how can i decide what language to learn? (thelemmy.club)

submitted 3 days ago by nonBInary@thelemmy.club to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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i genuinely have no idea if i should study italian or french. on one hand, french is probably more useful, especially since i live in the u.s. and could communicate with people from french-speaking canada. french also seems to have more speakers. however, i also have an italian study book and it seems easier to get the hang of for me than french, especially since i can't yet differentiate what people are saying and the way things are spelled in french.

i genuinely love both languages but i don't know which one i should learn, even if i'm the only one who can decide this. i have a study book for italian and busuu as a language learning app but i don't have a french book yet. should i learn italian first and then go with french? learn italian and pick up bits of french along the way?

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[-] BCsven@lemmy.ca 16 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Do you live on the border to Quebec? Otherwise French is a rarity in Canada even though things are labeled in both languages. If you are in the USA, Spanish would seem the more useful language, in my opinion.

The most common languages I hear in Canada (nearer the 49th parallel), other than English are Hindi, Punjabi, and Mandarin

[-] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago

I love how everyone forgets the existence of New Brunswick

[-] BCsven@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago

I know its officially bilingual, but do people speak Mich French there?

[-] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago

Yes… practically everyone is fluently bilingual and you will hear people start the convo in French and then switch to English, then back to French (or vice versa).

The Northern part of New Brunswick is almost completely French. You don’t hear much English in your day to day. But if you respond in English you’ll hear perfect English right back. Most of the radio stations here are French.

[-] BCsven@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago

Nice. Sounds like it should be Brunswick de Nouveau

[-] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 days ago

Nouveau Brunswick is how it’s called in French

this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025

30 points (91.7% liked)

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