Spanish vs German

a.t.   Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:25 am GMT
German is a language used in Sciences while spanish is used in latin america and 3rd most spoken language on earth. Spanish speaker are on the increase right? Are german speakers on the decline?
So for somebody like me living in asia, should i learn french or spanish?
at   Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:26 am GMT
i mean should i learn spanish or german?
Nostradamus   Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:33 pm GMT
Why not both ?

If you know English you will find lots of Spanish structures quite similar :

Mi nombre es Alejandro (Sp)
My name is Alejandro (En)

Yo vivo en España (Sp)
I live in Spain (En)

Cómo está usted ? (Sp)
How are you ? (En)

Ese caballo es blanco (Sp)
That horse is white (En)

Llameme si usted puede (Sp)
Call me if you can (En)

Yo pensé que eso era mas difícil de lo que realmente era. (Sp)
I thought that it was more difficult than it really was. (En)

Etc, etc, etc
Benjamin   Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:56 pm GMT
This is actually a very big question which I'm having to deal with at the moment — whether to choose Spanish or German to study 'ab initio' (i.e. from scratch, although I've done quite a bit of Spanish before) at university. Since I live in England, Latin America comes into the question significantly less than it would for an English speaking person in North America.
JR   Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:05 pm GMT
>>German is a language used in Sciences while spanish is used in latin america and 3rd most spoken language on earth. Spanish speaker are on the increase right? Are german speakers on the decline?
So for somebody like me living in asia, should i learn [german] or spanish?<<

German is a good language to know, but Spanish will be much more useful, if it already isn't. Especially on the internet, German has already made its precense but Spanish-language pages are rising quickly in number, also the vast number of radio and television channels that are broadcast in Spanish, many more than German. Not to mention the perdicted rise of Latin American (Spanish Speaking) Nations in the future, economically and influentialy.

The region where you live is also important. Are you living in Asia Minor or Southeast Asia? Living closer to Germany would make German increasingly more important, although I'm not sure how widespread the language is outside of Germany.

German might be on the decline, but Spanish is certainly on the rise.
CHINESE   Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:56 am GMT
German is certainly much more important and useful than Spanish in East Asia.
Wuhrt   Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:05 am GMT
German>French>Spanish.
Bardioc   Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:07 am GMT
<<... Not to mention the perdicted rise of Latin American (Spanish Speaking) Nations in the future, economically and influentialy.>>

perdicted = predicted?

Who really can predict the future?

<<... French on the other hand, was studied because of its copious literature; German had almost nothing in this area.>>

Almost nothing? Do you really believe that? If you are interested in science fiction, Germany hosts the world's largest SF series called Perry Rhodan, which started in 1961 and has issued 2327 books upto now, see www.perry-rhodan.de. There must also be an English webside. There are several other series, e. g. Ren Dhark, see www.hjb-shop.de, and lots of other literature covering horror, science fantasy or fantasy genre. There's also active Fandom, at least concerning Perry Rhodan, as far as I know.
This is the kind of literature I'm interested in. Unfortunately, there's too little time for reading.

In Germany, there's also one of the largest book fairs, the Frankfurter Buchmesse, every year.
a.t.   Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:36 pm GMT
Thank you for your feedbacks. So some are saying that spanish nations are on the rise but is it relevant for someone like me living in South-east asia?
Is germany in the decline? German seems to be more useful at the moment in south east asia since german is used in sciences, but is german declining in use in science?
Nostradamus   Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:44 pm GMT
<<So some are saying that spanish nations are on the rise but is it relevant for someone like me living in South-east asia? >>

Not at all, there is a connection among the rising of Asian countries and Latin American countries. Latin America is an important market for Asian countries. I work for a car spare parts seller who imports many thousands of dollars every year from Asia. Although there wouldn't be problem in making all transactions in English I'm very surprised that some Asian suppliers have learned Spanish and since some years ago we make all transactions in Spanish with them.

I think that your decision depends on why you want to learn a language and for what.

<<Who really can predict the future? >>

Nostradamus ? ;-)
JR   Sat Mar 25, 2006 1:15 am GMT
<<but is german declining in use in science?>>

Unfortunately yes, formerly German "territory" in Science is giving way to English. However I wouldn't say that it cannot make a return, though I do see it as unlikely.

I think going with Spanish is a safer bet, especially for your situation, since you already have a feel of what Spanish is like from previous studies. If I had to take a language course, I'd definitely go with one Im already familiar with, rather than one that would be new and strange to me.

<<So some are saying that spanish nations are on the rise but is it relevant for someone like me living in South-east asia? >>

It isn't at the moment, but it might be. Unlike the prediction of the economic rise of spanish-speaking Latinamerica, which is based on trends, relations with these Latinamerican nations and Southeast Asian nations which would make the language more important in your area... cannot be known for sure.

To quote a previous poster:
"Who really can predict the future?"

P.S. -
-- Nostradamus Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:44 pm GMT
<<Who really can predict the future? >>

Nostradamus ? ;-) --

Nice
a.t.   Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:45 am GMT
Is there a reason for german's decline in science?
Chinese   Sat Mar 25, 2006 6:50 am GMT
Although Spanish is increasingly on the rise, German is absolutely NOT gradually on the decline, German is still it used to be, very much powerful languange, in many respects, Science, Technology, Electronics, Commerce, Industry, and Culture & Literature, German will NEVER lose popularity! Those people who prefer Spanish ought to know it anyway.
greg   Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:40 am GMT
Brennus : « French on the other hand, was studied because of its copious literature; German had almost nothing in this area. »

C'est une plaisanterie ?
Guest   Sat Mar 25, 2006 9:12 am GMT
Brothers Grimm anyone?