Are you learning a "worthless" language?

[Sookie]

Not worthless in the sense that the actual language is shitty, but just the fact that there is no real reason why you should learn it.

For example, I got a lot of shit for learning French in high school instead of Spanish, because EVERYone said how I would never, ever, ever need to know French unless I actually went to France. I just liked French better... but besides that, I like France and I'm probably going to vacation there a lot.

On the other hand, I also learned Hungarian by myself, simply for the reason that I thought it was a pretty language. Now I know it... but I literally have no use for it. I like learning languages... but I get really discouraged when I actually think about how "worthless" it is to devote my energy to them.

Anyone else?

[Unwanted Prostate Exam]

norwegian is pretty fucking worthless, only used it once in my life really.
Russian and spanish are also pretty fucking worthless lest I want to speak with some type of immigrant whore or something.

[Angry Blue Bird of Death]

I tried learning Italian once. After 2 years worth, I realized what a waste of time it was.

But by that time it was too late to stop, so I was gonna take Italian 3 and learn the important shit. But then the Italian teacher quit and the school couldn't find another one...

And since being bilingual is practically an academic requirement these days, the school recommended I take Spanish 1 junior year, then summer school Spanish 2, then Spanish 3 in senior year. All because they didn't pay the Italian teacher well enough.

I just dropped out instead. Take that, society.

I'm currently teaching myself Japanese though.

90% of those who learn Japanese are pussies.

[Angry Blue Bird of Death]

Spanish is useless.
Russian isn't useful unless you're a criminal or like hookers who'll likely kill you.
France is one of the worst countries in Europe.

[TripleDot]

I want to learn Sanskrit. I realize it's almost pointless of me to learn it, but I find the writing and spoken aspects of it quite beautiful.

I also learned Japanese in highschool, grade 10, 11, and 12. I've forgotten most of it now though :(

[InspiredByMe]

I learned a useless language, Ancient Roman Latin.

[TripleDot]

Stfu robot.
Lol this.

Oh, I also taught myself how to read Russian in grade 12. I've forgot that too.

[Angry Blue Bird of Death]

Stfu robot.

I'm not a robot, but thanks for taking an interest in me :)

[Dog]

I learned a useless language, Ancient Roman Latin.

That truly is a useless language for anyone who isn't interested in the culture and literature (well, or the language itself).

The one thing that annoys the hell out of me is people who study Latin thinking that it is a shortcut to learning Romance languages. If you (general you, not you specifically) want to learn Spanish, then the only "fast" way to learn it is to study Spanish!

[InspiredByMe]

That truly is a useless language for anyone who isn't interested in the culture and literature (well, or the language itself).

The one thing that annoys the hell out of me is people who study Latin thinking that it is a shortcut to learning Romance languages. If you (general you, not you specifically) want to learn Spanish, then the only "fast" way to learn it is to study Spanish!

I am interested in the culture and literature, but I'm saying it is useless because it's not going to really help you in life.

And no, I wasn't trying to learn a Romance language fast. I started Spanish before Latin.

[Sookie]

I think that's supposed to be more of a shortcut if you're looking to learn all the romance languages.


Idk, I learned French and it helped me learn Spanish and Romanian. I didn't really need to learn Latin separately, because all the roots were just there. If someone wants to learn a Romance language, they should just learn it.

[TripleDot]

I think that's supposed to be more of a shortcut if you're looking to learn all the romance languages.

Like, it'll help in the long run or something.

But I dunno any romance languages, especially not gay Latin, so maybe I'm wrong.Couldn't the same be said for Sanskrit, for learning any South/South Eastern Asian language?

[water bottle]

Pfft. Useless... well, as a Canadian who will very likely end up doing some work in some way related to the public sector, learning French is pretty important. I don't really think that any language should be called useless.

