# Why did you choose your language?



## ceann-feachd

Why did you choose to learn your language?
Warum wähltest du, deine Sprache zu lernen?
Carson a thagh thu a dh'ionnsachadh do chànain?
¿Por qué usted eligió aprender su lengua?
Waarom verkoos u om uw taal te leren?
Pourquoi avez-vous choisi d'apprendre votre langue?
Perchè avete scelto imparare la vostra lingua?
너는 왜 너의 언어를 배우는가것을 선택했는가?
Por que você escolheu aprender sua língua?
Почему вы выбрали выучить ваш язык?
なぜあなたの言語を学ぶことを選んだか。
為什麼您選擇學會您的語言?

I chose Gaelic because I thought it would be a unique choice.
Ich wählte Gälisch, weil ich dachte, daß es eine einzigarte Wahl würde sein.
Thagh mi Gàidhlig, oir smaoinich mi gum biodh i taghadh gun choimeas.
Elegí gaélico porque pensé que sería una opción única.
Ik koos Gaëlisch omdat ik dacht het een unieke keus zou zijn.
J'ai choisi le gaélique parce que j'ai pensé que ce serait un choix unique.
Ho scelto il gaelico perché ho pensato che fosse una scelta unica.
유일할 선택 이을텐데 것 을 나가 생각했기 때문에 나는 "Gaelic"을 선택했다.
Eu escolhi o gaelic porque eu pensei que seria uma escolha original.
Я выбрал Gaelic потому что я думал будет уникально выбором.
私はそれは独特な選択であることを私が考えたので"ゲール語" を選んだ。
我選擇了"蓋爾" 因為我認為這會是一個獨特的選擇。

Okay, so I got most of those, except for the German and Gaelic, and of course English, from Babblefish... so I apologize for the errors that I'm sure exist.


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## Chaska Ñawi

I'm an anglophone.

I started French in Grade 3 because it's our second language here and kept studying it into my 2nd year of university for the same reason.

I studied Latin the only year it was offered at my high school because I thought it'd help me understand English and French better (now it's helpful when I read Harry Potter).

I audited a course in German in first year university because I liked some German authors.

I audited an Italian course in 2nd year because German was soooo hard for me and I wanted to do another romance language instead.

I learned Spanish because I was on a youth exchange between Canada and Bolivia, and kept studying it at university level afterward because I fell in love with the language and Latin Americans (and one particular Latin American).  Spanish drove the Italian forcibly out of my brain after a very few weeks, although I can still read it (can't read German anymore).

I learned Quechua (runasimi) in Bolivia because I was in an isolated community where my newly acquired Spanish didn't get me anywhere.  I've had very few opportunities to use it since, but somehow retained it because I do review the grammar frequently and have a lot of music with Quechua lyrics.

I studied Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse at university because I'm a big fan of Tolkien and of Scandinavian mythology.

I do a fair bit of writing on etymology, so most of this stuff is still in a reasonably active section of my memory.

If I could take on another language right now, my choice would be Marquesan Polynesian - love the Marquesas, which have a good root form of Polynesian, and loved the smattering of Polynesian I did learn in the Pacific.  Mostly, though, I'd like to become a better Spanish speaker and to get my Quechua up to the same level as my Spanish.

Is this what you had in mind?


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## cherine

In Egypt we speak Arabic.

My parents sent me to a francophone school where I learned French AND English. And that was a lucky thing for me, because as we all know languages are a GREAT thing to lean 

After I finished university I thought about learning another language, so I chose Spanish for It's a bit similar to French and that would be easier for me to learn (I don't regret it, i'm loving this language)

Now I'm considering taking Russian classes, for I also love Russian literature and culture, and hope one day I'll be able to read and understad it.


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## cyrille2188

I grew up in the Philippines speaking my native language - Tagalog. Growing up, I was already immersed in two languages, the abovementioned and English. Therefore, during the time when my 'language window' was open, I had learned both Tagalog and English. 

During my 2nd grade of school, I accidentally encountered an ad on the Phonebook (I was looking for the nearest Pizza Hut's number). It portrayed a woman on the phone saying different hellos and goodbyes. One that striked me the most was the (for me at that time) hard to pronounce "Au Revoir".

I asked someone what it was and they said it was "Goodbye" in French. I was enamoured by the way it was pronounced and so I decided that I wanted to study French. The only problem I had was that we were forced to study English and therefore, there aren't any French nor Spanish classes that is convenient enough to attend. (You can only study a foreign language during your 3rd year of college/university in the Philippines and most only offer Spanish) 

After having lived in the Philippines for 13 years, I almost forgot my 'learn French dream' until I arrived in the United States where they actually offer foreign languages. The first year I wasn't permitted to study French because of schedule conflicts and so, I had to wait for another year. They next year, the same thing had happened again. However, this time I did not wait anymore, I studied the language by myself for about six months. 

The next year, my guidance counselor was fired and she was replaced by a better one. She tried her hardest to put me in a French class and thus, after a year of studying here I am - speaking French in an intermediate level.


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## Katey

I chose French because I was forced to (don't remember a word)
I studied Latin because I love words
I studied German to get out of a high school science class
I studied Russian because I studied international relations during the end of the cold war and because I like Russian Lit.
I learn Spanish because I live in Florida and for the pure joy of it.


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## belén

I was brought to an English school when I was 14 in order to learn English because "English is the international language" 
I studied German because I want to move to Vienna when I retire.
I studied Portuguese because I want to understand the lyrics of the most beautiful music in the world 
I started learning Chinese one month ago because I wanted to learn about a language that hasn't got anything to do with my own or the ones I have studied, in order to learn how such a different language works and that another way of thinking, talking and writing is possible.


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## Kelly B

It was rather by default. French was the only language offered in my middle school (age 10-12); at the high school (age 13-17) the French teacher was a lot of fun. In college, French classes were the easy courses I took between things like mechanics and thermodynamics, and our university had an exchange program with an engineering school in France.
It has been useful in surprising ways. When DH had a business trip to Paris, I came along and interpreted in meetings. And many of the members of his extended family speak French - I can converse with some of them better than he can.


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## Dalian

I learned English because my father asked me to when I was six.

I learned Japanese because my city is geographically and economically close to Japan. I wanted to better communicate with the Japanese here.

I learned French because I was told it's "la plus belle langue dans le monde"

I learned Korean because I found it bears lots of resemblance with Japanese in terms of grammar and I thought it might be easy (unfortunately I was wrong )

I learned Cantonese because I thought it was musical and good to listen to.

I learned a little German, Spanish and Italian because I found it interesting to know some interrelations among some European languages.

I tried to work on Hindi, Persian, Arabic and Hebrew because I liked their writing systems. But I suspended as they were difficult for me.


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## *Cowgirl*

I chose Spanish because:
#1 I was forced to
#2 The city in which I live as a rapidly growing Hispanic population, so it would be advantageous for me to learn.


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## BasedowLives

Spanish:  my dad's side is mexican and for some reason my grandparents didn't teach their kids spanish.  so i took it in high school, and now it's one of my majors in college.

french:  took 1 year in the university just because it interested me

norwegian:  my mom's side is almost completely norwegian.

i would like to go further in depth with arabic, but i haven't had the time lately.


