Buckwheat Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 2 minutes ago, Leonardo said: This is why I came here So slovene it is then? It that an offshoot from Russian or is that an offensive question? What's your best recomendation for an American to learn to prepare for Europe? Good. Uhhhh, it is not really offensive ... wait, if by "offshoot" you mean something that comes from Russian and is not really separate from it, then yes, it might be just a little. Otherwise, it is just in the "I am really sick of this question by now" category. It historically has similar roots as Russian and other Slavic languages. Russian is among the East-Slavic languages, while Slovene is among the South-Slavic languages, which means they are not all that close. Russian's closest relatives are Ukrainian and Belorussian. They also use different writings (Russian writes in Cyrillic, which is something you should consider before deciding to learn it). You cannot understand the other if you know one of them. (In case it was not clear, the Slovene recommendation was not all that serious and constructive. It is spoken by around 2 millions of people worldwide, but mostly just in Slovenia, so it will not really allow you communication all over the world.) That is the thing, you must be more specific because "Europe" means nothing here. You can go to Italy, which is, you know, in Europe, and nothing will help you if you do not know Italian, because most Italians will not speak anything but their first language. Or you can go to a country where it is the standard that almost everybody speaks three languages, and you will have languages to choose from and get your point across in English with almost anybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 You are wonderful as always Buck ;} I figured Slovene was more of a lighthearted suggestion, it still seems pretty useful at times though and definitey with a certain niche demand here in America Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 14 minutes ago, Leonardo said: You are wonderful as always Buck ;} I figured Slovene was more of a lighthearted suggestion, it still seems pretty useful at times though and definitey with a certain niche demand here in America "Niche demand." Yes, this is a nice way to put it. Are you willing to learn another writing system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 2 minutes ago, Buckwheat said: "Niche demand." Yes, this is a nice way to put it. Are you willing to learn another writing system? Fudge yes  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Just now, Leonardo said: Fudge yes  Huh? I admit I am not familiar with this dialect ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 12 minutes ago, Buckwheat said: Huh? I admit I am not familiar with this dialect ... Err it's a nicer way of saying "fuck" Â As a fan of ASOIAF I hope the word doesnt offend you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Just now, Leonardo said: Err it's a nicer way of saying "fuck" Â As a fan of ASOIAF I hope the word doesnt offend you Nah, of course not. Well then you can choose Russian. German and French both use Latin alphabet with a few special letters/symbols. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Just now, Buckwheat said: Nah, of course not. Well then you can choose Russian. German and French both use Latin alphabet with a few special letters/symbols. Russian does seem the harder course then; I'm bright but not a scolar I'm really tempted with German or French for that reason; should I stop with the pretenses or are one/both those two the right choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Just now, Leonardo said: Russian does seem the harder course then; I'm bright but not a scolar I'm really tempted with German or French for that reason; should I stop with the pretenses or are one/both those two the right choice? Well you still have not told where you want to go! You want to go to France? Great, choose French. You want to go to Germany? German's your friend. It is that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Just now, Buckwheat said: Well you still have not told where you want to go! You want to go to France? Great, choose French. You want to go to Germany? German's your friend. It is that simple. Danke Mrs. Buck ;D  I really like the sound of Germany. I'd go there for more than just a visit, I want to play my music there. I think there or Uk I would stand out more  But there are places all around Europe I'd want to hang out, like Belgium. Also my girlfriend of over a year is a francophile so that should come into it too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 5 hours ago, Leonardo said: Danke Mrs. Buck ;D I really like the sound of Germany. I'd go there for more than just a visit, I want to play my music there. I think there or Uk I would stand out more But there are places all around Europe I'd want to hang out, like Belgium. Also my girlfriend of over a year is a francophile so that should come into it too No problem. I can speak of languages any time. Come back to tell us how you decided! Looks there is nobody else spamming today ... I am in that stage of writing of the MA where I have fully grasped how awesome my topic is and am completely interested in it and want to keep working on it the whole day. Win! My topic is great. I love it now, although I was desperate about it earlier. On the flip side, I still do not know what the length requirement for it is and not sure how I will manage to reach it if it is a lot - by now I think I can judge how long mine will be and it will not be especially long. Although to be fair, with the last one I also said when I was at around 55 that I was going to wrap it up in 60 ... turned out more than 90. Whoops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ab aeterno Posted May 20, 2016 Author