If you have an interest in Slovenian for some odd reason, the fact that only some ~2 million people maximum can speak it shouldn't be a determining factor. And, as PizzaNazi already noted, it's quite a bit easier to pick up other languages within language families. So... let's say I learned Slovenian. Well, that's fairly close to being mutually intelligible with Croatian (from what I've read), which is essentially Serbian/Bosnian with a different alphabet. And I wouldn't have much trouble picking up Macedonian or Bulgarian, either. So, now I can communicate with 30+ million people, and Russian wouldn't be that difficult of a step to make.

As for the OP, consider this: 328,518,810 people speak Spanish. Spanish speakers aren't hard to come by. By knowing a relatively obscure language like Hungarian, you become a big fish in a small pond in terms of potential employment.

Moreover, studying any language (even dead ones) is not about how many foreign girls you can fuck or how many business deals you can make... it's about preservation of culture.

A last thing to consider: every language is its own world, whether it's Manx Gaelic or Mandarin.

No such thing as a useless language!

[Lysergic Rain]

Don't learn Spanish. Do you really want to speak with Mexicans?

[water bottle]

Don't learn Spanish. Do you really want to speak with Mexicans?

No worthless languages, but certainly worthless people.

[Angry Blue Bird of Death]

No worthless languages, but certainly worthless people.

shut up.

[TripleDot]

No worthless languages, but certainly worthless people.

shut up.

water bottle is definitely right.

[supperrfreek]

Not worthless in the sense that the actual language is shitty, but just the fact that there is no real reason why you should learn it.

For example, I got a lot of shit for learning French in high school instead of Spanish, because EVERYone said how I would never, ever, ever need to know French unless I actually went to France. I just liked French better... but besides that, I like France and I'm probably going to vacation there a lot.

On the other hand, I also learned Hungarian by myself, simply for the reason that I thought it was a pretty language. Now I know it... but I literally have no use for it. I like learning languages... but I get really discouraged when I actually think about how "worthless" it is to devote my energy to them.

Anyone else?

I feel like this about my education in spanish. I already have college credit in it (this fall is my freshman semester), I have yet to really use it. I want to learn another language but my school doesn't offer the ones I want to learn: I'm pissed about it.

[Yggdrasil]

Spanish is most certainly not useless, you ignorant tool (ABBoD), especially when oe lives in a place as multicultural as Miami. Oftentimes when I'm speaking to a cashier/waiter/etc and I find they're having a hard time understanding me I just talk to them in Spanish, much to their obvious relief. It's always helpful to communicate with people in their native languages.

That being said, I would say that at least in European terms, one can usually get by decently with just English. That's not to say someone vacationing/living in a foreign country shouldn't take the time to learn the native tongue, however. Well, for example, I could learn Swedish easily if I was compelled to (it's really quite the neat language), but in practical terms, it isn't really necessary; something like 90% of Swedes are fluent in English.

As for myself, I've picked up my share of shit linguistic knowledge over the years. I've been on and off with my German ever since I was a kid, though since I don't see myself taking formal classes anytime soon I doubt my speaking ability will improve anytime soon. I also went through a phase where I really tried to get into Portuguese, though looking back that in itself was rather futile. I neither plan on visiting or living in a Portuguese-speaking place anytime soon, plus Spanish and Portuguese are pretty much intelligible. As of now, I can halfheartedly say that eu entendo um pouco de Português :p

[Costanza]

about half of Africa speaks french so i wouldnt consider it useless. nevermind most of Europe, and knowing French in Canada is a must since Quebecers fucking hate all english speaking people.

[TripleDot]

about half of Africa speaks french so i wouldnt consider it useless. nevermind most of Europe, and knowing French in Canada is a must since Quebecers fucking hate all english speaking people.Africa speaks french? Ok, lots of tourists or students or something?

[Sookie]

Africa speaks french? Ok, lots of tourists or students or something?

Africans def do speak French... but I don't meet a lot of straight-up Africans around here.

