Most Valuable Second Languages to Know

[DoubleK]

I'm fluent in French as I was lucky enough to be placed in french immersion.

The next language I am going to pick up is probably going to be American Sign Language. I know a little bit of it, having grown up with a deaf cousin and there are some others on my wife's side who are either deaf or hard of hearing.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

I'm fluent in French as I was lucky enough to be placed in french immersion.

The next language I am going to pick up is probably going to be American Sign Language. I know a little bit of it, having grown up with a deaf cousin and there are some others on my wife's side who are either deaf or hard of hearing.

How often do you use it?

[puckedoff]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

I'm fluent in French as I was lucky enough to be placed in french immersion.

The next language I am going to pick up is probably going to be American Sign Language. I know a little bit of it, having grown up with a deaf cousin and there are some others on my wife's side who are either deaf or hard of hearing.

I only know a couple of words in ASL but I use them a lot!!

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

How often do you use it?

In Calgary, not a lot.

However it came in handy a few years ago... I was in a meeting where the company we were meeting with was speaking to each other in French about the meeting while we were still in the room. It got weird when I answered there question in French

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

How often do you use it?

I am fluent in french I use it weekly for work. Most of my conversations with my mom are in french. When I drive I quite often prefer french talk radio, and given the option when I watch hockey I always choose French, the commentary is far less grating. From time to time I read in french but usually for practice.

In casual conversation, I don't use it all that often but that is because often when I am spending time with francophones its mixed company and it is not polite to ignore the English speakers.

in total it is a 1/10 ratio french to English for myself.

[Shazam]

I use French all the time. Croissant, Merde, Francophone, and Tabernac.

[TheIronMaiden]

In terms of jobs French is useful for more than government positions. It is helpful for service, tourism, business, also there is a high demand for french speaking teachers.

[81MC]

I should dedicate more time to learning a language. I’m always quite impressed by those who can carry on like it’s nothing in a different language.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

For me I would say Mandarin and Spanish - for the coverage and the sheer number of speakers.



Speaks like a true Korean!!

Of course.

Nobody knows Japanese in the numbers thought in the 80s after watching Gung Ho. nobody will know Mandarin. It's too different that it's a dead end.

[shane_c]

I'd say not Japanese. I studied it for 3 years and then took a break for about 1.5 years but am back studying again. It's not very useful but I find it interesting and keeps my mind from going mushy.

I work at a university that has quite a few Japanese students so have spoken with them a few times but other than that I have very little opportunity to use it other than on Instagram.

[JohnnyB]

Mandarin, for sure. China is a not just an economic superpower, it is also nationalistic. The expectation in doing any kind of business in China is increasingly that you speak Chinese not that they speak English. China is seeking to extend that influence around the world.

[FlamesAddiction]

French is also pretty much necessary in parts of Canada in the private sector (Quebec of course), but also some Ontario companies prefer English and French if they can get it.

When I lived in BC, I worked for SNC-Lavalin whose head office is in Montreal. They were always posting international opportunities that required French.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

I am fluent in french I use it weekly for work. Most of my conversations with my mom are in french. When I drive I quite often prefer french talk radio, and given the option when I watch hockey I always choose French, the commentary is far less grating. From time to time I read in french but usually for practice.

In casual conversation, I don't use it all that often but that is because often when I am spending time with francophones its mixed company and it is not polite to ignore the English speakers.

in total it is a 1/10 ratio french to English for myself.

Interesting. Do you live in Calgary? If so, do you kind sharing what you do? If my family spoke French I would have chosen that for my kids for sure.

The only jobs I can think of where French would likely be a requirement in Calgary are: federal govt, French teacher, flight attendant, call centre staff for Canada wide business, and maybe the subsidiary of Quebec based businesses. It's quite likely I'm missing some, and that is more than the jobs that would require Spanish.

On the other hand, I think Spanish is vastly more useful internationally. (The population of native spanish speakers is more than every other language except mandarin). English is obviously the most useful language for business worldwide, but if you are a native speaker of that...

[Winsor_Pilates]

Mandarin for sure, especially if your kids ever move to Vancouver.

[Russic]

My wife's cousin learned Japanese once and we all thought it was a bit odd but didn't think too much of it. Then he joined the RCMP. All his buddies got stationed on reserves in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba while he ended up in Whistler (as they have so many Japanese tourists). I guess it was a pretty solid choice.

[_Q_]

I think Mandarin for obvious reasons. Spanish also because of the shear number of Spanish speakers, particularly on this continent. I'm going to throw my hat in for Arabic as well. There are about 20ish Arabic speaking countries with several others that use it as a lingua franca. Some of these places are also emerging into regional powers that might have some economic importance in the next few decades.

I think it's best to teach them an extremely difficult language early on like Mandarin or Arabic just because it becomes much harder to learn those later in life. If they would like to learn French or Spanish for example as adults, it won't be too much of a struggle, but learning Mandarin will be nearly impossible.

[Flamenspiel]

nm

[OutOfTheCube]

Learning any second language is disproportionately useful compared to the amount of time it takes to learn, especially if that time can be invested in to something else.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Learning any second language is disproportionately useful compared to the amount of time it takes to learn, especially if that time can be invested in to something else.

I couldn't agree more. If anything it has the ability to augment other hobbies, occupations, and relationships.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

I couldn't agree more. If anything it has the ability to augment other hobbies, occupations, and relationships.

So... do you agree or disagree? I was saying I think it's a waste of time but your second sentence seems to disagree with that?