Considerations - choosing a 3rd language

[TheWind]

Hey Guys,

 

Wanted to inquire about other people's considerations when choosing which new language to learn? (said language would be studied as I continue my Chinese studies) 

 

Im interested in and have dabbled in both Japanese & Spanish.  However, id be making much more progress if I just focused on one and stuck with it. Both have their own difficulties in learning (though I imagine Spanish would be significantly easier as a native English speaker, despite the conjugations) 

 

I'm probably more interested in the Japanese culture & Kanji isn't so difficult with my knowledge of Chinese characters. Also, they have great media/entertainment to practice with.  

 

Spanish is much more practical Considering all the countries that speak it.  Not only that, but it'd be a strong starting point for others Latin rooted/ "romance"languages that I can learn in the future, like Italian or Portuguese.

 

So, to recap, before making a major time investment on a new language, what factors do you consider the most?  (Ideally I could just learn them all, but time does not allow for that ?) 

[Flickserve]

Which one are you more interested in?

[mungouk]

Motivation is everything.

 

And Spanish is way too easy... ?

 

[TheWind]

1 hour ago, Flickserve said:

Which one are you more interested in?

probably Japanese

 

44 minutes ago, mungouk said:

Spanish is way too easy... ?

Always gotta take the hard road?

[mackie1402]

4 hours ago, TheWind said:

6 hours ago, Flickserve said:

Which one are you more interested in?

probably Japanese

 

Well if you're in China, it's pretty easy to find books to teach you Japanese  aimed at Chinese speakers. That way, you'll be able to practice both at the same time! Learning Japanese through Chinese (some at least) should really help you with your language learning, I guess. 

 

Also, I've been thinking about this myself. Funnily enough I thought about Japanese, and my wife suggested Spanish, but for some reason, I kind of want to learn Arabic. I suppose it's similar to what attracted me to Chinese, the completely different writing system! 

[Ruben von Zwack]

I would consider which culture you are interested in, and which culture is easily accessible for you, so that it will be easy for you to keep in touch with the language. I took Spanish as a 3rd language in high school and was pretty fluent for a while. But I lost all active speaking/writing ability pretty fast after that. Even though Spain is close, I just don't have any "meeting points" with the language or culture in my daily life, and I don't have motivation to do so, unlike others who are into Spanish or Latin literature, cinema, dance, etc.

[roddy]

I love studying Spanish. I've started it so many times.

 

The 'easiness bonus' of a romance language after Chinese is huge. There are so many extra ways to link new vocab with existing knowledge. Came across 'arder', to burn, recently. On first glance, there's no obvious equivalent in English like you have for descubrir - discover. But then you think 'ardour, ardent', and you're way more likely to remember it. You might like to read this.

[TheWind]

46 minutes ago, roddy said:

The 'easiness bonus' of a romance language after Chinese is huge. There are so many extra ways to link new vocab with existing knowledge

This is what I figured & a large reason Im interested in it, after having gone into the battlefield that is known as "Chinese".  Japanese is compareable to Chinese in difficulty. so, studying Spanish would almost be like taking a break. Not to mention that The US is the second largest Spanish speaking country. 

 

 

 

 

[TheWind]

1 hour ago, Ruben von Zwack said:

just don't have any "meeting points" with the language or culture in my daily life

that is also a concern.  Not to say I'm constantly exposed to Japanese speaking culture, but the entertainment/media/anime is a huge bonus for Japanese as it gives you many opportunities to study/practice even if you aren't in Japan

[Guest realmayo]

17 hours ago, TheWind said:

I'm probably more interested in the Japanese culture

 

Spanish is much more practical

 

Japanese then, every time! If you're interested in it, you'll find practical use for it. I'm not sure the reverse is true.

 

And then after Japanese there's Korean which, with a grounding in Chinese and Japanese, will feel easy (probably)!