. The most important gift being democracy. Can Latin America ever recover from Spanish colonization? Your bad habits are well-entrenched there.

Spaniards have reason to be proud of what they have accomplished since there entrance into the EU...but that wasn't without the economic help of Germany and the other strong members of the EU. Don't get carried away with yourself!

Correction:

Spaniards have reason to be proud of what they have accomplished since THEIR entrance into the EU..but IT wasn't without the economic help of Germany and the other strong members of the EU. Don't get carried away with yourself!

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orrection: last paragraph:

<..but you must say the British left democracy,..>

Correction:

PPPfff..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Don't you have the arguments to back up your thoughts? I'd like to hear them. I'm not adversarial or closed to your thoughts, if you have any. A response like that shows the depth of your thought.

Yes, they left the roots of democracy wherever they were. Open a book. They did plenty wrong. But they did a lot right...and India, the U.S. Canada, Australia, New Zealand....et al are examples of it. Democracy in those countries might not be perfect but life there is certainly better than in most parts of the world. What would you rather be? A Latin American or a North American?

But back to the point...I think many people downgrade Spanish because of a lack of respect for Spanish culture. I've lived in Spain and there is lots I love about it. But learning a language is a lot of work...the prize is that your work and knowledge open the door to a new culture. Spain certainly has a lot to offer culturally, but unfortunately, many people now learn the language as a means to help the those left in the mess they created in Latin America. It might be a practical language--but other languages offer more.

"Yes, they left the roots of democracy wherever they were"

I thought they left the roots of extermination wherever they were: extermination of native-americans, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Vietnam and now Irak....

Come on...is this freshman poli sci or a real discussion? Anything the British did, the Spanish did better. There isn't an Indian left in Cuba. Did you ever look at Mexican TV...there isn't an Indian face on it. Unfortunately, Spanish is now the language of poverty in the western hempishere...and if the Spanish don't like it...they only have themselves to thank.

There are dozens of nationalities who love to stick it to the British (or in this case--the Americans) because it makes their own country look better...where are you from, Eric? You are not a native speaker of English...or you just don't spell very well....

I've made my point...you've made yours...racism is alive and well...but today it is politically correct...bye

I speak flawless Italian (native), Spanish and English. I can read French. I have dabbled in German for fun.

I think any English-speaking person wanting a second language should learn French for culture, but Spanish for usefulness. Spanish will soon be the official second language in the U.S. - it already is in practice. Also, Spanish is probably marginally easier to learn than French or Italian. Spanish spoken in the Americas is rougher and full of Americanisms.

The person above who claims that he/she can understand Italian because she knows Spanish probably does neither.

Good luck!

<<I think any English-speaking person wanting a second language should learn French for culture, but Spanish for usefulness. Spanish will soon be the official second language in the U.S. - it already is in practice.>>

Not true at all. Spanish is just another secondary language in the United States, no different than Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or French. They're all only moderately useful depending on the part of the country you're in. English is the ONLY OFFICIAL LANGUAGE in the United States. No other language knowledge is a necessity!

Ozie your are the biggest retard on the face of this planet.




btw this "i hate spam" thing is hilarous! ahah haha

Some American friends of mine told me Spanish is necessary in some parts of US, I'm confused I speak English but not Spanish

> Some American friends of mine told me Spanish is necessary in some parts of US

"some parts" means ghettos or what?

> Some American friends of mine told me Spanish is necessary in some parts of US

"some parts" means ghettos or what?

I think they meant some states and in the work environment

<<I think they meant some states and in the work environment>>

Yes, the taco stands in Albuquerque often require fluency in Spanish.

While I am not completely sure as to the exact topic of this thread I would like to add my two cents to it...

If we are going to compare languages, what is the criteria we are going to use?

In my personal opinion, as an English speaker, I have found that there are certain things about German which has made it easier for me to learn than some of the other languages. I have always wanted to learn a foreign language; however...living in the United States my options are very limited. The only languages that are given any serious attention are French, German, Spanish, and now Chinese (Mandarin). You can learn other languages, but it is hard to do unless you live near a place that offers the chance.

I tried to learn Spanish in school, after four years of study I just can't speak the language. I have a good vocabulary, but I just don't have the grammar to back it up. I have taken a look at French, as it would be the next language I would encounter here in the States besides Spanish, however, I find myself running into the same problems as Spanish. The only difference is that French has a pronunciation that I am having a very hard time grasping...

But then there is German. I never really considered it before, but I am glad that I gave it a chance...again my thoughts are coming from an English speaker:

German has a near phonetic pronunciation that any English speaker can easily recognize and grasp unlike French and Spanish. The only sound that I think gives any serious trouble is the "ch" sound; which is not unknown to most English speakers, and usually quickly learned. French has a number of sounds that are not native to an English speaker and must be learned...the majority of Spanish pronunciation is very similar to English, however, I have noticed that the flipped and rolled "r" tends to complicate things.

In terms of vocabulary, I am learning German words faster because to me, the German vocabulary resembles more of the English words I use daily than French or Spanish. Now I know the history of English, and that if you take away the Latin, English's vocabulary is about 50/50 Norman/French and Anglo/Saxon...but I seem to be able to recognize more Germanic oriented words than Italic.

In terms of rhythms, I think that German has a more natural flow to an English speaker than Spanish or French. The blending of words that happens in these two languages caused nothing but trouble for me as a learner, while the crispness of German was easier to separate words as a beginner...now having said that, I did have to get used to seeing longer words than I was used to seeing.

And finally the grammar, this is hard to compare...Germanic grammars and Italic grammars are like apples and oranges. While I think there are more strict rules in Germanic grammars, this is actually a positive thing. Once I learned the rules, I found that I could easily write German sentences. Now I am sure that is just as true with other languages, however...I had trouble learning French and Spanish grammar, but I picked up on German grammar rather quickly...so I guess in this area, it really depends on the person.

While I am not sure I like the idea of placing one language over another, I would recommend to an English speaker interested learning a foreign language, that they try German first based on my experiences above...