German or French or maybe something else?

[Lepton87]

I've been learning French on and off for the past 3 years maybe more and I just can't force myself to devote more than a few minutes at most to learning it. It's totally unlike English which I don't have to force myself to learn and use it. I know that the begging of learning a new language is the most difficult period because you just have to rote learn some basic words and grammar. I've been thinking that maybe French isn't for me because none of those issues happened or happens with English. So I started wondering about some other language and I started seriously considering German. I haven't invested in any didactic aids for that language or anything like that so the choice is still up in the air. At first I didn't like that language thinking it was too harsh. But that very harshness which I didn't like at first started to grow on me. Should I try German or should I stick with French? The thing is even though it's been 3 years I only devoted maybe like 30 hours to learning French which is nothing. I had German at school but I barely remember anything so my knowledge of both languages is close to nothing. So to make to choice easier I picked a few categories and I want you guys to help me compare them or maybe propose another language.

1. Difficulty

Bear in mind that I'm a native Polish speaker so some languages like Russian or Ukrainian would be far easier to me than to you but I think it doesn't matter in this case because both languages are very distant from Polish. So I think that German wins this one that is French is more difficult.

2. Practicality
Hard to say, I live next to Germany but France isn't that far off. Right now I don't plan on emigrating but I should take that into account for sure. I think Germany is better off financially but I don't know which country is more accommodating to immigrants.

3. Posh Factor

This one is more elusive, subjective and hard to define but I think French wins this one out. I think it sounds more refined and once upon the time it was pretty much mandatory for any educated person to speak French but it was replaced by English.

 

[3spooky5u]

Stick with French
It's a nice challenge

 

[doubledeluxe]

I've lived on 3 continents and have spoke a bunch of languages. At least partially. These include Russian and German. French is not useful anymore. My grandparents and parents spoke it but it serves no real practical purpose outside of skiing trips. Unless you want to work in France of course or are doing something in maybe Algeria or Cambodia.

If you're simply choosing between those two languages then it really boils down to employment opportunities or maybe friends who speak the language. Are you planning on moving to one of those countries? If not, are you dealing with lots of foreign speakers in Poland? In the US for example we learn Spanish since Mexico is our neighbor but more because there are millions of Spanish speakers in our country. On top of that there are half a billion Spanish speakers on 3 continents so it makes sense.

When I lived next to Germany I didn't polish up on my German. I wasn't going to use it. I never did use it. English worked just fine for those few occasions I was in Germany. In fact I was just in Germany for about 3 weeks and never needed German for my basic tourist needs. To learn a language means you need to be constantly using it. Plain and simple.

So if you're going to put a real effort into learning the language and are going to regularly use it then pick that language. I've lived a boat ride away from Poland but I definitely wasn't going to learn Polish for that reason. I grew up with Polish neighbors and have Polish friends but unless you're going to use the language on a nearly daily basis it's really not useful.

 

[Leymenaide]

Learn German. It is much more likely to get you a job. The French Economy is a disaster. How many French Companies are in Poland. German companies are all over the place. In an office Germans expect perfect German. They are quick to smile at my far less then perfect German on the street. In Germany there is subtle and not so subtle discrimination against Poles. Find people at a profesional level that have worked there. Talk to them about it in Poland. Almost everyone I grew up with were camp survivors. I studied German to know the enemy.

 

[Lepton87]

If you're simply choosing between those two languages then it really boils down to employment opportunities or maybe friends who speak the language. Are you planning on moving to one of those countries? If not, are you dealing with lots of foreign speakers in Poland? In the US for example we learn Spanish since Mexico is our neighbor but more because there are millions of Spanish speakers in our country. On top of that there are half a billion Spanish speakers on 3 continents so it makes sense.

Right now I'm not planning on moving nor do I deal with many foreigners and the few that I do deal with are almost all from the East, mostly Russians and people from the former ZSRR. Oh, gosh, some of those people drove me mad. I used to work in a toilet and imagine this. They don't know how to use a western style toilet. They are used to holes in the ground. Maybe a few of them asked how to use the toilet but most of them just shit all over the place like animals. Back to the language I treat it mostly like a brain exercise to keep my memory from deteriorating and for fun. I didn't bring one very important aspect in the OP. Culture. When you learn a language you also learn the culture and customs of the native speakers of that language. I think in this aspect French has more to offer. I also might do both but learning a language is an immensely time consuming task but I think I
can manage three foreign languages, if just barely.

 

[doubledeluxe]

You have to live in that country to learn most of the culture. At least that has been my experience. I spoke German as one of my first languages despite never having been to Germany. I can assure you that when I went to Germany as a teenager I had learned nothing about their culture from just speaking German. We simply had German friends who always spoke German to me so I learned the language. Culture I got from being in the country and a few cultural activities outside.

I'm currently learning a new language and it's a lot harder when you're older so definitely do what you can to learn them asap. Whatever you choose.

As far as toilets I find the squat toilets much cleaner. However people that don't know how to use western style toilets definitely make a mess of things. I was on Sumatra and they had opened a new airport there with western toilets. The locals came to see the new airport and the mess they made from standing on the toilet was hilarious. They put up signs telling people how to use them properly.

 

[_Rick_]

You don't have to fully live in a country to learn its culture, but it's necessary to at least follow current events, read the newspapers, watch the television of that country, in the native language.

Being a German and having lived in France for four years now, I would recommend French. You can access Germany by knowing English pretty well, but in France you will be lost without French. Even rudimentary French will get you quite a ways, whereas 80-90% of Germans speak sufficient English to explain simple concepts.

Also, France has a rich culture that has sometimes remained isolated from the omnipresent American culture influence. French movies are worth learning the language alone, in my opinion. The works of the revolution-era authors are also cornerstones of the culture you should eventually read, since they feature in the French curriculum and thus are part of every French person's educational background and may serve as common comparisons or quotes.

See if you can find native speakers in your corner of the world, who are willing to give lessons. Especially in the early phases this both locks you into a schedule, and gives you the more-or-less correct pronunciation. The latter, to me, is one of the most important aspects of a language. If you make the right sounds, and have the right tempo in a sentence, it doesn't matter so much, that you have a reduced vocabulary, you will still give a better impression.

Since I'll be leaving France, and head back to Germany next week, I will probably have to check myself how to assure that I will keep my French at its current level.

NB: I've learned French since 5th grade, and had a great teacher. I took it for 9 years at school, including as a specialization in the latter phases of high school. Sadly, by then I was in a class of people having started in 7th grade, so I didn't get the full benefit of starting early. At college, I completely lost touch with French, until I moved to Geneva for my Master's thesis and then to Grenoble for my PhD. I'm still a pretty shitty French speaker (limited vocabulary, hard to understand every word, sometimes even whole phrases), but it was sufficient to defend my PhD in French.

German is probably a tad harder than French, at least grammar-wise. On the other hand, it's a bit more literal, that is every sound you speak, you also write. in French, the amount of silent vowels and consonants is pretty insane - but the rules are pretty simple.

So yeah, learn French, but do it properly. Import media, meet native speakers, and keep working on pronunciation. Good luck

 

[Lepton87]

I will start learning both and after a few months I'm going to choose which one is the better fit for me and will focus more closely on it while putting the other one on the back-burner. Eventually I want to speak four languages one native and three foreign. I don't think I can speak reasonably well more than three foreign languages, well, maybe if the languages I'd choose would be very related and even mutually intelligible like Spanish and Portuguese but it's not a contest.