[AldoKelevra]

Spanish.

As a native Western English speaker, Spanish is one the best languages to learn, hands down, without a question.

If you are from Western Europe, the United States, Australia, Britain, New Zealand, or basically anywhere else in the world and not learning Spanish, you have to ask yourself, ...why not?

Why would you not learn Spanish as a second language?

A language that could be so easily learned as Spanish brings so much potential to one's self, you have to ask, why wouldn't you learn Spanish?

You have some of the most beautiful women in the world, a booming economy, and the ability to connect with almost anyone in the world, in a language that is not so difficult in the first place.

If you travel through Europe for example, with only English and Spanish at your arsenal, you will be able to speak and connect with almost all of Europe with just these two languages.

When you come across the time when you will meet a sexy Brazilian girl that does that speak English and you speak Spanish, you will at least be able to have a basic conversation with her Portuguese and your Spanish.

Or a time when you're in Italy and you're looking for directions. You can ask in Spanish to the locals, with no problems at all, and they will most likely understand as they will answer in their Italian (and you will most likely be able to understand) to get where you are trying to go.

There is seriously no excuse for one not to learn Spanish as a Western male. As a Western male, it is the most valuable language to learn, without a doubt. '

Your thoughts?

[Praetor Lupus]

I'd go for French as well (and in fact bought books on French and Spanish grammar just yesterday). Those two and English should have you covered in most parts of the world.

[Hardy Daytona]

It depends on which kind.
In school I learned Castilian Spanish which is used primarily in Europe, but I've found there can be variations in grammar and vocabulary when you travel to, say, Mexico or Costa Rica.

[Suits]

Because instead I learned the most spoken language in the world, a language spoken in a country where there are infinite opportunities for me to earn money and a capital city which brings in beautiful women from literally every nation of the world (including N. Korea).

Didn't leave a lot of time for learning Spanish.

[VolandoVengoVolandoVoy]

That may be true Suits, but China is also polluted/corrupt, and learning the Chinese language requires the same amount of time as learning to fluency any 2-4 Romance or moderate difficulty languages. Also, from what I understand, even after ten years of study, you still won't really be able to read Chinese.

[VolandoVengoVolandoVoy]

As for Spanish. When I was 12, I had the chance to study Spanish or French. I had never been outside the USA, and at that time (early 90s), there were virtually no Hispanics within 30 miles of where I lived in CT.
But I looked at a map of the globe, and saw there were all these countries that spoke Spanish, and only one that spoke French (I was 12 and not thinking about some African french country), so I picked Spanish.
It's definitely been a major positive in my life.

[Alpha_Romeo]

I don't know the exact reason why, but I have never connected well with people from Spanish-speaking countries, in terms of both friendship and romance.

Contrast this with French, I connect quite well with people from France as well as French Canada. Perhaps I chose wisely all of those years ago in high school to pursue French. But hell, I wish I had worked harder to retain it.

[evilhei]

For me learning Russian makes much more sense then learning Spanish. With Russian you can also get by in large size of Europe. I don't even think I have ever met somebody who speaks Spanish.

[Cattle Rustler]

(04-19-2015 05:37 AM)Suits Wrote:  

Because instead I learned the most spoken language in the world, a language spoken in a country where there are infinite opportunities for me to earn money and a capital city which brings in beautiful women from literally every nation of the world (including N. Korea).

Didn't leave a lot of time for learning Spanish.

You forgot that the Chinese are also learning English in even larger numbers. As a result, learning Chinese for business will be futile.

[AldoKelevra]

(04-19-2015 05:09 AM)Hardy Daytona Wrote:  

It depends on which kind.
In school I learned Castilian Spanish which is used primarily in Europe, but I've found there can be variations in grammar and vocabulary when you travel to, say, Mexico or Costa Rica.

I have lived in and Spain and learned the grammar/vocab from there and also have the accent from there. I speak with Spanish speaking people from all over the Spanish speaking world via skype for language exchange and it makes no difference at all. I can understand them and they can understand me perfectly. At the end of the day, it is the same language. There are just some different customs and accents.