[Costanza]

Africa speaks french? Ok, lots of tourists or students or something?

i think the tourists are a part of it. but France owned all the north-western countries for a long time and i think its still mandatory to take French in school.

[supperrfreek]

Spanish is most certainly not useless, you ignorant tool (ABBoD), especially when one lives in a place as multicultural as Miami. Oftentimes when I'm speaking to a cashier/waiter/etc and I find they're having a hard time understanding me I just talk to them in Spanish, much to their obvious relief. It's always helpful to communicate with people in their native languages.
Yes, but, just about everyone learns either Spanish or French. Also, because just about 1/2 of the people in my school who were taking foreign languages took spanish, the class was full of morons who couldn't shut the fuck up: I paid for, and got college credit for what had the potential to be a good education in foreign language but turned out to be worse. I was actually better at spanish last summer (although I can still speak somewhat better than my classmates could).
Mi clase de español era una làstima. Usè español a mi trabajo sólo un vez. Pero, yo no debo haber dicho que la lengua es inútil. (my spanish class was a shame. I used spanish at my job only one time. But I shouldn't have said [I'm a little unsure of this part] it was useless.
Spanish has only proven to come short of my own expectations: I should have clarified this earlier.

That being said, I would say that at least in European terms, one can usually get by decently with just English. That's not to say someone vacationing/living in a foreign country shouldn't take the time to learn the native tongue, however. Well, for example, I could learn Swedish easily if I was compelled to (it's really quite the neat language), but in practical terms, it isn't really necessary; something like 90% of Swedes are fluent in English.
If I go to Europe, I want to go from east to west, I'm not sure how this would hold up in Eastern Europe.

[Vigilante]

I suppose I'm going to start learning German as it is the easiest language to learn if your native tounge is English. If I can master it, I'll move on to spanish, french, and eventually russian..

[Sookie]

Yes, but, just about everyone learns either Spanish or French. Also, because just about 1/2 of the people in my school who were taking foreign languages took spanish, the class was full of morons who couldn't shut the fuck up: I paid for, and got college credit for what had the potential to be a good education in foreign language but turned out to be worse. I was actually better at spanish last summer (although I can still speak somewhat better than my classmates could).
Mi clase de español era una làstima. Usè español a mi trabajo sólo un vez. Pero, yo no debo haber dicho que la lengua es inútil. (my spanish class was a shame. I used spanish at my job only one time. But I shouldn't have said [I'm a little unsure of this part] it was useless.
Spanish has only proven to come short of my own expectations: I should have clarified this earlier.


If I go to Europe, I want to go from east to west, I'm not sure how this would hold up in Eastern Europe.

Yeah... in my high school, you are required to take 2 years of a foreign language... I'd say maybe 5% of all of those can actual carry on a real conversation in their chosen language. And I too took some French classes in college... but they were complete fails (really elementary, though they claimed to be intermediate/advanced levels.)

Anyway... English is the most useful (lucky for us) because Europeans all learn it, for one reason or another. My friend did a backpacking kind of thing through Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania, not knowing any of the languages (except for minimal high school level Spanish) and got by fine. Just knowing English.

[water bottle]

If I go to Europe, I want to go from east to west, I'm not sure how this would hold up in Eastern Europe.

German and Russian are decent lingua francas for Central/Eastern Europe if you don't want to learn a more obscure language.

[gizmo]

90% of those who learn Japanese are pussies.

Says the guy that loves Sailor Moon. :rolleyes:

[water bottle]

I suppose I'm going to start learning German as it is the easiest language to learn if your native tounge is English.

Hm, I'd have to disagree with that. Yes, they're both Germanic, but England has experienced a very different linguistic history. There are a lot of features in German that are extremely foreign to an English speaker. I think it's the general consensus that Spanish/Italian/French are the easiest for an English speaker. Not sure where Portuguese would go in there... Spanish grammar is relatively uncomplicated and there is quite a few cognates.