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## gorbatzjov

Hi, 

My native tongue is Dutch.
I had to follow French since I was 10. (12 years now)
I had to follow English since I was 14. (8 years now)
I had to follow German for 2 years in high school. (2 years)
I had to choose between Spanish and German in college (this was my first CHOISE in languages, although it's not really a choise because you cannot chose not to follow a language course). I choose Spanish because it's very widely spoken and I love the language. (4 years)
I must say though I'm glad that I was forced to study all of those languages.

If you count "dead" languages:
I studied ancient Greek for 6 years (in high school)
I studied Latin for 2 years (in high school)


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## Black_Mamba

French was the only high school language I could learn and it was compulsory. I discovered I loved the language which was helpful because it was compulsory in the college where I did my GCSEs. I also did German GCSE because I enjoy languages and am better at them than doing Sciemce or Maths! I also want to travel and teach English as a Foreign Language when I finish my A-levels this year and French allows me to go to Canada, Africa and other countries in Europe.


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## GenJen54

I don't think you "choose" a language, I think in many ways language chooses you. In some instances, students are "forced" to study a particular language because they have not other choice based upon what is offered in their school system. 

In other instances, I believe attraction to language is a natural evolution to an attraction to a particular culture.  


> Okay, so I got most of those, except for the German and Gaelic, and of course English, from Babblefish... so I apologize for the errors that I'm sure exist.


Of course, errors exist.  Computers are no match for native speakers.  In the future, you might want to look to our own wonderful native speakers here on WR for your translations.  That's what we're here for.


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## tigger_uhuhu

I had to study English because in Mexico is common at schools. Since I was 5 (but I've never been learn it    )
I'm learning Italian because I think it sounds beatiful
I want to learn Catalan because I feel attract to that culture, such as GenJen said.
Sorry my english mistakes (as usual  )


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## gisele73

Hi 

My native language is Spanish.

I also started learning English at school when I was very little. Actually in Kindergarten, so I was 4 and a half. 

Some years ago I started learning Italian, for the only reason that I have always loved it and until now I think it's the most beautiful language of all (my personal opinion, of course).

I learned Norwegian because I had to, since I live in Norway (moved here almost 3 years ago). It's not an easy language, but the good thing is I love learning languages, so that helped.


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## jinti

I started Spanish when I was 13 because I had to take either Spanish or French and my older brother hated his French class.
I added Latin the next year because I liked Spanish and because my friend was taking Latin.
I added Italian the following year because I liked Spanish and Latin so much.
I added Japanese during college because I had been to Japan for a few months and I had fallen in love with the language. I liked the fact that it was so very different from English. I also love writing systems, and I wanted to be able to "build" my words on paper as I saw my Japanese friends doing. (Of course, Intensive Japanese at 8 AM immediately followed by Advanced Spanish Conversation is not something I recommend.)
I added American Sign Language a few years ago because I had always watched sign interpreters on TV and at events, and was fascinated to the point of ignoring everything else going on around me. I was attracted by the idea of a purely visual language that was so direct and expressive, and it struck me as such a wonderful thing to communicate with one's hands and body. 

I have fooled around with a number of other languages, but not to the point of being able to hold a decent conversation in them. Usually, I was just attracted by their writing system or the fact that they were very different from other languages that I have studied.


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## Mama Rosa

I went completely through the American school system, including 4 yr university without having to study one word in a foreign language.

When I found myself working on cruise ships at age 26, to my surprise (and horror) everyone in the crew (except the handful of US crew) spoke a few languages, each. 

Well, I thought I'd like to try to learn German (because the Swiss and German wine stewards were 'attractive') but I came to my senses and learned Spanish, it was much more practical. Good bye sommeliers, and hello deck hands, and linen keepers!  Everyone I met were 'good people' and helped me while I learned from books.

Now I live in Florida, how handy can that be?

It is a dis-service not to have language mandatory in the American school system. The world is SO much bigger than what we can see from here.


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## fenixpollo

For related posts, look at the threads *Why are you multilingual* and *Why Spanish*?


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## Katey

"It is a dis-service not to have language mandatory in the American school system. The world is SO much bigger than what we can see from here."

It is mandatory in many American school systems, and it is getting extemely difficult to get into college without it.  The problem is that most public schools don't start until middle school. 

Katey


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## jinti

Katey said:
			
		

> "It is a dis-service not to have language mandatory in the American school system. The world is SO much bigger than what we can see from here."
> 
> It is mandatory in many American school systems, and it is getting extemely difficult to get into college without it. The problem is that most public schools don't start until middle school.
> 
> Katey


 
I agree.  But a problem which you allude to is the fact that there really is no US school system (singular).  School systems here are local, so what is required in one is not required in another.  

Some do provide foreign languages in elementary school (5 or 6 years old to 10 or 12 years old).  Some start later.  Some never start.  Some make it voluntary.  Some require it.  

I probably wouldn't have found out how much I liked languages if they hadn't been a requirement at my school.


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## Mama Rosa

Of course you are right, I was referring to 25-30 years ago.
When I was in school, language was very minimal,  and not mandatory. It is good to hear that it may be becoming compulsory, but my husband had 3 years of school Spanish and remembers none of it. I guess you must have a desire, in order to absorb it.

Correct when saying that education is not uniform in the U.S. 
I was given no exposure to languages, but much to sports (I wasn't even aware is was a 'sports' school, until comparing past experiences while in college) I have no interest in sports.

I would have loved to have studied language at an early age.


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## Katey

Teachers can also inspire you to avoid a language.  Maybe if I hadn't had lousy French teachers in middle school, I would like it as much as all the other languages I have studied.  

Katey


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## Spaught

I chose French because my high school has a limitted amount of options on foreign language. It was French or Spanish, and I have no desire to speak Spanish. I'm also studying a bit of Latin on my own though because my girlfriend is always sending me these Latin phrases.


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## ceann-feachd

Spaught said:
			
		

> I chose French because my high school has a limitted amount of options on foreign language. It was French or Spanish, and I have no desire to speak Spanish. I'm also studying a bit of Latin on my own though because my girlfriend is always sending me these Latin phrases.


 
I know what you mean. Everyone and their brother takes Spanish in school, mostly because it's encouraged over other languages. That's the reason I have no desire to learn it.


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## look

ceann-feachd said:
			
		

> I know what you mean. Everyone and their brother takes Spanish in school, mostly because it's encouraged over other languages. That's the reason I have no desire to learn it.


The situation was the same with French when I was at high school (about a decade ago) here in the UK. For some reason, there was (and probably still is) a kind of snobbish culture attached to learning that particular language above all others, although I think that in recent years Spanish has actually overtaken French as the most commonly taught foreign language in schools here... probably because nowadays students have more choice with regard to the subjects they take.
After my bad experience with French, I finally became interested in learning a foreign language (Spanish) about 3 years ago when I began a friendship with someone from Spain.
I think that learning another language because you really want to be able to communicate better with someone (or more than one person) is probably the best position to start from.


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## Spaught

ceann-feachd said:
			
		

> I know what you mean. Everyone and their brother takes Spanish in school, mostly because it's encouraged over other languages. That's the reason I have no desire to learn it.



Yeah, my mom basically told me I was being a fool and that taking French would never help me in life. Which, is probably true aside from relationships.  lol.