(04-19-2015 05:58 AM)VolandoVengoVolandoVoy Wrote:  

As for Spanish. When I was 12, I had the chance to study Spanish or French. I had never been outside the USA, and at that time (early 90s), there were virtually no Hispanics within 30 miles of where I lived in CT.
But I looked at a map of the globe, and saw there were all these countries that spoke Spanish, and only one that spoke French (I was 12 and not thinking about some African french country), so I picked Spanish.
It's definitely been a major positive in my life.

Yes. Learning Spanish opens a huge door to where you can travel as knowing the local language. The amount of Spanish speaking people (in the US at least) is only increasing as well. It's a no-brainer.

It also opens up great cultures with awesome music, food, women. Great counties with awesome landscape, beaches, weather, etc.

(04-19-2015 09:43 AM)evilhei Wrote:  

For me learning Russian makes much more sense then learning Spanish. With Russian you can also get by in large size of Europe. I don't even think I have ever met somebody who speaks Spanish.

Maybe the case in Eastern Europe. I never met a Russian speaker in Western Europe, but was able to use Spanish extensively. In Western Europe, you're bound to meet travelers from South America you can converse with, and also Europeans as it's a popular language to learn among the French, Italians and Germans.

[RexImperator]

Because I took French in High school.

Actually I picked up some basic Spanish while traveling in Chile, but I haven't travelled to Latin America in a long time so I've forgotten a lot of it.

I find it quite hard to focus on learning a language when there's little chance of visiting the country soon.

I don't think Spanish is that useful in Italy-- it's easy enough to just learn some Italian phrases.

[Nascimento]

As someone who has become proficient and fluent in spanish over the past 12 months, I recommend the same 100%.

Also in terms of game, interact with latin women long enough and you develop a gut instinct perception for them. Example, on a recent night out I saw this brunette dancing near me, just like all other girls in the club, but something subconsciously told me she was Latin. The first thought in my head was to ask her name in spanish. I pulled her in 'Como se llama se nota que hablas espanol' and my hunch was correct. Up here in Canada, Latins are also few and far between as opposed to the states.

Additionally, take up a Latin American form of spanish. The original Spanish dialect in my opinion is too exclusive to Spain. Other Latin forms are more versatile.

[RIslander]

English, Spanish, Japanese or Russian, French.

These are the best languages to speak, in order of importance, in my opinion.

[jimukr104]

I disagree.... they usually speak English. Russian gets you acces to the most beautiful women and there are about a dozen countries that speak it eithr as 1st or second language with a niche of the population.

[LeBeau]

Why wouldn't you?

Put the word "Spanish" in the title.

Rather than making this a pseudo-clickbait thread?

For the record I agree that learning Spanish has a lot of advantages, but this RVF, not Buzzfeed.

[Disco_Volante]

Are there many tri-lingual guys on this site?

I know Spanish and am working on Russian.
I was thinking maybe portuguese or german after that.

Spanish has really lost its luster for me, its already ubiquitous, youre just part of a sea of white dudes trolling south america for pussy.

[AldoKelevra]

(04-19-2015 12:14 PM)LeBeau Wrote:  

Why wouldn't you?

Put the word "Spanish" in the title.

Rather than making this a pseudo-clickbait thread?

For the record I agree that learning Spanish has a lot of advantages, but this RVF, not Buzzfeed.

Yes. My apologies.

[TigerMandingo]

@disco yea I picked up French as my 3rd language ( native English and Russian speaker). I love French, it's really versatile and I have good rapport with French people in general.

[Brodiaga]

Not everyone is good with languages and that's fine.

I have been learning English most of my life, but I'm still not as fluent as I'd like to be. I tried to learn Spanish as well but only learned enough to order food, drinks and get a cab because I had no choice when I traveled around Latin America.

[civpro]

I agree, it's the best language to focus on if you're under 35. Russian should probably only be bothered with if you're older.

[Kane]

Having lived in the states(South Florida) for more than a decade, I must agree that Spanish is invaluable. Heck go to Hialeah,FL and you can count on one hand the people that speaks English. I read and write it fairly well being a native French speaker(Montrealer), I mostly understand conversations by translating it in French in my head before replying. I'm trilingual in that I speak French(accent is mixture of Quebec and international), Haitian Creole(Imagine Quebec accent with a mix of random West African languages, Portuguese, Spanish and recently incorporating English words) and English(people often think I'm Guyanese,Trinidadian or Jamaican, lol wrong islands but close). I have a renewed interest in mastering Spanish, it may take me a while but I'm confident I'll succeed. I've been eying German lately since I've made many German acquaintances that I could practice with better retention.