[TripleDot]

Says the guy that loves Sailor Moon. :rolleyes:WUT!? The robot watches shoujo anime? And still makes fun of people who speak japanese?

[RosettaStoned]

I want to learn Sanskrit. I realize it's almost pointless of me to learn it, but I find the writing and spoken aspects of it quite beautiful.

I also learned Japanese in highschool, grade 10, 11, and 12. I've forgotten most of it now though :(

Ohhhh, sanskrit would be very cool. Unfortunately, a lot of it is guess-work with the translations, but regardless, it would be cool, especially since I'm very interested in buddhism and it would be amazing to read the sutras in their original language. Also thinking about learning Japanese.

Am currently learning Spanish, and it certainly isn't useless. The number of spanish-speaking in this country is definitely on the rise for obvious reasons (Residing in the US), and I mean, whether that's right or wrong is irrelevant, cause it's happening. I'm not agreeing with the need for us to learn spanish, but it does help in the inevitable.

[Angry Blue Bird of Death]

Says the guy that loves Sailor Moon. :rolleyes:

What's wrong with that. :confused:

[supperrfreek]

Yeah... in my high school, you are required to take 2 years of a foreign language... I'd say maybe 5% of all of those can actual carry on a real conversation in their chosen language. And I too took some French classes in college... but they were complete fails (really elementary, though they claimed to be intermediate/advanced levels.)

Anyway... English is the most useful (lucky for us) because Europeans all learn it, for one reason or another. My friend did a backpacking kind of thing through Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania, not knowing any of the languages (except for minimal high school level Spanish) and got by fine. Just knowing English.

I think this is unfortunately the case.

English is very useful, but I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb and instantly have myself pegged as a tourist. I'd like to blend in.

[a giant pterodactyl]

English, Gaelic(Irish and Welsh), and German are all that matter.

[Sopio]

On the other hand, I also learned Hungarian by myself, simply for the reason that I thought it was a pretty language. Now I know it... but I literally have no use for it. I like learning languages... but I get really discouraged when I actually think about how "worthless" it is to devote my energy to them.

Don't say that. Hungarian is far from a useless language. If you decided to play any of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, you could see the words "lassan" or "friska" and know what they mean instantly instead of spending ten seconds looking them up online.

That truly is a useless language for anyone who isn't interested in the culture and literature (well, or the language itself).

The one thing that annoys the hell out of me is people who study Latin thinking that it is a shortcut to learning Romance languages. If you (general you, not you specifically) want to learn Spanish, then the only "fast" way to learn it is to study Spanish!

I started taking Latin in eighth grade. I'm not going to launch into a huge spiel about the virtues of Latin because I don't care that much about it but I would like to lay out a few points.

Latin teachers and classicists give a lot of reasons to study Latin and while some of them are kind of dubious, most of them have at least some merit. Latin certainly strengthens your English skills. If you know Latin, you're pretty much an English grammar expert and knowing the Latin roots also simplifies your acquisition of English vocabulary. Knowing the culture and history too that comes with the study of the language is probably the most useful aspect as they are such a large part of Western culture in general. It's good to be able to know what someone's talking about if they talk about Julius Caesar just as if they talk about George Washington.

In addition, being able to identify Latin phrases in different places is a nice kind of parlor trick to have. Bonus points if you can identify a classical source ("Oh yes, this is from one of my most favorite of Martial's epigrams!")

Regardless of what abilities Latin gives you, it makes you look smart, because of the intellectual mystique surrounding the language. For example, if your friend introduces you to their mom who is ignorant of Latin and you tell them you're taking Latin, it makes you seem smarter than your average joe who is taking Spanish which has a less positive stigma to it. This is no reason to take the language but is something worth taking into consideration.