Share Posted May 20, 2016 @Leonardo If you just want to travel Europe, you'd be best off just speaking English, because you can get by in most places in Europe by speaking English more easily than French or German. German is really only going to help you in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and French will only really help you in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, etc.That's not to say you shouldn't learn a language, only that you don't need to learn one to travel Europe, and the most pan-European language there is is really English. If you want to learn a language for career purposes then you probably ought to go for Spanish, especially in the US with the growth of the Spanish speaking population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyron Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Welcome back, Leonardo. As Ab mentions, you wouldn't really need to know another language than English to travel in Europe. If you have a reason such as work, you go with what language is best for that, otherwise just go with what you think is the most interesting, imho. I like to learn languages for fun, so I can pick whatever I feel like and only ever had to learn English for a reason. There is also the aspect of learning more languages in the same family, say if you want to learn Spanish, French is related and will help you with that if you want to change or learn both, and vice versa. (I dare say Spanish would be more fun and easier to speak, but that's just a guess. I know French and the pronunciation seems difficult for English speakers especially). Germanic languages such as German, Dutch and the Scandinavian share a lot etc. If you want to go crazy, learn Finnish or Hungarian  Bucky, glad to hear you have entered the thesis zone The hours just fly by don't they? It's a great feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
First of My Name Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 One week and two exams to go, then it's over and I can waste as much time as I want.  10 hours ago, Leonardo said: Hullo TTTNE, it's been a minute  I'm thinking of going to school soon (all I have is my GED) since I dropped out in my senior year and have missed the learning experience ever since. However I don't have time for a full degree and want to pursue a skill I can actively use day to day... So I've settled on learning a language. I live on campus pretty much already and have time for some night classes. I'm thinking German would be good since it's got a lot in common with English aside from vocab and it's a pretty widespread language in Europe, but I was wondering if anyone has some other suggestions. French or Russian are possibilities too, and I'm wondering which of the three I'd get more use out of if I ever visited Europe  Anyone have some advice? Hey  As someone who's learning both German and English, I don't think they're similar, and wouldn't recommend relying on that. Also as ab and Eyron said, speaking English is more than enough to make your way around Europe. And what language you'd get more use out of really depends on what part of Europe you'd want to visit.   Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Speaking English will get you by in Europe ... unless you are in Italy, Slovakia, or Czech Republic, in my experience. You know that feeling where the length limit on your writing is 42 000 characters and you look at your document and it has 42 001 characters and you do not want to cut anything more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyron Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 4 minutes ago, Buckwheat said: Speaking English will get you by in Europe ... unless you are in Italy, Slovakia, or Czech Republic, in my experience. You know that feeling where the length limit on your writing is 42 000 characters and you look at your document and it has 42 001 characters and you do not want to cut anything more? Deliberate spelling error is your frien... Or get the synonym muscles working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ab aeterno Posted May 20, 2016 Author Share Posted May 20, 2016 10 minutes ago, Buckwheat said: Speaking English will get you by in Europe ... unless you are in Italy, Slovakia, or Czech Republic, in my experience. English will get you by in more countries in Europe than any other single language though. And most of the touristy areas of Italy are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 27 minutes ago, Eyron said: Deliberate spelling error is your frien... Or get the synonym muscles working. Managed to cut one character. Now it is exactly where it is topped. 21 minutes ago, ab aeterno said: English will get you by in more countries in Europe than any other single language though. And most of the touristy areas of Italy are fine. Yes, it will. Not all of it though. Depends what "fine" is. Some people will just wave and yell at you in Italian. You can order food and buy tickets in most places though, true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 3 hours ago, Buckwheat said: Speaking English will get you by in Europe ... unless you are in Italy, Slovakia, or Czech Republic, in my experience. You know that feeling where the length limit on your writing is 42 000 characters and you look at your document and it has 42 001 characters and you do not want to cut anything more? Don't you be wasting time on that thesis, you have drawings to do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Pup got the chop today. Of course, in the tradition of every pet we have ever had, he has already managed to squirm out of his jacket and try and pull the stitches/dressing. (So says the mothership anyway). I can't wait to see him again though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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