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## Spaught

look said:
			
		

> The situation was the same with French when I was at high school (about a decade ago) here in the UK. For some reason, there was (and probably still is) a kind of snobbish culture attached to learning that particular language above all others, although I think that in recent years Spanish has actually overtaken French as the most commonly taught foreign language in schools here... probably because nowadays students have more choice with regard to the subjects they take.
> After my bad experience with French, I finally became interested in learning a foreign language (Spanish) about 3 years ago when I began a friendship with someone from Spain.
> I think that learning another language because you really want to be able to communicate better with someone (or more than one person) is probably the best position to start from.




I think I'd like to learn Spanish someday, I'm just more interested in the French language. It would probably be much more helpful in everyday life considering I live in Texas where a lot of Mexican immigrants don't speak very good English. It would be nice to be able to effectively communicate with them.


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## Gremli Skremli

I´m Norwegian and have Bokmål as my written form. 
I leaned English "automatically" like all Norwegian kids, from tv, music, in primary school, during trips abroad...
I learned a bit of German in school at age 14 since my parents though I should choose a third language, but didn´t like it and left the German class the next year. What I wanted to learn was Spanish, but then you only take German and French in secondary school. (Now you can take Spanish too.)
I finally learned Spanish in Mexico, because I wanted to and because I ´ve always liked it.
I learned a tiny bit of nahuatl in Mexico because it interests me for historical and cultural reasons, and I like it.
I´m trying to learn Portuguese because I like it, and it would be useful since I do Latin American Studies.
I finally learned well Nynorsk (the other written form of Norwegian language) as a university student, because you have to master it to teach Norwegian in high school, and because I love it and have felt ashamed for not mastering it.
I also learned a bit of Old Norse as a student, but just a tiiiiny bit.


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## nichec

Hello to all:
We speak Chinese and Taiwanese in Taiwan ( no, they are not the same ), and we are forced to learn English from 13 to 19.

I learn French because I stayed in Paris for quite some time and I fell in love with European languages.

There's also one other reason why I want to be able to speak as many languages as possible: I love literature since I was a kid. I love reading, and everytime when I'm reading, say, Leo Tolstoy or Franz Kafka, I'm always thinking how wonderful it would be to read it in the original language ( especially after I read Great Expectations both in Chinese and in English  )

I always think learning different languages is like opening new windows to youe life, you get different views and they'll eventually enrich your life in a way that there's nothing else to compare to. 

cheers, N


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## hedonist

ceann-feachd said:
			
		

> Why did you choose to learn your language?
> 
> ¿Por qué usted eligió aprender su lengua?



What I meant was that I was raised in a bilingual environment. I had no choice but to speak the languages that I'm reasonably fluent in or else...  Hopefully that is helpful.


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## TStadt

My native language is English (U.S.) with a little mix of Yiddish and German tossed into the mix (thanks to my lively and language-loving Mother).  
I believe French chose me when I was 12 years old.  The foreign language survey class offered at my school gave students interested in studying a foreign language the chance to study French, German, Spanish and Russian for 6 weeks each.  I jumped at the chance.  I enjoyed every class, however, French drew me in--as did the interesting and entertaining French teacher.  Incidentally, my future French teacher (a native Parisienne) was the true reason I stuck with it.  She and I are still friends today (20+ years later!).  Essentially, I loved the sound of the language and the French culture (art, music, literature, etc.) and its history.  Plus, it came very easy to me.  I must say, however, I almost chose Russian over French.  Russian was almost equally as appealing.  The challenge of learning a new alphabet and, again, the enthusiasm and charm of the Russian teacher (who was a native Russian) were the big draws (plus, again, it came easy to me).  I am now dabbling in Spanish---mainly due to a new relationship I am in with a Mexican (who also speaks Otomi).  Perhaps Otomi is next for me?  Good thread everyone!  Au revoir, Auf wiedersehen, Adios, Zayt gesunt, Do svidanja, Ya Da Ma, Shalom!


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## Mutichou

I speak French because it is my mother tongue.
I'm learning English because it's very useful.
I'm learning German because in France we have to choose two foreign languages, and I could begin German quite early.
I'm learning Spanish because it's useful, too, and many things are similar to French.
I'm having Chinese lessons (outside of school) because it may be useful, and I love this language, it is totally different from European languages, and the writing is beautiful (and hard).
And I'm very interested in languages, that's why I'm learning four foreign languages ^^


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## blancalaw

I feel so dumb having only studied Spanish. And even dumber as I am about to confess why I chose Spanish.
When I was a child I always wanted to speak in another tongue (acts 2), and since my church then didn't believe in speaking in tongues in the present day I thought I'd be smart and study a language. In my high school I had the option between Spanish and French. Since my last name was French Canadian I thought about studying French, but then I considered that Spanish was easier to spell and both of my brothers took Spanish class. Well when I registered, my brothers ended up dropping out, but I decided to continue. In fact I liked it so much that I never stopped learning it.
I hope to learn another language, possibly Arabic because there is a large population of Arabs in my area.


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## Hakro

In Finland we study in school at least two foreign languages (generally Swedish and English), often three. I studied Swedish, German, French and English.

Later I took the basic courses in Spanish and Italian because as a journalist I went often to those countries and I wanted to know at least some words and the basics of grammar.

All these languages have also been useful for my work.


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## Zakalwe

French is my mother tongue.
I learned English at school as first language because it is obligatory. But 10 years later, it will help me to be selected to go for one year to study in England.
I learned German at school as second language because it was said at his time that the good students choosed it as it is more difficult than spanish. I learned it during 8 years but never praticed it and now it seems that i don't remember a thing...
I learned Spanish for my girlfriend who i met in my year in England and for who i live now in Spain.
I learned Chinese last year to prepare a trip there. It helped me a lot to ask information to people and to avoid getting lost. I would like now to learn to write and read it.
I want to learn Japanese because i'm in love with their culture and in order to understand kitano's movies.


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## tvdxer

In my school, three languages were offered: Spanish, German, and American Sign Language.

I wanted to learn a spoken language, which left me with Spanish and German, of course, and I thought I would get more use out of Spanish, and more speak that language.


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## SpiceMan

English: I almost became a drop out in highschool because of english. My dad said to me "What's so hard about this? I/We/They -> _do_. He/She/It -> _does_. Everything is _did_ for past tense.", I thought "Wow! Talk about easy!". I'm sure I must have been told so zillions of times at school, but that's the exact time I actually got it. English was like a breeze afterwards. That plus a lot of time hanging out with computers which gave me lots of (mainly technical) vocabulary. Music, movies, and IRC provided the rest.

Japanese: I used to say (and still say!) whenever a language was the subject that I'd like to learn it. I said so about japanese to my girlfriend (at the time). We got all hyped out about studying together, and we eventually did. She dropped out after a couple months, while I kept on it for about a year. Now I just read/talk with Japanese to broaden my vocabulary.


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## vic1.0

I've started to learn languages at the age of nine. Earlier here in Hungary we had to learn Russian, but by 1989 i could choose between Russian and English. It wasn't a question for me on one hand because nobody wanted to hear about Russians after 40 years of communism (by now it has changed), on the other hand it seemed to be much more useful after the change of regime.
Then i started German in high school. First i hated it, but after i spent a month in Vienna i took to it. I find it quite hard to learn but i keep trying  
Now i'm learning Spanish due to several reasons. One is that i like to learn languages, then i wanted to understand the lyrics of my favourite songs  , but the main motivation is that i fell in love with a hispanohablante


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## vic1.0

By the way, doesn't it seem to you that Spanish is the language with which most people falls in love?