I could argue that French is a useless language to anyone who isn't interested in the culture and literature (well, or the language itself). I'm American and I'm not planning on going to France any time soon and probably ever for that matter. Even if I did have to go to France, I'd probably get along fine if my experience in the Netherlands is anything to go by. Whether a language is useless or not depends on what your situation is and what you want to do with it.

However, I do agree that it would be foolish to study Latin as a shortcut to learning Spanish. While Latin helps in learning Spanish, the most efficient way to learn Spanish would be to learn Spanish. Learning Latin alone would take more time than learning Spanish (due to both ease in the language for English speakers and availability of resources). Even learning French would be more helpful in transitioning to Spanish than Classical Latin which is 2,000 years outdated.

[Yggdrasil]

You bring up an interesting point about Latin and how it relates to the study of modern Romance languages, though you have to consider that modern-day Romance languages come not from Classical Latin but from Vulgar Latin, which in and of itself was markedly different from the Classical Latin that's taught in the high echelons of modern-day academia. Classical Latin is still alive today in the Ecclesiastical form used by the Catholic Church.

[JustAnotherAsshole]

Spanish is useless.
Russian isn't useful unless you're a criminal or like hookers who'll likely kill you.
France is one of the worst countries in Europe.

:facepalm:

[Angry Blue Bird of Death]

Spanish is most certainly not useless, you ignorant tool (ABBoD), especially when oe lives in a place as multicultural as Miami. Oftentimes when I'm speaking to a cashier/waiter/etc and I find they're having a hard time understanding me I just talk to them in Spanish, much to their obvious relief. It's always helpful to communicate with people in their native languages.

That being said, I would say that at least in European terms, one can usually get by decently with just English. That's not to say someone vacationing/living in a foreign country shouldn't take the time to learn the native tongue, however. Well, for example, I could learn Swedish easily if I was compelled to (it's really quite the neat language), but in practical terms, it isn't really necessary; something like 90% of Swedes are fluent in English.

As for myself, I've picked up my share of shit linguistic knowledge over the years. I've been on and off with my German ever since I was a kid, though since I don't see myself taking formal classes anytime soon I doubt my speaking ability will improve anytime soon. I also went through a phase where I really tried to get into Portuguese, though looking back that in itself was rather futile. I neither plan on visiting or living in a Portuguese-speaking place anytime soon, plus Spanish and Portuguese are pretty much intelligible. As of now, I can halfheartedly say that eu entendo um pouco de Português :p

Miami is a hellhole, and just so you know, America is an English speaking country.

[TripleDot]

Ohhhh, sanskrit would be very cool. Unfortunately, a lot of it is guess-work with the translations, but regardless, it would be cool, especially since I'm very interested in buddhism and it would be amazing to read the sutras in their original language. Also thinking about learning Japanese.

Yeah, I studied it online for a while, but man is it hard to read the characters right so I can look them up. And Japanese is easy as hell.

[Sookie]

Yeah, I studied it online for a while, but man is it hard to read the characters right so I can look them up. And Japanese is easy as hell.

Lemme plug learning Korean. Very similar to Japanese, very easy, very useful in the US (more than Japanese in my opinion).

[Kratos]

Yeah, i agree.

Spanish is a pretty useless language. Even though im latino. but still, its kinda pathetic how i see other latinos and they ask me to translate, im like ":facepalm: dude... " i may not like spanish too much but i still think you should fuckin know your original language.

Im only gonna use spanish to woo a chick or use it in my job application. Employers like bilingual people.

anyways in response to the OP

Im never gonna learn a useless language. Which foreign country is brave enough to declare war on the US?

I wanna learn german but germany has lost their fighting spirit, and i doubt they'll be the antagonists in WW3.

[a giant pterodactyl]

I wanna learn german but germany has lost their fighting spirit, and i doubt they'll be the antagonists in WW3.

Leasrn Old English or Irish the original Gaelic language! At least then you could talk like the Druids or great anglo-saxon warriors, like Beowulf.

