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  1. #21
    I'm not of the Germanic/Scandinavian speaker so I wouldn't know much about it. But if you want to branch out, those would be the easier first choices.

    As for other languages, Chinese/Mandarin is the next highest demanding language based off economy strength. Japanese would be the 2nd choice after Mandarin (Japanese have a high pride of their language).

    As the above poster have stated, Spanish due to possible booming of the South American economy. Hindi/Tamil is no where near being a globally spoken language. But as you have said yourself your vision is to move to the Scandinavian countries then your decision should be based on that with an unfaltering will. Sweden populace, as I understand, is versed with the English language. So as a translator you might want to think ahead what language medium would you from and to.

    Improving your German would be the wisest decision I would say for now. Chinese is not an easy language to pickup, and even more so for Japanese. (Have a Chinese base currently learning Japanese)

  2. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Reeve View Post
    You sure? I thought the Indian Government operated in English.
    They do, but Hindi is used alongside English for official communications.

  3. #23
    Deleted
    I'd shortlist Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese or Spanish.

  4. #24
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    Definitely Mandarin.

    It's difficult to learn and you should immerse yourself in the environment and culture there for a few months to really hone it in.

    It's going to be an incredibly important language to know for the future for anything business related.

  5. #25
    Merely a Setback Reeve's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SnorlaxJeng View Post
    I'm not of the Germanic/Scandinavian speaker so I wouldn't know much about it. But if you want to branch out, those would be the easier first choices.

    As for other languages, Chinese/Mandarin is the next highest demanding language based off economy strength. Japanese would be the 2nd choice after Mandarin (Japanese have a high pride of their language).

    As the above poster have stated, Spanish due to possible booming of the South American economy. Hindi/Tamil is no where near being a globally spoken language. But as you have said yourself your vision is to move to the Scandinavian countries then your decision should be based on that with an unfaltering will. Sweden populace, as I understand, is versed with the English language. So as a translator you might want to think ahead what language medium would you from and to.

    Improving your German would be the wisest decision I would say for now. Chinese is not an easy language to pickup, and even more so for Japanese. (Have a Chinese base currently learning Japanese)
    I thought Japanese was supposed to be significantly easier to learn than Chinese, due to Chinese being a tonal/melodic language.
    'Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead
    Or a yawing hole in a battered head
    And the scuppers clogged with rotting red
    And there they lay I damn me eyes
    All lookouts clapped on Paradise
    All souls bound just contrarywise, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

  6. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by Reeve View Post
    All of them. I make it a habit to collect languages. I have a specific phrase that I've learned in 17 languages so far.

    Honestly, though, if you're looking to become proficient in a language for its usefulness, I think the best languages to know are English, Mandarin, and Spanish. With those 3 languages, you can get along just fine pretty much everywhere in the world. Most of Europe speaks English, South America is mostly Spanish and Portuguese (and Portuguese speakers understand Spanish), North America is all English and Spanish, English will do fine in Japan, and Mandarin will be useful in China. The educated in India speak English too.
    You WILL NOT survive in Japan solely with English. Doors will not be open for you in Japan if you do not speak Japanese it is been stated by many people already, although Japanese have a lot of borrowed words from English since WW1 exposure, grammatically you will not be able to catch anything. Business level corporation might entertain you with mediocre English but don't expect them to understand every syllable you speak.

    The same goes for Mandarin. I'm Chinese myself as much as I hate to say this but be prepared to be looked down upon if you cannot speak their tongue, least to say the many dialects and slang in the many provinces of China. At least Japanese have only Osaka slang to worry about.

  7. #27
    The Patient Nario64's Avatar
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    Swedish is pointless. I know English and Swedish but there is only 1% of the population in Sweden that doesn't speak English (and that's the elderly and retired).

    I'd recommend Mandarin, it has the strongest use.

  8. #28
    Pandaren Monk GeordieMagpie's Avatar
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    Elvish, Dwarven----


    On a serious note, eh...French's good?
    Howay the lads!