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## Hakro

vic1.0 said:
			
		

> Now i'm learning Spanish due to several reasons. One is that i like to learn languages, then i wanted to understand the lyrics of my favourite songs  , but the main motivation is that i fell in love with a hispanohablante


I can assure you that it's absolutely the best way to learn a foreign language! It's called the 'mouth-to-mouth-method'.


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## tvdxer

Katey said:
			
		

> "It is a dis-service not to have language mandatory in the American school system. The world is SO much bigger than what we can see from here."
> 
> It is mandatory in many American school systems, and it is getting extemely difficult to get into college without it.  The problem is that most public schools don't start until middle school.
> 
> Katey



Make that high school.


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## lampiao

I chose english because when I was a kid (before starting grade school) my father used to speak in english when he didn't want us kids to understand, and I wanted to understand what he was saying, so I wanted to learn english before I started school


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## macta123

I learned Hindi (That was in my School from 1st Standard)
I learned Malayalm ( Because that is my mother tongue )
 Even I learned reading Malayalm (Now I can read Malayalam [well] but I am not so good at writting them ]

I learned a bit of Tamil (It is close to Malayalam) but they don't  have as many alphabets as in other Indiian languages )
I learned English (from Preparatory School till my College ) - Morever the course books are generally in English
I learned a bit of Urdu ( But still not go at all of the vocabulary ). I learnt how it  is written and read and probably can read names and words similar to Hindi.  
And now I'm learning French (because it is my passion)
 I tried a bit of German (but their vocabulary is a little tough ; Pronounciation is also tough )


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## elroy

*Arabic* is my first language.
I grew up speaking *English* along with Arabic because my parents placed me in an American school (not my choice, but boy am I thankful).
Growing up, I spoke bits and pieces of *Hebrew* because my parents are fluent in it, I was exposed to it by living in Jerusalem, and it's similar to Arabic in some ways.

Those are three languages I did not choose.

I chose to learn *French* as a summer activity when I was twelve.  Before I knew it, I was hooked.
I chose to learn *Spanish* because it was offered for one year at my school; I had to do an elective and I thought it would be cool to do another foreign language.  As with French, I was immediately hooked.
I chose *German* because I figured knowing French, Spanish, and German would be helpful since the three are "world languages."
I chose *Italian* because I thought it would be a shame to know French and Spanish but not Italian.
I chose *Dutch* because I spent a month in Amsterdam and inevitably wanted to learn how to say certain things.  Pretty soon, I was hooked as well.
I chose *Norwegian* because I spent a semester at a German university in which all kinds of "unusual" languages were offered.  I wanted to take advantage of that opportunity.  For academic reasons, I had to choose a Germanic language, and Norwegian fit best in my schedule.

In tenth grade, I had a few Korean friends teach me how to read and write *Korean* - just because I thought it would be cool.
I did a semester of *ancient Greek* my sophomore year of college because I thought it would help me read the Bible in the original language.  Unfortunately, I did not go too far with that.
I picked up some *Armenian* because I spent three weeks in Armenia.


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## nmuscatine

English is my native language.
As a child I always wanted to learn a foreign language, but the earliest that we could start learning a language at school with in the 7th grade (age 12).  My school offered French and Spanish.  I chose French because I was told it was harder, and people were generally more respected for learning French.  Also, I wanted to go to Europe, and my grandparents, who are quite passionate about Europe, encouraged me to choose French. 
After being obsessed with French for many years, I started to learn Italian in college (sophomore year) because I really love languages and finally wanted to learn another one.  Now I speak pretty good French and Italian.  I'd really like to learn Spanish, and even tried once, but it is so similar to Italian that I am afraid of erasing Italian by learning Spanish.  But someday I'd like to take the time to learn Spanish while carefully preserving my Italian.  I'm also interested in other European languages... hopefully I'll acquire more someday.


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## maxiogee

Why did I choose my language? 

Well when it became apparent that my parents didn't really understand my baby-talk I was forced to convert to their langauge to make myself understood. My rights in this matter (as in all parent/child interactions) were trampled on mercilessly and without redress. I was robbed of my birthright! 

Then when I got to school the language-fascists were there again! In Uniforms!!!!


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## Tino_no

Mmm, Well I started learning english since I remember, and besides it's the language we learn at school for 6 years.
A year ago, I decided to start learning german as a summer activity, just like elroy.
The next language I'll be trying to learn is french, because it has become one of the most important languages in America (the continent!).


----------



## edena

I started learning Spanish in middle school, and then through high school, because I already had the background grammar down, etc. But, I hated all of my Spanish teachers, and eventually lost interest in a language I would have loved to become fluent in eventually. 
My new passion is Italian, and as there are no classes offered in this language in my university, I am learning it on my own. Hard work, but I love it with a passion. Italy is my obsession, so why not learn the language?


----------



## ewhite

I studied *Spanish* because it was the only modern language my high school offered. I learned to speak it when I acquired a Puerto Rican boyfriend.
I studied high-school *Latin* for two years because it was required, and for another year because I enjoyed it.
I took two years of *Classical Greek* in college because I was postponing graduation, and because the teacher was marvelous.
I devoted time on and off for five or so years to the study of *Irish* because none of my immediate ancestors could speak their own native language. I gave up in despair at its sheer complexity.


----------



## Suane

I didn't choose languages, but when I was starting a primary school, I was put in "German class", so we were studying Deutsch.  In my primary school it was required to have also 2nd language and since we don't choose our own subjects, my whole class was studying English (but some other classes were studing Russian, French...). It was also encouraged to have some hobby subject after regular school, so some peolpe took Spanish, but I didn't because it was just hobby subject and it was handled like that. 
In my high school we were all studying English- as an "international language" and as the second language half a class was studying French and the other one German- and because I had German before I thought it would be better to develop in one language than to start another one and then know both only a bit. But many students didn't seem to have German before, so we were starting from the beginning.  

I wish I could learn another languages but because I have regular school I don't have so much time to study them and I don't think that studying on my own will make me know the language- I think you need a teacher to learn language.
If I have a chance I want to study French, Russian, Latin and another ones. And of course developing my German will be a good thing to do since I'm not studying German this year because I'm in America and there are just 6 subjects to pick and in order to have a diplom you have to pass some subjects. 

I don't think there are many foreign people that are studing Slovak. Many foreign people who want to study some Slavic language seem to choose Russian or maybe Czech, so my language is in their shadow.

Has anybody ever studied Esperanto? One person (I think Polish) developed this language that way that he put together vocabulary and grammar from many european languages because he thought it would be fairer for european people to have this kind of international language. But it seems that nobody studies it now and since most interanational movies and most of internet is in English, almost everybody studies English.


----------



## mansio

I study languages strictly for practical reasons. For example to have good contacts with people. I travelled once from France to Indonesia (as a backpacker) and it was a tough job to change from one language to the other. I had extra kilos of books to carry along.
Now I study a little bit of Turkish because it is the third language of Alsace where I live.
I am also much interested by religions so I have to know some Arabic, Hebrew and Koine Greek.