[Kratos]

Leasrn Old English or Irish the original Gaelic language! At least then you could talk like the Druids or great anglo-saxon warriors, like Beowulf.

Im interested, how does one talk like one?

[a giant pterodactyl]

Im interested, how does one talk like one?

learn Irish or Welsh Gaelic...then learn the Old form of those languages. Then speak. You are now speaking the language of the Druid.

[Clue]

anyways in response to the OP

Im never gonna learn a useless language. Which foreign country is brave enough to declare war on the US?


My guess is China, since they have the manpower to own the US like whip cream.

And yeah, I heard also Chinese is useless language to learn too.

I don't know why, that just what I heard.

[Syphilis]

The only real non-useless language is English.

[Unwanted Prostate Exam]

My guess is China, since they have the manpower to own the US like whip cream.


I doubt that.
How will they occupy the U.S. mainland when the U.S. has both the strongest Air force and Navy?

[Yggdrasil]

I doubt that.
How will they occupy the U.S. mainland when the U.S. has both the strongest Air force and Navy?

It's not about a simple military deal. Chinese influence on our world is, more or less, expanding, thanks mostly to their growing economic prowess. If one were to, say, be interested or involved in a field of business or whatnot, especially in international fields, I'd imagine it could be very useful to at least get down the basics of Mandarin Chinese (or as they call it, Putonghua). I've a cousin living in China fluent in both English and Mandarin making very nice money teaching English.

Also, my avatar goes nicely with this post. Mao zhuxi wanwansui!

[Kratos]

It's not about a simple military deal. Chinese influence on our world is, more or less, expanding, thanks mostly to their growing economic prowess. If one were to, say, be interested or involved in a field of business or whatnot, especially in international fields, I'd imagine it could be very useful to at least get down the basics of Mandarin Chinese (or as they call it, Putonghua). I've a cousin living in China fluent in both English and Mandarin making very nice money teaching English.

http://www.farfromneutral.com/exodus/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/o_rly.jpg

Ni hao, Lang luo <3

[v0x]

Languages you should know:
-English
-Chinese
-French
-Spanish
-Arabic
-Your native language

All else are considered optional.

[a334jv2df]

4 years of fucking Latin. What an overly complex piece of shit language. Changing the ending of an island based on whether or not said island was larger than Crete? That marked the exact point when I stopped listening.

[靠rent-a-jew輩]

What's wrong with that. :confused:

it's so fucking 1995

[靠rent-a-jew輩]

it's not about a simple military deal. Chinese influence on our world is, more or less, expanding, thanks mostly to their growing economic prowess. If one were to, say, be interested or involved in a field of business or whatnot, especially in international fields, i'd imagine it could be very useful to at least get down the basics of mandarin chinese (or as they call it, putonghua). I've a cousin living in china fluent in both english and mandarin making very nice money teaching english.

Also, my avatar goes nicely with this post. mao zhuxi wanwansui!

就冬天我会回台湾， 把我的中文学好一点。 我也想跟你的表哥一样， 去教英文。

[Mr. Dazed and Confused]

Languages you should know:
-English
-Chinese
-French
-Spanish
-Arabic
-Your native language

All else are considered optional.

You mean standard Mandarin?

Also, I'd much rather learn standard German than French.

[i poop in your cereal]

Why would you learn norwegian in the first place?

The average scandinavian speaks better english than the average american.

[Hate]

As of right now I "know" 3 languages, but not really.

In middle school I "learned" three years of French. I haven't used it since then, but back when I was able to communicate with the French foreign exchange students and they liked it some.

In highschool and college I "learned" four years of Spanish. I haven't used it since Freshmen year in college about 2 years ago- I haven't even really said a word of Spanish outside of my favorite vernacular: "Chevere."

Right now I'm "teaching myself" German, Russian, and Japanese. I chose Japanese and Russian because they're considered some of the most difficult languages to learn. I can read basic sentences, but nothing too intense. I can't even really communicate with locals, but I've been working on it through translating forums like 2-ch.ru.

