I want to try learning a new language

bmarq21
bmarq21 Posts: 45
in Chit-Chat
I've encountered numerous individuals this summer that speak either Mandarin, Polish, or Arabic and I think it would be fun to attempt to learn one of the three. Does anyone have suggestions as to which would be the "easiest" to pick up.

Replies

  • Dead_Darling
    Dead_Darling Posts: 478 Member
    I learnt Arabic when I was younger and that wasn't too bad to learn; however, there is a lot of grammar work involved and the accents can take a bit of practice, but it's a language I'd like to pick up again :)
  • coachblt
    coachblt Posts: 1,090
    Can you speak Jive? Barbara Billingsley can.
  • HiKaren
    HiKaren Posts: 1,306 Member
    Okay... Try this... If you have a smartphone.... Get this app downloaded.... Its called "Translate" Its free, and you just type in your word or phrase... Choose your language...
  • TaintedVampyre
    TaintedVampyre Posts: 1,428 Member
    Out of your list, I would totally be interested in learning Arabic. With as many friends who speak it I'd love to scare them by actually knowing what they're talking about and joining in lol
  • AuntieMC
    AuntieMC Posts: 346 Member
    Polish would probably be the easiest for you, as it is in a language family that is more closely related to ours than Arabic or Chinese. Arabic and Chinese both have very different writing systems, as well, but with Polish, you use the same Roman Alphabet we use. Arabic has fewer written characters to learn thand Chinese does. In addition to having more written characters to learn ( a LOT more!), Chinese also has tones to deal with, which most American's find quite difficult. Have you ever studied a language before? If not, you might want to start with one that is more closely related to English -- maybe French, German, or Soanish to start with. There will be more similar words, instead of every single word being totally different from their English counterparts.
  • MattTheWaterRat
    MattTheWaterRat Posts: 167 Member
    I know a little Chinese, and I gotta tell you that is hard. I can speak a lot more than I can write, and I think you'll find this is common everywhere.

    If I were to pick an easy language, I'd pick a Romance Language.

    I'm curious how you plan on learning a new language. If you have absolutely no plan for the next few years, you could teach English overseas and learn a new language that way. If you're not willing to relocate, I would say Rosetta Stone is a good choice.
  • lukeout007
    lukeout007 Posts: 1,237 Member
    I'm curious how you plan on learning a new language. If you have absolutely no plan for the next few years, you could teach English overseas and learn a new language that way. If you're not willing to relocate, I would say Rosetta Stone is a good choice.

    Curious as well. I actually worked for Rosetta Stone for about 3 years. It's an awful company to work for but it really is a great product. I can recommend it with complete confidence.

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