----------



## gato2

I'm Spanish and I've chosen to study English because my mother was English but she used to speak to me in Spanish so I didn't learnt it as a child so now I'm trying to learn it but I'm afraid it's too hard


----------



## avalon2004

I chose Spanish because I was interested in Latin American culture and I visited Spain a lot. I also listened to Spanish music and owned Spanish films.
I chose Greek because I frequently go to Greece and have several Greek speaking friends. I also found the alphabet very visually pleasing!
I chose French as an extra subject in school and subsequently continued with it until now.
I chose Russian because I thought it would be both challenging and interesting. Since taking up the language, I've learnt so much about Russia and also how easy many Indo-European languages are in comparison with it.
I chose Portuguese, Catalan and Italian because I thought they were close enough to Spanish to pick up quickly. Obviously I liked the sound of them as well..
I also chose to persue an interest in several other languages (such as Icelandic, Finnish, Swahili, Arabic, Hindi and Japanese) for the sake of it. I realise I could never realistically learn these languages on top of the others I'm studying, but nevertheless I find them interesting.


----------



## Paulinne

Hi!!
*Czech:* my mother tongue (but because it's really close to *Slovak* I can count it as well..)
*English*: When I was 7 years old I started to study this language. However, as I was too small, it was my parents who chose it for me
*French:* I've loved this language from the very early age (about 4 years old, because when I was 3 we used to live in France with my family but when we returned to the Czech rep. I didn't use this language at all). I started to learn this language when I was 12 (5 years ago) and now I prefer it to my mother tongue...
*Spanish*: I've started to learn it maybe 6 months ago but without any teacher - on my own... Because it's similar to French, it isn't SO difficult 
*Russian:* I've been studying this language only for 5 months but I like it.. I've chosen it because I think it's a very interesting language and that nowdays there isn't many people studying this language

P.


----------



## Pivra

I learn Thai because it's my first language
I learn English because everyone in Thailand needs to do so.
I learn Spanish because it's very global and easier than Chinese.


----------



## Whodunit

*German* is my mother tongue. I haven't grown up bilingually, so I've had to learn all the other languages.

*English* is my first foreign language. I had to start learning it in 5th grade. It is the world language, so I've never given it up, fortunately. I became the chance to expand my vocabulary through this forum.

*French* is my second foreign language. In 7th grade I had to decide between Russian and French. I though French would be more useful.

In 9th grade, I had to chose between chemistry, physics, art, and Latin. Since I love languages, I wanted to study the languages' mother: *Latin*.

Because of this forum, I became interested in reading *Spanish*. So, I tried to acquire a lot of passive skills.

Two years ago, I found it interesting to read foreign characters, so I chose *Hebrew*. As I didn't find it very useful then, I chose to learn *Arabic*, which could be more helpful for the future.

I taught myself the *Russian* and *Greek* alphabet and can read it. I thought it would be great to be able to read characters that look "strange" to many people.

*Czech* was a unique choice. I hadn't liked it until I took a trip to the Czech Republic, where I needed some phrases. Now, I do like it.

I'm currently trying to understand the *Gujarati* writing system. We'll see if it lasts for long.


----------



## Bienvenidos

I chose *Farsi* because it's my native language.
I chose *Pashto* because everyone else in my family speaks it (my mother being a native speaker), and I love the sound of the language.
I chose *English* because I've lived in the US since I was 6 months old.
I chose *Spanish* because I love it. It's that simple.
I chose *Latin* to better understand the roots of *Spanish* words.
I chose *Italian* because I had a foundation in *Latin*.
I chose *French* because I had to (requirement for school).
I chose *Afrikaans* because it's Charlize Theron's native language...just kidding! It's a great language, sounds, culture, everything!
I chose *Russian* because...well it's Russian.  How cool is that? 

*Bien*


----------



## danielfranco

Yikes! I feel like such an ignoramus... 
I speak some Spanish because I was born and raised in Mexico. But right before I could start studying the language in a moderate earnest manner (high school level) I left and moved to the USA, where I had to learn to speak English, because I was hungry and people kept looking weird at me for trying to use a hybrid of Spanish and broad hand gestures ("Feed me!", hand going repeatedly up to my mouth...)
Since then I've been lucky enough to study a couple of lessons of English and Spanish grammar and stuff...


----------



## AnotherStephen

What surprises me is just how many languages people have a go at. I am learning Spanish. If I keep going and end up speaking it, then great. However I will never try and learn another. That's absolutely certain. There's so much hard work. How do people who know how much hard work is involved in learning a foreign language (because they have done it once already), ever start on learning a second or a third even?


----------



## Whodunit

AnotherStephen said:
			
		

> How do people who know how much hard work is involved in learning a foreign language (because they have done it once already), ever start on learning a second or a third even?


 
If you once shot a goal at soccer, will you do it again or won't you? 

Learning languages is like a passion for certain people, so if you once mastered one language you become interested in a language that is close it the one you already know. Furthermore, it helps you understand more people with every language you start learning.


----------



## vince

Dalian said:
			
		

> I learned Cantonese because I thought it was musical and good to listen to.



Here's something I've always wondered. When you non-Cantonese Chinese people study Cantonese, do you learn real Cantonese? Or do you learn "Cantonese dialect", which is basically 99% the same as Written Chinese but pronounced in Cantonese pronunciation and accent with a few Cantonese regional vocabulary added in? i.e. do you learn Cantonese by learning the pronunciation of Written Chinese characters, or do you actually get to learn some of the intricacies and unique grammatical/lexical features of the Cantonese language?


----------



## ronanpoirier

My mother langue is *Portuguese* and I may say *French* too, since my dad's side is (also) French and he used to speak some *French* to me... but he doesn't anymore :-(
I started learning *Spanish* when I was 9 listening to Shakira's songs.
The same happened to *English* when I was 11, listening to Alanis' songs! :-D But I had much more interest on learning *English*!
Now I am fluent in *English *but I badly can make a sentence in *Spanish!
*Last year I started learning Hungarian because I thought I had Hungarian origins... but now I know it is Czech... but since *Hungarian* is nice, I haven't given it up!
I tried *Italian* and *Russian* too but they are not that interesting. Maybe I'll re-start learning *Italian* someday since it is easy...
I intend to learn *Czech*, *Romanian *and *Japanese* someday!


----------



## vince

I am learning French because I was sick of being another one of the 98% of Torontonians who can't speak French in a bilingual country

I am learning Spanish because it's the second-most important language of the United States, so if I end up working in the U.S., it would be good to communicate with the Latin American immigrants. Also because Spanish is so easy compared to most languages.


----------



## Masood

I once had a summer job during my time as a Uni student and spent 6 months living/working in New York City, USA. I worked as a 'mover' (furniture removal man) and many of my work mates were Hispanic (mainly Cubans and Puerto Ricans). They were the first ones to teach me some Spanish and I've never looked back since. I now use it at work from time-to-time with Spanish work colleagues and customers.


----------



## Oche Gruso

I chose Yiddish because a few years ago I had learned that my family is Jewish.  The reason why it took so long for us to find out was because my grandmother, of whom was in WWII, kept our heritage a secret until she died because of her fear that the Nazis would somehow regroup.  My cousin was doing a geneology tree, and that is how we discovered our true origins.  Though it is somewhat sad, it was a real eye-opener and it gives me a chance to bring in new meaning of my famiily and heritage.  I also want my children to grow up with the knowledge of who they are and everything about Judiasm, this way they don't miss out on the things that I did.