I already know a good deal of German, seeing as how I speak English, but I can't really talk to Germans, I can just understand them when they talk and am able to read a lot of German. I still have a lot of work to do.

I've been teaching myself Japanese for the past 2-3 years and it's probably one of the languages I'm best at ATM, however I don't really see myself using it much outside of going to Tokyo for a night or two or reading romanced japanese comics.

Personally, the only one I see myself using consistently is Russian- and that's because I plan on moving to Vladivostok.

[master killer]

I'm learning Esperanto. In a few years everyone will know it and I'll laugh at all the idiots that bothered learning Chingchonese. :mad:

[Kazar]

Pretty much every language is useful depending on where you live. But the most important languages should be English and Mandarin, as countries that speak those languages are world powers or becoming world powers.

[Mr. Dazed and Confused]

Pretty much every language is useful depending on where you live. But the most important languages should be English and Mandarin, as countries that speak those languages are world powers or becoming world powers.

Hindi and Portuguese will be pretty important languages to know in the future as well. Right now, I have a few years of German under my belt, but I'm planning on learning Portuguese and maybe Hindi. I feel like a lot of people are going to start learning Mandarin and Arabic, when Portuguese and Hindi are being overlooked.

[water bottle]

If we're looking at it in these terms, any language spoken in these countries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-20_major_economies) would be a solid "investment."

[Mr. Dazed and Confused]

If we're looking at it in these terms, any language spoken in these countries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-20_major_economies) would be a solid "investment."

Correct, those are probably the best languages you could learn. I don't think any language is worthless, even Latin could help you out if you were a Med student (that's about it though).

[Sal, a man-deer]

Irish. Noone uses it and we still have to learn. :facepalm:

[Yggdrasil]

Irish. Noone uses it and we still have to learn. :facepalm:

It's a beautiful vestige of the once widespread Celtic languages. Appreciate the opportunity and learn it thoroughly!

[o_saudade]

im pretty fluent en espanol and im obsessed with portuguese-speaking nations, therefore im trying to teach myself portuguese. hence my username

also, idk, when people say chinese, you all realize that most people in china don't speak mandarin, right? mandarin is the government mandated dialect, and was rarely used before that. theres tons of chinese dialects, and alot aren't even mutually intelligible. like cantonese and wu, or min and hakka.

i kinda see china splitting up, ussr style, someday in the future.

[water bottle]

also, idk, when people say chinese, you all realize that most people in china don't speak mandarin, right? mandarin is the government mandated dialect, and was rarely used before that.

What? That's not true at all. Yes, the government standardized it, but Mandarin is indeed spoken by most Chinese people as a first language. Let's not get into dialects as Mandarin is still considered one relatively unified language.

edit: while a USSR style collapse of China would sure be interesting, there is no way in fuck that is happening any time soon.

[Yggdrasil]

im pretty fluent en espanol and im obsessed with portuguese-speaking nations, therefore im trying to teach myself portuguese. hence my username

also, idk, when people say chinese, you all realize that most people in china don't speak mandarin, right? mandarin is the government mandated dialect, and was rarely used before that. theres tons of chinese dialects, and alot aren't even mutually intelligible. like cantonese and wu, or min and hakka.

i kinda see china splitting up, ussr style, someday in the future.

Cool. Are you learning Brazilian or continental? Oh, and most Chinese do speak Mandarin as a native language. It's only in the South where you start getting funky dialects. People as far south as Nanjing are Mandarin speakers, and many Chinese can speak more than one dialect. A Chinese friend of mine is a native Mandarin speaker, plus she understands a couple other dialects. In particular, she thinks Cantonese sounds disgusting. It does a very distinct sound from Mandarin. Not as bad as Thai, but still funky sounding

Also, if you look at Chinese history, the Chinese people have a tendency to have very centralised states. Breakdown of central authority is rare

[Madejyathink]

I'm learning American Sign Language, and people keep telling me I should just learn Spanish like everyone else. I refuse. :mad:
I'm going into the medical field though, and know a few people who are deaf, so I don't think it's completely useless.