[southamerica]

Economically speaking, it makes sense to learn Spanish as the OP said. Becoming proficient in Mandarin makes sense, too. But if you learn a language solely for economic reasons, you're likely to fail.

You need a more profound reason to invest your time into studying a foreign language as it is a very time consuming task. Mastering a language is not a sprint. It isn't a marathon either. It is an Ironman Triathlon.

So, if you have an affinity for a particular culture, great. This probably is the best reason to learn a language. Immersing yourself in a culture you love while working on your language skills is the bridge to new business partners, friends, poosy, etc. As it was discussed here on RVF, location is king. Add language skills and the results will be even better.

(04-19-2015 09:54 AM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  

(04-19-2015 05:37 AM)Suits Wrote:  

Because instead I learned the most spoken language in the world, a language spoken in a country where there are infinite opportunities for me to earn money and a capital city which brings in beautiful women from literally every nation of the world (including N. Korea).

Didn't leave a lot of time for learning Spanish.

You forgot that the Chinese are also learning English in even larger numbers. As a result, learning Chinese for business will be futile.

Learning a language for business will never be futile. The sort of respect that comes from speaking the language of your business partners can't be obtained otherwise. Moreover, you will gain invaluable insight into their culture through the language. I'd at least try to be culturally aware in any situation as there's no time to learn every single language.

Do you think every English student in China will become fluent in English in their lifetime? That's an exaggeration. You need to give more credit to those who are studying Mandarin.

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

(04-19-2015 09:58 AM)AldoKelevra Wrote:  

(04-19-2015 05:09 AM)Hardy Daytona Wrote:  

It depends on which kind.
In school I learned Castilian Spanish which is used primarily in Europe, but I've found there can be variations in grammar and vocabulary when you travel to, say, Mexico or Costa Rica.

I have lived in and Spain and learned the grammar/vocab from there and also have the accent from there. I speak with Spanish speaking people from all over the Spanish speaking world via skype for language exchange and it makes no difference at all. I can understand them and they can understand me perfectly. At the end of the day, it is the same language. There are just some different customs and accents.

There are certainly variations between dialects but you won't have any trouble understanding or being understood. For example, the vosotros is rarely used in Latin America but everyone understands it and is able to conjugate it (except the people who can't conjugate correctly ). In fact, I don't really think it matters which dialect you learn or which accent you acquire as long as you learn the language. I say this as someone whose accent was seriously fucked-up with parents in the diplomatic corps.

(04-19-2015 12:22 PM)Disco_Volante Wrote:  

Are there many tri-lingual guys on this site?

I'm fluent in English, French and Spanish; I speak a few others (mostly Romance languages) at a basic or near conversational level.

[cascadecombo]

(04-19-2015 05:54 AM)VolandoVengoVolandoVoy Wrote:  

That may be true Suits, but China is also polluted/corrupt, and learning the Chinese language requires the same amount of time as learning to fluency any 2-4 Romance or moderate difficulty languages. Also, from what I understand, even after ten years of study, you still won't really be able to read Chinese.

There are various ways to learn the characters. I'd wager serious study will give you the capability to fluently read Chinese within four years, I think less to be honest, but lets go with four.

[ball dont lie]

(04-19-2015 05:54 AM)VolandoVengoVolandoVoy Wrote:  

That may be true Suits, but China is also polluted/corrupt, and learning the Chinese language requires the same amount of time as learning to fluency any 2-4 Romance or moderate difficulty languages. Also, from what I understand, even after ten years of study, you still won't really be able to read Chinese.

That is false. I read Chinese very well and only studied "hard" for about 5 years. The last few years my skills have gone south some, mostly teaching and relaxing. Put in the hard work, reading can be done. Its the writing that's hard (but not important). Reading handwriting is another animal altogether, but I know people that can do that as well.

5 years of intense study, no problem.