French or Italian, which language should I learn first?

Well, first of all I want to underline that I don't want to study they both simultaneously. I'm a native spanish speaker and apparently It is possible but I could mix they both in my mind too much. I want to concentrate on one of them and master it. Here are my taughts on the matter:

On paper French is spoken worldwide in many countries while Italian not. French is an official language in many international organizations ( I will never work at one of these, but It is a pro I suppose). France is the second european economy and to speak it is more appreciated by companies than Italian.

Italian: I really like italian operas, Italian culture and well I can't explain it but this language exercises a kind of aesthetical attraction on me while French doesn't.

To learn Italian is what really would please me but I think that If I learn French I will make the most of my time. Let me repeat that to learn they both is a discarded option since I also must study English. No matter I speak Spanish and they both are romance languages, this goal is not that easy.

Now It's your turn.

Follow your heart. If you speak English and Spanish, you probably don't need to learn French. So choose Italian if that's the language from which you think you'll receive the most enjoyment. Additionally, I think Italian is much more similar to Spanish than French, so you should have a slightly easier time with Italian.

However if you do choose French, it would not be a bad choice, as French opens up a lot of the same doors, culturally, that Italian does (such as in the arts).

I think Italian is much more similar to Spanish than French

The usual litany... NO, IT ISN'T

I thought also on learning German. But I think it is sooo dificult. Sorry German, I'll see you in my next reincarnation.

<<I think Italian is much more similar to Spanish than French>>

I think you misunderstood what I was saying.

French and Spanish have a 75% lexical similarity.
Italian and Spanish have an 82% lexical similarity.

So yes, if he chooses to learn Italian, he'll have a slightly easier time in doing so.

I think you were thinking of the 89% lexical similarity between French and Italian, which is certainly fascinating, but not really applicable to this discussion.

http://www.orbilat.com/General_Survey/Romance_Languages.html

French and Spanish have a 75% lexical similarity.
Italian and Spanish have an 82% lexical similarity.


75%??? I would have bet 76,1%!!!!
Percentages are truly idiot and I can't stand people who think in this way

Lexical similarity is not that important. Italian and Spanish also share a high degree of phonetic similarity

Okay, just trying to help. Studies have been done to come up with these numbers, so take them for whatever they're worth to you.

If they are so similar is there someone here who is able to explain why they sounf so different? Phonetically Italian is close to Spanish as it is with French

French and Spanish belong to the same romance sub-branch: gallo-iberian romance. So technically speaking they are closer to each other according to scholars. But from my experience I think that Italian and Spanish are closer from the phonetic point of view, not to mention Argentinian Spanish and Italian. Of course there are phonetic differences between them, but they are lesser than when you compare French and Italian.

Ça n'a aucune importance. Si tu connais l'italien, tu comprendras vite le français, avec un peu d'effort. Et vice-versa.

I don't think so really, perhaps it will help me with writen French, but spoken French is obstruse as hell. Italian and Spanish are crystal clear.

The difference, I believe, lies in the way the languages pronounced, and that makes it hard for Italian speakers to understand spoken French, and vice versa. However when it comes to being able to understand the written language, French and Italian nearly mutually intelligible.

Well, if the French would stop talking through their noses, maybe other Romance Language speakers would understand them better.

Thanks for that valuable input.