People learning/learnt remote languages...why?

[Vaskez]

The languages spoken poll got me thinking...

Some people learn languages that are only used in one country in the world and that country is miles away from them, so I wonder why they bother learning that language unless they plan to go and live in that country?

So all you Europeans or Americans learning Japanese and Russian or other remote languages - why bother? Personally, I studied French because I had to, and it makes sense since I go there a lot on holiday. Secondly I studied German since that is an important language spoken in Germany, Austria and Switzerland where I also go on holiday and is understood as the unofficial second language in many countries such as Italy, Czech Republic, Hungary etc. So these are perfectly logical reasons in my book.

[wellard]

So what is your excuse for learning English?

[Vaskez]

I couldn't help it, my parents moved me to English speaking territory by force at a young age and made me go to school

[Sir Goulum]

I'm learning a language, German, because I need one to get into the university I want. (I think)

[Vaskez]

I didn't ask what language you're learning, I asked why you're learning it, if it's relatively remote to where you live. So, why are you learning German? As far as I know French is the second most useful language in Canada after English...
Although as you may have guessed, I do approve of German learning

[Aerich]

Well, I suppose I'm not the target for this post, but here goes anyway. [img]smile.gif[/img]

English and French are the two official languages of Canada. Thus, both are taught in school. We are also supposed to have proficiency (up to Grade 11 level) in our secondary language to meet university entrance requirements.

Japanese was the third language offered at my school, and people could take it instead of French. At the time, Japan was a Pacific Rim economic powerhouse.

Mandarin Chinese is gaining in popularity now (despite the fact that most of the Chinese/Hong Kong immigrants and their decendants around here speak Cantonese, not Mandarin).

[ 07-07-2004, 07:12 PM: Message edited by: Aerich ]

[Vaskez]

It sounds like you ARE a target for this thread though [img]smile.gif[/img]

Ok so your school offered Japanese because Japan was an economic powerhouse? So the rationale was that you could go into business and speak to Japanese businessmen in their own language to save them learning English or to become an interpreter?
Heh, the only thing I know in japanese is how to count to 10 and the names of a few martial arts moves and instructions

Yeah Mandarin Chinese is spoken by much more people in China the Cantonese. So if the immigrants are Cantonese, it must mean that the richer people speak Cantonese? Most of my chinese friends here in the UK speak Cantonese too. They say that they two languages are quite similar though, almost like dialects of the same tongue.

I can understand the rationale behind learning a chinese language though, even if you don't plan on moving to Hong Kong or China - the Chinese are everywhere in the world, it is almost a world language like English - if you learn it, it's like an extra sixth of the world's population is opened up to you.

[ 07-07-2004, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: Vaskez ]

[Sir Goulum]

Originally posted by Vaskez: I didn't ask what language you're learning, I asked why you're learning it, if it's relatively remote to where you live. So, why are you learning German? As far as I know French is the second most useful language in Canada after English... Although as you may have guessed, I do approve of German learning

French, in Canada, is only useful if you want a job with the government, or if you live in Quebec. Otherwise, it's got no real use of knowing. German is much easier than French, anyway.

[Aerich]

Yes, you've got the rationale down for why Japanese was taught in my area. My level of Japanese is the same as yours; picked up entirely in the dojo.

I think the percentage of Cantonese speakers in the rest of the world is possibly a reflection of the historical population movement. I know that is the case in western Canada, as Chinese workers were brought from Canton to work in coal mines and on the railroads (My great-grandfather was one of them).

And it is true that Mandarin and Cantonese are very similar. AFAIK, the difference is in intonation (although that is a LARGE part of Chinese pronunciation). They also use the same alphabet, I believe.

EDIT: a note on French in Canada. It gets much more useful the farther you go east. It's almost never used in general conversation in BC and the prairie provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. It's used a little more in Manitoba because of it's history (a large settlement of French-speaking Metis, being people of mixed European-Native heritage). Lots of French in use in Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia; they also had sizable French settlements, historically.

[ 07-07-2004, 07:31 PM: Message edited by: Aerich ]

[Vaskez]

If you know English, then yes, German is easier than French. However, if you are Spanish or Italian, I venture to say that maybe French is easier for you.

On a side note: it is a miracle that the Hungarian tongue still exists: in the past there have been powerful attempts to squash it by the Turks and the Austrians and it is not useful anywhere in the world but Hungary and it is very hard to learn, hence no one learns it. The Hungarian tongue must be truly special

[ 07-07-2004, 07:35 PM: Message edited by: Vaskez ]