  9. #29
    Scandinavian/Spanish/French/Mandarin/Korean/Japanese

    Spanish and French should be fairly easy as they're quite similar and in very high use, Scandanavians are linked together for the same reason, pretty easy to learn all of them once you've mastered one, Mandarin is pretty obvious, Korean is a nice one for online work as there's a lot of gaming related stuff going through Korea and Japanese is just nice to expand your anime watching ability

  10. #30
    Merely a Setback Reeve's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SnorlaxJeng View Post
    You WILL NOT survive in Japan solely with English. Doors will not be open for you in Japan if you do not speak Japanese it is been stated by many people already, although Japanese have a lot of borrowed words from English since WW1 exposure, grammatically you will not be able to catch anything. Business level corporation might entertain you with mediocre English but don't expect them to understand every syllable you speak.

    The same goes for Mandarin. I'm Chinese myself as much as I hate to say this but be prepared to be looked down upon if you cannot speak their tongue, least to say the many dialects and slang in the many provinces of China. At least Japanese have only Osaka slang to worry about.
    Meh, I've known English speakers who have gone to Japan and just picked up a little bit of conversational Japanese while they were there, and did just fine. That's where I was coming from with that comment. It's not that everyone there will speak perfect English with you, just that you can get by on it.
    'Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead
    Or a yawing hole in a battered head
    And the scuppers clogged with rotting red
    And there they lay I damn me eyes
    All lookouts clapped on Paradise
    All souls bound just contrarywise, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

  11. #31
    Quote Originally Posted by Reeve View Post
    I thought Japanese was supposed to be significantly easier to learn than Chinese, due to Chinese being a tonal/melodic language.
    Well for me it is harder for I have Mandarin base, and learning Japanese things have a totally different meaning although they are using the same Kanji/Hanzi. Go Google Translate and input this as Chinese and Japanese and see the English explanation:

    *丈夫 (dai jou bu / だいじょうぶ / da zhang fu ); 勉強 (ben kyou / べんきょう / mian qiang ) ; (Kanji/Hiragana/Pinyin-Hanzi)

  12. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by Reeve View Post
    I thought Japanese was supposed to be significantly easier to learn than Chinese, due to Chinese being a tonal/melodic language.
    Japanese pronunciation is easier probably to grasp. Beyond that it might be harder actually on account of it being Chinese meshed on top of an incompatible native language of a different family group entirely >_<

  13. #33
    Deleted
    definitly mandarin chinese.

  14. #34
    The Patient nulir's Avatar
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    Korean Chinese

  15. #35
    Merely a Setback Reeve's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by semaphore View Post
    Japanese pronunciation is easier probably to grasp. Beyond that it might be harder actually on account of it being Chinese meshed on top of an incompatible native language of a different family group entirely >_<
    But it's pretty. It has a nice cadence to it.
    'Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead
    Or a yawing hole in a battered head
    And the scuppers clogged with rotting red
    And there they lay I damn me eyes
    All lookouts clapped on Paradise
    All souls bound just contrarywise, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

  16. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Reeve View Post
    But it's pretty. It has a nice cadence to it.
    I admit I do like Japanese considerably more xD

  17. #37
    Mechagnome Osyrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kujako View Post
    Because the India and China markets seem to currently have the most growth potential, and while English is a common language in those locations, it is not ubiquitous.
    That might be true- but they all speak English

    I worked for a ginormous Asian company- English.

  18. #38
    Merely a Setback Reeve's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by semaphore View Post
    I admit I do like Japanese considerably more xD
    Cata's gonna give me shit for bringing this up again, but when I was in Estonia, I was struck by how similar the cadence of the language was to Japanese. If I didn't know they were completely different language groups, I'd think they had a common origin.
    'Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead
    Or a yawing hole in a battered head
    And the scuppers clogged with rotting red
    And there they lay I damn me eyes
    All lookouts clapped on Paradise
    All souls bound just contrarywise, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

  19. #39
    The Lightbringer
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    do you want some challenge? Italian

    does not matter how good you speak it, you won't understand what most people say

  20. #40
    Japanese has less clarity of word due to their limited vocal pronunciation. Mandarin has more vocal pronunciation and they have pitching of words too, hence better clarity. Naturally, Mandarin has more Kanji/Hanzi. However, most of the pronunciation would be rather similar with different left or "Zi pang" which sometimes can hint the context.

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