----------



## surfingnirvana

Welllllllllllll

*English *is my native language, as Im from America!
In school, from Kindergarten to sixth grade we learn *Spanish*(Which I learned was quite unique as not many schools in my area start so early), and seventh grade to twelth we have options of French and Spanish, and then Latin in nineth onwards.  I chose Spanish of course!
In my elementary school, all the boys were obsessed with whatever was fresh out of Japan!  Pokemon, then Dragonball Z, Inu Yasha, I can go on really.  So around seventh grade I began to study *Japanese*.  Hehe, when people asked how I learned I lied and said I had a Japanese aunt so I wouldnt be labeled a nerd!  Hehe.  Good times .  I still study it and am pretty confident in my ability.
I have recently begun studying *Irish*.  I am part Irish and I think it is a beautiful language, ESPECIALLY written!!!  

I would like to learn *Romany* as I am part Romany and I think it is a cool culture, as well as *Italian*, *Armenian*, *Mandarin*, and *Russian* .

-Alejo


----------



## linguist786

*Gujarati* is my mother tongue, although i was never taught how to read/write it, since i don't live in India, so there's no point! (Where on earth would you need to read or write Gujarati in England?!?) However, i became interested in the written form when i was about 15, so i taught myself! Now i can read and write it pretty well (not fluently though)

*Urdu* i was taught at mosque since a lot of Islamic books are in Urdu, plus it was quite easy to pick up because the grammar/word order is so similar to Gujarati.

*Hindi *(spoken) is basically the same language as Urdu, but the written form is completely different. Urdu uses the Arabic alphabet (with one or two extra letters) but Hindi (like Gujarati) comes from the Devanagari script. Since the written forms of Gujarati and Hindi are so similar, i decided to learn written Hindi too (and now i am pretty fluent, but not 100%)

*German* i started learning in year 7 in high school, but if i'm honest, it's been one of them languages which i just can't be bothered to put my head down and learn properly!! My grammar gets all over the place sometimes! it was the only language offered in my school (as well as french) which is why i took it up.

*French *was the other language offered in my school, and since i realised i was so good at languages, i continued both French and German.. all the way to A-Level!! My French is sooooo much better than my German though, even though i have been studying German two years longer!

At the moment, i am starting university in September, where i shall hopefully learn Arabic and Mandarin Chinese! (i already know bits of Arabic)


----------



## panjabigator

Linguist thats cool.  I have only met one other Gujarati Muslim hehe!

I usually say English is my mother tongue because thats what I mainly spoke when growing up. But my parents spoke to us in hindi and Punjabi, so I understood them and spoke rudementary/fragmented sentences back once in a while. I took classes in Hindi and Urdu at college for three years and now I rarely speak english with them....everything is Punjabi or Hindi. 

I chose Spanish because I had to, but I love the language so much and I want to live in Spain....Barcelona specifically!
I want to learn Marathi, Gujarati, Bangla (Bengali), and Tamil. I also want to learn French, German, and Brazillian Portuguese! Wish me luck!


----------



## Sallyb36

i did French and Spanish at school, did German at night school for 2 years (hated it, trying my hardest to forget it all), and started to learn Japanese because I find it fascinating, but too time consuming, so plan to learn Japanese and Russian if I'm ever unemployed, or when I retire!
Have lived with a Spanish person for the last 2 years.


----------



## Oche Gruso

Chill Winston!


----------



## Etcetera

I'm native Russian, and Russian is my mothertongue. 
English is the most popular language among students and teachers in Russia, and I studied English at school, like a vast majority of Russian children. At school I also had German classes, but still I chose English as my major at the University. Why?.. First of all, I'm fond of English, I love the sound of the language, and I love English literature. Then, if you know this language, you can go almost anywhere in the world, and you'll always find good job (at least, that's how it is in Russia). 
My minor language at the University is Finnish, a language I've dreamt to learn since I was a child. In St. Petersburg Finnish is very popular among learners, because the city is close to Finland, so the knowledge of Finnish gives you certain advantages when you apply for a job.
I'm also studying Polish, and I became interested in this language after I read Henryk Sienkiewicz's novels _Ogniem i mieczem, Potop _and _Pan Wolodyjowski._ I read them firstly in Russian, and I want to read them in Polish as well. 
An old dream of mine is also to learn Italian - an immensely beautiful language.


----------



## Krümelmonster

@ dahut: But if you find Norwegian and German so similar, then you will probably have even more problems with Dutch, witch is far closer to German than Norwegian, right?
But I understand you, I also had to drop Italian because i confused it with Spanish, and still try to do some Portuguese (and refresh my French), which is similar, too.
But to be honest: In my opinion Castellano is the most beautiful of all those roman languages! 

Btw., did you realize that everybody who learned German either doesn't remember why or wishes he hadn't done it? I would not have chosen German if it was not my native language, either!


----------



## Le Mépris

I'm just absolutely enamored with French culture, and I want to live there on day, soteaching myself the language was just a natural progression. Learning the language has really made me appreciate their culture even moreso than I did before.


I'm certainly not fluent in Spanish, but I can understand a bit. I  really want to take Spanish, but I've been learning it since the seventh Grade so yeah...


I did take Chinese for a few months, because I really love Japanese culture and, since my school didn't have a Japanese course, it was the next best thing. It was TORTURE. So hard. I enjoyed it, yeah, but.. wow. I couldn't take it. So I went back to Spanish.


----------



## panjabigator

dahut said:
			
		

> Spanish (_Castillian_) is my native language.
> I speak _Catalan_ because it's our second language (my mother is biligual Valencian-Castillian. Sorry, she does not accept to call the language she speaks Catalan).
> My aunt chose _English_ for me, because it would help me in the future (she is Belgian, lives in the Flamish side and speaks ca.10 languages). She was sooo right! So I'm grateful to her
> 
> Since I was expected to speak several languages I started a journey of no return.
> I chose _German_ but I don't remember why.
> I chose _Latin_ at Secondary School because I thought it would be useful at University. I don't know what I was thinking of
> I chose _Ancient_ _Greek_ at Secondary School because I was curious (maaoow)
> I chose _Russian_ because my father was Bulgarian and I thought it would help me to learn my father's native language (he spoke 7 languages). Some of my genetic code must not work properly... Russian was sooo difficult!
> I chose _French_ because it fit in the plans of my future... at that time.
> I learned _Norwegian_ because I lived in Norway several years. I used German in order to learn Norwegian and it helped me, but then I got so confused that I had to drop German.
> 
> One thing is what I chose, another thing is whether I can really speak the language  ...
> 
> I always wanted to learn _Dutch_, it sounds very familiar to me, but I never find the time.
> I want to learn _Italian_ because I think it's one of the most beautiful languages I have ever heard.
> I want to learn _Irish_ because I like the Celtic culture.
> I want to learn _Chinese_ because I am curious about it, actually, the written system is what attracts me.
> I want to learn _Hungarian_... but I don't know why... I just _feel_ I want to learn it.
> 
> BUT I should better keep on improving the ones I started... Although temptation will always be around



Your father Speaks Russian as his mother tongue even though he is Bulgarian?  I love multilingual families....there so interesting!


----------



## dahut

panjabigator said:
			
		

> Your father Speaks Russian as his mother tongue even though he is Bulgarian?


No, sorry, I must say it wrong.
My father's mother tongue was Bulgarian. Although he did speak other Slavic languages, though.


			
				panjabigator said:
			
		

> I love multilingual families....there so interesting!