I'm also planning on learning some German, mainly since my brother is a German teacher. Again though, not really useless.

[uncutdiamond]

I am completly fluent in Thai, can speak and understand 99% of spoken Laos and can communicate in Tetum.

I wouldn't say they are completly worthless but definatly worth less than english.

[water bottle]

A Chinese friend of mine is a native Mandarin speaker, plus she understands a couple other dialects. In particular, she thinks Cantonese sounds disgusting.

I have to agree with her. It can be extremely annoying and yes, just plain gross. To my ears, at least. It's a shame that my city (and many others in NA) gets almost exclusively Cantonese speakers. That's changing, though.

[Twin Gats]

No worthless languages, but certainly worthless people.

terrible to associate with, but they do provide cheap labor. other than that though fucking terrible have you ever been to mexico? drive through tj and play guess that smell

[water bottle]

terrible to associate with, but they do provide cheap labor. other than that though fucking terrible have you ever been to mexico? drive through tj and play guess that smell

You do realize that the "worthless people" I was referring to was racists like Lysergic Rain, right? context ftw bro.

[harry_hardcore_hoedown]

90% of those who learn Japanese are pussies.

You're a pussy.

EDIT: So I don't get infracted, I'll answer the OP's question:

No. No I am not.

[Luke_Gaywalker]

Why would you learn norwegian in the first place?

The average scandinavian speaks better english than the average american.

So true. I moved to Norway six months ago to spend the year here and learn the language. This is probably the most retarded thing i have ever done. People here speak English at pretty much a native level, and unlike in other countries, they love speaking it. You don't even get the satisfaction of people seeming happy that you have learned their language as they switch straight to English as soon as i start talking, regardless of if I'm speaking Norwegian or English.

It is a great language to earn as a first foreign language as it is incredibly similar to English, both with grammar and a large amount of vocab. Other than for the experience though, it is pretty fucking useless.

[Rizzo in a box]

There are no useless languages, only useless people.

[water bottle]

No worthless languages, but certainly worthless people.

Posted 08-09-2009...

There are no useless languages, only useless people.

Just what are you playing at here, sir... :hrmph:

[sexualjesus]

im learning basic .net, thats pretty fuckin worthless...

[Rolf]

learn Irish or Welsh Gaelic...then learn the Old form of those languages. Then speak. You are now speaking the language of the Druid.

Welsh isn't Gaelic, it's a different branch of the Celtic Languages, as a matter of fact, along with Cornish, it's the only brythonic language left in use. The original language of the Druids was Gaulish, as they originated in mainland europe and later migrated to the isles and Ireland.

Leasrn Old English or Irish the original Gaelic language! At least then you could talk like the Druids or great anglo-saxon warriors, like Beowulf.

Beowulf was a Geat, or a Swede in the modern sense. Though the poem itself was Anglo-Saxon.

[Clayman]

русский язык :thumbsup:

[rabbitweed]

Irish. Noone uses it and we still have to learn. :facepalm:

It's a good thing you were raped by the british for centuries, otherwise you'd all speak gaelic!:thumbsup:

[Clayman]

It's a good thing you were raped by the british for centuries, otherwise you'd all speak gaelic!:thumbsup:

Good point, that shit makes no sense and it sounds like you're choking on the balls of an englishman, it's kind of like Irish history in many ways...

[rabbitweed]

Good point, that shit makes no sense and it sounds like you're choking on the balls of an englishman, it's kind of like Irish history in many ways...

I do find it slightly retarded that Ireland tries so hard to style itself as a Celtic country...seeing as a huge porportion of their population are descended from the 'Old English' of the pale.