What I find difficult is to _explain_ to people who just speak one language how you see or feel the world. _Some_ frontiers blur... some how. History is told from other sources apart from class books... Don't you feel so?



			
				Krümelmonster said:
			
		

> Btw., did you realize that everybody who learned German either doesn't remember why or wishes he hadn't done it? I would not have chosen German if it was not my native language, either!


I have a friend who is a German & English Philologist and says that German is a pretty "_ungrateful_" language  but still he just loves it!!



			
				Krümelmonster said:
			
		

> But if you find Norwegian and German so similar, then you will probably have even more problems with Dutch.


I don't know. Probably. 
Well, first I have to really try to learn Dutch.


----------



## panjabigator

dahut said:
			
		

> What I find difficult is to _explain_ to people who just speak one language how you see or feel the world. _Some_ frontiers blur... some how. History is told from other sources apart from class books... Don't you feel so?



I agree wholeheartedly!  That also comes hand in hand with being from a different culture as well...different concepts go along with the language.


----------



## Etcetera

panjabigator said:
			
		

> I agree wholeheartedly! That also comes hand in hand with being from a different culture as well...different concepts go along with the language.


 
And so we come to psycholinguistics. Yes, it is so, different languages mean different concepts. A classical example: some African languages just haven't the word for 'snow', whereas in the languages of Northern Russia there can sometimes exist several words for different kinds of snow. 

Anyway, that's what I've always found so interesting about learning foreign languages. It's truly amazing how one and the same concept can be expressed in two different languages...


----------



## panjabigator

The Inuit have 16 some terms for snow!  No generic one...so its never just snowing plain snow, but a certain type!


----------



## Etcetera

As we know, there's no unnecessary words in any language. So, if the Inuit have 16 words for snow, it means that they do need exactly 16 words for it!


----------



## Oche Gruso

Yesterday 10:41 AMEtceteraAs we know, there's no unnecessary words in any language. So, if the Inuit have 16 words for snow, it means that they do need exactly 16 words for it! 

I can understand why you would say that, however, just out of curiosity what is the purpose of synonyms other than to sound sophisticated?


----------



## Krümelmonster

Well, those 16 words don't all describe the same thing, because there are many different forms of snow, snow like powder, wet snow... we learned, that sensory perception is influenced by your language, too.
So for Inuits not everything that is white and cold and out of water is just the same thing, right?

Another example is in the book "das Parfum" of Patrick Süskind. It's about a man who has no proper smell, but a genious olfatory organ. When he learns to talk he cannot make anything out of abstract nouns (things he cannot smell, like love, god,...), and on the other hand he wonders, why there is just one word for "wood", while this material can have 1000 different smells, like wet wood after rain, wood that is lying there for a long time... 

If Inuit see more about snow than we do, then they need more words to describe it than we need. Language affects perception, perception affects language. 

Oh dear, that was a hard one to explain in English... I hope I could make my point clear, otherwise, ask again.


----------



## Oche Gruso

No, you expleined that perfectly.  Thank you!


----------



## fenixpollo

There is some good discussion about the truth of the "words for snow" myth in this thread.


----------



## Etcetera

Oche Gruso said:
			
		

> I can understand why you would say that, however, just out of curiosity what is the purpose of synonyms other than to sound sophisticated?


But it's so evident! There's no words with _absolutely_ the same meaning. Each synonym has its some nuance of meaning. For example, look at the pair _killer/murderer_: their meaning differs a litlle, doesn't it?
Then, synonyms help you to make your speech more rich and therefore interesting to those you're speaking too. Repetitions are just boring.


----------



## Capricious

I chose *Italian *because it was the only language offered my primary school, and the only current alternative to Indonesian at my High School. However I am now appreciating actually knowing the language, so I can talk to my Nonni in Italian rather than try and interpret their 'creative' English (they both migrated to Australia). I am an avid reader, so reading literature in its original language is a bonus.

I chose *Japanese *because I was extremely bored in the summer holidays of the year before last and Asia was a completely new frontier for me as my family are all from Europe. Japanese appealed to me because I had just read_ Memoirs of a Geisha _and was intrigued by the culture. I self-studied for a while, and was accepted into a distance course by interview for VCE (Year 11 and 12 level - you have to had studied the language for three or more years). Now a large sweetener is that is scales very highly for my ENTER (University Entrance) score 

I chose *French *because this year I wanted a break from the pressure of studying for my final year of high school. It should be easier than Japanese and is fairly close to Italian as they are both Romance languages. I would love to read literature in the original text as well as travel around Europe when I'm older.

Gosh most of this reads like a personals ad


----------



## mytwolangs

We had a choice of languages to study in middle school, I chose French for some reason, and years later, decided to re-acquaint myself with it.


----------



## diegodbs

When I was ten years old I had to decide which language should I choose to study, so I borrowed two Teach-Yourself methods (English and French) from a neighbour to help me decide.
I happened to open the English book first. The first sentence in the English book was "I am a student". In the second or third chapter there was this sentence "John's book".
It was so strange that there could be people who wrote "I" and pronounced /ai/ and it was so exotic (for me as a 10 year old boy) that they said "John´s book" instead of the logical Spanish word order "the book of John", that I decided I wanted to know more about that exotic language.


----------



## Soy Yo

When I was in high school there was no foreign language offered at all. When I got to eleventh grade (high school) [16 years old more or less], we had a new teacher who had had some Spanish in college, so they decided she could teach Spanish since a foreign language was recommended for the "college-bound students". I was the only eleventh-grade student who chose to be in the class...everyone else was in 12th grade [17 years old] and graduated at the end of that year. The next year I was the only person who could take 2nd year, so they put me in the first-year class again and I re-did the work...while using a second-year text to see the subjunctive, etc. I loved it. Went to college and did well in it... and have continued to learn ever since.


----------



## cyanista

Krümelmonster said:
			
		

> Btw., did you realize that everybody who learned German either doesn't remember why or wishes he hadn't done it? I would not have chosen German if it was not my native language, either!



Oh, that's just untrue!!! I know lots of people who like German. 
I didn't choose English - it sort of fell in my lap  but I did choose to study German because I was so fascinated by it. I wasn't disappointed! In fact, it's been a most rewarding experience!


----------



## Etcetera

So do I - some of my friends love German. My best friend is just addicted to it. I myself used to find it to be very interesting and I was studying German for several years very enthusiastically.


----------



## panjabigator

I know no one who dislikes German except for one girl who dated a German...she said he ruined the whole continent for her...everytime I mention the word Europe she shudders (kind of like the Hyenas and the word Mufasa...lol)


----------



## Isiltasuna

*Basque *is co-official with spanish in The Basque Country. I just love it, I can speak as well as spanish. I'm bilingual.

*English '*cause I started lo learn it in school, but I continued my studies of english. Now are stopped 'cause I don't have time. I want to improve it more. It's so usefull for me!!!


----------



## Krümelmonster

Ooookay... then my first impression was wrong... I'll just accept that, so that we don't drift off-topic here... 
But thanks for changing my view!


----------



## panjabigator

I have no actual reason for wanting to learn Catalan and Portuguese.  I haven't heard them much, and I already had the opinion that they were euphonic sounding languages through hear-say (and they definitely are).  But for some strange reason, I just decided I want to learn them...and I do not know why!  But I bought a Catalan and Portuguese book.  I just flew in from Atlanta today and there was  troop of Brazilians on the plane...I used to think knowing Spanish was pretty useful (and it is) but then I felt really weird that I didnt know theirs either...lol


----------



## claudine2006

I studied English at school, starting when I was 11 and I used to spend my holidays in England when I was a teenager. 
I started studying Spanish because I fell in love with a Spanish guy and I wanted to express my love with his words.
I studied French because I like its sounds.
I studied Portuguese because I love Portugal and its inhabitants. 
I studied Arabic because I wanted to learn more about Arabic culture.
I'm going to study Chinese because I'm dreaming of a trip to China.

I studied ancient Greek for 5 years.
I studied Latin for 6 years.


----------



## runaway

I started taking Spanish at community college to fulfill the humanities requirement and discovered how great it is. Nine months later I thought it would be a good joke to study two languages at the same time, so I gave French a try. At first I thought I'd only do one quarter, but soon that turned into a year, and now it's my minor at university (Spanish is my major). Spanish is cool and French is beautiful.  I'm spending the next year in Spain, and after that I hope to start German!


----------



## Moogey

I started learning Italian because I am Italian (1/6th anyway)
I am going to start learning German because I'm 1/6th German, Czech cause I'm 1/6 Czech, Russian cause I'm 1/6 Russian, and the other 2 (English and Native American) I already know my English for 

I'm going to learn Spanish and French because they're widely spoken. And others perhaps too!

-M


----------



## Amandla

*Per què has escollit la teva llengua?  - Catalan*


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## Jenniferrrr

I choose Spanish because I fell in love with a Mexican man.  I wanted to see the world through his eyes and to learn as much about his culture as I possibly could.  It is a long, sad, and complicated love story, but in the end, no matter what happened between us, I am thankful because my love for Spanish is something nobody can ever take away from me!


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## vince

Amandla said:
			
		

> *Per què has escollit la teva llengua?  - Catalan*



And your answer to the question is?


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## panjabigator

Jenniferrrr said:
			
		

> I choose Spanish because I fell in love with a Mexican man. I wanted to see the world through his eyes and to learn as much about his culture as I possibly could. It is a long, sad, and complicated love story, but in the end, no matter what happened between us, I am thankful because my love for Spanish is something nobody can ever take away from me!



except for time and stagnancy!  Do you use it often?


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## Jenniferrrr

About 6 months ago, I decided there was nothing I wanted to do more than become fluent in Spanish.  I'm currently taking a Spanish literature course, have a couple friends I can speak Spanish to, and watch Spanish tv programs frequently.  One thing I love about the language is that it's so accessible to me!


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## ayaram7700

Hello everybody and Happy New Year,

As a Chilean, of course my native language is Spanish; I started learning English in third grade; then French in sixth grade; when I went to the University, they offered   German and Latin and I took both, then I studied Russian for a whole year; then Arabic,which I did not learn well because my Egyptian teacher wanted to teach   dance to some girls, so I went to a French school and ended up studying French for 7 more years, I am now a solid French-Spanish translator, too (besides English), but I always think "*so many languages, so little time*" and now at 60, I want to start Arabic again and I will even try the **** Stone and I hope to learn some of it, ah, and also Chinese... and I would be willing to .. well, never ends, languages are addictive, once you learn one, you want to learn them all.


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## Saimon

I started with German because we spoke some German at home and because my parents hate all things French. I moved on to French to annoy my parents. I took Latin in school because it was a required course. I took Spanish because I like the Romance languages. I've been studying Italian and Portuguese for the same reason. Lately I've been playing around with Catalan, although I will probably have to go to Barcelona to study it seriously.


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## speedier

My eldest son decided to travel around South America, and my wife decided to learn the language.  Then, one day several years ago, I lost one of my suitcases on the way to a holiday in Turkey.  That case contained all my reading material, and so I picked up one of my wife's Spanish books, and I've been hooked ever since.
Incidentally, my son spent 2 and 1/2 years in South America, but he is back now.  I would love to do the same.   Maybe one day...........


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## Kraus

When I was 12, an uncle of mine who had learnt Russian noticed my weakness for languages and gave me all his handbooks and dictionaries. Now Russian is my favourite language for the beauty of its sounds. I like Portuguese, Italian and Hungarian too and philology is the most interesting science in my opinion, so much that I believe God did me a favour mixing up the human languages!


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## Riccardino

I started French when I was 14 because I wanted to be artsy and cultured. I can only read it now with some very basic hi how are you stuff thrown in.

I started Latin when I was 15 because of vocabulary building in English, I did two years of it and remember words and grammar, I can probably read though.

I started Italian when I was 18 because I had to take a language in College, had interest in traveling to Italy and have Italian heritage. I'm going to do a minor in Italian and hopefully go this summer.

Next fall I want to start something else on top of my Italian. I've been choosing between French and Russian, more practical languages that I could one day use, or something like Korean, Arabic or Farsi for the uniqueness of it.


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## CiegoEnamorado

I was required to study Spanish throughout my last two years in elementary school and didn't take much of an interest in it at first. In middle school, though, I learned about my heritage (Spanish), and my mother suggested that I take the language, since it may be of a great help. I did extremely well in it from day one, and the more I studied it, the more intrigued I was. I pushed myself to continue to study it. In high school, my first-year teacher introduced me to Spanish literature, and I fell even more in love with the language. 

I choose Japanese because I was born in a small Japanese community, and although I've always had influences of it throughout my life, I never really took an interest in it until I was in fourth grade, when we had a high school foreign exchange student come to our class to teach us a bit about the language, culture, and art. I picked up origami from what she taught us, and I continue to practice it today. 

I choose Russian because I thought it sounded sexy, and at the time, I had a lot of friends from Russia, and even one of my teachers studied it with me. I've not touched a Russian book or used it in about six months, so its kind of rusty.

I choose Mandarin because one of my father's coworkers recommended it, if I were thinking of taking any more Asian languages, and I thought it would help a little bit with Japanese. I don't know more than superficial conversational phrases.

I choose Greek because that's another part of my heritage, and one of my favorite teachers in high school was Greek. I still have a birthday card she wrote to me entirely in Greek. 

I know a little bit of Navajo, because in high school my best friend was half-Navajo and I spent a lot of time over at her house. As a result, I heard a lot of it, and she taught me as much as she knew. I was also active in the official Native American club at my high school. I'd like to expand my knowledge, but it's really hard to find classes or books.

I don't think I will be able to pick up any more languages, but if I could, I'd consider Arabic. Though it looks extremely difficult.


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## User1001

I study German and Russian, because I have German and Russian heritage.

I study Dutch, because I find the language fun and exciting to speak - it's like a fast-paced, joyful German. 

I will be studying Arabic seriously soon, and I recently ordered some books to get me started.

I'll probably study Farsi in the future, so I can understand all the Iranian death threats to my country. <_<


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## irene.acler

My native language is Italian. I started to study German at school, but then I left it (I regret this) and studied English.
Now at university I'm studying also Spanish and French and in the future I'd like to take German classes.
Recently I started learning Esperanto..only for fun!
One of my dreams is to learn Russian because it really attracts me.


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## Chaska Ñawi

Moderator Note:  Seeing as how this thread is now one year old and there is no longer any real discussion, the time has come to put it to bed.

Thank you for your understanding.


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